OP10 Songs Michael Stipe RUINED

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I'm gonna need some time to think up mine, but I figured I'd give a head start to y'all. Pick ten songs that would be probably just fine if not for that irritating, idiosyncratic force that is STIPE. Doesn't have to be R.E.M. songs. Collabs with Kristin Hersh, Neneh Cherry, Natalie Merchant, etc. qualify if you feel he DESTROYED them. Wow with your knowledge of shitty Stipety and please, PLEASE put comments explain your picks!

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 6 April 2003 21:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Hmmm...

Some perfectly good songs on Hi-Fi are marred by Stipe's wordy, off-balance speak/sing. The way he does it sounds like he's trying to channel something primitive and profound, but it just comes out stoooopid.

"Imitation of Life" could've been an OK pop song if he wasn't positively hacking up those lines. Eugh.

"Pop Song 89" and "Stand" and some other stuff off Green employ that hyper, yelpy Stipe... like he wants you to know he's having fun. Tell your inner child to siddown and shuddup, Michael.

I think probably the greatest offender, though, is "Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite". Great tune, nice melody, but I physically cringe at his delivery on those verses! WTF?!?

― gazuga (gazuga), Sunday, 6 April 2003 22:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Lotus [HAY! HAY! Bonus suck points for the creepy star-belly video]

All The Way To Reno (You're Gonna Be A Star) [If you played this for Michael in 1982, would he have cried?]

Swan Swan H [what a noisy cat is he]

How The West Was Wone And Where It Got Us [wonderful song save the ungodly painful yell at the end of each chorus]

Voice Of Harold [hey! I really LIKE 7 Chinese Brothers, ok?]

Nightswimming [I CANNOT think of you naked...]

Oddfellows Local 151 [no one should ever say "peewee" in a rock song or anywhere else for that matter]

Talk About The Passion [those who can't be passionate talk about it nonsensically]

E-Bow The Letter [Michael Stipe, you are NOT Blanche Dubois]

THE VELVETS COVERS ON DEAD LETTER OFFICE [ok, the band sucks too but Michael's half-asleep vocals would ruin the song even if the guys had gotten it together]

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 6 April 2003 22:22 (twenty-two years ago)

The Velvets covers work just because you're not SUPPOSED to sing Velvets covers enthusiastically. The originals aren't exactly hopped-up pop-punk anthems either!

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 6 April 2003 22:29 (twenty-two years ago)

(My fave Velvets cover ever is the version of "Femme Fatale" on Big Star's Third -- with whoever's drugged-out girlfriend on backing vox, singing off-key in French.)

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 6 April 2003 22:31 (twenty-two years ago)

(That song is a distillation of/metaphor for everything that's great about the album.)

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 6 April 2003 22:33 (twenty-two years ago)

his contribution to Syd Straw's "Future 40s" song is actually not bad

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Sunday, 6 April 2003 22:52 (twenty-two years ago)

The VU covers are great. I don't get the fondness so many people have for REM's version of "King of the Road."

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Sunday, 6 April 2003 23:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Alex Chilton's version is wonderful. I think the big difference is that, UNSURPRISINGLY, Stipe treats the lyrics like they don't mean shit. Instead he just mumbles the syllables as if they all added up to "Swan Swan Hummingbird" or something.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 6 April 2003 23:31 (twenty-two years ago)

I mean, what emotion is he trying to create when he says "betteriter"?

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 6 April 2003 23:32 (twenty-two years ago)

I would say either all of them or none of them. I am not at all a fan of Stipe's voice, but there are other voices that are considerably more annoying still.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 7 April 2003 01:28 (twenty-two years ago)

"Trout" by Neneh Cherry.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 7 April 2003 10:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Everybody Hurts - could have been a good song if Townes Van Zandt had done it.
Dead Letter office is a collection of horrible VU covers.

― dave225 (Dave225), Monday, 7 April 2003 11:38 (twenty-two years ago)

While I agree that most of the above examples pretty much blow, I find it hard to think that if Stipe were excised they would suddenly bloom as classics. "Nightswimming"? "Swan Swan H"?? "E-Bow the Fucking Letter"??? Not that he's not horrible on all those, but at some point, R.E.M. (not just Stipe) got very lazy. Their modus operandi had apparently always been to set up a chord progression, then let Stipe supply melody and words. But where early on those chord progressions (and riffs and melodies) were incredibly focused, based on a style that they had forged, after a while everything (progressions, backing tracks, melodies) became very UNfocused, random, self-indulgent, trippy -- their approach became lazy and I have to think Peter Buck is at much to blame as Stipe. (Well, almost anyway.)

― Burr (Burr), Monday, 7 April 2003 17:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Townes Van Zandt was a horrible singer!

― M Matos (M Matos), Monday, 7 April 2003 17:37 (twenty-two years ago)

I'd argue Nightswimming and Swan Swan H are pretty little melodies burdened with lyrics that make me cringe. And E-Bow The Letter is GREAT (I love Patti Smith's part) except for Stipe's southern sass-speak.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Monday, 7 April 2003 20:22 (twenty-two years ago)

What the heck is wrong with the lyrics of Swan Swan H?

― Chris P (Chris P), Monday, 7 April 2003 20:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Swan swan hummingbird/ hurrah, we are all free now/ Girl and dog he bore his cross/ what noisy cats are we...yadda...buy my toothpicks...

what ISN'T wrong with that?

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Monday, 7 April 2003 20:43 (twenty-two years ago)

No, I'm afraid you haven't answered my question.

― Chris P (Chris P), Monday, 7 April 2003 21:48 (twenty-two years ago)

It's annoying, nonsensical (unless there's some heavy secret meaning I'm unaware of), and unlike his previous gibberish, loudly enunciated.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Monday, 7 April 2003 21:52 (twenty-two years ago)

but you miss the fun lovin' criminals.

― RJG (RJG), Monday, 7 April 2003 21:59 (twenty-two years ago)

hey, if Stipe was loco I'd miss him too.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Monday, 7 April 2003 22:03 (twenty-two years ago)

The lyrics to Swan Swan H are mostly taken from the captions to a series of paintings made by a Confederate prisoner during the Civil War, if that helps you get a foothold into the song.

― Chris P (Chris P), Monday, 7 April 2003 22:09 (twenty-two years ago)

the civil war was annoying and nonsensical. and prisoners are annoying and nonsensical.

― RJG (RJG), Monday, 7 April 2003 22:11 (twenty-two years ago)

"Voice Of Harold" features Stipe reading the liner notes of a gospel album. That doesn't make it gospel, people. Really.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Monday, 7 April 2003 22:13 (twenty-two years ago)

No, but Voice of Harold is a brilliant song (one of the few that was definately in my POX).

― Chris P (Chris P), Monday, 7 April 2003 23:42 (twenty-two years ago)

E-Bow the Fucking Letter"???

My life is now complete.

I shall die, I shall die.

― Lynskey (Lynskey), Tuesday, 8 April 2003 01:32 (twenty-two years ago)

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