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Grex > Music1 > #209: R.E.M. New Adventures in Hi-Fi |  |
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raven
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R.E.M. New Adventures in Hi-Fi
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Nov 3 18:37 UTC 1996 |
Just when I had given up on R.E.M. I didn't buy Monster because
I didn't like any tracks I heard from the CD, they relaese the new and
I think very solid "New Adventures in Hi-Fi." I like this album because
it creates a mood that is slightly melancholy (what R.E.M. does best) and
because it finds Michael Stip still in a questioning mode about things
like spirituality despite his multi-millionaire status. The new music
is also quite nice with Perter Buck playing not just guitar but Buzoki,
and Banjo as well.
My theory with R.E.M.'s recent albums is that they are an every
other album sort of band N.A.Hi-Fi is good, Monster stunk, Automatic
for the people good, Green stunk, Document was good, and I pretty much
like all the R.E.M. albums before Document though I don't listen to them
much these days except Reckoning very occasionaly.
O.K. what do y'all think?
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| 67 responses total. |
raven
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response 1 of 67:
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Nov 3 18:38 UTC 1996 |
Actually now that I think about it Out of Time was before AFTP
and it stunk as well so much for the every other album theory.
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krj
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response 2 of 67:
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Nov 5 04:46 UTC 1996 |
NEW ADVENTURES, after three plays, has left me utterly cold and
uninvolved. It must be my age. I've been an R.E.M. fan since
RECKONING, and I found something worthwhile in every album up through
AUTOMATIC. (I've got a great car tape of the best halves of
GREEN and OUT OF TIME.)
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krj
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response 3 of 67:
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Nov 21 23:35 UTC 1996 |
((( linked from the first music cf to the second. )))
I'm linking this because I can't believe that no one else has
responded. R.E.M. is supposed to be THE great American rock band;
does their new $80 million contract mean that they are washed-up
has-beens?
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omni
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response 4 of 67:
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Nov 22 05:27 UTC 1996 |
No, it just means they join the ranks of the grossly operpaid and
undertalented ;)
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jor
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response 5 of 67:
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Nov 22 15:20 UTC 1996 |
I thought, that you were, a rock band,
I think I thought I heard, you, could play
That was just a dream . .
That was just a dream.
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snow
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response 6 of 67:
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Nov 25 01:50 UTC 1996 |
honestly, R.E.M. kinda scares me...I like some of their older stuff, but...
well, monster just scared me and I didn't like it at all.
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razor
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response 7 of 67:
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Nov 26 09:31 UTC 1996 |
The only albums I own are Green and Automatic. The only one I like is
Automatic.
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jiffer
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response 8 of 67:
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Mar 2 04:49 UTC 1997 |
actually, on the new REM New Adventure in Hi-Fi album, the b side songs were
mucho better than the first ones.... But i also consider REM to be like any
other band, they are not perfect and they have crap out sometiems as well.
Course living only a hour and a half from their home bases is a bit of a fun
thing.
I am fed up with Shiney Happy People though,.... i think i gag every time
i hear that damn dong.
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orinoco
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response 9 of 67:
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Mar 3 23:57 UTC 1997 |
I seem to be in the minority here, but I *loved* New Adventure...with the
exception of e-bow the letter, the overplayed radio single. It's fairly
different from the other album of theirs that I own--Automatic for the
People--but I still like it. Just don't expect it to sound like their
previous stuff.
As for the $80 million contract, just because a band is popular and rich
doesn't mean they have no talent. Of course, it is easy just to coast on
momentum once you're *that* famous, but...
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jiffer
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response 10 of 67:
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Mar 4 04:15 UTC 1997 |
i know, and even the talented people have bad ones. Heck, i think all
artists, be it music, art, writing all have a few bad ones. If they were
perfect i am sure they would be bored enough to try imprefection! =P
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jradio
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response 11 of 67:
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Mar 4 17:31 UTC 1997 |
What's a damn dong?
