How R.E.M. Changed Music

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  • Опубликовано: 27 май 2024
  • If you can afford it, please consider donating to me on Patreon: / thebeatgoeson
    A brief documentary about R.E.M. Produced and written by Matt Beat. Check out @remhq 's music: / r.e.m. - topic
    Sources/further reading and watching:
    David Buckley (2002). R.E.M.: Fiction: An Alternative Biography.
    Purchase here: amzn.to/3onSHHG
    www.allmusic.com/artist/rem-m...
    pitchfork.com/thepitch/early-...
    remhq.com/history/
    • The Story of...R.E.M. ...
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.E.M.
    www.salon.com/2018/04/28/rem-...
    exclaim.ca/music/article/rem-...
    www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...
    chartmasters.org/r-e-m-albums...
    An annotated script of this video:
    docs.google.com/document/d/1N...
    0:00 Formation
    3:39 The College Radio Darlings Era
    11:58 The Mainstream Era
    23:59 The Post-Bill-Berry Era
    30:41 Legacy
    R.E.M. remains one of the most influential and successful bands of all time. Before they were in the mainstream, they influenced the mainstream. When they finally entered the mainstream, they permanently changed it. R.E.M. is also one of the few bands to be both critically acclaimed yet extremely popular. And when I say “critically acclaimed,” I mean they are undeniably one of the most critically acclaimed bands of all time. I know, I know, critics are overrated, right? Well, they also have sold more than 90 million records worldwide. R.E.M. was a HUGE reason why “college rock” and “alternative rock” even exist in the first place. Look, when a band literally CREATES new genres of music, they’re kind of a big freaking deal.
    So what’s your favorite R.E.M. song and album? My favorite song by them is “Shiny Happy People,” but any time I sing karaoke my first go-to pick is often “It’s the End of the World as We Know It.” My favorite album? That’s a tough one, but yeah I’ll probably go with Automatic for the People to avoid scrutiny down there. Anyway, let me know yours below. Thanks for watching!
    #rem #musicdocumentary #behindthemusic

Комментарии • 754

  • @mattbeatgoeson
    @mattbeatgoeson  11 месяцев назад +73

    What's your favorite R.E.M. album?

    • @StyxTBuferd
      @StyxTBuferd 11 месяцев назад +27

      Murmur, their first album! Unbelievably beautiful album with such a unique and mysterious mood to it. The music fits the cover perfectly!

    • @mattbeatgoeson
      @mattbeatgoeson  11 месяцев назад +17

      @@StyxTBuferd It holds up so freaking well. It's honestly a close second for me right behind Automatic for the People.

    • @Jackfargo91
      @Jackfargo91 11 месяцев назад +19

      Either Document or Green. Or Out of time. Or Automatic for the people.....
      Ehhhh you get the drift lol

    • @TUNA338
      @TUNA338 11 месяцев назад +5

      I don’t want to seem demanding but I love if you do a video on stone temple pilots. It’s gonna be My dads birthday in the summer and my dad loves stone temple pilots, so it would be nice and cool for a video on stone temple pilots.

    • @konameme
      @konameme 11 месяцев назад +27

      lifes rich pageant. i know im right

  • @rbraxley
    @rbraxley 7 месяцев назад +35

    I was in Athens from 79-84 and saw them countless times in clubs, festivals, and then in auditoriums. I saw their 3rd public performance, and they were already a solid unit (and just kept getting better). There were so many great bands in Athens during that period. Seeing R.E.M. at Tyrones (many times) was my Beatles at the Cavern moment. One of the great bands in the history of rock-n-roll.

  • @christophercox9150
    @christophercox9150 10 месяцев назад +27

    It must have around 1998 I asked my mum to buy me an REM album for my birthday. I was mildly disappointed when she bought me UP. I guess it was new and on the shelves so i can't blame her too much. Still, I listened to it relentlessly whilst playing video games and, despite it's poor reception, the album grew and grew on me. Songs like Sad Professor, Walk Unafraid and Daysleeper remain among my favourites to this day, and I own their entire catalogue. I really do love R.E.M.

    • @RobertNugent
      @RobertNugent Месяц назад +2

      Walk Unafraid is a really great song.

  • @familydogg1234
    @familydogg1234 11 месяцев назад +22

    Let's not forget Kate Pierson sings on " Shiney Happy People" and John Paul Jones arranged strings on " Automatic For the People". There are quite a few VARIOUS ARTISTS compilations with a New Song unavailable elsewhere. And a hidden track on " Green" cd

    • @christophercox9150
      @christophercox9150 10 месяцев назад +3

      I think she sang on 'Me in honey' from the same album. that's a cracking song

  • @user-mk7if8uu8v
    @user-mk7if8uu8v 10 месяцев назад +31

    Being a huge R.E.M. fan muself I almost gave up trying to find people who think the same. Thanks for not only remembering the band but also making this video. Love them, love you

  • @gregsuarez1309
    @gregsuarez1309 7 месяцев назад +8

    The fact that people slept on post-Berry R.E.M. is ridiculous. Up -> Reveal -> Around the Sun is one of the most effective run of albums, especially late career albums, of any band I've ever heard. The music is introspective, experimental, and simply beautiful. Reveal is an absolute gem of positivity, and "Aftermath" from Around the Sun stands out as one of the band's warmest, most emotionally enveloping song in its catalog. Limiting one's snobbish preferences to only their early work is robbing a person of some amazing songs, if you're willing to embrace change.

