New R.E.M.

Groupie Joined: Nov 15, 2007 Posts: 76

I'm giving the new R.E.M. cut from the new album yet-to-be-released a lot of play online as of late. The band sounds real, REAL good!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=0UcCYi3ngKM

Word is, the critics are hailing this as a very strong album. It seems that R.E.M. has finally figured out what they do best better than anybody, and are chosing to do that particular thing. I love it when that happens!

They sorta lost me when they started exploring electronica sounds for their music in the mid 90's. In my opinion, that just didn't seem to be going anywhere, and was ultimately going to dead end, and it finally has. This reminds me a lot of the artistic time path that U2 took, where they were experimenting with those silly Zoo and Pop directions in the late 90's and early 00's. U2 then got back to what they were at their true core, and came out with "All That You Can't Leave Behind", which the critic and public reaction was, "Yes! Now THAT'S who U2 IS! NOW yer gettin' it!"... They then followed it up with "How To Dismantle An Atom Bomb", which was another winner, proving the band had turned a corner for making better, more true-to-self product.

I'm hoping this new album is that similar kind of pivitol point album in R.E.M.'s artistic journey. As a big fan, that would be GREAT to see!

Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 9:51 pm

I like it. I was a huge fan of Document. I have for or five other records but I always go back to Document. This certainly takes me back to that vibe.

Newbie Joined: Mar 04, 2008 Posts: 8

Same old same old.. I like Mike Stern his guitar work is awesome as for the rest of the band eh so so.. Same with U2 Never much of a fan then you have Bono's big mouth...One good song dose not make a super group and if Edge did not have a pedal board with all those effect 's he would be lost.. A guitar cord and amp what a concept...

Groupie Joined: Nov 15, 2007 Posts: 76

If Mike Stern was actually a member of R.E.M., I just MAY have given a little creedence to what you say. So as far as the sentences following this, you lost a lot of your credibility, so those don't much matter...

It's sort of ironic that I, as a guitar player, swoon for bands like U2 and R.E.M., when it really is the case that the guitarist role in these bands are actually very minimalist. Yngwie Malmsteen they ain't, but as far as providing some new, unique voice that is distinctive and is totally in service of the SONG, Edge and Peter Buck are pretty darn hard to beat. It can be entirely about what you DON'T play!... Just goes to show that there are so many dimensions as to what "good" is, pertaining to this art; It's real funny like that!...

Newbie Joined: Mar 04, 2008 Posts: 8

Sorry I was thinking Peter why I wrote Mile Stern is beyond me..Justs go's to show how much I keep track of those cat's.. Still stand by my statement that they are both medeocer band's at best. If one knows what and what not to play is a good thing I agree but to say that there cutting edge guitar players is a stretch.

That's the beautiful thing about music we all interpret it in different way's

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 9:18 am

delstele wrote:

One good song dose not make a super group...

I think they've (U2 & REM) got a few more than one good song. But I will say that, overall, there probably is more fat than meat in the music and more hype than credibility in the SuperGroup department - but that's the music business for you. I'd give U2 supergroup status just for the charity work they've done. And they've probably lost more money on tour expenses than most national bands will ever make in a lifetime.

But, all things considered, these two bands have still put out some really good work. At lot of the stuff I didn't appreciate when it came out (hell, I bailed on U2 after "The Joshua Tree" came out - I was a die-hard "War" fan and thought JT a bit too commercial for my tastes) - but years later with some distance between me and the music, I'm kinda glad they did what they did.

A friend of mine paid me to write her term paper for her History Of Rock & Roll final. It was on U2 so I learned more than I ever wanted to know about that band. And I got an "A"! Well, she did anyway.

Groupie Joined: Nov 15, 2007 Posts: 76

I'd been looking for "Welcome To The Occupation" off the Document album on the 'net for a long time, and someone finally put in on YouTube a few weeks ago. It's one of those B-cuts that I swooned for, but no one else seemed to think was a strong cut. I just love the guitar tone on this, especially on that single-measure 3/4-time arpeggio tag on the end of every verse line (a Peter Buck "signature" thing!...). I researched pretty hard to find out the very guitar and amp used to get it, back in the day. I own the very kind of amp used, and maybe one day I'll get the guitar, too...

This one is sort of memory music for me. I just got a very good job in Lansing in the late 80's, which allowed me to move out of downriver Detroit, so it was a time of ups and anticipatory optimism for me, personally. I imagine driving around MSU's campus in my sporty black Pontiac Grand Am on a perfect, sunny summer afternoon, with this song cranking through the speakers. Ah, good times, good times...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EJsRRlchFzQ

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 4:45 pm

Let's see. 1987, what the hell was I doing? I think I'd just gotten divorced from a very short, bad, marriage. Definitely the right move for both of us. That means it was my return to being single and living alone and gigging on a regular basis - a very good time in my life as well.

Yeah, I really like that record. Every tune.

Gene, do you have anything written in that vein? Or did you ever try to consciously write in that style?

Groupie Joined: Nov 15, 2007 Posts: 76

Arpeggiated riffs find their way into a lot of my original material, since I love 'em, but the last CD I made was dominantly acoustic, not electric like this era of REM, so yes and no.

And, I sometimes try to intentionally write with a particular model song or artist in mind like you suggest. Arpeggios come to me very naturally and are a big part of my guitar "voice", though, so that has never been much of a forced thing with me... It's MORE a forced thing to NOT have every song be this way!...

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 6:48 pm

Yeah, I guess now that I re-listen, there's definitely an REM vibe going on in "The Exception To The Rule".