Rate R.E.M.'s albums

[LMP]

Yes, thank you. I'm re-tagging the song right now.

 

[Aygo]

01 Automatic For The People
02 Out Of Time
03 Document
04 Monster
05 Up
06 New Adventures In Hi-Fi
07 Reckoning
07 Green
09 Around The Sun
10 Reveal
11 Lifes Rich Pageant
12 Murmur
13 Fables Of The Reconstruction

 

[Saracene]

Seeing that this is a REM thread, here's something too weird and adorable not to be posted:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkHM8xG6i8o

 

[U2inUtah]

I thought I would resurrect this thread since we have a new album to rank.

Here is what I thought back in October:

1. Lifes Rich Pageant
2. New Adventures
3. Monster
4. Up
5. Automatic
6. Green
7. Out Of Time
8. LP14
9. Reveal
10. Murmur
11. Document
12. Around The Sun
13. Reckoning
14. Fables

I had not listened to Reckoning or Fables yet, and they have significantly moved up on my list now.

Here are my new rankings with Accelerate, moving Up down a bit, and having discovered R.E.M.'s older albums more:

1. Pageant
2. Hi Fi
3. Accelerate
4. Monster
5. Automatic
6. Reckoning
7. Up
8. Green
9. Out Of Time
10. Murmur
10a. Chronic Town
11. Reveal
12. Fables
13. Document
14. Around The Sun

As you can see, I like R.E.M. rock albums the most, but really they have soooooo many good albums. I even like most of Around The Sun.

Also, Fables may have one of the best 1-4 tracks of any of the albums:

1. Feeling Gravity's Pull
2. Maps and Legends
3. Drive 8
4. Life and How To Live It

I just haven't gotten into the rest of Fables yet.

 

[lazarus]

You like the rock albums, yet you have Document as their second to worst? And Accelerate at #3?

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Correct Ranking:

1. Murmur/Chronic Town
2. Reckoning
3. Fables
4. Life's Rich Pageant
5. Document
(slight gap)
6. Automatic For The People
7. New Adventures In Hi-Fi
(big gap)
8. Accelerate
9. Out Of Time
10. Around The Sun
11. Green
12. Monster
(big gap)
13. Reveal
14. Up

I guess Accelerate qualifies as not a shitty album and the best of the ones that you don't need to own.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

04 Monster
05 Up
.........................................
09 Around The Sun
10 Reveal
11 Lifes Rich Pageant
12 Murmur
13 Fables Of The Reconstruction

Are you like not a fan? Have you not heard the bottom three?

Good lord. Looked back in this thread and there's a bajillion others that emphasize their 90's work over their 80s.

 

[intedomine]

Without hearing Green, Reckoner, Fables and Up here is mine:

1. Out Of Time
2. Reveal
3. Document
4. Murmur
5. New Adventures in Hi-Fi
6. Life's Rich Pageant
7. Automatic For The People
8. Around The Sun
9. Monster

Can't put Accelerate in there, but it'd probably finish about mid-table.

 

[U2inUtah]

You like the rock albums, yet you have Document as their second to worst? And Accelerate at #3?

Never could get into Document

The One I Love and ITEOTW... are so overplayed.

Finest Worksong, Disturbance at The Heron House and Fireplace are good.

Lightnin Hopkins, King of the Birds, and Oddfellows 151 are weak tracks IMO.

I also didn't grow up with REM in the 80's, so I tend to rate the later albums higher as I have more memories tied to each record i.e. Hi Fi, Up and Reveal...

and yeah I really like Accelerate, whether you consider it one of their more rock albums or not.

 

[Lancemc]

1. Out Of Time
2. Up
3. Life's Rich Pageant
4. New Adventures in Hi-Fi
5. Automatic for the People
6. Monster
7. Fables of the Reconstruction
8. Green
9. Reckoning
10. Document
11. Murmur
12. Reveal
13. Around the Sun

Time to reassess:

1. Up
2. Out of Time
3. New Adventures in Hi-Fi
4. Life's Rich Pageant
5. Green
6. Automatic For The People
7. Monster
8. Murmur
9. Accelerate
10. Fables of the Reconstruction
11. Document
12. Reckoning
13. Reveal
14. Around The Sun

 

[lazarus]

I applaud your individuality, sir!

While I don't think Up is #1, it is tremendously underrated, and certainly better than the last three.
albums.

Green is a little too shallow to be that high.

And again, I can't imagine how one would rank Document that low. The second half is a bit weak outside King of Birds, but those first four tracks? Hall of Fame-level shit.

 

[lazarus]

Glad to see Up so high....up, Lance, and that you didn't slobber all over Automatic. Major points off for the low ranking of Document, however.

1. Lifes Rich Pageant (no apostrophe, guys, remember Stipe's typewriter was broken when he put down the title )
2. New Adventures in Hi-Fi
3. Document
4. Murmur
5. Automatic for the People
6. Up
7. Out of Time (sorry, but Shiny Happy People IS bad enough to weigh this one down)
8. Monster
9. Fables of the Reconstruction
11. Dead Letter Office (w/ or w/o Chronic Town)
12. Reckoning
13. Green
14. Milk left in the refrigerator 3 weeks past the due date
15. A turd that didn't go down on the first flush
16. Reveal and Around the Sun (tie)

At this point, I'm thinking Accelerate fits in between Monster and Fables.

