REM's '80s material is just (almost) absolute perfection for me. What amazes me is not only the quality, but how prolific they were too, without the quality ever letting up - they were releasing an album a year and touring at the same time. It really is an incredible back catalogue that deserves a bit more attention and respect: Chronic Town EP (1982) Murmur (1983) Reckoning (1984) Fables of the Reconstruction (1985) Lifes Rich Pageant (1986) Document (1987) (albeit the one that doesn't really do it for me) Green (1988) That is an absolutely incredible run that Michael and the rest of the band should be eternally proud of. OK they aren't the first band to be releasing one (or more) album/s a year, but the consistent quality just emphasises how brilliant they were - other than Document, which I would class as 3.5 or 4 out of 5, the rest are 5/5 albums, no debate. And then after Document, they returned to 5 star form with Green. I didn't even have to look up the years those albums were released - those albums, the songs on them and the year are forever stamped on my mind. It's hard to think of any other band who had, from start to finish, such a consistently brilliant decade. The '90s for me were hit and miss - Out Of Time probably my favourite from the '90s - have to admit I thought Automatic For The People was good but overrated, and Monster and New Adventures were alright but patchy. Up wasn't bad but I'd kind of lost interest by then, and couldn't really tell you anything at all about anything after Up. It's so difficult to place those albums in a top 5 order. But if I had to I would go: 1) Life's Rich Pageant 2) Reckoning 3) Murmur 4) Fables Of The Reconstruction 5) Green The only constant there would be Life's Rich Pageant as my number 1 - my favourite album of all time, by anyone, ever. Numbers 2-4 are pretty much interchangeable, and all fantastic. But yeah - that '80s run - just wow. I can't think of a band who had such a consistent decade from start to finish.
Fables is also my favourite. Bizarrely probably only Wendell Gee from that album would make my top 10 REM songs but Fables is the album that I have played the most over the years. Just love the collection of songs. So melodic. Only 1 song I don't like which is Auctioneer.
@@streetspirit956 yes, Auctioneer is definitely the weakest as an individual song, even though there are some moments that sonically are kinda cool, , plus lyrically and thematically it fits into the concept as a whole pretty well.
Personally, I think Up is by far and away their best album as a 3 piece and I really like the languid production on it. I don't think it has a bad track on it but, admittedly, it is a bit one paced in comparison to their best work. New Adventures has a raw and live feel that reminds us what a great live band REM were. I really like how Mike's backing vocals are to the fore in so many of the songs. No1 for me at the moment is Life's Rich Pageant with Fables and Murmur a close joint second.
I'd say New Adventures is a grower, I hated it at first, but love it now. My ranking has changed a lot over time, but currently is: 1 Lifes Rich Pageant 2 Document 3 Murmur 4 New Adventures In Hi-Fi 5 Out Of Time 6 Automatic For The People 7 Monster 8 Green 9 Fables Of The Reconstruction 10 Reckoning 11 Up 12 Collapse Into Now 13 Accelerate 14 Reveal 15 Around The Sun
As an REM fan since ‘87, I can understand how difficult it is to rank all of their best albums. But “ Life’s Rich Pageant “ is truly special. Although Document is the LP that woke me up to them, “ Life “ is really my #1. Especially love “ I believe and These Days.
One positive I can give about this video, is that you did give some praise to Shiny Happy People and for that I commend you. Definitely one of the most overhated songs.
Glad that Life's Rich Pageant made your Top 3. I just recently got Document. I'm definitely going to have to give that one another listen. I definitely agree with your comments about New Orleans No. 1 Instrumental and Star Me Kitten. Those tracks drag AFTP down for me too but the rest of that album is pretty flawless. Out of Time was the very first R.E.M. album I ever heard and was the one that made R.E.M. the first band I got into when I heard it when I was 7 or 8 years old
Very unusual ranking, but props to you for coming up with something original that doesn't follow the critically-approved canon. I totally agree with Up being last. I think they lost their groove when Bill left and never really got it back, and since this was the first one without Bill it feels even more directionless. I disagree with New Directions, though. I'd put it in my top 10, but probably 9 or 10.
Sad Professor off of Up is a strange, beautiful, underrated song. Electrolite off of New Adventures is gorgeous! Murmur will always be the number one album, probably because of how fresh and amazing it sounded at the time. You're right, the band sort of dismissed Fables as a misstep, which I disagree with. Patton Oswalt said something to the effet of "sorry, once you released Fables it became ours, and it's great." What happened to Reckoning?
Wow! I was not expecting Up to be at the bottom. I’d have it third from the bottom, above Collapse and Around The Sun, but I really like it. I think Sun is their only bad album. Edit - You think Monster was uncommercial?! Just curious, but how old were you then? I was 24 and it really seem to fit right in with what was popular at the time. It went to number one in the U.S., and 1 or 2 in the 10 countries listed on Wikipedia.
Monster was massively commercial - I mean even the star t-shirt seemed to be everywhere - I'd say it was one of their most commercial albums... I mean how singles were pushed off it!
For me it’s impossible to rank Murmur (including Chronic Town) through Automatic For The People. I love them all and it just depends on the mood I’m in or how long it’s been since I’ve played them. If I were to rank them today my list would be completely different a month later. They were masters at making their next album completely different than the previous but still making it every bit as good! I think they started to run out of ideas starting with Monster as the songs for the most part just aren’t as memorable to me. They’re still pretty strong albums with a few gems but they’re my 2 least favorite while Bill was still in the band. I agree Up is just terrible! It really made me lose all interest and I kind of shifted my attention more towards Grunge. It helped that I was living in Seattle at that time. I have R.E.M.’s entire catalog on vinyl through New Adventures in Hifi and I have no desire to own anything beyond. I’ve heard them all And randomly revisit them from time to time on RUclips hoping my opinion will change but so far it hasn’t. Collapse is my favorite of the bunch so if one has a shot of doing it soon it’s that one.
You saying At My Most Beautiful and Daysleeper are great… makes a lot of sense to me, considering that they’re the only R. E.M songs on that album I’ve liked on Spotify lmao.
I'm sure I won't be the only R.E.M. fan to tell you this, but I have major disagreements with a lot of these rankings... Life's Rich Pageant is probably the only one I feel is on the mark. I agree with Document being in the top 5 too. But for my money, you rated Murmur, Automatic, and Reckoning too low and Green and Out of Time too high... Perhaps the biggest head scratcher is that you think New Adventures is worse than Around the Sun.... Color me perplexed... I also think Up is the underrated black sheep in the R.E.M. canon. It's not a masterpiece, but there's a lot of great music on it.
Firstly I love that you said how much Idlewild and Teenage Fanclub are influenced by R.E.M. and many other UK bands besides, but for me Document and Green are the R.E.M. albums pre Monster that have become dated. I hear you on Fables, Automatic is still my favourite but Fables and LRP are right there vying for the #2 slot.
As always with your videos there are some things that make me cringe a bit xD like a shitty album like "Around the sound" ranked higher than the magnificent "New adventures in hi-fi" or "Reveal", two of my favorite REM albums, but everyone's different as we all know. Very entertaining video anyway, I disagree with the order but that's perfectly fine. 'Life's reach pageant" is my personal favorite and most of their 80's records are wonderful, well, most of their career is, except for 'Up' and 'Around the sun'. Amazing band, I miss them. By the way, "Fables of the reconstruction" could easily be at Number 1, why not, it's an absolutely brilliant album from start to finish, it wouldn't be out of place at all.
Always nice to see a bit of love for Fables. In a minor defence of my ranking of Around the Sun, I did mention that it's widely regarded as the band's nadir. What can I say? Sometimes I have poor taste. 😉
@@tokyochuchu hahaha no poor taste at all, everyone's different. I really dislike Around the Sun, except for 'Leaving New York' which I love, the rest of the album is really poor, the only record by REM I can't stand. Even 'Up' which was disappointing enough at the time is way better for me. 2 stains in an otherwise impeccable collection of records, anyway.
