finish this sentence: "Accelerate is the best R.E.M. album since..."

haha sorry "<- lolvote option for the jokers" was supposed to be next to "best album," i don't like it that much and voted for Up

I went with Up. That was the last one I've really cared about, including Accelerate.

You forgot "the last few were so bad that I could barely listen to this one twice."

if you listened to it but didn't like it at all, then vote for "worst album" or Around The Sun, duh

I voted Achtung, Baby.

the last few were so bad that I didn't even listen to this one, not even the singles (or if I did, I don't remember them).

should I bother?

I voted Steely Dan Darth Vader
...actually I didn't vote. They have a new album out?

should I bother?

as someone who grew up on the '90s stuff and still likes it to varying degrees, and hasn't given a shit about them since a few songs on Up, i actually enjoy Accelerate more than i expected to, although as a 'rock' album i'd say even Monster (which i'm not a big fan of) is better.

Monster is the last REM album I cared about, so that's interesting to me.

yeah I keep hoping a copy of this album will just fall into my hands like a turd from the sky b/c while I'd like to hear it, I'm too uninspired to even bother downloading it, let alone buying it.

i voted 'new adventures.' whatever bill berry brought to the other three, they need it back pretty bad

"Up". Still prefer "Up" to "NAIHF".

i had to make a concentrated effort to listen to any of the singles all the way through, so no, I haven't bothered listening to the whole thing.

I tried to give it a fair shot when it came out, but I would only place it above Around the Sun.

I jumped into the middle of an interview with Terry Gross a few days ago in the car. Some guy was going on about a cool keyboard sound, and how they put Ratt distortion pedals on it to give it some "grit", and so on. It's hard to describe, but it was like overhearing your friend's dad talking about the great sound he was going to get for his next Who cover band show at the local bar. Then I realized it was Mike Mills talking about the keyboards on "Houston".

i actually do like the keyboard sound on that song but lol

"Around The Sun" was better, although just slightly.

best since up. though up is a lot better than it

I tried to give it a fair shot when it came out, but I would only place it above Around the Sun.

This.

also best since Up

but I even eventually got to like "Around The Sun"

what is the deal with Up? I haven't listened to that album in at least eight years. I got it for Xmas round the time it came out, listened to it a few times, thought "Hmmmm...this is worse than Rubber Soul" and filed it away in my CD booklet, where it still is, currently holding the title "CD I wish my friends had stolen instead of..."

I Ate The POLLtus: REM's "Up" has some discussion...

I got it for Xmas round the time it came out, listened to it a few times, thought "Hmmmm...this is worse than Rubber Soul" and filed it away in my CD booklet, where it still is, currently holding the title "CD I wish my friends had stolen instead of..."

I listened to it a few times, thought "Hmmm...this is worse than incredibly hot sex", and filed it away...

Not that Up is anywhere close to incredibly hot sex (INCREDIBLY HOT SEX), but it seems like a weird criticism.

Maybe it reflects a kind of ground-zero demand on music - there's not enough hours in the day for merely great music, so if it's not at least as classic as Rubber Soul, don't waste your time.

congrats on all the Rubber Soul + Up love around here...

I actually don't like Rubber Soul all that much...my folks got it for me for Xmas one year, and it's kind of the big Xmas Disappointment for me...I asked for it bcz of two reasons:

a) the groovy cover (gotta dig that balloon lettering)
b) a passing reference to it in the Mazzy Star/David Roback/Rain Parade/Paisley Underground entry in the big orange book (SPIN's Alternative Record Guide).

On the basis of this, I figured it would be a lot trippier and moldbreaking than it turned out to be...I remember listening to it on the family computer and just finding it rather bland and unengaging..."wow this kinda sux"

(I suppose you guys wouldn't know this though bcz I didn't really explain it just alluded to it and hoped you guys wd comment upon it, which you thankfully did...maybe i try to be too clever sometimes...thanx anyways and um sorry to make you jump thru hoops. seacrest out.)

sorry i ruined yr guyses thread...i am for anyone who voted for HiFi as I rly like the song w/ Patti Smith in it bcz it is droney...

You didn't ruin nothin', enjoyed the backstory myself.

thanx Dr. Casino...wasn't trying to hate on Rubber Soul so much either...didn't connect with me...but I still think The Beatles are pretty great...REM is great too, I've missed most of their best stuff, but I plan to rectify that soon...

so Accelerate is a good album?

Yeah, it's a fine addition to the catalogue, not a classic, but some good tracks and no egregiously horrible duds. Somewhat overrated in reviews on its release, and I don't really discover new things to love about it each time I listen to it, but the best tracks would stand proudly on NAIHF.

See also:

REM - Accelerate

oh duh is this why Up keeps coming er up? bcz it's the last moderately good REM album? (as in there's not a lot of love for Up only as much love for it as there is for this new one...)

People talked about "Accelerate" being a "return to form". But a return to what? None of the best and most acclaimed R.E.M. albums sound anything like what they did on "Accelerate". OK, maybe "Document" a bit, but none of the others.

The truth is that the "return to form" - as in returning to the genre on "Automatic People", their best and most acclaimed album - was on "Up" already. That is when they went back to slower material with strings and mandolins and lots of acoustic guitars. Just like on "Automatic People". They returned to form already then.

Why is there no option for "I'm too lazy and there is too much other stuff out there to be bothered with Accelerate, even though i thought Reveal & Up were respectable albums." So I guess I generally agree with this:

yeah I keep hoping a copy of this album will just fall into my hands like a turd from the sky b/c while I'd like to hear it, I'm too uninspired to even bother downloading it, let alone buying it.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

the last few were so bad that I didn't even listen to this one 14
Up 12
New Adventures in Hi-Fi 5
Around the Sun 4
Reveal 4
it's their worst album ever <- lolvote option for the jokers 2

Bill Berry RIP