R.E.M.
Not Forgotten: R.E.M. – Monster
The late 80s and early 90s had seen U2 get big. Too big. They seemed to have reached critical mass with the live / studio hybrid Rattle and Hum, but a creative reset on 1991’s Achtung Baby had seen them find a touch more equilibrium and sound considerably less like a band who created a …
Classic Compilation: Various Artists – I’m Your Fan
The compilation album consisting of multiple acts recording a variety of songs penned by a single artist by way of tribute resulted in a series of releases which can be generously considered ‘patchy’. For every Step Right Up, or A Testimonial Dinner, two examples which actually worked, there were a dozen more ham-fisted attempts at …
Not Forgotten: R.E.M. – Green
These days the signing of a much respected alternative / indie band to a major label is met with trepidation from the band’s established fans. Some will accuse the band of ‘selling out’, others will simply fear that they will receive wider exposure and thus no longer feel as exclusive and special to them. To …
Not Forgotten: R.E.M. – Up
There was something about R.E.M.’s Up that rang alarm bells with me from the moment I heard that it was going to be released. Like many of their fans in the UK, I had got into R.E.M. during the early 90s, at the point where they were at the height of their commercial powers, and …
Classic Album: R.E.M. – Automatic for the People
R.E.M. may have taken the scenic route to international fame, but if the only thing they ever released had been Automatic For The People, that lengthy trip would have still been worth it. After years of hip college-rock credibility, a springboard into stadiums and a huge international success with Out of Time, R.E.M. were on …
Classic Album: R.E.M. – Document
Like many R.E.M. fans here in the UK, it wasn’t until the early 90s that I first became aware of them through hit singles like “Shiny Happy People”, “Losing My Religion” and “Everybody Hurts”. As a result of this, I am most familiar with the albums from their period signed to Warner Brothers Records. Sure, …
From an old record box: R.E.M. – Nightswimming
‘Nightswimming’ is unassailable. This beautiful song is a rarity in R.E.M.’s back catalogue in terms of arrangement and features a relatively straightforward set of lyrics, at least for Michael Stipe. Whether or not you skinny dipped as a teenager, and whether or not you did so poetically isn’t really the point. Anyone who ever experienced …
From an old record box: Belly – Seal My Fate
It has become a consistent starting point for the old ‘old record box’ articles. I wonder how the disc in question has come to gather dust – physically and virtually, absent until now from my electronic jukebox. For this particular vinyl I think it’s a case of hard luck and bad timing. I’d loved 1993’s ‘Feed …
From an old record box: R.E.M. – Orange Crush
“I’m only a person, with Eskimo chain I tattooed my brain all the way Won’t you miss me? Wouldn’t you miss me at all?” My love for R.E.M. has been constant since first seeing the video for ‘Losing My Religion’ on MTV in 1991. I was soon scrimping the cash together to buy the tape of …