Eccentric ranking but props for being different. 1. Automatic for the People 2. Reckoning 3. Murmur 4. Life’s Rich Pageant 5. Monster 6. Out of Time 7. New Adventures in Hifi 8. Fables of the Reconstruction 9. Green 10. Document 11. Up 12. Collapse Into Now 13. Accelerate 14. Reveal 15. Around the Sun
Interesting ranking, and it's funny how much tastes differ. I completely agree with you regarding how much Radio Song sucks, and how wonderful Find the River is. But Monty's Got a Raw Deal is one of my absolute favourite songs, and I can't stand to listen to Superman. :D My top 5 would be: 5. Document 4. Green 3. Automatic for the People 2. Life's Rich Pageant 1. Murmur
1. Fables of the Reconstruction 2. Out of Time 3. Automatic for the People 4. Murmur 5. Life's Rich Pageant 6. Reckoning 7. New Adventures in hifi 8. Up 9. Reveal 10. Monster 11. Green 12. Document 13. Around the Sun 14. Accelerate 15. Collapse into Now
my ranking: 15. Collapse into Now (Best Song: Uberlin, Worst Song: Walk it Back) 14. Around the Sun (Best Song: Leaving New York, Worst Song: The Outsiders) 13. Accelerate (Best Song: Until the Day is Done, Worst Song: I'm Gonna DJ) 12. Up (Best Song: Daysleeper, Worst Song: Parakeet) 11. Reveal (Best Song: Imitation of Life, Worst Song: Chorus and the Ring) 10. Fables of the Reconstruction (Best Song: Can't Get There From Here, Worst Song: Auctioneer Another Engine) 9. Murmur (Best Song: Radio Free Europe, Worst Song: Catapult) 8. Reckoning (Best Song: So. Central Rain I'm Sorry, Worst Song: Little America) 7. Lifes Rich Pageant (Best Song: Fall on Me, Worst Song: Just a Touch) 6. Document (Best Song: Lightnin' Hopkins, Worst Song: Fireplace) 5. Monster (Best Song: Strange Currencies, Worst Song: Let Me In (i guess) 4. New Adventures in Hi-Fi (Best Song: Electrolite, Worst Song: The Wake-Up Bomb) 3. Green (Best Song: Orange Crush, Worst Song: The Wrong Child) 2. Automatic for the People (Best Song: Man on the Moon, Worst Song: Ignoreland (i guess) 1. Out of Time (Best Song: Losing My Religion and everything else, there are no bad songs on this one)
Around the Sun is dead last for me. New Adventures is probably number 4, way up there. Murmur and Reckoning and Fables are all tied for fist place along with Document and number two I'd say is Automatic. The three legged Dog years are the bottom five for sure.
Just some clarification, Star Me Kitten is about seduction and it's hiding it's orignal title, "Fuck Me Kitten" which Stipe sang at the end of the tune.
As cool and unique as it is, the transitional sound effect (celestial drone?) is mixed a bit too loud for me. Kind of jarring. Otherwise I really love your style. Here’s hoping you can get some more followers soon. Thanks for the quality content. 🤟
The notion that Monster beached their career in the United States is quite inaccurate. They were selling out stadiums on that tour and fans were fond of the record. They were huge at this point and Monster only amplified their success. This is true qualitatively and quantitatively.
Obviously the effect on the mainstream from Monster was only felt on the next record's sales. Monster sold well because the mainstream Still had expectations. But it killed off the casual radio-hit fans and led to a huge dip in sales for the next LP New Adventures in HI-FI.
15. Around the Sun (2004) Definitely clearly their worst, but the first couple of tracks are good. :) 14. Reveal (2001) Imitation of Life, All the Way to Reno are great, and I’ll Take the Rain and Beachball are really good, but the rest of the album doesn’t strike me as very remarkable, unfortunately. 13. Accelerate (2008) Same deal here as with Reveal. Hollow Man, Supernatural Superserious and Until the Day is Done are real damn good and Mr. Richards is great (the best song on the album), but the rest is not that good and they kind of seemed to be coming in with too much energy with the distortion, where it really worked on New Adventures with its raw production. 12. Up (1998) Definitely underrated, but most of it is unremarkable when compared to the albums I have above it. That said, I’d say only Parakeet and Diminshed/I’m Not Over You are bad songs. At My Most Beautiful is one of their very best tracks, Daysleeper is really good too, and Suspicion is really cool; I even like Airportman a lot, even tho it doesn’t work as an opener. 11. Collapse into Now (2011) A great note for the band to go out on. It’s just, like you said Chuchu, a celebration of their career. The only bad song on the album is Mine Smell Like Honey. I love Überlin, Oh My Heart is one of their best songs, Blue and Aviator_Alligator_Autopilot_Antimatter are great, and All the Best is a proper jangly ass-kicker! 10. Monster (1994) Still a great album, and I don’t mind the guitar tone at all. However, some tracks are definitely way too middling and one-dimensional compared to their best works. What’s the Frequency, Kenneth? and Crush With Eyeliner are of course great, Tongue is seductive as hell, and Strange Currencies is the best song on the record. Let Me In is very poignant. However: I Don’t Sleep, I Dream is just okay, You is decent, and I’ve never been a fan of Bang and Blame. King of Comedy, Circus Envy and I Took Your Name are the weakest tracks and not very good. 9. Document (1987) It pains me Chuchu, really it does, but I do have to put it this low on my list. It’s still great, don’t get me wrong, and I love the political consciousness of it. Plus, it has some great numbers on it. The One I Love is it’s best track and one of the band’s best in general, I love Exhuming McCarthy, Welcome to the Occupation, and Disturbance at Heron House; King of Birds also rules. But, Oddfellows Local 151 and Strange are just decent and Lightnin’ Hopkins doesn’t work that well. My big achilles heel for this album is: I hate the signature 80s gated reverb drum sound that appears on a lot of the tracks, and it often makes me go back on forth on Finest Worksong; it would be a much better song of you remove that drum sound from it. Finally, I do not like It’s the End of the World As We Know it (And I Feel Fine) AT ALL. It’s one of my least favorite R.E.M. songs lol. :P 8. Fables of the Reconstruction (1985) I used to have this album lower, but it’s definitely grown on me, and obviously the albums are all great from this point on. Such a gothic and moody atmosphere on an album about Southern culture and mythology. That’s one of the things I really appreciated about R.E.M.; while many other bands from the south tried to hide or were ashamed their southern-ness, R.E.M. fully embraced it, and only the good parts of it! Life and How to Live it and Green Grow the Rushes are amazing and total bangers that are among my favorites from them, Driver 8 is awesome and so is Wendell Gee, Auctioneer (Another Engine) and Maps and Legends. Hell, I even love the goofiness of Cant Get There From Here. It’s the most “southern, y’all!” song you’ll ever hear in your life, and it totally works! Really the only tacks that don’t work on the album are the opener Feeling Gravity’s Pull and Old Man Kensey. 7. Out of Time (1991) Fantastic record! And yes, the only bad track on it is Radio Song, which totally sucks ass. But, I don’t think Endgame works all that well either, especially as a three and a half minute-long instrumental. But, the rest of it I love! I even (occasionally) love Shiny Happy People lol. Losing My Religion is one of the most legendary songs of all time, and that’s for a good reason. It’s literally Beatles-level songwriting! The track sequencing is the album’s biggest problem, and the tracks needed rearranging badly. 6. Lifes Rich Pageant (1986) Same with Out of Time, an awesome album that has a couple of tracks that I don’t like at all, those being the opener Begin the Begin and the closer Superman. So basically, it’s bookended by two songs I don’t like…and the rest of it I love! Best tracks: Fall on Me (amazing, my second-favorite R.E.M. song!), Hyena, I Believe, Cuyahoga, The Flowers of Guatemala, Just a Touch, These Days, Swan Swan H! Also, definitely their most accessible I.R.S. album by far. *My top five albums here are all A perfect FIVE stars, and I love every track on all of them! 5. Reckoning (1984) A refined water-themed album without a weak moment. None of it comes of to me as plain. I did used to hate Camera because it’s a very long and slow song, very proto-post rock in a way. The main melody takes a long time to develop. But, once it does, I found that it’s very rewarding. Harborcoat is a top 10 song of theirs for me and one of their best openers if not their best. And yeah, the rest of the album is just top notch. Plus, I don’t agree on Little America, I think it’s a great closer! :) 4. New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996) This album seems to divide people. I’ve seen people rank it near the bottom and I’ve seen some rank it near the top, and I happen to fall in the latter camp. I think it’s just one of the best albums of the 1990s, not just by R.E.M., but by anyone. It’s a sprawling, eclectic and inspired summation of everything the band had done to that point. Every song slays, five stars like I said, and yes, that even includes Binky the Doormat lol. The production is often cited as the album’s big issue, that the record is very thin and flat and hollow-sounding. In a way, it is, however I don’t mind that at all. I love the sound; I think it’s very raw and warm and has a very homely, intimate and down-to-earth quality to it. So, I’ll defend it to the moon and back. It’s awesome! 3. Green (1988) Five stars. A great ironic play on where lol music and radio were at the time. It also helps that the pop on the album is based on 60s pop instead of 80s pop, which is so refreshing! R.E.M. managed to find the perfect solution to them keeping their artistic integrity and being able to be more poppy: the mandolin. The instrument is used on a lot of tracks on the album, which allows it, almost miraculously, to be poppy and accessible yet experimental at the same time! And yeah: World Leader Pretend, Pop Song 89, Get Up, Orange Crush, You Are the Everything, Untitled (or as I call it: I’m Awake), Turn You Inside-Out, The Wrong Child; hell, even Stand and Hairshirt are all awesome. Pretty much every song works fantastically! *Here we go, my top two. They’re basically 1a and 1b for me tbh. 2. Automatic for the People (1992) No, it’s not the end-all-be-all of R.E.M., but I absolutely acknowledge that it’s them at the peak of their powers music and songwriting-wise. Every song on it is amazing and breathtaking and that includes the instrumental interlude and Star Me Kitten (a song about fucking, hehe), and yes, even the two “plain and ordinary” and “lightweight” tracks on the album are awesome. I love The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite and Man on the Moon. They’re not just lightweight throwaways to me. They serve a good purpose of being perfectly-placed moments of levity on such a dark and mournful album, and plus, they’re still dark songs as they’re both about death. I also didn’t get Drive for a while, and while it is still the weakest track on the album, it still rules. It’s a perfect album, but it doesn’t take the top spot because of one record… 1. Murmur (1983) Y’know, to establish yourself as a band right away with THIS as your debut is so remarkable and astonishing in the best way possible. This thing is also perfect, start to finish. I don’t skip anything on it. And, the thing that puts it over the top for me is due it’s sheer groundbreaking-ness and overall vibe. It’s so utterly gorgeous, mysterious, sensual, and shy like a warm blanket around you in a hot tub in the middle of a foggy forest. It was also there for me during a very dark and important time in my life, so that takes it home for me too. There you go! :) Yeah, it’s safe to say R.E.M. are a top five band for me of all time!
