Life After R.E.M.: Discussion Thread

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Has anyone watched the Losing My Religion episode on Song Exploder (on Netflix, not the podcast)? It made me quite melancholic to see the 4 of them talk about their creative process and somehow rediscovering the song as they talked about it.

:up:

It's fantastic. So is the below performance, for a freaking compilation. Crazy.

 
This is really late to the game, as the Monster 25th anniversary deluxe edition came out back in 2019, and I'm not sure why I didn't spring for it, or look deeper into what was on it. Maybe because I already owned the Road Movie DVD and didn't feel like double-dipping on that, I don't remember.

But I really should have, because the complete live show included with the deluxe set is a gig I was actually at, and had I known that I would have sprung for it, easily.

Back in 1995, I finally saw R.E.M. for the first time; although I'd been a fan since Out of Time came out (I was working at a record store during the Green era and found the album extremely annoying), the band didn't tour for that release or Automatic For The People, so this was my first chance. My friend and I didn't do very well with our tickets, having to settle for the nosebleed seats at the Rosemont Horizon (famed Chicago-area venue). Regardless, we still liked the show a lot--I remember transcribing the setlist on post-it notes which I might still have buried somewhere. As luck would have it, we wound up scoring seats in the first 10 rows for face value the second night, and did it all over again. And that second show is the one on this set, with no edits.

I just compared the two nights on Setlists.fm, and there was a surprising amount of difference between them: 8 substitutions, more than you'd get at any U2 show in history on a multiple night stand, if memory serves (paging Axver...).

There was a healthy dose of Monster on both nights, 10 and 9 tracks, respectively. And they were alternating openers with I Took Your Name and What's The Frequency Kenneth so I got to experience both versions. They also played on both nights three new songs, two of which would wind up on New Adventures in Hi-Fi (Undertow and Departure) and another which wound up on the Batman & Robin soundtrack (Revolution).

For those who might be interested, here's the list of substituted songs:

NIGHT 1 (6/2/95)
Drive (Automatic)
Try Not To Breathe (Automatic)
I Don't Sleep, I Dream (Monster)
Disturbance At The Heron House (Document)
Half A World Away (Out of Time)
Bang and Blame (Monster)
Finest Worksong (Document)
Fall On Me (Lifes Rich Pageant)

NIGHT 2 (6/3/95)
Near Wild Heaven (Out of Time)
Welcome to the Occupation (Document)
Me in Honey (Out of Time)
Monty Got A Raw Deal (Automatic)
You (Monster)
Orange Crush (Green)
So. Central Rain (Reckoning)
Pop Song 89 (Green)

It's a fairly even split in terms of my preferences. What's surprising is that they only played 4/3 songs from Automatic, considering its stature and popularity. Maybe they felt they couldn't do it justice without a string section or whatever, who knows. Like Shuttlecock on ZooTV, they played very few old school tracks, only 3/2 songs from the I.R.S. years.

Anyway, here's the full set from Night 2:

What's the Frequency, Kenneth?
Circus Envy
Crush With Eyeliner
Near Wild Heaven
Welcome to the Occupation
Undertow
I Took Your Name
Strange Currencies
Me in Honey
Revolution
Tongue
Man on the Moon
Country Feedback
Monty Got a Raw Deal
Losing My Religion
You
Departure
Orange Crush
Get Up
Star 69

Encore:
Let Me In
Everybody Hurts
So. Central Rain
Pop Song 89
It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
 
I’d be interested to know how Everybody Hurts was perceived back then. A few years old by that point, but I can’t conceive of it being anything other than an incredibly trite, overplayed, dreary meme.
 
When the album first came out, I don't believe it had been issued as a single yet. And at first I thought it was a well-written, moving track. Once the video became overplayed and it was a huge pop culture anthem, it got old quickly.

By the time I saw these concerts a few years later, I was way over it. If memory serves, when they started playing it that first night, me and my friend both sat down in the nosebleeds seats in protest. :lol:

It's interesting to compare this to One, which was a crossover hit as well. I'm sure there are many who are sick of that one for similar reasons, and they both deal mostly in broad strokes, but at least Shuttlecock didn't make theirs too maudlin.
 
it always seemed to me that everybody hurts is just the off-brand version of never tear us apart.
 
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:up:
It's fantastic. So is the below performance, for a freaking compilation. Crazy.

I had such high hopes for REM around this time, it felt like they were really hitting their groove without Bill....and then Around The Sun, and I don't think my fandom ever really came back to what it was pre-2004.

Once the video became overplayed and it was a huge pop culture anthem, it got old quickly.

I remember that video was EVERYWHERE. I was 12 or 13 and at the age when everyone came home and watched MTV after school. It seemed like it was on everyday. The Numb video also got a lot of airplay around that time and was one of the first things that got me thinking about U2. But yeah, Everybody Hurts is like a bottom-5 REM song for me, and I agree that Strange Currencies is waaaay better.
 
So Laz, what did you think of the remixed Monster?

Overall I liked it, the sound of the mix was very good to my ears. But I felt that Kenneth and Let Me In were neutered versions. The lack of tremolo in the former and removing the My Bloody Valentine soundscape in the latter took away what set them apart in the first place.
 
So Laz, what did you think of the remixed Monster?

Overall I liked it, the sound of the mix was very good to my ears. But I felt that Kenneth and Let Me In were neutered versions. The lack of tremolo in the former and removing the My Bloody Valentine soundscape in the latter took away what set them apart in the first place.

I know that wasn't directed at me, but I couldn't agree with you anymore. The original version of Let Me In is magical; the remix lacks that magic. It doesn't carry nearly the emotional punch.
 
This thread having no posts in 2 years is sad, even if the band is defunct.

It's worth noting that R.E.M. is doing special editions for all these albums, even the ones that weren't huge hits.

U2 should consider what that means for fans.
 
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