R.E.M. - upcoming album 'Collapse Into Now' / General Discussion

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Right, but you make it sound like this isn't what they would release if they were concerned with/affected by the marketplace.

what i meant was that it was nice to hear a band that's comfortable in their own skin, know who they are, and don't try to force something just for the sake of doing it, being hip and cool with the kids, and/or sounding "fresh" and "still relevant"

unlike, say, get on your boots.
 
Here is a little review of the I wrote now that it's sunk in -

As a newer fan of the band, Accelerate was my first R.E.M. album. Once I bought it and fell in love with the band's sound, I went back and picked up, Murmur, Out of Time, Automatic For the People, New Adventures in Hi Fi, and Reveal.

Collapse Into Now is a triumphant return for REM, and explores a much wider range of sonic ground than their previous album. It has something for everyone - fast paced rockers, slow ballads, and everything in between.

Yes, there are a few cringe-inducing moments. On "Alligator," the song starts out with a blazing guitar and a great playful line, "I fell like an alligator/climbing up the escalator/climbing up the escalator, I feel strong!" What could be a classic REM rocker is somewhat spoiled by the awkward, "Hey, hey, alligator! You've got a lot to learn!" chorus featuring annoying guest vocals from Peaches. After a great rocking verse in "That Someone is You," Stipe again makes me scratch my head by jumping up the octave scale to sing, "Pull me up and out of cartoon quicksand! Pull me up and out of meee-eee-ee!" It just doesn't work.

Michael Stipe's vocals are also clearly not what they used to be. He sounded much stronger on Accelerate and spends much of this album half-talking the lyrics, which actually works quite nicely on a song like, "Walk it Back."

I love just about everything else about Collapse, however. "It Happened Today" builds up to a 2 minute harmonizing extravaganza featuring Stipe, Mills, and Eddie Vedder's vocals. The result is pure joy to listen to. "Ublerin" is probably Collapse Into Now's most beautiful chorus. The song grabs you right away and contains some of the most immediate lyrics from Stipe.

Other highlights include the epic chiming guitar and drum into of "Discoverer" accompanied by "Hey babe/this is not a challenge/it just means that I love you/as much as I always said I did." The second track, "All The Best" seems to be Stipe's official declaration that the band is back. "I think I'll sing in rhyme/I'll give it one more time/I'll show the kids how to do it fine, fine fine!" Every time I hear this song I think it would be perfect for the opening of a live show. It's a shame R.E.M will not be taking Collapse Into Now on the road, many of the songs seem perfect for a live setting.

Overall, I am thrilled with the depth and strength of Collapse Into Now. It is another affirmation (as if we needed any) that R.E.M. is one of the greatest bands of recent history and still posses a powerful vitality even after 30 years.
 
Dude, no. If you haven't heard either Lifes Rich Pageant or Document you have no business commenting on an R.E.M. album. I'm sorry.

Go listen to those two albums and then come on back with some words.

Sorry to be a pretentious prick but I'm looking out for you. You need to hear those two albums before you try to get the R.E.M. picture.
 
i found peaches to be (surprisingly, because i loathe peaches) not annoying at all on that track.
 
Me neither.

And preach on, Gaffer!

A good point about the "cartoon quicksand" part on That Someone Is You, though. I don't really think it works.
 
Dude, no. If you haven't heard either Lifes Rich Pageant or Document you have no business commenting on an R.E.M. album. I'm sorry.

Go listen to those two albums and then come on back with some words.

Sorry to be a pretentious prick but I'm looking out for you. You need to hear those two albums before you try to get the R.E.M. picture.

Well I definitely appreciate you looking out for me :wink:. I plan on buying all R.E.M. albums eventually so will get to them sometime.

BUT - I have to take issue with the idea that a person has to own every album in a band's history, or even A, B, C, D, E, F, G albums before being able to "comment." Everyone has their own musical tastes and background that they bring with them when they experience an album. So yes, I may not be familiar with every song R.E.M. has ever written but that does not disqualify me from being able to "comment" on this album and to have an informed opinion.

I hear ya that there are albums I still need to listen to, but that doesn't make my thoughts on Collapse invalid...
 
Dude, no. If you haven't heard either Lifes Rich Pageant or Document you have no business commenting on an R.E.M. album. I'm sorry.

I don't know, I would think that Reckoning is far more essential than Document. But I agree that Pageant is a must-listen.
 
I'll always have a special place in my heart for Monster, as it was one of the first albums that I ever owned. Looking back at it now, however, it seems a lot less profound than it did when I was 12 or 13 years old.
 
It's not necessarily profound, but it still rocks. Frequency is one of their best singles, Strange Currencies > Everybody Hurts, Tongue is their sexiest and also a hall-of-famer, and Let Me In is pretty powerful stuff.
 
Let's at least give cjboog credit for NOT listening to Around The Sun.

Monster > Reckoning

Yeah, I said it.

Agreed on both counts. Of course Reckoning is probably my least listened-to album of theirs, by virtue of merely being the last one I got around to originally. Still good stuff of course. But yeah, Monster is awesome.
 
I don't know, I would think that Reckoning is far more essential than Document. But I agree that Pageant is a must-listen.

i might have agreed with this at one point, but i'm currently thinking document ranks as one of my favorite albums ever by anyone, so not so much anymore.
 
You don't really need Reckoning with the stronger, deeper and more complete Murmur out there, but it's a bit like saying you don't need Rubber Soul because Revolver exists. With all the shitty albums out there, a couple extra great ones wouldn't kill you.

Also, I agree with GAF: there's no way one can state what REM does best without hearing their best albums, and Lifes Rich Pageant and Document are two of them.
 
I finally ordered Collapse into Now, and, based on the many, many reviews that describe it as something of a tour of their past, I think that I am going to go back through their entire discography. I haven't listened to albums like Out of Time and Automatic in ages.
 
I haven't listed to Out of Time in ages. There are some great songs on it, but as a "great REM album," it hasn't held up that well for me.
 
I haven't listed to Out of Time in ages.

I got it as part of a BMG subscription (one of those "get ten free CDs now but overpay for all your later CDs" deals) way back when. I honestly don't think that I have listened to it again since then.
 
It was the first CD I bought when I got my first CD player. I asked for a good boom box/stereo for my high school graduation, and I chucked my cassette copy to upgrade to CD.
 
Old farts of the world Interference, unite and take over.

My first CD was New Order - Substance 1987, also purchased along with my first CD player.

I don't remember the last time I played Out of Time either, but it was definitely on heavy rotation in college.
 
Oh god, I'm surprised I didn't go through 8 copies of it in college. Between that and Achtung Baby, it's amazing my roommates didn't shoot me for overplaying them.
 
I just got Collapse. Pretty good so far.



Check this out, Out of Time just celebrated its 20th birthday. Wow, I was a Senior in High School back then.
 
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