After your community post about the worst nadir by The Cure, Mozza, REM & Radiohead I decided to give REM a go, firstly I am not a big fan, some of their singles I do not like at all or at least I remember not liking them at the time, ‘Stand’, ‘It's the End of the World’, ‘‘Shiny Happy People’ * Man On The Moon’ are just a few examples… My top five albums I know really well and to be honest ‘Lifes Rich Pageant’ is the only album that I like from start to finish…. Don’t be too hard on my placings, at times the discog was tough going and at times Michael Stipes voice grated on me… As you say “Did I gain more appreciation”, the answer is “Yes I did” but not enough to make me outright adore the band, personally I don’t think any of the albums are bad, I can think of a multitude of bands where their best album is worse than REM’s least best… With more listening these placings could change, still a newbie to 70% of it... Albums... 15… New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996)… Be Mine, Electrolite, … 14… Monster (1994)… Crush With Eyeliner, Strange Currencies, 13… Collapse into Now (2011)… Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando And I, 12… Up (1998)… At My Most Beautiful, Daysleeper, Why Not Smile 11… Around the Sun (2004)… Leaving New York, Final Straw, I Wanted To Be Wrong, Aftermath, 10… Murmur (1983)… We Walk, 9.9, Shaking Through 09… Accelerate (2008)… Hollow Man, Houston, Until The Day Is Done, Mr. Richards, Horse To Water 08… Reveal (2001)… All The Way To Reno (You're Gonna Be A Star), Beat A Drum, Imitation Of Life, Summer Turns To High, I'll Take The Rain 07… Reckoning (1984)… 7 Chinese Bros, Time After Time (AnnElise), Second Guessing, [Don't Go Back To] Rockville… 06… Green (1988)… You Are The Everything, World Leader Pretend, Orange Crush, Stand 05… Document (1987)… Finest Worksong, The One I Love, King of Birds, 04… Out of Time (1991)… Shiny Happy People, Half A World Away, Me In Honey Rushes, Kohoutek, Good Advices, Wendell Gee 03… Fables of the Reconstruction (1985)… Driver 8, Green Grow The Rushes 02… Automatic for the People (1992)… Drive, The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite, Everybody Hurts, Star Me Kitten, Nightswimming, Find The River, Man On The Moon 01… Lifes Rich Pageant (1986)… Begin The Begin, These Days, Fall On Me, Cuyahoga, I Believe, Swan Swan H Songs… 10… Swan Swan H 09… All The Way To Reno (You're Gonna Be A Star) 08… Shiny Happy People 07… I Believe 06… Nightswimming 05… (Don't Go Back To) Rockville 04… Driver 8 03… Wendell Gee 02… Drive 01… Find The River
Yep. Yep. Yep. I'm all for that. I absolutely love that you went for the deep dive and gave R.E.M a try. The band, in my opinion, are a real mixed bag. They have a decade of awesomeness followed by two decades of utter rot. Slightly redeemed at the tail with their last two LPs (imo) but not by much. Still... R.E.M 1982 - 1992... Amazing indie rock that galvanized and inspired the entire genre. If you ever have time, check their debut Chronic Town EP. Wolves Lower & Gardening at Night are essential R.E.M tunes.
@@tokyochuchu I may work up the nerve to give Radiohead a try, the firs time I heard 'Creep', I thought it was the best thing ever ' High & Dry' and 'No Surprises' I also love but I've listened to a sizeable amount of their work and as good as I know it is, it just doesn't hit my pleasure zone, plus I'm not a fan of higher voice registers... Will give the REM EP a listen...
@@ste.6026 I get where you're coming from. Truth be told, I think Radiohead are quite overrated. Their best stuff is amazing. But a lot of it is quite middling as far as I remember. But I'm looking forward to diving in and getting to the bottom of it once and for all. That's the ultimate fun of doing this. Giving these bands the ultimate chance and finally being able to dust off your hands and say with certainty; "I like this" or "This was not very good." There's nothing that quite seals the deal either way than a proper deep dive. 👍
I listened to all their albums over the past couple of weeks and here's my ranking: 15: Around the Sun: Opening track, Leaving New York is a good song, the rest of the album is boring and forgettable. 14: Up: Several good tracks i.e. Lotus, Daysleeper, but most of the album just weird electronica and worse than Around the sun (at least the other songs are normal if boring) although arguably more interesting and maybe a grower. Hope COULD have been great if they made it a ROCKER with big guitars and not this weird electronic accompaniment. 13: New Adventures in Hi-Fi: Songs suffers from a distinct lack of melody and quite monotone. First few tracks are a bit of a drag, but improved with Departure and especially Bittersweet Me which I think is a really underrated song. 12: Collapse into now: Not a bad record to end their career, but the songs themselves are rather forgettable with no stand out tracks. 11: Reveal. Decent songs overall and a nice chillout type of record. Imitation of Life by the best songs here, it stands out as the rest of the record has the drums and vocals subdued beneath electronic sounds. If the other songs could have been produced with stronger vocals at the front of the mix and more pronounced drum beats it would be a much better record. 10. Monster: First three tracks (Whats the Frequency, Crush with eyeliner, King of Comedy) are great and most of the rest of the record is OK. Suffers from an over-bearing grunge guitar tone. If it was produced like Accelerate or Document, it would make a better record. 9. Accelerate: Great first three tracks again especially Supernatural Superserious, their last great song. Wanes a bit in the second half of the record. 8. Reckoning: 7 Chinese brothers the best track. Overall a great listen but very much a Murmur part 2 and not quite as good as their debut. 7. Life's rich pageant: A great sound and style overall, Begin the Begin is the best track here but in general while its consistent and solid, it doesn't contain any of their best songs. 6. Murmur: Radio Free Europe is fantastic, many other great songs, i.e. Talk about the Passion, Caterpault. 5. Fables of the Reconstruction: Driver 8 and Can't Get There from Here are two of the best REM songs. 4: Automatic for the People: Half of the album is objectively great though not always my personal favourites (Drive, Sidewinder, Everybody Hurts, Ignoreland, Man on the Moon, Nightswimming) other songs are good but a few filler tracks mean this record is still a little over rated. 3. Document: Many great songs, i.e. Finest Worksong, Disturbance at the Heroin house, Strange, Its the end of the world, and no filler at all, so a very solid alternative rock record with a great production. 2. Green. Again very consistent record, full of good songs. Stand and Turn you Inside Out are standout tracks. 1. Out of Time: Comes top simply as its the record I enjoy listening to the most. Unlike everyone else it seems I love Radio Song, its different for REM, more of a funk feel and combing this style with the KRS One rap makes this truly original. All the songs here are enjoyable and an easy listen, really enjoy Kate Piersons contribution on Shiny Happy People and Me in Honey, plus the two tracks with Mike Mills doing lead vocals giving some variety, Country Feedback is a grower with much depth to it, and even the more experimental tracks i.e, Endgame, Belong are memorable and work well.
I really like UP actually... I'm with you that Find the River is probably their best song. All The Way to Reno is their worst. Much more cloying or annoying than Shiny Happy People or Radio Song. Up has "Why Not Smile" "Walk Unafraid" "Diminished" "The Apologist" - even the hidden song "I'm not over You".... different strokes for different folks
@@rickycalhoun5394 Copied from a quick Google of jangle pop; What is the style of jangle pop? Jangle Pop was an American post-punk movement of the mid-'80s that marked a return to the chiming guitars and pop melodies of the '60s. Sparked by the arrival of R.E.M., jangle pop also had some folk-rock overtones, but it was essentially a pop-based format.
