Search and Destroy: Post-Fables REM

DESTROY: "Stand" which is the absolute *WORST* thing they ever did rivalled only by the almost-equally-attrocious "Radio Song", "Shiny Happy People" and absolutely *EVERYTHING* on MONSTER.

"Nightswimming" is one of their better later songs! The lyrics are slightly asinine, but hey.

Carnival of Sorts
Pretty Persuasion
Harborcoat
Wolves, Lower
Life and How to Live It

...And "Nightswimming" is a flagrant "Perfect Circle" rip-off -- and frankly, it sickens me.

These are all pre-Fables (and Fables).

destroy: everything on Reveal past the Lifting, all the samey stuff on the 2nd half of Up, prolly 80% of the singles from Monster on, most of Monster

Their worst song ever for me is "E-Bow the Letter."

"Begin the Begin," "Hyena," "Underneath the Bunker," "Exhuming McCarthy," "Disturbance at the Heron House," "Strange," "Turn You Inside-Out," "Near Wild Heaven," "Half a World Away," "Texarkana," "Country Feedback," "Try Not to Breathe," "Monty Got a Raw Deal," "Star Me Kitten," "I Don't Sleep, I Dream," "Let Me In," "Circus Envy," "E-Bow the Letter," "Bittersweet Me," "Airportman," "Hope," "At My Most Beautiful," "Parakeet," "The Great Beyond."

Gosh. This list is reminding me that I haven't listened to R.E.M. in a really long time and I need to change that.

Most everything after that has been rather difficult to sit through more than once.

Life's Rich Pageant is one of my favorite REM albums, every track's a winner.

keith

Search: ---Begin The Begin, I Believe, Flowers Of Guatemala, Exhuming McCarthy, Firehose, King of Birds.

Anyway. Search: Begin the Begin, Fall on Me, Superman, I Believe; Finest Worksong, Welcome to the Occupation, Exhuming McCarthy (I'm not really going to say "all of Document," I promise!), Oddfellows Local 151; Voice of Harold, Toys in the Attic, Pale Blue Eyes, Femme Fatale; Pop Song 89, World Leader Pretend, Orange Crush; Near Wild Heaven, Half a World Away, Texarkana, Country Feedback, Me in Honey; What's the Frequency, Kenneth?

Destroy: Stand, Losing my Religion (just plain overplayed), Man on the Moon, Everybody Hurts.

I haven't heard anything since New Adventures in Hi-Fi because I disliked it so much, and hadn't really liked Monster or Automatic for the People very much, either.

Search: Begin the Begin, These Days, Fall on Me, I Believe, Pop Song 89, You are the Everything, World Leader Pretend, The Wrong Child, Orange Crush, Texarcana, Near Wild Heaven, Sweetness Follows

Destroy: Losing My Religion, Radio Song, Shiny Happy People, Drive, Everybody Hurts

The only late period REM song that caught my ear on the radio was "E-Bow the Letter", as it had that nice blurred sound.

destroy: all of 'up', most of 'reveal' and the humourlessly-dumb backing vocals on 'crush with eyeliner' off 'monster'.

absolutely hated 'green' when it came out. i kind of saw it as the beginning of the end, if you know what i mean. but i listened to it recently for the first time in probably ten years and was surprised to find that most of the songs really hold up well.

and 'fables' is still one of the most impenetrably gorgeous abstract-rock albums i've ever heard.

Those songs only superficially sound alike.

I hate Green though--Green sucks! And that's my hastily proclaimed and unbacked up judgement for the night.

Search: Everything not mentioned above, focusing mainly on NAiHF.

Destroy: Ignoreland, Nightswimming, Imitation of Life

Search: Jawbox's cover of "Low".

Destroy: Monster.

i got 'king of birds' stuck in my head the other day, and that track on 'document' with all the saxes, y'know, 'crazy crazy world' lyrics an all that...

sx

DESTROY - Radio Song, New Test Leper, All The Way To Reno, Everybody Hurts, Shiny Happy People, Ignoreland, Texarkana, Me In Honey, Underneath The Bunker, Summer Turns To High, Binky The Doormat, King Of Comedy, Fireplace, I Remember California, most of the second half of Monster, Suspicion and loads more.

REM are probably my favourite band by whom I dislike lots of songs.