And I'd like to point out how funny my jokes were for 14 and 15.

 

[lazarus]

mistake

 

[lazarus]

mistake.

 

[intedomine]

And I'd like to point out how funny my jokes were for 14 and 15.

Can't understand your hate for Reveal.

It's one of REM's most accomplished albums, it achieves what it sets out to do, and it does so sweetly. I think you better go back and have a listen to it, it's something very special.

 

[nonamestreet]

1. Lifes Rich Pageant
2. New Adventures In Hi-Fi
3. Fables of the Reconstruction
4. Murmur
5. Reckoning
6. Automatic For the People
7. Monster
8. Out of Time
9. Green
10. Document
11. Accelerate
12. Up
13. Around the Sun
14. Reveal

 

[lazarus]

Can't understand your hate for Reveal.

It's one of REM's most accomplished albums, it achieves what it sets out to do, and it does so sweetly. I think you better go back and have a listen to it, it's something very special.

If it set out to suck, and to completely bore me to tears with unmemorable tunes, then yes, it totally achieved that goal.

And it's special in the way that the kids on the short bus are.

 

[phanan]

1. Murmur
2. Lifes Rich Pageant
3. Document
4. Automatic
5. Out Of Time
6. Fables
7. Reckoning
8. Up
9. Accelerate
10. Monster
11. Green
12. Reveal
13. New Adventures
14. Around The Sun

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

1. Automatic for the motherfucking People
2. Murmur
3. Document
4. Lifes Rich Pageant
5. Reckoning
6. Fables
7. Monster
8. Green
9. Hi-Fi
10. Up
11. Out of Time
12. Reveal
13. Around the Sun

The above represents my 'still drunk from last night' ranking of R.E.M. albums. Although, I think that might be how I would rank them if I was sober. Yeah, actually I think it is.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

If accelerate was a two song EP featuring Living Well Is the Best Revenge and Sing for the Submarine it would be somewhere between Up and Out of Time.

 

[Salome]

Good lord. Looked back in this thread and there's a bajillion others that emphasize their 90's work over their 80s.

it's probably because there are less filler tracks on their 90s albums
they're better produced
and Stipe got better

 

[Salome]

1. Out Of Time
2. Up
3. Fables of the Reconstruction
4. Automatic for the People
5. Around the Sun
6. Monster
7. Green
8. New Adventures in Hi-Fi
9. Reckoning
10. Murmur
11. Reveal
12. Document
13. Life's Rich Pageant

Accelerate would probably be my new #11
really good album

 

[Salome]

actually
I will have to admit that it could also be my #8 album
who knows

 

[Zoots]

1. Automatic For The People
2. Out Of Time
3. Life's Rich Pageant
4. Monster
5. New Adventures in Hi-Fi
6. Accelerate
7. Murmur
8. Document
9. Up
10. Fables of the Reconstruction
11. Reckoning
12. Green

Still haven't heard all of Reveal and ATS. Yeah I do like the 90s albums more because that's when I got into their music and really enjoyed those albums when they came out! Document, Up, Fables and Green are all uneven in my opinion... half the songs are brilliant and half are weak. Reckoning is pretty consistent but I don't think any of the songs are brilliant or anything. They're all just good for me.

 

[LemonMelon]

I don't have them all, but I'll do my best.

1. Automatic
2. Murmur
3. Monster
4. Document
5. Reckoning
6. Up
7. Out Of Time
8. Life's Rich Pageant
9. New Adventures In Hi-Fi
10. Green

Adjustments:

1. Automatic
2. Murmur
3. Document
4. Monster
5. Reckoning
6. Accelerate
7. Up
8. Lifes Rich Pageant
9. Out Of Time
10. New Adventures In Hi-Fi
11. Green

 

[Zoots]

Seeing that this is a REM thread, here's something too weird and adorable not to be posted:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkHM8xG6i8o

Your post got lost in the rankings so I had to dig it out! That video was really cute and it also made me realize how much I love that song Shiny Happy People even though it's fairly lightweight.

 

[lazarus]

...and it reminded me of why it makes me want to puke.

This clip could easily take the place of RickRolling. I can only imagine the awful shock of seeing this before reading about it first.

You just got R.E.M.-Rolled!!

 

[corianderstem]

...and it reminded me of why it makes me want to puke.

Dearheart Sweetums, why would anything involving Sesame Street make you want to puke? (Aside from Elmo, who needs to be smashed under a truck.)

I mean, Stevie Wonder was on Sesame Street back in the day, and it just makes him cooler.

 

[lazarus]

Beloved Pookie-Bear, I have fond memories of Sesame Street. And I don't know that I even have a problem with R.E.M. appearing on it. Hell, a while back a Muppet Show appearance only enhanced your credibility. But that song and video were embarrassing to begin with, and that clip only serves to highlight that notion.

Here's an example of a potentially catastrophic bizarre idea that actually works:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKTHvW2JcAA





Awww shit, you just got Bow-Cro-Rolled!!

I love the look on B.C.'s face, he's like "This queer fellow's kind of freaking me out, but he's got a pretty good voice." Assuming he was actually sober enough to know what was actually happening.

 

[corianderstem]

That video is just bizarre beyond words, but it's one of my favorite Christmas songs. But yeah, it's a completely different experience watching it rather than listening to it.