I mean I think personally your rankings are way off and calling Monster uncommercial is a massive mistake - if anything it is their most commercial album and was heavily pushed by warners - especially as it had a tour to back it. Neew Adventures is great - if anything it's their last great album - the only issue with it is the length of the songs.
I love Murmur but I standby my ranking. But that's my own personal choice. Subjectivity, eh? If you absolutely love Murmur and would put it at #1, fair play. That's a very valid choice and I'm happy you give that LP the love and respect it deserves.
Here’s my ranking: 15 - Around The Sun - all 13 songs are filler and sound pretty much the same. Extremely boring and terrible. No highlights for me. 14 - Up - a huge departure from New Adventures. More electronica and poppy than their previous albums, and also has lots of filler. Daysleeper is the only song I like, while everything else sounds either boring or cringy. The length doesn’t help either. 13 - Reveal - not terrible, but mediocre. It’s certainly an improvement from Up, but still sounds uninspiring and boring at most times. The Lifting, All The Way To Reno, She Just Wants To Be, and Imitation Of Life are the highlights imo. 12 - Collapse Into Now - not a bad way to end your career, this album is decent for the most part. Discoverer, Oh My Heart, Everyday Is Yours To Win, and Walk It Back are my highlights. However I think the album ends on a sour note (Blue). 11 - Accelerate - the band’s heaviest and loudest album post-Bill Berry is a huge improvement from Around The Sun. I enjoy nearly every song on the album, with Living Well Is The Best Revenge, Supernatural Superserious, Hollow Man, and I’m Gonna DJ being my favorites. 10 - Fables Of The Reconstruction - I have mixed feelings on this album and overall the new direction they took musically. The production isn’t that good, and some of the songs blend in at times. The first four songs are a great way to start it off. Can’t Get There From Here, Kohoutek, and Wendell Gee are pretty good too. Overall it’s fine. 9 - Monster - definitely one of their most inconsistent albums, that’s both a good and bad thing imo. The first two songs start off the album very strongly while also showing that this record will be extremely different from its predecessor. I Don’t Sleep I Dream, Strange Currencies, Tongue, and Bang And Blame are my highlights, I can’t stand King Of Comedy though, easily the worst song on the album for me. Overall it’s quite an interesting listen. 8 - New Adventures In Hi-Fi - one of their most underrated albums imo, the entire record is such a cool experience. Pretty much every song is fantastic, my favorites are New Test Leper, Leave, Be Mine, Zither, So Fast So Numb, and Electrolite. I love how experimental and creative they got on this record, and it’s length doesn’t bother me at all. 7 - Green - Imo, Green isn’t as catchy or as memorable as their earlier albums, but it’s still mostly enjoyable despite being their most pop sounding record. Pop Song 89 and Untitled are great album openers and closers, and You Are The Everything and The Wrong Child are beautiful ballads. My favorites are Stand and World Leader Pretend. I’ve never been a big fan of Orange Crush tho. Still a great album. 6 - Out Of Time - this album is also very inconsistent just like Monster, however I think this record does a better job at it. The funkiness of Radio Song, the beautiful mandolin in Losing My Religion, the haunting guitar ballad in Low, the upbeat Shiny Happy People and Me In Honey, it all works brilliant. My favorite songs are Near Wild Heaven, Endgame, and Texarkana. 5 - Reckoning - I certainly think R.E.M. beat the sophomore slump, despite not being quite as good as their debut. The first half of the album is fantastic, however I feel like it gets slightly lost in the second half. I think Camera drags out for too long, and I think Rockville doesn’t quite fit with the rest of the record. Overall I’d call it Murmur part 2 since it delivers for the most part. My favorites are Harborcoat, Seven Chinese Brothers, So. Central Rain, Second Guessing, and Little America. 4 - Automatic For The People - I think this album is fantastic, but also extremely overrated. I seriously don’t understand why most fans call this their best work, and it being their best selling album, when it doesn’t even resemble earlier R.E.M. at all. I don’t mind the new direction they took, but I still don’t think this represents the band the best way possible. Anyways, the first two songs are fantastic openers, Sweetness Follows is such an emotional ballad, Find The River is imo the best closing song R.E.M. have ever done, and of course, Everybody Hurts is easily one of their best songs ever. I also like Ignoreland, despite sounding a little off with the rest of the record. Also, New Orleans Instrumental No. 1 seems unnecessary and not far from filler material. My favorites are Drive, Try Not To Breathe, Everybody Hurts, Sweetness Follows, Man On The Moon, and Find The River. Great album, but not their best. 3 - Murmur - one of the best debut albums I’ve ever listened to, this blew my mind when I first heard it. This record sounds completely different from everything else at the time which is what I love about it so much. Stipe’s and Mill’s vocals really blend well with each other, and the guitar is so catchy and beautiful at times. This record also has some of Mill’s best bass lines imo. I love all 12 songs, not a single bad or filler track. But if I had to pick my absolute favorites, they would be Radio Free Europe, Laughing, Perfect Circle, Catapult, Sitting Still, and Shaking Through. A near perfect record in my eyes. 2 - Document - quite possibly their most funnest sounding record, the majority of the songs are upbeat, catchy, and creative musically and lyrically. Finest Worksong is easily one of the best album openers R.E.M. has ever done, Exhuming McCarthy and Lightnin’ Hopkins are great funky tunes, Welcome To The Occupation and The One I Love are typical R.E.M., and It’s The End Of The World As We Know It is an undeniably catchy song, and possibly my most favorite R.E.M. song. Plus the production on this record sounds absolutely perfect. The only con I have is that I feel the album ends a little weak with the final two tracks. 1 - Lifes Rich Pageant - R.E.M. at their loudest and heaviest, this is a major improvement from Fables. Stipe’s vocals are a lot louder, Buck’s guitar work is mesmerising, and this record might have Berry’s best drumming. The first three songs are the perfect way to open an album, Hyena, I Believe, and Just A Touch are some of the fastest songs they ever did, The Flowers Of Guatemala and Swan Swan H are beautiful relaxing tunes, and overall this record is an absolute powerhouse. I even like Underneath The Bunker, although I think it would’ve worked better if it were the opening track, since it would be perfect for an intro to the rest of the album. I enjoy every song on this record, and it’s definitely my favorite R.E.M. album.
"Lifes Rich Pageant" is their best. (No apostrophe for some reason.) The others are open to discussion. I personally love "Murmur," "Monster," "Document" and "Automatic." Don't care much for "Fables" and "New Adventures." "Green" is too poppy at times. "Reveal" and "Around the Sun" are both worse than "Up," which has some really cool cuts.
Noticed New Adventures is getting a lot of positive retrospective reviews
REM's '80s material is just (almost) absolute perfection for me. What amazes me is not only the quality, but how prolific they were too, without the quality ever letting up - they were releasing an album a year and touring at the same time. It really is an incredible back catalogue that deserves a bit more attention and respect:
Chronic Town EP (1982)
Murmur (1983)
Reckoning (1984)
Fables of the Reconstruction (1985)
Lifes Rich Pageant (1986)
Document (1987) (albeit the one that doesn't really do it for me)
Green (1988)
That is an absolutely incredible run that Michael and the rest of the band should be eternally proud of. OK they aren't the first band to be releasing one (or more) album/s a year, but the consistent quality just emphasises how brilliant they were - other than Document, which I would class as 3.5 or 4 out of 5, the rest are 5/5 albums, no debate. And then after Document, they returned to 5 star form with Green.
I didn't even have to look up the years those albums were released - those albums, the songs on them and the year are forever stamped on my mind. It's hard to think of any other band who had, from start to finish, such a consistently brilliant decade.
The '90s for me were hit and miss - Out Of Time probably my favourite from the '90s - have to admit I thought Automatic For The People was good but overrated, and Monster and New Adventures were alright but patchy. Up wasn't bad but I'd kind of lost interest by then, and couldn't really tell you anything at all about anything after Up.
It's so difficult to place those albums in a top 5 order. But if I had to I would go:
1) Life's Rich Pageant
2) Reckoning
3) Murmur
4) Fables Of The Reconstruction
5) Green
The only constant there would be Life's Rich Pageant as my number 1 - my favourite album of all time, by anyone, ever. Numbers 2-4 are pretty much interchangeable, and all fantastic.
But yeah - that '80s run - just wow. I can't think of a band who had such a consistent decade from start to finish.
there isn't a lot of variety on New Adventures? have you listened to it!! ?? its really diverse
Don’t be such a robot! If you want to put Fables at #1 then do it!
It’s my #1 rem album and I’ll defend that decision all day long!
Love that record!
