After reading the little article about the demise of REM, I was moved to write a response. REM seems to be a bad that will forever be overlooked for their importance of creatign alternative radio, and allowing so many other bands to find a little spotlight in the mainstream, get noticed, and hit pay dirt.
No, they weren’t as cutting edge as New Order, Echo & the Bunnymen, the Smiths or the Cure, but they were the band that made me open that cellar door to check out what is on the other side of what I knew of as “classic rock & roll.” The had a “sound.” Not quite like anything else you would hear on staple FM channels, but accessible, yet quirky. For me, it comes from Peter Buck's 12 string sound. Songs like "South Central Rain," “Don’t go Back to
The group, sans Stipe most of the time, showed how tight they as a band with the highly underrated Hindu Love Gods project they tackled with Warren Zevon.; talking on blues favorites, and Prince.
MTV & music videos helped the general public become aware of who this little Southern band was. “The One I “Love” and “The End of The World” were somewhat in rotation on MTV, and gave them that initial radio play. Then came “Losing My Religion,” and the whole thing blew up.
In this time, of immense popularity, REM was able to show many sides as a multi-dimensional band. A silly song like “Stand” or “Shiny Happy People” evokes the B-52’s (and yes, I know Kate Pearson was on the latter.) “Drive” has an eerie Pink Floyd feel, and “Orange Crush” lends a heavy rock sound.
Much like Dylan when he “plugged in” I felt REM did the same (I know a stretch of a comparison) when they came out with the Monster album, and “What’s the Frequency Kenneth?” Many fans turned away. The band lost the sound that made them special - that rhythm section, and went a bit glam with “"Bang and Blame", & "Crush with Eyeliner." I felt this was also a visible change in the band with Michael Stipe shaving his head, and Mike Mills wearing rhinestone suits.
With the loss of drummer and contributing songwriter Bill Berry in the later 90’s, the band seemed somewhat lost and faded a bit into obscurity. They would still put out a decent song once in a while, like “Leaving New York” but their star had obviously faded.
Amazingly, they and U2 were the two bands that went head to toe as the leaders of the alternative movement to mainstream, yet, only one will be remembered as legendary.
I remember Rolling Stone putting R.E.M. on their cover some time in the 1990s with the headline "The Best Band in America". Meh. They were big when American music was in a rut. The 80s were a musical wasteland in this country. Everything good was coming out of Britain. Sure, R.E.M. lasted 31 years, but as you point out, they haven't been relevant since the late 80s.
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