R.E.M. or The Smiths

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Mr. Grieves, Jun 27, 2016.

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  1. Fregly

    Fregly Well-Known Member

    Location:
    London
    Love them both. The Smiths are more eccentrically original. The early records of REM are great then a big fall down. Not of interest.
     
  2. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    It's my favorite album. To not listen to.
     
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  3. Mr. Grieves

    Mr. Grieves Forum Resident Thread Starter

    [​IMG]
     
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  4. Lightworker

    Lightworker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Deep Texas
    I still play my Nirvana and Teenage Fanclub albums. Can't say the same for The Smiths and R.E.M.
    (but I do occasionally seek out a particular song here and there, especially in the case of Morrissey & co.)
     
  5. éder

    éder Forum Resident

    In my world The Smiths are in the same league of greatness as the stones and the beatles..
    I really like REM but the smiths for me are on a level above...
     
  6. mx20

    mx20 Enthusiast

    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    Love them both, can't choose (shouldn't have to!). REM improved with age and experience (to a point, then un-improved!), in my view, while The Smiths peaked early. I really don't adore the final Smiths album like I do their previous work. In retrospect, REM was wonderful through the 90s, even though I had abandoned them by Automatic.

    I find that I revisit The Smiths more now than I do REM.
     
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  7. StevenC

    StevenC SUEDE > Both Oasis AND Blur.

    If you use a streaming service (Tidal, Spotify, Apple Music, etc.), here are two respective twenty song playlists to help get you into each band:

    R.E.M.

    1. Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars)
    2. Gardening at Night
    3. Radio Free Europe
    4. Talk About the Passion
    5. South Central Rain
    6. Fall On Me
    7. Superman
    8. The One I Love
    9. It's The End of the World As We Know It
    10. Finest Worksong
    11. You Are The Everything
    12. Orange Crush
    13. Pop Song 89
    14. Get Up
    15. Country Feedback
    16. Losing My Religion
    17. Nightswimming
    18. Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight
    19. Strange Currencies
    20. New Test Leper

    This was designed to be a sampler. Not a singles collection. Stand and Everybody Hurts were strategically left off.

    THE SMITHS:

    1. This Charming Man
    2. What Difference Does It Make?
    3. William, It Was Really Nothing
    4. How Soon Is Now?
    5. Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
    6. Barbarism Begins At Home
    7. Bigmouth Strikes Again
    8. The Boy With The Thorn In His Side
    9. Asleep
    10. Unloveable
    11. Panic
    12. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
    13. I Know It's Over
    14. Cemetry Gates
    15. Ask
    16. Girlfriend In A Coma
    17. A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours
    18. Stop Me If You Think You've Heard this One Before
    19. Shoplifters of the World Unite.
    20. Paint a Vulgar Picture

    Again, a sampler...

    Hope it helps.
     
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  8. Mr. Grieves

    Mr. Grieves Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Fantastic. I'd also add Harborcoat(R.E.M.) & I Want The One I Can't Have(Smiths) as they were both sort of kicking off points for me for each respective band :agree: but this list should more than get anyone started on what they're about.
     
  9. StevenC

    StevenC SUEDE > Both Oasis AND Blur.

    it's streaming so disc space doesn't matter... Just insert them... :)
     
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  10. Mr. Grieves

    Mr. Grieves Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Man, Strangeways is my favorite Smiths album lol. To me, I don't think R.E.M. got better, buy they managed to hold on to their greatness for a much longer time than most bands do. I think they're one of the most consistent bands ever, personally. The Smiths packed a lot of greatness in a short period, enough to rivial the Velvet Underground & Pixies' short run(coming from me, that's a huge compliment) but I feel like they should have done at least another album.
     
  11. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    The thing I was thinking about on my way home from work today is that R.E.M.'s first four albums never get old, no matter how many times I play them. The Smiths albums also have staying power, just not as long as those four R.E.M. albums. At times I have to take a break. Luckily there's some great Morrissey albums/songs out there.
     