I'm with you on this one! Though I think it might have to fight it out with Automatic and Reckoning.
Fables is also my favourite. Bizarrely probably only Wendell Gee from that album would make my top 10 REM songs but Fables is the album that I have played the most over the years. Just love the collection of songs. So melodic. Only 1 song I don't like which is Auctioneer.
@@streetspirit956 yes, Auctioneer is definitely the weakest as an individual song, even though there are some moments that sonically are kinda cool, , plus lyrically and thematically it fits into the concept as a whole pretty well.
I agree definitely my top three
Personally, I think Up is by far and away their best album as a 3 piece and I really like the languid production on it. I don't think it has a bad track on it but, admittedly, it is a bit one paced in comparison to their best work. New Adventures has a raw and live feel that reminds us what a great live band REM were. I really like how Mike's backing vocals are to the fore in so many of the songs. No1 for me at the moment is Life's Rich Pageant with Fables and Murmur a close joint second.
I'd say New Adventures is a grower, I hated it at first, but love it now. My ranking has changed a lot over time, but currently is:
1 Lifes Rich Pageant
2 Document
3 Murmur
4 New Adventures In Hi-Fi
5 Out Of Time
6 Automatic For The People
7 Monster
8 Green
9 Fables Of The Reconstruction
10 Reckoning
11 Up
12 Collapse Into Now
13 Accelerate
14 Reveal
15 Around The Sun
Solid - I'd only switch "Green" with "NAiHF"
@@Marmoset2009 Thanks!
@@nobody3404 Thanks!
No way have you got Green so far down
As an REM fan since ‘87, I can understand how difficult it is to rank all of their best albums. But “ Life’s Rich Pageant “ is truly special. Although Document is the LP that woke me up to them, “ Life “ is really my #1. Especially love “ I believe and These Days.
Yes!
I Believe = Gorgeous! :)
I agree totally
I had you pegged as a Green guy, but was very pleasantly surprised. Nice job.
One positive I can give about this video, is that you did give some praise to Shiny Happy People and for that I commend you.
Definitely one of the most overhated songs.
It does serve a great purpose of introducing young children to the wonder of R.E.M.’s music at a young age!
Agree. It's quirky and I know REM themselves don't like it but it's gloriously melodic.
Glad that Life's Rich Pageant made your Top 3. I just recently got Document. I'm definitely going to have to give that one another listen. I definitely agree with your comments about New Orleans No. 1 Instrumental and Star Me Kitten. Those tracks drag AFTP down for me too but the rest of that album is pretty flawless. Out of Time was the very first R.E.M. album I ever heard and was the one that made R.E.M. the first band I got into when I heard it when I was 7 or 8 years old
Yeah... Don't sleep on Document. That album absolutely rules!
New adventures???... you've got to be kidding 😂
Great ranking! This video deserves way more views
Thank you very much!
Very unusual ranking, but props to you for coming up with something original that doesn't follow the critically-approved canon. I totally agree with Up being last. I think they lost their groove when Bill left and never really got it back, and since this was the first one without Bill it feels even more directionless. I disagree with New Directions, though. I'd put it in my top 10, but probably 9 or 10.
Sad Professor off of Up is a strange, beautiful, underrated song. Electrolite off of New Adventures is gorgeous! Murmur will always be the number one album, probably because of how fresh and amazing it sounded at the time. You're right, the band sort of dismissed Fables as a misstep, which I disagree with. Patton Oswalt said something to the effet of "sorry, once you released Fables it became ours, and it's great." What happened to Reckoning?
Wow! I was not expecting Up to be at the bottom. I’d have it third from the bottom, above Collapse and Around The Sun, but I really like it. I think Sun is their only bad album. Edit - You think Monster was uncommercial?! Just curious, but how old were you then? I was 24 and it really seem to fit right in with what was popular at the time. It went to number one in the U.S., and 1 or 2 in the 10 countries listed on Wikipedia.
I was 13 I believe. 🤔
Monster was massively commercial - I mean even the star t-shirt seemed to be everywhere - I'd say it was one of their most commercial albums... I mean how singles were pushed off it!
For me it’s impossible to rank Murmur (including Chronic Town) through Automatic For The People. I love them all and it just depends on the mood I’m in or how long it’s been since I’ve played them. If I were to rank them today my list would be completely different a month later. They were masters at making their next album completely different than the previous but still making it every bit as good! I think they started to run out of ideas starting with Monster as the songs for the most part just aren’t as memorable to me. They’re still pretty strong albums with a few gems but they’re my 2 least favorite while Bill was still in the band. I agree Up is just terrible! It really made me lose all interest and I kind of shifted my attention more towards Grunge. It helped that I was living in Seattle at that time. I have R.E.M.’s entire catalog on vinyl through New Adventures in Hifi and I have no desire to own anything beyond. I’ve heard them all And randomly revisit them from time to time on RUclips hoping my opinion will change but so far it hasn’t. Collapse is my favorite of the bunch so if one has a shot of doing it soon it’s that one.
You saying At My Most Beautiful and Daysleeper are great… makes a lot of sense to me, considering that they’re the only R. E.M songs on that album I’ve liked on Spotify lmao.
I'm sure I won't be the only R.E.M. fan to tell you this, but I have major disagreements with a lot of these rankings... Life's Rich Pageant is probably the only one I feel is on the mark. I agree with Document being in the top 5 too. But for my money, you rated Murmur, Automatic, and Reckoning too low and Green and Out of Time too high... Perhaps the biggest head scratcher is that you think New Adventures is worse than Around the Sun.... Color me perplexed... I also think Up is the underrated black sheep in the R.E.M. canon. It's not a masterpiece, but there's a lot of great music on it.
That's what subjectivity is all about, my friend.
Firstly I love that you said how much Idlewild and Teenage Fanclub are influenced by R.E.M. and many other UK bands besides, but for me Document and Green are the R.E.M. albums pre Monster that have become dated. I hear you on Fables, Automatic is still my favourite but Fables and LRP are right there vying for the #2 slot.
As always with your videos there are some things that make me cringe a bit xD like a shitty album like "Around the sound" ranked higher than the magnificent "New adventures in hi-fi" or "Reveal", two of my favorite REM albums, but everyone's different as we all know.
Very entertaining video anyway, I disagree with the order but that's perfectly fine. 'Life's reach pageant" is my personal favorite and most of their 80's records are wonderful, well, most of their career is, except for 'Up' and 'Around the sun'. Amazing band, I miss them.
By the way, "Fables of the reconstruction" could easily be at Number 1, why not, it's an absolutely brilliant album from start to finish, it wouldn't be out of place at all.
Always nice to see a bit of love for Fables. In a minor defence of my ranking of Around the Sun, I did mention that it's widely regarded as the band's nadir. What can I say? Sometimes I have poor taste. 😉
@@tokyochuchu hahaha no poor taste at all, everyone's different. I really dislike Around the Sun, except for 'Leaving New York' which I love, the rest of the album is really poor, the only record by REM I can't stand. Even 'Up' which was disappointing enough at the time is way better for me. 2 stains in an otherwise impeccable collection of records, anyway.
New Adventures in Hi-Fi is not a great album. The band sound very tired and exhausted and out of ideas on it. Near the bottom for me as well.
Eccentric ranking but props for being different.
1. Automatic for the People
2. Reckoning
3. Murmur
4. Life’s Rich Pageant
5. Monster
6. Out of Time
7. New Adventures in Hifi
8. Fables of the Reconstruction
9. Green
10. Document
11. Up
12. Collapse Into Now
13. Accelerate
14. Reveal
15. Around the Sun
Spot on mate! 100% with you on everything you mentioned about FABLES.
And AFTP made me dislike R.E.M.
Never owned a copy of GREEN .
Interesting ranking, and it's funny how much tastes differ. I completely agree with you regarding how much Radio Song sucks, and how wonderful Find the River is. But Monty's Got a Raw Deal is one of my absolute favourite songs, and I can't stand to listen to Superman. :D
My top 5 would be:
5. Document
4. Green
3. Automatic for the People
2. Life's Rich Pageant
1. Murmur
The power of subjectivity, my friend. I love Superman, but Stipe hated it so much that he straight up refused to sing lead on it.
Good list. I'd substitute Monster for Green.
1. Fables of the Reconstruction
2. Out of Time
3. Automatic for the People
4. Murmur
5. Life's Rich Pageant
6. Reckoning
7. New Adventures in hifi
8. Up
9. Reveal
10. Monster
11. Green
12. Document
13. Around the Sun
14. Accelerate
15. Collapse into Now
Agree with you about Fables, should be # 1
Will you do the Pixies? I love your videos.
I have been making top ten album lists of the year for the 1980s. Next up this week is 1988. Look for some Pixies on that list for sure!
@@tokyochuchu I can recommend their new stuff, too. They only got better with time.
