[uncle b]

It was with a heavy heart and $14.99 that I bought the new "R.E.M.-And I Feel Fine...The Best Of The I.R.S. Years 1982-1987" today from a local big-box retailer.

It is a little disheartening to me to realize a band that once meant so much to me, now means SO LITTLE to me.

I mean, these songs, so many classics along with a bonus disc of b-sides, rarities and live tracks, all came in a five year period, yet I can't remember an R.E.M. song from the last three Warner Brothers albums, all of which they labored over in studios, undoubtedly with fine wine and personal chefs and high-priced producers and equipment.

Sure, we all grow up and grow out of bands, rarely do they stick around as ultimate favorites, yet R.E.M.'s fall from grace in the eyes of many core fans (and of course, sales do back this up) has to be one of the worst.

 

[Jahn]

I stopped caring after "Green" and stopped listening after "Monster."

 

[utarch00]

NO

 

[markl]

No, and I've been on-board since Murmur. Seen them live countless times.

Stipe obviously couldn't care less, the others are fat, dumb and happy. They jumped the shark when the drummer left after New Adventures, their last good album. They always said they'd quit when any one member left, but throw in the legal obligations of a $40 million contract and they're still around living up to their legal obligations, eating away at their legacy at every pathetic turn.

It would take a MIRACLE to revive this band.

 

[roadtonowhere08]

They have a few songs I like. I saw them live, and they were the only band in which I left before the last song. It was very boring, at least to me. This was about three years ago.

 

[VicAjax]

so sad. they dropped completely off my radar after Document. i grew up in Atlanta, so their presence was HUGE in my adolescence.

i saw them play at the 40 Watt, at the 688 and four times at the Fox Theatre, with opening acts like the Minutemen, Let's Active and Jason and the Scorchers.

i have Mike Mills' and Pete Buck's autographs on the inside cover of my cassette of VU's White Light/White Heat.

i prefer to think of them as having broken up when they left IRS Records, because their output with Warner Bros., with very rare exceptions, has been so depressing.

 

[Duggeh]

I used to be an REM nut, ive seen them live twice, and today, well, I dont seem to care.

Up, Out Of Time and Fables are fine albums, as are some of the rest, but the band just dont seem to have any real passion. The live shows are entertaining enough, the albums are well made enough and the music is good enough, but there really is nothing special anymore.

U2 are in exactly the same position, althoguh Ive never liked them as much. As are the RHCP. Makes you wonder where Nirvana might have gone if Kurt hadnt blown his face off.

 

[Jahn]

bah i walked into a B&M and picked it up for 6 bucks more than on amazon for instant gratification-

http://www.amazon.com/Feel-Fine-I-R-.../dp/B000GTJSLM

well, i'll spin it, it's gotta have better SQ than the original redbooks- right?

 

[TheMarsVolta]

Who?

Now this is a band I haven't listened to in years. Automatic for the People was a big favourite in high school. Might go find it, wipe the dust off, and have a listen.

PS - well said, Markl

 

[elrod-tom]

Well, I can't say that I've much cared for anything that they've put out in a long time.

Having said that, they are in fact one of the bands of my college years. I have to believe that Murmur belongs on the short list of best ever first albums, and both it and Life's Rich Pageant still find their way into the rotation on a regular basis.

Seems like the boys got civilized...it ruined Rocky Balboa for a while, but he came back eventually. Maybe Stipe and Co still have a great album in them. Hopefully they haven't become the jaded middle aged men that their recent work would seem to indicate.

 

[aaroncort]

It's funny that i stumbled accross this topic today. I just listened to Chronic Town and Murmur today after about 15 years of not listening. I was suprised at how much I enjoyed both those albums. It makes me want to go back to Reckoning as well but I want to go out on a high note with REM. I'm affaid Reckoning just might not be up to snuff and leave a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[uncle b]

I feel pretty good/bad that quite a few music fans share my opinion of band quite a few of us once really cared about. There are a lot of GREAT tunes on this new best-of!

It is kinda funny, R.E.M. was the band that first exposed me years ago to The Velvet Underground through the covers on their "Dead Letter Office" album, I believe they were "I'll Be Your Mirror" and "There She Goes Again"...now, VU will NEVER leave my mind.

 

[renton]

do i still care about the current band status or about the music they left behind?

i stopped caring after New Adventures came out. but all the albums before that are just ace. i still listen to them whenever they come up in my rotation. im the kinda person thats like " if i own it i use it". i hate to leave things not used for years. so all my music kinda rotates to make sure i use them. same with dvds, less with games. but im still young so i guess i can see when im older listening to it less and less. nothing to feel bad about, doesnt mean i wouldnt still love the music, but just that theres tons of other things that my ears have yet to hear.

 

[Masonjar]

I find it very difficult to connect to anything after OUT OF TIME. I've been told by various people over the years of the quality of this or that album, I've given them all a fair chance, but I just don't get that feeling I get from the early albums. Maybe I should chalk it up to nostalgia. OUT OF TIME was the last album I remember experiencing with my friends. I think GREEN was really the start of the "new" R.E.M. and by AUTOMATIC the change was pretty much complete. Just something about the songs, the lyrics, the whole package, just didn't appeal to me much anymore... I actually prefer OUT OF TIME to GREEN. But since then, while there are a few decent "new era" songs out there, I haven't yet been able to connect to any of their more recent albums (by that I mean, anything after OUT OF TIME).

Maybe it's just that no band could do anything to compare to those first 5 albums + CHRONIC TOWN. It still amazes me that such bold, striking originality came from a small college town in Georgia..

-jar

 

[Jahn]

guys, i had a chance to listen to this new CD, REM - the Best of the IRS years. Uh, I think it's a stealth remaster. It's a far higher SQ than both the individual redbook albums and the "eponymous EP" and other compilations. Well, aside from "Out of Time" since I refuse to own it until I get a DVD-A player.