REM Draft Discussion Thread

[Pogues]

Instead of skipping people we should fill their rosters with New Kids on the Block songs. That'll teach 'em.

Please make Please Don't Go Girl my first choice. I'm not embarrassed to say I like that song. It was their first song that charted and they weren't super huge even when it hit #10 on the charts.

Not even considering their popularity with the teenage girls (as I was a teenage boy at that time) I didn't like another song they ever put out. The rest of it was just...bad. Well you guys know.

Don't worry, when I go to bed, I'll turn my man card in at the bar.

[Lucky]

Twenty-eight hours, and I'm still a long way from a pick. Sigh.

[DMT]

Been one clusterf&#$k of a day, I'll pick in a few.

[johnnya24]

Another prescient lyric. The man's a sage.

20th century go to sleep ... really deep.

[Long John]

JC is on the clock.

I started listening to bits of Up, Around the Sun, Accelerate last night (I've really listened to nothing beyond New Adv in Hi Fi). Michael Stipe's voice has changed a lot. That may be the biggest reason for me tuning REM out post Monster.

[johnnya24]

JC is on the clock.

I started listening to bits of Up, Around the Sun, Accelerate last night (I've really listened to nothing beyond New Adv in Hi Fi). Michael Stipe's voice has changed a lot. That may be the biggest reason for me tuning REM out post Monster.

There are a several of songs on Collapse when he uses his older huskier voice really well. It adds a real sense of gravity and remorselessness to the songs.

Around the Sun is the least well received of the later REM albums ... in say that there are still at least 3 really good songs on there. Mike Mills was apparently the driving force behind this record.

Up, Reveal, Accelerate and Collapse are all very different from each other, but still really good in my book. Reveal is marginally the best of the later bunch.

[joncarlos]

So what are the REM songs you are listening to as a result of the draft?

Of the songs that have been drafted so far:

Ignoreland (had it on repeat for hours after Lucky picked it)
So. Central Rain (kinda knew I wasn't going to be able to find room)
Driver 8 (never gets old)
Nightswimming (one of the best ever climaxes to a pop song ... I think it's a clarinet, it's not deep enough to be an oboe. My favorite song ending is 1979 by The Smashing Pumpkins ... both have orchestral climaxes)
Perfect Circle

... the latest ... Try Not To Breathe ... totally forgot about that. Great little song.

The biggest one for me is The Great Beyond, when I created my REM playlist in Spotify, I completely forgot about that one. What a great track. And the other one is the one I just picked, These Days. I had forgotten how much I loved LRP.

[joncarlos]

I can't find the original comment, but someone posted something about the critical rejection of Out of Time, or something about how it was different than their other stuff, and I wanted to read it and reply. I never really thought of it that way because for me, Out of Time is Near Wild Heaven and Texarkana and Country Feedback, which I don't think of as much different from LRP or Reckoning or [insert early album here]. But I guess there are some other songs on there that are really different, Losing My Religion (sort of) and Shiny Happy People (more so), so maybe my opinion of OOT is different than most peoples.

[Erik]

Electrolite was my Plan A and These Days was my Plan B. I need a few minutes to come up with Plan C.

[Pogues]

Ooohhhh....Moral Kiosk was my second favorite song off of Murmur after listening to it a few days ago. Figures a Jo(h)n would be the one to take a song from so high off my list.

[Stephen]

Electrolite was next on my list.

I keep seeing people say "I'm surprised that was still there." It's funny, I've sad that myself a few times and then I look at my list and there isn't anything I'd remove for it.

It's been said a few times already, but this draft is a reminder of just how great of a band R.E.M. really was.

[johnnya24]

Ooohhhh....Moral Kiosk was my second favorite song off of Murmur after listening to it a few days ago. Figures a Jo(h)n would be the one to take a song from so high off my list.

Moral Kiosk almost made my REM Festival Draft setlist. I went with Talk About the Passion and Perfect Circle instead.

2 great picks from LJ. I never really give Green it's fair due ... maybe because it's a transitional record. Document is the last of the early records, and Out Of Time is the first of the middle period, and Green is sitting somewhere in-between. but it's got so many good songs.

Document was the first REM record I bought. I actually thought it was a compilation record ... I remember thinking they are an amazing band if they can afford to leave Fall On Me off their greatest hits ... the good old pre-internet / pre-MTV days.

[Long John]

I can't find the original comment, but someone posted something about the critical rejection of Out of Time, or something about how it was different than their other stuff, and I wanted to read it and reply. I never really thought of it that way because for me, Out of Time is Near Wild Heaven and Texarkana and Country Feedback, which I don't think of as much different from LRP or Reckoning or [insert early album here]. But I guess there are some other songs on there that are really different, Losing My Religion (sort of) and Shiny Happy People (more so), so maybe my opinion of OOT is different than most peoples.

Great pick with These Days. The only reason I let it go was because there's still a number of good songs on LRP left.

For me, Out of Time is the beginning of the end for REM. This is where they start experimenting with other instruments further and start becoming much more studio influenced instead of the rawness of the earlier albums. Texarkana is probably the only one on the album I would have selected in this draft. Losing my Religion is a great song too, but it's not what REM is to me. Honestly, Shiny wouldn't be a bad song if you got rid of Kate's vocal part. For me, that's what kills it.

Coming off of great albums like Document and Green, Out of Time was the flag in the ground that said, "We're not going to be that band anymore." Many hit the reject button on OOT because it was too much of a departure. I feel that's why Automatic and, to a lesser extent Monster, were so well received - because they scaled back the experimentation just a bit.

[Erik]

A grand total of three songs from 1998 or later so far, two of which were not on proper albums. I suspect that will change soon.

[johnnya24]

Great pick with These Days. The only reason I let it go was because there's still a number of good songs on LRP left.

For me, Out of Time is the beginning of the end for REM. This is where they start experimenting with other instruments further and start becoming much more studio influenced instead of the rawness of the earlier albums. Texarkana is probably the only one on the album I would have selected in this draft. Losing my Religion is a great song too, but it's not what REM is to me. Honestly, Shiny wouldn't be a bad song if you got rid of Kate's vocal part. For me, that's what kills it.

Coming off of great albums like Document and Green, Out of Time was the flag in the ground that said, "We're not going to be that band anymore." Many hit the reject button on OOT because it was too much of a departure. I feel that's why Automatic and, to a lesser extent Monster, were so well received - because they scaled back the experimentation just a bit.

That answers Pogues earlier question

I love the early work, but I'm glad they moved away from it. What band has maintained quality without evolving their sound? Bands that fail to change, get boring, lose their fans anyway, and then lose relevance. REM's early sound served them well for 5/6 records ... that's an entire career these days. Personally, that's more than enough jangly guitars

Green and OOT are probably two of my least go-to records, but they are still obviously good records. Sure they brought in more instruments, and went with a more pop'y sound ... but experimental? Up was there only record that could really be called experimental (maybe New Adventures also) ... Green and OOT are, for me anyway, accessible alt-rock.