Up, new adventures and monster is in my top 5.
my ranking:
15. Collapse into Now (Best Song: Uberlin, Worst Song: Walk it Back)
14. Around the Sun (Best Song: Leaving New York, Worst Song: The Outsiders)
13. Accelerate (Best Song: Until the Day is Done, Worst Song: I'm Gonna DJ)
12. Up (Best Song: Daysleeper, Worst Song: Parakeet)
11. Reveal (Best Song: Imitation of Life, Worst Song: Chorus and the Ring)
10. Fables of the Reconstruction (Best Song: Can't Get There From Here, Worst Song: Auctioneer Another Engine)
9. Murmur (Best Song: Radio Free Europe, Worst Song: Catapult)
8. Reckoning (Best Song: So. Central Rain I'm Sorry, Worst Song: Little America)
7. Lifes Rich Pageant (Best Song: Fall on Me, Worst Song: Just a Touch)
6. Document (Best Song: Lightnin' Hopkins, Worst Song: Fireplace)
5. Monster (Best Song: Strange Currencies, Worst Song: Let Me In (i guess)
4. New Adventures in Hi-Fi (Best Song: Electrolite, Worst Song: The Wake-Up Bomb)
3. Green (Best Song: Orange Crush, Worst Song: The Wrong Child)
2. Automatic for the People (Best Song: Man on the Moon, Worst Song: Ignoreland (i guess)
1. Out of Time (Best Song: Losing My Religion and everything else, there are no bad songs on this one)
Around the Sun is dead last for me. New Adventures is probably number 4, way up there. Murmur and Reckoning and Fables are all tied for fist place along with Document and number two I'd say is Automatic. The three legged Dog years are the bottom five for sure.
I actually don’t get why. For me New Adventures in Hi-Fi is near the bottom.
"Reveal" is wretched.
Just some clarification, Star Me Kitten is about seduction and it's hiding it's orignal title, "Fuck Me Kitten" which Stipe sang at the end of the tune.
As cool and unique as it is, the transitional sound effect (celestial drone?) is mixed a bit too loud for me. Kind of jarring. Otherwise I really love your style. Here’s hoping you can get some more followers soon. Thanks for the quality content. 🤟
Thanks for the feedback. I should lower the volume of that thing perhaps.
They never topped the IRS albums. But New Adventures came closest.
I would certainly not have judged you if you put Fables at number 1
The notion that Monster beached their career in the United States is quite inaccurate. They were selling out stadiums on that tour and fans were fond of the record. They were huge at this point and Monster only amplified their success. This is true qualitatively and quantitatively.
Obviously the effect on the mainstream from Monster was only felt on the next record's sales. Monster sold well because the mainstream Still had expectations. But it killed off the casual radio-hit fans and led to a huge dip in sales for the next LP New Adventures in HI-FI.
I stopped paying close attention after Life's Rich Pageant. I really did appreciate Automatic For The People.
Agree. Document is their best. It had everything. They were in the peak.
Life and How to Live It is my favorite song
It's definitely one of mine too.
Mine too!
15. Around the Sun (2004)
Definitely clearly their worst, but the first couple of tracks are good. :)
14. Reveal (2001)
Imitation of Life, All the Way to Reno are great, and I’ll Take the Rain and Beachball are really good, but the rest of the album doesn’t strike me as very remarkable, unfortunately.
13. Accelerate (2008)
Same deal here as with Reveal. Hollow Man, Supernatural Superserious and Until the Day is Done are real damn good and Mr. Richards is great (the best song on the album), but the rest is not that good and they kind of seemed to be coming in with too much energy with the distortion, where it really worked on New Adventures with its raw production.
12. Up (1998)
Definitely underrated, but most of it is unremarkable when compared to the albums I have above it. That said, I’d say only Parakeet and Diminshed/I’m Not Over You are bad songs. At My Most Beautiful is one of their very best tracks, Daysleeper is really good too, and Suspicion is really cool; I even like Airportman a lot, even tho it doesn’t work as an opener.
11. Collapse into Now (2011)
A great note for the band to go out on. It’s just, like you said Chuchu, a celebration of their career. The only bad song on the album is Mine Smell Like Honey. I love Überlin, Oh My Heart is one of their best songs, Blue and Aviator_Alligator_Autopilot_Antimatter are great, and All the Best is a proper jangly ass-kicker!
10. Monster (1994)
Still a great album, and I don’t mind the guitar tone at all. However, some tracks are definitely way too middling and one-dimensional compared to their best works. What’s the Frequency, Kenneth? and Crush With Eyeliner are of course great, Tongue is seductive as hell, and Strange Currencies is the best song on the record. Let Me In is very poignant. However: I Don’t Sleep, I Dream is just okay, You is decent, and I’ve never been a fan of Bang and Blame. King of Comedy, Circus Envy and I Took Your Name are the weakest tracks and not very good.
9. Document (1987)
It pains me Chuchu, really it does, but I do have to put it this low on my list. It’s still great, don’t get me wrong, and I love the political consciousness of it. Plus, it has some great numbers on it. The One I Love is it’s best track and one of the band’s best in general, I love Exhuming McCarthy, Welcome to the Occupation, and Disturbance at Heron House; King of Birds also rules. But, Oddfellows Local 151 and Strange are just decent and Lightnin’ Hopkins doesn’t work that well. My big achilles heel for this album is: I hate the signature 80s gated reverb drum sound that appears on a lot of the tracks, and it often makes me go back on forth on Finest Worksong; it would be a much better song of you remove that drum sound from it. Finally, I do not like It’s the End of the World As We Know it (And I Feel Fine) AT ALL. It’s one of my least favorite R.E.M. songs lol. :P
8. Fables of the Reconstruction (1985)
I used to have this album lower, but it’s definitely grown on me, and obviously the albums are all great from this point on. Such a gothic and moody atmosphere on an album about Southern culture and mythology. That’s one of the things I really appreciated about R.E.M.; while many other bands from the south tried to hide or were ashamed their southern-ness, R.E.M. fully embraced it, and only the good parts of it! Life and How to Live it and Green Grow the Rushes are amazing and total bangers that are among my favorites from them, Driver 8 is awesome and so is Wendell Gee, Auctioneer (Another Engine) and Maps and Legends. Hell, I even love the goofiness of Cant Get There From Here. It’s the most “southern, y’all!” song you’ll ever hear in your life, and it totally works! Really the only tacks that don’t work on the album are the opener Feeling Gravity’s Pull and Old Man Kensey.
7. Out of Time (1991)
Fantastic record! And yes, the only bad track on it is Radio Song, which totally sucks ass. But, I don’t think Endgame works all that well either, especially as a three and a half minute-long instrumental. But, the rest of it I love! I even (occasionally) love Shiny Happy People lol. Losing My Religion is one of the most legendary songs of all time, and that’s for a good reason. It’s literally Beatles-level songwriting! The track sequencing is the album’s biggest problem, and the tracks needed rearranging badly.
6. Lifes Rich Pageant (1986)
Same with Out of Time, an awesome album that has a couple of tracks that I don’t like at all, those being the opener Begin the Begin and the closer Superman. So basically, it’s bookended by two songs I don’t like…and the rest of it I love! Best tracks: Fall on Me (amazing, my second-favorite R.E.M. song!), Hyena, I Believe, Cuyahoga, The Flowers of Guatemala, Just a Touch, These Days, Swan Swan H! Also, definitely their most accessible I.R.S. album by far.
*My top five albums here are all A perfect FIVE stars, and I love every track on all of them!
5. Reckoning (1984)
A refined water-themed album without a weak moment. None of it comes of to me as plain. I did used to hate Camera because it’s a very long and slow song, very proto-post rock in a way. The main melody takes a long time to develop. But, once it does, I found that it’s very rewarding. Harborcoat is a top 10 song of theirs for me and one of their best openers if not their best. And yeah, the rest of the album is just top notch. Plus, I don’t agree on Little America, I think it’s a great closer! :)
4. New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996)
This album seems to divide people. I’ve seen people rank it near the bottom and I’ve seen some rank it near the top, and I happen to fall in the latter camp. I think it’s just one of the best albums of the 1990s, not just by R.E.M., but by anyone. It’s a sprawling, eclectic and inspired summation of everything the band had done to that point. Every song slays, five stars like I said, and yes, that even includes Binky the Doormat lol. The production is often cited as the album’s big issue, that the record is very thin and flat and hollow-sounding. In a way, it is, however I don’t mind that at all. I love the sound; I think it’s very raw and warm and has a very homely, intimate and down-to-earth quality to it. So, I’ll defend it to the moon and back. It’s awesome!
