Why R.E.M. Don't Get The Credit They Deserve

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by firepile, Nov 3, 2021.

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  1. firepile

    firepile Forum Resident Thread Starter

    R.E.M. feel somewhat overlooked these days. From Murmur through to the mega success of Losing My Religion and beyond, the band were at one time arguably both the most critically acclaimed AND the biggest band in the world. But looking back today, the true value of the band's legacy appears to be in question.

     
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  2. R.E.M. is a very talented band that got an absolutely humongous amount of credit. The world moves on, but I don't believe a significant number of people would deny the band's legacy.
     
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  3. healter skealter

    healter skealter Human animal

    I think REM get far more credit than they deserve. Unexceptional songwriting, in an unoriginal style.
     
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  4. octophone

    octophone immaterial girl

    Location:
    Scotland
    Put simply, they went on too long.

    If they'd split when Berry left, they'd have had a huge reunion tour at some stage and that wave of nostalgia that seems to be necessary these days would have elevated them. But they became Just Another Band, releasing an album every few years and touring to what was, commercially, a mid-level response.

    If you want lasting critical plaudits, you have to become unreachable when people still want to reach you. See also: Depeche Mode, another band whose stock would be way higher today if they;d actually broken up at some stage and then reformed.

    (of course, none of this is any way to actually run a band...imagine being arrogant enough to try and plan your critical legacy rather than just making whatever music you want to when you want to make it...)
     
  5. Vaughan

    Vaughan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Essex, UK
    Don't get the credit they deserve? They're a well known band.

    What credit do you think they're due, that they don't get?
     
  6. CHALKERS

    CHALKERS Forum Resident

    Location:
    Abingdon
    I'm in the minority for believing that their Warner Bros years are superior to their IRS years. R.E.M. still are highly revered and I think their admiration is justified. I only would suggest that some of their latter masterpieces (in my opinion) are very underapperciated (Up for example).
     
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  7. Sordel

    Sordel Forum Resident

    Location:
    Switzerland
    More or less, this.

    R.E.M. seem to have followed an all-too-familiar career trajectory: when they were influential they weren't popular and when they were popular they weren't influential. It's hard to make an argument today for their having had a big impact on the musical landscape.
     
  8. Remurmur

    Remurmur Music is THE BEST! -FZ

    Location:
    Ohio
    I became a long time fan and I was a long time fan from the first time that I heard Murmur in 1983 through New Adventures in HI Fi and IMO, they diluted their legacy greatly by not making NAIHF their swan song after Bill Berry left. Bill was not just their drummer. He was a fellow songwriter, background vocalist and according to the band, the best song editor of the four . He knew what needed to be trimmed or removed to make a good song a great song. I think that a lot of the post Berry stuff , especially on UP, Reveal, and Around The Sun, meanders more than enough enough to show how important that editing ability actually was .

    Again IMO, once he left, it could never be, and was never was the same band, even with the name intact.

    Having said that, there are still some good songs here and there post Berry but I think musically, his absence is keenly felt.
     
    Last edited: Nov 3, 2021
  9. Matisse

    Matisse I said me gotta go now

    Location:
    Barcelona
    I think maybe their last active decade was not as remarkable as the previous two, in terms of creativity and success. One could tell they were on their last legs. I felt that from 2003-2004 there was already less interest in what the band would do next, and there was surprisingly little speculation or discussion in the aftermath of the split. But aside from the recent reappraisal of some of their 90’s albums I’m also amazed how such a once huge and beloved band gets so little press these days.
     
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  10. Caleb Martinez

    Caleb Martinez Senior Member

    Location:
    Derbyshire
    If anyone didn’t get enough credit outside of R.E.M. it was Bill Berry. His drumming style was what drove R.E.M. IMO. Agreed that they should have called it a day after he left. NAIHF is a wonderful album to end with, it's where I end my listening relationship with them.
     
  11. Caleb Martinez

    Caleb Martinez Senior Member

    Location:
    Derbyshire
    I certainly did play their WB era more than the IRS when I discovered them, I find it the reverse as I get older.
     
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  12. Inkompetenzninja

    Inkompetenzninja Active Member

    Location:
    Germany
    They get some credit, and they deserve some. But I think most records of them contain a couple of fillers, and to me there music hasn't aged well. I was a huge fan of them in the 90's, I hardly ever listen to them anymore (which is the same with most artists I loved back then). And the same can be said for friends of mine who liked or loved them back then, but forgot about them with time.
    Not every artist has something that made him survive the times, some are only great in "their" time. And this band maybe one of those. But I can be wrong, and if I am that is absolutely fine, I have nothing against them.
     
