Remembering R.E.M.
According to some random Twitter-bro I didn’t realize I was following, R.E.M. has called it quits. One might think this would stir some emotions in me, as R.E.M. is, according to certain metrics, my favorite band of all time. The breakup is without a doubt swirling in the hipster-est reaches of my mind, but it is remains recessed. As I write this, Troy Davis is awaiting a Supreme Court decision regarding his ability to live, and the Atlanta Braves are down two runs to the Florida Marlins as they cling to an ever-narrowing wild card lead. I’m loading some classic albums on my iPhone and wishing I had internet access at the moment so I could look up some “facts” for this post, but mostly R.E.M. is an afterthought.
Currently, my most prominent R.E.M.-related emotion is almost a resolved contentment. R.E.M. has been past their prime for more than a decade. They were at great risk of staying together too long before releasing two surprisingly solid albums in the past few years. The members are in their 50s now and still trolling around Athens (the town is essentially a band member itself). They still sell out major venues when they tour, but support seems to be dwindling. In many ways, I’m glad R.E.M. called it quits before becoming embarrassing, though it would have been interesting to see if a band so emblematic of a specific hyper-cool subculture could ever become a self-parody. Would R.E.M. playing the 40 Watt in their mid-80s been has joyously endearing and relevant as geriatric Pete Seeger folk-rocking the stage at Carnegie Hall?
Ironically, my relationship with R.E.M. and the Athens indie culture they’ve come to represent developed in almost complete reverse. R.E.M. is my favorite band because they were the first band I truly loved that wasn’t my parents’ music or one song on the radio. But they were not my gateway into any deeper spheres of music. Born in 1985, I was late to the alt-rock party, and came to love the commercial R.E.M. that drew conflicted opinions from the original fans. My first impression of R.E.M. was “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine).” Because of this song, I used a rare K-Mart allowable parent purchase to pick up the cassette version of Document, followed closely by the compact disc versions of Monster and Automatic for the People.
I knew nothing of the Athens ties, of the rise of indie (hell, of indie in general), of R.E.M.’s longevity and stellar stylistic changes. I knew that Man on the Moon referenced “Classy” Freddie Blassie and Andy Kaufman, that Ignoreland said “bastards” in that kick-ass barnstorming opening, and that “Weird” Al Yankovic covered “Stand” (as “Spam,” arguably a superior song). I knew Monster rocked and had a song title that doubled as a naughty sexual reference or primitive form of expensive caller ID. I knew I heard R.E.M. songs on Q-102 sometimes. I fell in love with those three albums, picking up Out of Time shortly after and adding it the pantheon. I had never heard the word “jangle.”
It wasn’t until I got to Athens that R.E.M.’s relationship to my now-college town went beyond being “from there.” Once in Athens, I began to discover R.E.M.’s older offerings. I already owned almost everything since Monster. In reverse, R.E.M.’s original albums were less initially impressive. R.E.M. mastered the studio polish, keeping their uniqueness and songwriting in tact as their recording budget grew exponentially. It took me some time to begin appreciating “Radio Free Europe” for the low-fi guitar-rock revelation it was; by the time I really delved into Murmur, I was already knee-deep in hooky indie bands indebted to Mills, Berry, Stipe and Buck. I loved Athens and loved obscure alternative rock long before understanding my favorite band’s deep ties to the popularity of both.
Since then, I’ve fulfilled my relationship with the iconic group. I’ve seen them on the big stage at Red Rocks, bringing it with Stipe’s polished energetic display of horrible dancing. I’ve seen a “secret show” at the Georgia Theatre, when they emerged from the crowd for two songs at the end of a great Elf Power/Minus 5 set. I’ve seen Stipe randomly out in Athens, testing my usual disinterest in celebrity gawking. I’ve rediscovered their back catalog, downloaded an Automatic for the People tribute album, anticipated new releases, and now I’ll see them off into the sunset. I’ve heard their influence R.E.M.’s career could have ended satisfyingly with Bill Berry’s departure, but, though they never again achieved the same heights, they’ve done nothing to tarnish their image since then. Though they’ve lost the undisputed claim to my favorite band (I enjoy The Pogues catalog more from top to bottom, Warren Zevon stirs more emotions, and Modest Mouse and Built to Spill were more influential), no band will ever mean as much to me. For that I thank them for over two decades of output, art that will remain a part of my life for much longer.
