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Author Topic: R.I.P. R.E.M.  (Read 5376 times)

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jough

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R.I.P. R.E.M.
« on: October 01, 2004, 06:39:47 am »
It is just a disappointing day for me regarding artists that I used to enjoy.

I got the new R.E.M. album in the mail today, and it's just... heartbreakingly bad.  The single, "Leaving New York" is okay, I guess, but the rest of the album... :(

Man, these guys used to be beautiful.  Bill Berry, could you PLEASE rejoin the band?  Because they didn't suck so bad when you were there.
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V-Adore

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« Reply #1 on: October 01, 2004, 11:34:47 am »
Wow.

And here I was going on heights of elation after finally receiving a copy of "In Time" and being pleased about it ("E-BOW THE LETTER, HOLY CRAP IT'S E-BOW THE LETTER, YES!"). Still... eh, I'll almost certainly buy this one anyway, if only because R.E.M. albums are so subjective in quality that (with all due respect, Jough) your hating it does not significantly preclude me liking it.
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Limmo

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« Reply #2 on: October 01, 2004, 05:35:40 pm »
iTunes has a track available for free download: snippets of five songs from the new album shoehorned into three minutes.  It bores me greatly.
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jough

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« Reply #3 on: October 01, 2004, 06:38:10 pm »
I mean, it's not totally hateful, just utterly bland.  

It's worse than Reveal, I think, and I was depressed by that one enough to prattle on about it at LENGTH:

http://www.jough.com/music/000013/index.php
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Limmo

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« Reply #4 on: October 01, 2004, 08:19:38 pm »
That's the impression I got: bland and hookless.  Oh well.  Who knows, their next album might be the greatest thing since sliced bread.  You and I will probably be the only ones who care, though.
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jough

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« Reply #5 on: October 01, 2004, 11:33:37 pm »
Yeah, I've been disappointed twice in a row now, and New Adventures in Hi-Fi is still my favourite of theirs, with Up being in the Top 5 as well.

I'll buy their next album too, hoping that it's good.

On a side note, I have enjoyed every film that Michael Stipe has produced so far.
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Limmo

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« Reply #6 on: October 02, 2004, 04:24:36 am »
I can't say I've ever seen anything Michael Stipe ever produced, except for about five minutes of Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day I caught on Sundance while fighting the flu.  He did, however, take part in a nifty little book called The Haiku Year, where he and six other poets had a haiku-a-day challenge for one year.   I like it.

While checking out the R.E.M. on iTunes, I discovered that you can download the first two Big Star albums for ten bucks total.  Talk about your basic steals.
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jough

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« Reply #7 on: October 02, 2004, 05:07:53 am »
Limmo, you should really check out Being John Malkovich if you haven't seen it.  Top notch writing (by Charlie Kaufmann, who also wrote Adaptation, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), good directorial debut from Spike Jonze, and an overall weird but brilliant time.

Plus, it's really funny.

It was one of the best "first projects" for all involved in the making of it - new director, new writer, and new producer in Michael Stipe.

The latest film he produced is Saved! which is not as biting and witty as it thinks it is, but is still pretty funny.
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andalucia

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« Reply #8 on: October 02, 2004, 05:23:35 pm »
Quote from: "jough"
Yeah, I've been disappointed twice in a row now, and New Adventures in Hi-Fi is still my favourite of theirs, with Up being in the Top 5 as well.


Before I heard New Adventures in Hi-Fi, I thought I just didn't like R.E.M.
Now I know that I like one album of theirs, but have never been able to enjoy anything else that they're released, especially the more recent things.  It is slightly saddening.
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Limmo

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« Reply #9 on: October 03, 2004, 03:35:45 am »
I've seen BJM and enjoyed it.  Didn't know Stipe produced it.
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jough

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« Reply #10 on: October 03, 2004, 04:40:02 am »
Also, I do not know from Big Star.

Could someone "pitch" it to me?  I mean, it is like a cross between Led Zeppelin and the Brady Bunch or something (or would that be "Led Apron" - about a family of x-ray technicians who play rock and roll at night).
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Limmo

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« Reply #11 on: October 03, 2004, 04:54:42 am »
Long story short: Big Star were a power pop band.  They put out three albums and broke up in complete obscurity.  They were a huge influence on artists from R.E.M to Jeff Buckley.  Their first two albums are genius, and their third album is widely beloved among people who enjoy being depressed.  They. Were. Rad.
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andalucia

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« Reply #12 on: October 03, 2004, 05:14:51 pm »
Oh indeed, it is my most fervent wish that someday everyone in the universe appreciates Big Star as they deserve to be.
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V-Adore

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« Reply #13 on: October 03, 2004, 11:41:02 pm »
Quote from: "andalucia"
Quote from: "jough"
Yeah, I've been disappointed twice in a row now, and New Adventures in Hi-Fi is still my favourite of theirs, with Up being in the Top 5 as well.


Before I heard New Adventures in Hi-Fi, I thought I just didn't like R.E.M.
Now I know that I like one album of theirs, but have never been able to enjoy anything else that they're released, especially the more recent things.  It is slightly saddening.

What else of theirs have you listened to? I would recommend "Document" and "Life's Rich Pageant" highly, as they're the only two albums that seriously compete with New Adventures for my affections. "Automatic for the People" has its high points, too. Then again, if you've tried 'em and don't like 'em, you're allowed.
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andalucia

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« Reply #14 on: October 05, 2004, 01:34:46 pm »
I haven't listened to Document, and shall look into it post haste.
I always want to like more of R.E.M., I just don't understand why they are not facilitating that by making more music that I like.
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