Any Love For R.E.M?

[JIF]

I dug out my copy of the deluxe edition of Murmur, as it is Michael Stipe's 53rd birthday and the 30th anniversary of R.E.M's debut album is this year. I also have the deluxe version of Reckoning, as well as Green, Out Of Time, Automatic For The People, Monster, and New Adventures In Hi-fi. I heard Up and R.E.M's last studio album are good. is this true? What are other good R.E.M cds? What do people on PE think of this band?

[Scott Bails]

I have Document, Out of Time, and Automatic for the People. Love them all, but that's all the R.E.M. I need.

I have, however, always wanted an audio copy of their MTV Unplugged performance during the Out of Time period.

[PeterG]

Yea, about 25 years ago. I used to listen to Fables of the...? and Murmur quite a bit.

[GuitarGeek]

A decent band, I like some of the IRS stuff, specifically things like South Central Rain, Can't Get There From Here, Fall On Me, Driver 8, and Radio Free Europe. Always meant to pick up some of those albums, but have so far gotten by with just the Eponymous compilation.

I remember in the mid 80's, MTV did a special about "folk rock". REM was sort of presented as a group who had carried on in the tradition of The Byrds, Lovin' Spoonful, etc. They were shown at the end of this special doing several songs, one of which was a good cover of the Velvet Underground song Pale Blue Eyes (which I didn't know was a Velvet Underground cover until a few a years later, when I heard the original on college radio).

Don't care much for the later stuff, especially after Stipe turned into a conceited whiner. Yeah, I get it. It really stinks being famous and having people ask you questions about your personal life. That's such a awful thing to have to deal with it, isn't it?

[GuitarGeek]

I have, however, always wanted an audio copy of their MTV Unplugged performance during the Out of Time period.

Is that the one where MTV insisted that they do It's The End Of The World (which they apparently hadn't been playing in concert), and Stipe had to have the lyrics typed up because he couldn't remember them?

[JIF]

A decent band, I like some of the IRS stuff, specifically things like South Central Rain, Can't Get There From Here, Fall On Me, Driver 8, and Radio Free Europe. Always meant to pick up some of those albums, but have so far gotten by with just the Eponymous compilation.

I remember in the mid 80's, MTV did a special about "folk rock". REM was sort of presented as a group who had carried on in the tradition of The Byrds, Lovin' Spoonful, etc. They were shown at the end of this special doing several songs, one of which was a good cover of the Velvet Underground song Pale Blue Eyes (which I didn't know was a Velvet Underground cover until a few a years later, when I heard the original on college radio).

Don't care much for the later stuff, especially after Stipe turned into a conceited whiner. Yeah, I get it. It really stinks being famous and having people ask you questions about your personal life. That's such a awful thing to have to deal with it, isn't it?

Hey, don't be hard on Michael cause he feels that way; he's a private person. Kurt Cobain obviously felt that way; he struggled with fame during the latter half of his life. Since, in his own words, people seemed to be more interested in his personal life than his music.

[meimjustalawnmower]

I saw R.E.M. open for the Police at the Fox Theater in Atlanta in 1980, before they recorded a damn note. I still own the Hib-Tone single of Radio Free Europe/Sitting Still, which I bought off the counter of Wax n' Facts on Moreland Ave.

[Scott Bails]

A decent band, I like some of the IRS stuff, specifically things like South Central Rain, Can't Get There From Here, Fall On Me, Driver 8, and Radio Free Europe. Always meant to pick up some of those albums, but have so far gotten by with just the Eponymous compilation.

Eponymous - that's the one I have, not Document. Document just sounds more like a compilation, doesn't it?

Is that the one where MTV insisted that they do It's The End Of The World (which they apparently hadn't been playing in concert), and Stipe had to have the lyrics typed up because he couldn't remember them?

I believe so, yes.

[East New York]

It doesn't get too much better than Find The River...

[GuitarGeek]

Hey, don't be hard on Michael cause he feels that way; he's a private person. Kurt Cobain obviously felt that way; he struggled with fame during the latter half of his life. Since, in his own words, people seemed to be more interested in his personal life than his music.

Unfortunately, that's one of the things that happens when your band becomes famous: you attract attention from media outlets who are as concerned, if not more so, with your personal life than with your music. Same thing happened to The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Queen (how many times do you think Freddie was asked about his personal life?), Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne, etc.

Yeah, it stinks, but that's how "the machine" that Roger Waters once wrote of works. But it strikes me that whining about it public is not the best way to handle the matter. You could simply tell the interviewer "Look, I don't want to talk about that" and leave it at that. Or since REM seemed to be one of those bands who didn't really dig being famous, you could always follow the mid/late 70's Pink Floyd model, and simply not do interviews period.

I'm just tired to death of people who don't have to worry about things like paying the rent bitch and cry about the stuff they gotta put up with. If you hate it so much, then stop doing it. It's that simple.

[Scott Bails]

I'm with GuitarGeek.

Success and superstardom are not things to whine about. There are people in this world with real problems.