A Quick Personal R.E.M. Primer
Document – This album evoked broadly optimistic nostalgia to me the first time I heard it. Did it sound instantly nostalgic in the late 80s? Or was I subconsciously summoning nostalgia before I knew what half the words in the previous sentences meant?
Reconstruction of the Fables – Dark, southern, and very good, but honestly, its on here just because of “Driver 8.” “Driver 8” is fucking awesome.
Hindu Love Gods – R.E.M. backing Warren Zevon on a series of covers. Neither is at the peak of their powers, but you couldn’t come up with many better collaborations for me. Their cover of Prince’s “Raspberry Beret,” needs to be listened to by the world more often.
Out of Time – “Losing My Religion” is (rightfully) the monolithic force (and “Shiny Happy People” the point of shame) but some of the band’s best deep cuts (“Near Wild Heaven, Half a World Away, Me in Honey”) are on here.
Automatic for the People – As good a “start-to-finish” album as any I’ve heard. I could write an essay on each song. Here are some sub-hits.
“Everybody Hurts” – Easy to mock out-of-context, it still works very well on the album,
“Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight” – I found out they don’t perform this live well before I saw them live, which saved me from being disappointed at not hearing it. A small factor in my attending UGA was hearing this song blaring down the hallway on my college visit dorm tour, followed by a stoned-looking guy emerging from a dorm room with a cardboard box on his head and interrupting the tour.
“New Orleans Instrumental #7” – This is an evening on a quit balcony sipping a cool drink in song form.
“Man on the Moon” – After the Ninja Turtles theme song, the first “real” songs I memorized the lyrics too were this, Ace of Base’s “The Sign”, All-4-One’s “I Swear”, and Tag Team’s “Whoomp! There It Is.”
“Find the River” – So equally depressing and uplifting it makes me bipolar.
“Nightswimming” – When we found out this song was about skinny dipping, my friends and I wanted it to be dirty and ironic but we found it out was unfortunately just “good.”
Monster – Probably didn’t work like they wanted it to. Instead of R.E.M. co-opting to arena rock, it sounds more like R.E.M. making arena rock into weird R.E.M. songs. I like it better that way.
New Adventures in Hi-Fi – Makes me wish I could travel to the old west, only with more flashing lights and less murder and typhoid fever.
Up – If the Junior Boys had made this record, it would have been hailed as a masterpiece.
Man on the Moon Soundtrack – A fitting score and a great new single (“The Great Beyond”). Also led to Michael Stipe’s “Daily Show” quote “We wrote all the songs on it except for the ones that aren’t ours” and Stipe actually making an entertaining SNL appearance with Chris Kattan’s “Mango” character.
.
Currently, my most prominent R.E.M.-related emotion is almost a resolved contentment. R.E.M. has been past their prime for more than a decade. They were at great risk of staying together too long before releasing two surprisingly solid albums in the past few years. The members are in their 50s now and still trolling around Athens (the town is essentially a band member itself). They still sell out major venues when they tour, but support seems to be dwindling. In many ways, I’m glad R.E.M. called it quits before becoming embarrassing, though it would have been interesting to see if a band so emblematic of a specific hyper-cool subculture could ever become a self-parody. Would R.E.M. playing the 40 Watt in their mid-80s been has joyously endearing and relevant as geriatric Pete Seeger folk-rocking the stage at Carnegie Hall?
Ironically, my relationship with R.E.M. and the Athens indie culture they’ve come to represent developed in almost complete reverse. R.E.M. is my favorite band because they were the first band I truly loved that wasn’t my parents’ music or one song on the radio. But they were not my gateway into any deeper spheres of music. Born in 1985, I was late to the alt-rock party, and came to love the commercial R.E.M. that drew conflicted opinions from the original fans. My first impression of R.E.M. was “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine).” Because of this song, I used a rare K-Mart allowable parent purchase to pick up the cassette version of Document, followed closely by the compact disc versions of Monster and Automatic for the People.
I knew nothing of the Athens ties, of the rise of indie (hell, of indie in general), of R.E.M.’s longevity and stellar stylistic changes. I knew that Man on the Moon referenced “Classy” Freddie Blassie and Andy Kaufman, that Ignoreland said “bastards” in that kick-ass barnstorming opening, and that “Weird” Al Yankovic covered “Stand” (as “Spam,” arguably a superior song). I knew Monster rocked and had a song title that doubled as a naughty sexual reference or primitive form of expensive caller ID. I knew I heard R.E.M. songs on Q-102 sometimes. I fell in love with those three albums, picking up Out of Time shortly after and adding it the pantheon. I had never heard the word “jangle.”