3. Green (1988)
Five stars. A great ironic play on where lol music and radio were at the time. It also helps that the pop on the album is based on 60s pop instead of 80s pop, which is so refreshing! R.E.M. managed to find the perfect solution to them keeping their artistic integrity and being able to be more poppy: the mandolin. The instrument is used on a lot of tracks on the album, which allows it, almost miraculously, to be poppy and accessible yet experimental at the same time! And yeah: World Leader Pretend, Pop Song 89, Get Up, Orange Crush, You Are the Everything, Untitled (or as I call it: I’m Awake), Turn You Inside-Out, The Wrong Child; hell, even Stand and Hairshirt are all awesome. Pretty much every song works fantastically!
*Here we go, my top two. They’re basically 1a and 1b for me tbh.
2. Automatic for the People (1992)
No, it’s not the end-all-be-all of R.E.M., but I absolutely acknowledge that it’s them at the peak of their powers music and songwriting-wise. Every song on it is amazing and breathtaking and that includes the instrumental interlude and Star Me Kitten (a song about fucking, hehe), and yes, even the two “plain and ordinary” and “lightweight” tracks on the album are awesome. I love The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite and Man on the Moon. They’re not just lightweight throwaways to me. They serve a good purpose of being perfectly-placed moments of levity on such a dark and mournful album, and plus, they’re still dark songs as they’re both about death. I also didn’t get Drive for a while, and while it is still the weakest track on the album, it still rules. It’s a perfect album, but it doesn’t take the top spot because of one record…
1. Murmur (1983)
Y’know, to establish yourself as a band right away with THIS as your debut is so remarkable and astonishing in the best way possible. This thing is also perfect, start to finish. I don’t skip anything on it. And, the thing that puts it over the top for me is due it’s sheer groundbreaking-ness and overall vibe. It’s so utterly gorgeous, mysterious, sensual, and shy like a warm blanket around you in a hot tub in the middle of a foggy forest. It was also there for me during a very dark and important time in my life, so that takes it home for me too. There you go! :)
Yeah, it’s safe to say R.E.M. are a top five band for me of all time!
Such a wonderful comment and delightful to read, even if I disagree on certain points. Great stuff and thanks for taking the time!
@@tokyochuchuYou’re so welcome! No worries, Chuchu, I’m always happy to! Cheers! 🍻🤗
why why...WHY WOULD YOU PUT NEW ADVENTURES IN HI FI AT #14 IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE AT #4
After your community post about the worst nadir by The Cure, Mozza, REM & Radiohead I decided to give REM a go, firstly I am not a big fan, some of their singles I do not like at all or at least I remember not liking them at the time, ‘Stand’, ‘It's the End of the World’, ‘‘Shiny Happy People’ * Man On The Moon’ are just a few examples… My top five albums I know really well and to be honest ‘Lifes Rich Pageant’ is the only album that I like from start to finish…. Don’t be too hard on my placings, at times the discog was tough going and at times Michael Stipes voice grated on me… As you say “Did I gain more appreciation”, the answer is “Yes I did” but not enough to make me outright adore the band, personally I don’t think any of the albums are bad, I can think of a multitude of bands where their best album is worse than REM’s least best… With more listening these placings could change, still a newbie to 70% of it...
Albums...
15… New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996)… Be Mine, Electrolite, …
14… Monster (1994)… Crush With Eyeliner, Strange Currencies,
13… Collapse into Now (2011)… Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando And I,
12… Up (1998)… At My Most Beautiful, Daysleeper, Why Not Smile
11… Around the Sun (2004)… Leaving New York, Final Straw, I Wanted To Be Wrong, Aftermath,
10… Murmur (1983)… We Walk, 9.9, Shaking Through
09… Accelerate (2008)… Hollow Man, Houston, Until The Day Is Done, Mr. Richards, Horse To Water
08… Reveal (2001)… All The Way To Reno (You're Gonna Be A Star), Beat A Drum, Imitation Of Life, Summer Turns To High, I'll Take The Rain
07… Reckoning (1984)… 7 Chinese Bros, Time After Time (AnnElise), Second Guessing, [Don't Go Back To] Rockville…
06… Green (1988)… You Are The Everything, World Leader Pretend, Orange Crush, Stand
05… Document (1987)… Finest Worksong, The One I Love, King of Birds,
04… Out of Time (1991)… Shiny Happy People, Half A World Away, Me In Honey Rushes, Kohoutek, Good Advices, Wendell Gee
03… Fables of the Reconstruction (1985)… Driver 8, Green Grow The Rushes
02… Automatic for the People (1992)… Drive, The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite, Everybody Hurts, Star Me Kitten, Nightswimming, Find The River, Man On The Moon
01… Lifes Rich Pageant (1986)… Begin The Begin, These Days, Fall On Me, Cuyahoga, I Believe, Swan Swan H
Songs…
10… Swan Swan H
09… All The Way To Reno (You're Gonna Be A Star)
08… Shiny Happy People
07… I Believe
06… Nightswimming
05… (Don't Go Back To) Rockville
04… Driver 8
03… Wendell Gee
02… Drive
01… Find The River
Yep. Yep. Yep. I'm all for that. I absolutely love that you went for the deep dive and gave R.E.M a try. The band, in my opinion, are a real mixed bag. They have a decade of awesomeness followed by two decades of utter rot. Slightly redeemed at the tail with their last two LPs (imo) but not by much.
Still... R.E.M 1982 - 1992... Amazing indie rock that galvanized and inspired the entire genre. If you ever have time, check their debut Chronic Town EP. Wolves Lower & Gardening at Night are essential R.E.M tunes.
@@tokyochuchu I may work up the nerve to give Radiohead a try, the firs time I heard 'Creep', I thought it was the best thing ever ' High & Dry' and 'No Surprises' I also love but I've listened to a sizeable amount of their work and as good as I know it is, it just doesn't hit my pleasure zone, plus I'm not a fan of higher voice registers... Will give the REM EP a listen...
@@ste.6026 I get where you're coming from. Truth be told, I think Radiohead are quite overrated. Their best stuff is amazing. But a lot of it is quite middling as far as I remember. But I'm looking forward to diving in and getting to the bottom of it once and for all. That's the ultimate fun of doing this. Giving these bands the ultimate chance and finally being able to dust off your hands and say with certainty; "I like this" or "This was not very good." There's nothing that quite seals the deal either way than a proper deep dive. 👍
@@tokyochuchu True, I will join in... 🙂
I listened to all their albums over the past couple of weeks and here's my ranking:
15: Around the Sun: Opening track, Leaving New York is a good song, the rest of the album is boring and forgettable.
14: Up: Several good tracks i.e. Lotus, Daysleeper, but most of the album just weird electronica and worse than Around the sun (at least the other songs are normal if boring) although arguably more interesting and maybe a grower. Hope COULD have been great if they made it a ROCKER with big guitars and not this weird electronic accompaniment.
13: New Adventures in Hi-Fi: Songs suffers from a distinct lack of melody and quite monotone. First few tracks are a bit of a drag, but improved with Departure and especially Bittersweet Me which I think is a really underrated song.
12: Collapse into now: Not a bad record to end their career, but the songs themselves are rather forgettable with no stand out tracks.
11: Reveal. Decent songs overall and a nice chillout type of record. Imitation of Life by the best songs here, it stands out as the rest of the record has the drums and vocals subdued beneath electronic sounds. If the other songs could have been produced with stronger vocals at the front of the mix and more pronounced drum beats it would be a much better record.
10. Monster: First three tracks (Whats the Frequency, Crush with eyeliner, King of Comedy) are great and most of the rest of the record is OK. Suffers from an over-bearing grunge guitar tone. If it was produced like Accelerate or Document, it would make a better record.
9. Accelerate: Great first three tracks again especially Supernatural Superserious, their last great song. Wanes a bit in the second half of the record.
8. Reckoning: 7 Chinese brothers the best track. Overall a great listen but very much a Murmur part 2 and not quite as good as their debut.
7. Life's rich pageant: A great sound and style overall, Begin the Begin is the best track here but in general while its consistent and solid, it doesn't contain any of their best songs.
6. Murmur: Radio Free Europe is fantastic, many other great songs, i.e. Talk about the Passion, Caterpault.
5. Fables of the Reconstruction: Driver 8 and Can't Get There from Here are two of the best REM songs.
4: Automatic for the People: Half of the album is objectively great though not always my personal favourites (Drive, Sidewinder, Everybody Hurts, Ignoreland, Man on the Moon, Nightswimming) other songs are good but a few filler tracks mean this record is still a little over rated.
3. Document: Many great songs, i.e. Finest Worksong, Disturbance at the Heroin house, Strange, Its the end of the world, and no filler at all, so a very solid alternative rock record with a great production.