[meimjustalawnmower]

I'm with GuitarGeek.

Success and superstardom are not things to whine about. There are people in this world with real problems.

All things considered, eating a gun is probably a good indicator of having "real problems".

[JIF]

Unfortunately, that's one of the things that happens when your band becomes famous: you attract attention from media outlets who are as concerned, if not more so, with your personal life than with your music. Same thing happened to The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Queen (how many times do you think Freddie was asked about his personal life?), Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne, etc.

Yeah, it stinks, but that's how "the machine" that Roger Waters once wrote of works. But it strikes me that whining about it public is not the best way to handle the matter. You could simply tell the interviewer "Look, I don't want to talk about that" and leave it at that. Or since REM seemed to be one of those bands who didn't really dig being famous, you could always follow the mid/late 70's Pink Floyd model, and simply not do interviews period.

I'm just tired to death of people who don't have to worry about things like paying the rent bitch and cry about the stuff they gotta put up with. If you hate it so much, then stop doing it. It's that simple.

Haven't you heard? R.E.M HAVE stopped?

[GuitarGeek]

All things considered, eating a gun is probably a good indicator of having "real problems".

Wait, who are we talking about? Last I checked, Michael Stipe was still alive.

[GuitarGeek]

Haven't you heard? R.E.M HAVE stopped?

Well, good for them they finally figured it out!

[SteveSly]

I am a pretty big fan and own 6 or 7 of their albums. To me their high point was “Automatic For The People” which I still think is an excellent disc from start to finish. “Monster” was one of their low points, as I pretty much hated that record. One of the few bands that I liked that I never saw live unfortunately.

Steve Sly

[Scott Bails]

Wait, who are we talking about? Last I checked, Michael Stipe was still alive.

I think he's referring to Kurt Cobain.

[Scott Bails]

I am a pretty big fan and own 6 or 7 of their albums. To me their high point was “Automatic For The People” which I still think is an excellent disc from start to finish. “Monster” was one of their low points, as I pretty much hated that record. One of the few bands that I liked that I never saw live unfortunately.

Steve Sly

Yeah, I was following them up to Monster, which I also hated. I stepped off the train at that point, as I never really heard anything else by them that I liked.

[meimjustalawnmower]

Wait, who are we talking about? Last I checked, Michael Stipe was still alive.

I'm talking about Cobain. Stipe is incredibly well-adjusted.

[JIF]

I am a pretty big fan and own 6 or 7 of their albums. To me their high point was “Automatic For The People” which I still think is an excellent disc from start to finish. “Monster” was one of their low points, as I pretty much hated that record. One of the few bands that I liked that I never saw live unfortunately.

Steve Sly

Which R.E.M albums do you own, Mr. Sly, and how would you rate those albums?

[Mythos]

Losing My Religion

is an awesome song....!

[sonic]

All things considered, eating a gun is probably a good indicator of having "real problems".

Yep. People who have never suffered from mental/emotional disorders have no clue. For a private person, or a person with such disorders, fame can be truly destructive, and you cannot just suddenly 'stop' being famous.
My take is that success and superstardom are just the other side of the coin that come with their own set of problems. J. K. Rowling said that when she made it big with Harry Potter her troubles didn't go away, they just changed. She couldn't believe the incredible pressure that came with success.

[GuitarGeek]

Yep. People who have never suffered from mental/emotional disorders have no clue. For a private person, or a person with such disorders, fame can be truly destructive, and you cannot just suddenly 'stop' being famous.
My take is that success and superstardom are just the other side of the coin that come with their own set of problems. J. K. Rowling said that when she made it big with Harry Potter her troubles didn't go away, they just changed. She couldn't believe the incredible pressure that came with success.

I'm not entirely sure how we got into this topic of talking about suicide or mental/emotional disorders. I don't think Michael Stipe has anything of the sort. I think he just got a bug up his ass about being asked certain questions in interviews (and perhaps rightly so), and took to kvetching about it in public, which is what I take exception to. There's no reason why he couldn't just say "No more interviews!". Pink Floyd did it. So did Prince.

As far as "not being able to stop being famous", yeah I would imagine that would be true of someone like John Lennon or Frank Sinatra. But Michael Stipe was hardly that kind of cultural icon.

At any point in his career, Stipe and his band could have faded back into relative obscurity if fame didn't suit them. Lots of people have done it. Once you've fulfilled your contractual obligations, there's no law saying you have to resign for another 5 to 10 years of apparent torture. Maybe it's difficult to figure out what "the right thing to do" is, but there's a certain point where the torture was really self inflicted.

And yeah, those who have never experienced fame don't know what it's like. But that doesn't mean I want to hear about how miserable some famous musician or actor's privileged life is. I'm sure homeless people or people starving to death in Africa or wherever want to hear about my petty aggravations either.

[Oreb]

I spent much of the 80s surrounded by people who adored the band, but they nearly always left me unmoved.

I enjoyed Document and Automatic for the People, but by and large I failed to hear what the fuss was about.

[iguana]

absolutely.