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krj
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response 12 of 67:
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Mar 4 18:50 UTC 1997 |
It's a typo for "damn song," d and s being adjacent keys.
<krj stifles the Clarence Thomas jokes.>
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krj
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response 13 of 67:
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Nov 11 19:46 UTC 1997 |
From the gossip pages: Bill Berry quits! The brain aneurysm the
drummer suffered on the last tour gave him a new perspective on life,
or something like that. The rest of the band promise to continue
with hired drummers.
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orinoco
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response 14 of 67:
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Nov 11 21:50 UTC 1997 |
So is he going on to a solo career of some sort, or leaving the Music Business
altogether?
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goose2
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response 15 of 67:
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Nov 12 14:57 UTC 1997 |
RE#13 -- The rest of the band is probably under contract to continue, wether
they want to or not, that $80M doesn't come cheap.
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mcnally
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response 16 of 67:
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Nov 12 15:31 UTC 1997 |
re #14: Supposedly he's retiring but what does that ever really mean
with a rock star?
re #13: I think I'd quit, too. They've got piles of money and seem to
have run out of things to say. Seems like for the last couple of years
they've been running on ego..
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krj
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response 17 of 67:
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Dec 1 05:05 UTC 1997 |
There's a new R.E.M. item out for the holidays.
It's a collection of single 'B' sides and other obscurities, and it seems
to have some overlap -- maybe 30%? -- with DEAD LETTER OFFICE.
It covers the years the band was on the IRS label, and it's released
by EMI as part of their 100th anniversary celebration.
There was a time when I would have grabbed this up on sight. Now it's,
ho hum, maybe after the holidays.
There are similar packages for David Bowie and Blondie.
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mcnally
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response 18 of 67:
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Dec 1 18:02 UTC 1997 |
Looking at the track list it looked like the rest of the tracks included
in that collection had a high degree of overlap with the so-called
bonus tracks that they stuck onto the end of the "IRS Vintage Years"
editions of the IRS albums that they released several years ago.
IMHO the great majority of those tracks really sucked, but of course
I am an R.E.M. dilettante compared to Ken...
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krj
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response 19 of 67:
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Dec 2 05:46 UTC 1997 |
I think Mike is right, that much of this new R.E.M. collection
appeared on those "IRS Vintage Years" editions.
I should check to see if the R.E.M. version of "Tighten Up" is
on there, that's one of the best R.E.M. obscurities.
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mcnally
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response 20 of 67:
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Dec 2 07:07 UTC 1997 |
hmmm.. didn't like that one much, though I've never really dug the
Archie Bell (and the Drells!) version, either..
In my opinion the band was quite right in wanting most of those tracks
buried, they're substantially inferior to their officially released work,
even the B-sides on "Dead Letter Office."
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orinoco
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response 21 of 67:
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Dec 4 02:31 UTC 1997 |
Well, that tends to be the case with most rarities collections - there's a
reason some things stay rare.
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mcnally
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response 22 of 67:
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Dec 4 05:38 UTC 1997 |
Well, that's sometimes true and sometimes not. Some artists are very
picky about what they release and wind up holding back good material.
For example, Ken didn't you tell me that Richard Thompson didn't like
"Small Town Romance" and would just as soon have not had it released?
Wasn't that why it wasn't available for quite a while (though I'm glad
to see that Hannibal/Ryko has re-issued it..)?
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krj
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response 23 of 67:
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Dec 4 21:46 UTC 1997 |
Yes, the buzz at the time that "Small Town Romance" was withdrawn was
that the deletion was Thompson's price for co-operating with Hannibal/Ryko
on the "Watching the Dark" anthology. I have not been keeping up with my
Richard Thompson mailing list subscription -- it's too high volume with
little real news -- and so I did not see any information about why
"Small Town Romance" was reissued.
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carson
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response 24 of 67:
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Dec 24 21:03 UTC 1997 |
(supposedly, the band has been experimenting with a drum machine...)
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