2. Green. Again very consistent record, full of good songs. Stand and Turn you Inside Out are standout tracks.
1. Out of Time: Comes top simply as its the record I enjoy listening to the most. Unlike everyone else it seems I love Radio Song, its different for REM, more of a funk feel and combing this style with the KRS One rap makes this truly original. All the songs here are enjoyable and an easy listen, really enjoy Kate Piersons contribution on Shiny Happy People and Me in Honey, plus the two tracks with Mike Mills doing lead vocals giving some variety, Country Feedback is a grower with much depth to it, and even the more experimental tracks i.e, Endgame, Belong are memorable and work well.
Thanks a lot. It was a nice read and I mostly agree with you. Sometimes I really think Out of Time might be my favourite too.
I really like UP actually... I'm with you that Find the River is probably their best song. All The Way to Reno is their worst. Much more cloying or annoying than Shiny Happy People or Radio Song. Up has "Why Not Smile" "Walk Unafraid" "Diminished" "The Apologist" - even the hidden song "I'm not over You".... different strokes for different folks
Up is not my favorite either but there are some good songs that I like
I also like reveal and new adventures in hi life both have really good song
I also like monster I like that they experimented with they're sounds and Came with something different from their usual style
I've always been a fan of Rem I have all of their albums some I like better than others but they all have some good songs on them
What the heck is jangle pop that is not even a musical category it's either rock pop or alternative
@@rickycalhoun5394 Copied from a quick Google of jangle pop;
What is the style of jangle pop?
Jangle Pop was an American post-punk movement of the mid-'80s that marked a return to the chiming guitars and pop melodies of the '60s. Sparked by the arrival of R.E.M., jangle pop also had some folk-rock overtones, but it was essentially a pop-based format.
I mean I think personally your rankings are way off and calling Monster uncommercial is a massive mistake - if anything it is their most commercial album and was heavily pushed by warners - especially as it had a tour to back it. Neew Adventures is great - if anything it's their last great album - the only issue with it is the length of the songs.
Reckoning?
#8
I turned off your video as soon as I heard you ranked their best album as No. 7. 😮
I love Murmur but I standby my ranking. But that's my own personal choice. Subjectivity, eh? If you absolutely love Murmur and would put it at #1, fair play. That's a very valid choice and I'm happy you give that LP the love and respect it deserves.
Murmer at 7 had me seething
Yeah... I can imagine. I've seen lists where I'm shouting at the screen myself. 😆
Fables . All day .
I can't definitely get behind that
I disagree with Hi Fi being the second last... IMHO it is an easy top 5
Up is a cozy record.
Here’s my ranking:
15 - Around The Sun - all 13 songs are filler and sound pretty much the same. Extremely boring and terrible. No highlights for me.
14 - Up - a huge departure from New Adventures. More electronica and poppy than their previous albums, and also has lots of filler. Daysleeper is the only song I like, while everything else sounds either boring or cringy. The length doesn’t help either.
13 - Reveal - not terrible, but mediocre. It’s certainly an improvement from Up, but still sounds uninspiring and boring at most times. The Lifting, All The Way To Reno, She Just Wants To Be, and Imitation Of Life are the highlights imo.
12 - Collapse Into Now - not a bad way to end your career, this album is decent for the most part. Discoverer, Oh My Heart, Everyday Is Yours To Win, and Walk It Back are my highlights. However I think the album ends on a sour note (Blue).
11 - Accelerate - the band’s heaviest and loudest album post-Bill Berry is a huge improvement from Around The Sun. I enjoy nearly every song on the album, with Living Well Is The Best Revenge, Supernatural Superserious, Hollow Man, and I’m Gonna DJ being my favorites.
10 - Fables Of The Reconstruction - I have mixed feelings on this album and overall the new direction they took musically. The production isn’t that good, and some of the songs blend in at times. The first four songs are a great way to start it off. Can’t Get There From Here, Kohoutek, and Wendell Gee are pretty good too. Overall it’s fine.
9 - Monster - definitely one of their most inconsistent albums, that’s both a good and bad thing imo. The first two songs start off the album very strongly while also showing that this record will be extremely different from its predecessor. I Don’t Sleep I Dream, Strange Currencies, Tongue, and Bang And Blame are my highlights, I can’t stand King Of Comedy though, easily the worst song on the album for me. Overall it’s quite an interesting listen.
8 - New Adventures In Hi-Fi - one of their most underrated albums imo, the entire record is such a cool experience. Pretty much every song is fantastic, my favorites are New Test Leper, Leave, Be Mine, Zither, So Fast So Numb, and Electrolite. I love how experimental and creative they got on this record, and it’s length doesn’t bother me at all.
7 - Green - Imo, Green isn’t as catchy or as memorable as their earlier albums, but it’s still mostly enjoyable despite being their most pop sounding record. Pop Song 89 and Untitled are great album openers and closers, and You Are The Everything and The Wrong Child are beautiful ballads. My favorites are Stand and World Leader Pretend. I’ve never been a big fan of Orange Crush tho. Still a great album.
6 - Out Of Time - this album is also very inconsistent just like Monster, however I think this record does a better job at it. The funkiness of Radio Song, the beautiful mandolin in Losing My Religion, the haunting guitar ballad in Low, the upbeat Shiny Happy People and Me In Honey, it all works brilliant. My favorite songs are Near Wild Heaven, Endgame, and Texarkana.
5 - Reckoning - I certainly think R.E.M. beat the sophomore slump, despite not being quite as good as their debut. The first half of the album is fantastic, however I feel like it gets slightly lost in the second half. I think Camera drags out for too long, and I think Rockville doesn’t quite fit with the rest of the record. Overall I’d call it Murmur part 2 since it delivers for the most part. My favorites are Harborcoat, Seven Chinese Brothers, So. Central Rain, Second Guessing, and Little America.
4 - Automatic For The People - I think this album is fantastic, but also extremely overrated. I seriously don’t understand why most fans call this their best work, and it being their best selling album, when it doesn’t even resemble earlier R.E.M. at all. I don’t mind the new direction they took, but I still don’t think this represents the band the best way possible. Anyways, the first two songs are fantastic openers, Sweetness Follows is such an emotional ballad, Find The River is imo the best closing song R.E.M. have ever done, and of course, Everybody Hurts is easily one of their best songs ever. I also like Ignoreland, despite sounding a little off with the rest of the record. Also, New Orleans Instrumental No. 1 seems unnecessary and not far from filler material. My favorites are Drive, Try Not To Breathe, Everybody Hurts, Sweetness Follows, Man On The Moon, and Find The River. Great album, but not their best.
3 - Murmur - one of the best debut albums I’ve ever listened to, this blew my mind when I first heard it. This record sounds completely different from everything else at the time which is what I love about it so much. Stipe’s and Mill’s vocals really blend well with each other, and the guitar is so catchy and beautiful at times. This record also has some of Mill’s best bass lines imo. I love all 12 songs, not a single bad or filler track. But if I had to pick my absolute favorites, they would be Radio Free Europe, Laughing, Perfect Circle, Catapult, Sitting Still, and Shaking Through. A near perfect record in my eyes.
2 - Document - quite possibly their most funnest sounding record, the majority of the songs are upbeat, catchy, and creative musically and lyrically. Finest Worksong is easily one of the best album openers R.E.M. has ever done, Exhuming McCarthy and Lightnin’ Hopkins are great funky tunes, Welcome To The Occupation and The One I Love are typical R.E.M., and It’s The End Of The World As We Know It is an undeniably catchy song, and possibly my most favorite R.E.M. song. Plus the production on this record sounds absolutely perfect. The only con I have is that I feel the album ends a little weak with the final two tracks.
1 - Lifes Rich Pageant - R.E.M. at their loudest and heaviest, this is a major improvement from Fables. Stipe’s vocals are a lot louder, Buck’s guitar work is mesmerising, and this record might have Berry’s best drumming. The first three songs are the perfect way to open an album, Hyena, I Believe, and Just A Touch are some of the fastest songs they ever did, The Flowers Of Guatemala and Swan Swan H are beautiful relaxing tunes, and overall this record is an absolute powerhouse. I even like Underneath The Bunker, although I think it would’ve worked better if it were the opening track, since it would be perfect for an intro to the rest of the album. I enjoy every song on this record, and it’s definitely my favorite R.E.M. album.
Great read and an excellent list. Thanks!
@@tokyochuchu thanks as well :)
Up is certainly not their worst album. Poor decision
New adventures in hi-fi is top 5. Daysleeper is cuh-learly a poor man's Nightswimming. I guess maybe you don't have great taste, eh? Yeeeeaaah😏🤨
Sure. Why not. 😉
You lost me with UP
You're tripping 😠😂 on your worst picks lol
terrible list. but opinions are opinions.
That was bad
"Lifes Rich Pageant" is their best. (No apostrophe for some reason.) The others are open to discussion. I personally love "Murmur," "Monster," "Document" and "Automatic." Don't care much for "Fables" and "New Adventures." "Green" is too poppy at times. "Reveal" and "Around the Sun" are both worse than "Up," which has some really cool cuts.