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  13. mecano

    mecano Escape The Human Myth

    Location:
    Athens Greece
    REM have the same problem as other seminal 80s bands-Depeche Mode,The Cure,U2,Metallica.They went on for too long recording too many mediocre albums.
     
  14. Caleb Martinez

    Caleb Martinez Senior Member

    Location:
    Derbyshire
    I would agree but Depeche Mode still make great albums, yes there have been some mediocre albums but their last album was great IMO
     
  15. Inkompetenzninja

    Inkompetenzninja Active Member

    Location:
    Germany
    That is true. At least you need one unexpected return to form Album that pushes you in the legend status. Like Maiden with brave new world. A record that makes fans forgive all the mediocrity and (sorry) boring crap they released afterwards. People love comebacks. Another thing is, that the last radio hits rem had absolutely annoyed not only me, but also other former fans I knew back then. May have changed their opinion on the band.
     
  16. Dantalian's Toes

    Dantalian's Toes Forum Resident

    Location:
    Adelaide
    They were in an impossible situation though as Berry said he'd keep going if his decision split up the band. Perhaps they would've still split up if the other three members weren't so excited about the Up demos they had developed.

    Perhaps splitting up after Up would've been the right thing or at least ceasing to use the REM name anymore although you can see why they wouldn't have wanted to start again with a new band name etc.
     
  17. Dantalian's Toes

    Dantalian's Toes Forum Resident

    Location:
    Adelaide
    Starting to think he gets too much credit now. He was showing signs of checking out after the Green tour and I reckon he'd simply done his dash earlier than the other three. The main problem with his departure was it left Buck exposed as he kept getting out voted by the other two in terms of the direction and content for their remaining records. I'm surprised Buck stuck it out for another 14 years to be honest.
     
  18. Caleb Martinez

    Caleb Martinez Senior Member

    Location:
    Derbyshire
    I think I remember him saying after New Adventures that he had enough money and could quit to be a full time Dad to his twins so I guess no one was holding a gun to his head and he still enjoyed making the music even though it was pretty mediocre after this point.
     
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  19. vinylontubes

    vinylontubes Forum Resident

    Location:
    Katy, TX
    I completely agree. When they were with IRS, they were an incredible band. But with Warner I think maybe Automatic for thee People was as good as the IRS records. I do like Out of Time, but as daring as I think it is, it's inconsistent. They took a lot of chances on Out of Time, but a lot of it didn't hold up. And I think most of their Warner albums are this way.
     
  20. Sear

    Sear Dad rocker

    Location:
    Tarragona (Spain)
    They don't know when to stop
     
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  21. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    I'm not sure, but I do think they split up at the right time and in a dignified manner. If they had split after New Adventures we'd have a near perfect catalogue, but also people constantly lamenting their split and wanting them to reform, similar to what happened to The Smiths, ABBA, The Clash and even The Beatles.

    That REM split when the standards had dropped, but not to an embarrassing extent, and they recognised that is something I commend them for. They have a couple of dull albums towards the end, but not a long string of them like other bands from that era who carry on and on and on, putting out new albums to mass disinterest, just to draw attention to the huge tour they're going on, playing barely any new material.
     
  22. Inkompetenzninja

    Inkompetenzninja Active Member

    Location:
    Germany
    True, but at least the records were interesting until up, after that, they were no longer a relevant band, but repeated what they already had done - just worse.
     
  23. JoeRockhead

    JoeRockhead Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    newsflash - they got and continue to get the credit they deserve. now we can close and/or delete this thread.
     
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  24. ghoulsurgery

    ghoulsurgery House Ghost

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Pitchfork put it best in their review of Live at the Olympia:

    “Though it's doubtful that many uninitiated listeners or lapsed fans will find their way to this record, it does serve as a compelling argument in favor of a staggering body of work that is too often dismissed or outright ignored by modern indie audiences simply because the group had the nerve to keep making new material rather than retiring with a neat, easily digestible discography.”

    I’m glad they quit when they did. There are a lot of great songs on the last 5 records that we wouldn’t have if they all threw in the towel after Berry left. I do think that younger indie audiences are appreciating them more these days. Reissues of the 90s records are inspiring articles and critical reevaluations.
     
  25. GarySteel

    GarySteel Bastard of old

    Location:
    Molde, Norway
    Didn't they sell 76567 gazillion records? And the Replacements sold about 537 copies of all their records combined...

    The world is unfair, I'll give ya that.
     
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