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  12. katieinthecoconut

    katieinthecoconut Forum Resident

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    I don't think anyone can say The Smiths overstayed their welcome, and it'd be pretty interesting to see how - if at all - they'd have adapted to the changes in the genre into the early 1990s. Would they have rivaled The Stone Roses, and if they'd kept going, what would that have meant for Oasis? I feel like by 1994 the standard would have dropped considerably, so in a way their greatness is tied to that short run.

    Johnny Marr and Morrissey's efforts away from the band, though, have been massively hit-and-miss. I don't think that Johnny did The Cribs any favours, for example, with his awkward stint in the band. Morrissey has been off the boil for quite some time, too, with things like that terrible book he wrote not helping either. Whereas R.E.M. seemed to have a much more dignified and uncontroversial existence, even as their output declined.

    As a side note: I'm surprised that hardly anyone has embraced Nile Marr's band Man Made. Sure, they're nothing like The Smiths, but you barely hear about them at all. With such a famous father, I'd have at least expected them to be given some proper press coverage.

     
  13. Mr. Grieves

    Mr. Grieves Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I agree. I'd also add Document & Automatic in there as well. Hateful Of Hallow & Strangeways are the only Smiths releases that I can put on anytime, anywhere & never tire of(love the other albums of course). Thing is, even if you were to limit R.E.M. to those first 4 albums, they'd still be one of my favorite bands. Really, they could have stopped there & called it a day but I'm glad they didn't.
     
  14. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Agree on Automatic, but Document (as a whole) doesn't stand up like the others I mentioned.
     
  15. Mr. Grieves

    Mr. Grieves Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Lol, I had a feeling it's greatness would be questioned. While I do think it's a masterpiece, I will concede that it is a step below the rest mentioned, except Fables. I think those two are on the same level of greatness.
     
  16. ukrules

    ukrules Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kentucky
    Wow...a vote like that is asking me who I love more...my wife or my son. Just cannot choose!
     
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  17. tcbtcb

    tcbtcb Forum Resident

    Location:
    sugar hill nh usa
    Two great bands, but for me it's the Smiths by a pretty wide margin.
     
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  18. With all their albums taken together (yes, I now consider they are ALL worth having) R.E.M. manage to sum up all that I really love about American music whereas The Smiths barely scratch the surface of what I like about English or British music. R.E.M. were far more innovative and broader musically than The Smiths could even dream of. I'd put R.E.M. next to The Byrds, The Beach Boys, CCR, The Band, The Velvet Underground and quite a few others. I couldn't honestly put The Smiths next to The Kinks, The Who, The Stones, let alone The Beatles. Maybe Manfred Mann or The Hollies!
     
  19. BeenAround

    BeenAround Forum Resident

    You can always tell if someone's a true R.E.M. believer by whether or not they use the dots ;)
     
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  20. BeenAround

    BeenAround Forum Resident

    I voted R.E.M. because I love them dearly and I've only ever heard one Smiths song. Granted, that song ("How Soon Is Now") is astonishingly great, but still.
     
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  21. Casagrande

    Casagrande Forum Resident

    To quote Morrissey: I can have both... there's no need to choose

    Both are equally dear to me.
     
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  22. sinfony

    sinfony Forum Resident

    If you've only ever heard one song by the band and you think it's "astonishingly great", don't have the urge to maybe.... you know... try out some other songs of theirs?
     
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  23. dsky

    dsky Little Blue Light

    Location:
    Fukuoka
    So, why don't you try listening to a few more?
     
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  24. BeenAround

    BeenAround Forum Resident

    Yeah I don't mean to imply I've avoided them. Just haven't dived in yet. I bet I'd love 'em, they're on the menu when I get time!
     
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  25. Mr. Grieves

    Mr. Grieves Forum Resident Thread Starter

    You should be excited. Lots of great music there waiting for you in their discography.
     
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