It wasn’t until I got to Athens that R.E.M.’s relationship to my now-college town went beyond being “from there.” Once in Athens, I began to discover R.E.M.’s older offerings. I already owned almost everything since Monster. In reverse, R.E.M.’s original albums were less initially impressive. R.E.M. mastered the studio polish, keeping their uniqueness and songwriting in tact as their recording budget grew exponentially. It took me some time to begin appreciating “Radio Free Europe” for the low-fi guitar-rock revelation it was; by the time I really delved into Murmur, I was already knee-deep in hooky indie bands indebted to Mills, Berry, Stipe and Buck. I loved Athens and loved obscure alternative rock long before understanding my favorite band’s deep ties to the popularity of both.
Since then, I’ve fulfilled my relationship with the iconic group. I’ve seen them on the big stage at Red Rocks, bringing it with Stipe’s polished energetic display of horrible dancing. I’ve seen a “secret show” at the Georgia Theatre, when they emerged from the crowd for two songs at the end of a great Elf Power/Minus 5 set. I’ve seen Stipe randomly out in Athens, testing my usual disinterest in celebrity gawking. I’ve rediscovered their back catalog, downloaded an Automatic for the People tribute album, anticipated new releases, and now I’ll see them off into the sunset. I’ve heard their influence R.E.M.’s career could have ended satisfyingly with Bill Berry’s departure, but, though they never again achieved the same heights, they’ve done nothing to tarnish their image since then. Though they’ve lost the undisputed claim to my favorite band (I enjoy The Pogues catalog more from top to bottom, Warren Zevon stirs more emotions, and Modest Mouse and Built to Spill were more influential), no band will ever mean as much to me. For that I thank them for over two decades of output, art that will remain a part of my life for much longer.
A Quick Personal R.E.M. Primer
Document – This album evoked broadly optimistic nostalgia to me the first time I heard it. Did it sound instantly nostalgic in the late 80s? Or was I subconsciously summoning nostalgia before I knew what half the words in the previous sentences meant?
Reconstruction of the Fables – Dark, southern, and very good, but honestly, its on here just because of “Driver 8.” “Driver 8” is fucking awesome.
Hindu Love Gods – R.E.M. backing Warren Zevon on a series of covers. Neither is at the peak of their powers, but you couldn’t come up with many better collaborations for me. Their cover of Prince’s “Raspberry Beret,” needs to be listened to by the world more often.
Out of Time – “Losing My Religion” is (rightfully) the monolithic force (and “Shiny Happy People” the point of shame) but some of the band’s best deep cuts (“Near Wild Heaven, Half a World Away, Me in Honey”) are on here.
Automatic for the People – As good a “start-to-finish” album as any I’ve heard. I could write an essay on each song. Here are some sub-hits.
“Everybody Hurts” – Easy to mock out-of-context, it still works very well on the album,
“Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight” – I found out they don’t perform this live well before I saw them live, which saved me from being disappointed at not hearing it. A small factor in my attending UGA was hearing this song blaring down the hallway on my college visit dorm tour, followed by a stoned-looking guy emerging from a dorm room with a cardboard box on his head and interrupting the tour.
“New Orleans Instrumental #7” – This is an evening on a quit balcony sipping a cool drink in song form.
“Man on the Moon” – After the Ninja Turtles theme song, the first “real” songs I memorized the lyrics too were this, Ace of Base’s “The Sign”, All-4-One’s “I Swear”, and Tag Team’s “Whoomp! There It Is.”
“Find the River” – So equally depressing and uplifting it makes me bipolar.
“Nightswimming” – When we found out this song was about skinny dipping, my friends and I wanted it to be dirty and ironic but we found it out was unfortunately just “good.”
Monster – Probably didn’t work like they wanted it to. Instead of R.E.M. co-opting to arena rock, it sounds more like R.E.M. making arena rock into weird R.E.M. songs. I like it better that way.
New Adventures in Hi-Fi – Makes me wish I could travel to the old west, only with more flashing lights and less murder and typhoid fever.
Up – If the Junior Boys had made this record, it would have been hailed as a masterpiece.
Man on the Moon Soundtrack – A fitting score and a great new single (“The Great Beyond”). Also led to Michael Stipe’s “Daily Show” quote “We wrote all the songs on it except for the ones that aren’t ours” and Stipe actually making an entertaining SNL appearance with Chris Kattan’s “Mango” character.
.
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