    • @kimrthr
      @kimrthr 16 дней назад

      Tienes razón, simplemente no se por que algunos desacreditan tanto a sus álbumes Reveal y Around the sun, ambos son increíbles y solo por ser distintos a los anteriores no deberían por que ser desmeritados

    • @gregsuarez1309
      @gregsuarez1309 16 дней назад

      ​@@kimrthrThe IRS and early Warner Bros albums definitely had a more natural sound, while Up started the band on a more experimental track, using synths and light electronica. They are different sounds, but there is a natural evolution. I think all of their albums are distinct, which is a very hard thing to do for a band that lasted 30 years. The only really bad album in their catalog to me is Accelerate. The album sounded aimless and one-note.

  • @TwoCoffinsForSleep
    @TwoCoffinsForSleep 10 месяцев назад +7

    Got to sneak into the Georgia Theatre and watch REM perform for the Flagpole’s 15 year (I think) anniversary. Athens was such a great place to be back then…🖤

  • @brandonayong5823
    @brandonayong5823 11 месяцев назад +92

    This channel is like that one friend that lives away from your group of friends and that you only see so rarely but every time he's in town you cherish every minute you have with him 😂

    • @mattbeatgoeson
      @mattbeatgoeson  11 месяцев назад +19

      lol this is an amazing comment

    • @brandonayong5823
      @brandonayong5823 11 месяцев назад +6

      @@mattbeatgoeson I really wanted a good analogy 😂

  • @topfacemod
    @topfacemod 11 месяцев назад +55

    As an indie scene guy born and bred in NC, REM is as influential on our scene now as they were at their peak.

  • @mst3ktemple421
    @mst3ktemple421 11 месяцев назад +16

    My favorite album is Murmur. In spring 1983 I was a senior at the University of Michigan and there was a record store I hung out at that would always have events to play new releases, including entire new albums. It was near the end of that school year and I remember hearing this with the gang and everyone loved it. We had listened to Chronic Town about six months earlier so we were familiar with REM a little. I liked most of their albums, but this was always my favorite.

    • @DonaldTurner
      @DonaldTurner 2 месяца назад +1

      yes, totally agree. I was in the navy in 83, recalled seeing something in rolling stone or something and there was murmur at the navy exchange. bought it, wore that 1st cassette out in my walkman. lol. so ground breaking for me.

  • @songstofuckto
    @songstofuckto 11 месяцев назад +77

    I’ve always seen REM as The Smiths for the American south. Same dark topics covered. Similar guitar sound and rhythm section that is solid as a rock. Singers are now icons. My two favourite bands of my teens.

    • @mattbeatgoeson
      @mattbeatgoeson  11 месяцев назад +23

      Without R.E.M., there is no The Smiths

    • @songstofuckto
      @songstofuckto 11 месяцев назад +7

      @@mattbeatgoeson hot take there dude. I’d suggest that each was as important as the other for their own cultural references and impact upon a generation ready to hear music other than bloated dinosaur bands which held the market in both England and the USA in the early 80s. I’d also suggest that to say that without REM there would be not be The Smiths is a very American centric statement being that they kicked off about the same time. Perhaps there would be no Smiths popularity in the USA if REM hadn’t opened up some avenues to college radio however England was doing just fine for alternative music well before it came to the fore in the USA. Perhaps you’ve heard of Joy Division as an example. Don’t get me wrong, I loved REM (but confess to losing interest in them as their music became more mainstream and their albums lacklustre at best) the Smiths had the fortune to leave on a high note at least. That being said.. Morrissey has proven himself to be a douche in recent years which I can’t say for Stipe. Anyways, that just one mans opinion.

    • @tonybates7870
      @tonybates7870 11 месяцев назад

      @@mattbeatgoeson
      With all due respect, bullshit.

    • @willdeamer7176
      @willdeamer7176 11 месяцев назад +3

      @@mattbeatgoesoncan’t say I agree with that take man

    • @RaymondArcangel
      @RaymondArcangel 10 месяцев назад +4

      ​@@songstofucktoyeah, definitely don't agree that without REM there's no Smiths. That was a wildly hot take. But I also was disappointed that, as the Smiths were so important to you, you had to jump on the "bash current day Morrissey" train. There's enough non-fans coming at the man, he doesn't need it from the people who've been touched by his music. Even if you don't always agree with him.
      Morrissey has ALWAYS been outspoken. I don't live in the UK, but apparently a LOT of people have concerns about the level of immigration and the violence it's brought. (The title track of his lost album Bonfire Of Teenagers details some of that violence brilliantly.) Morrissey hasn't changed. He was always the most English of pop stars. If you think the 25yo Morrissey would have witnessed some of the things that have happened over there in recent years and let it pass without comment, well, I don't want to insult a fellow Smiths fan, but let's just say we have very different opinions of who he was, I'm sorry. He wasn't saying certain things in '87 because there wasn't a need to then.
      Anyway, I don't want to fight. But if you haven't heard "Bonfire of Teenagers," I highly recommend searching it. There's live versions on here. I was lucky enough to see him perform it in Vegas last year. It's such a beautiful, angry, sad song, and Capitol Records basically buried the album. They own it and won't release it.

  • @ihavetowait90daystochangem67
    @ihavetowait90daystochangem67 11 месяцев назад +295

    It’s so funny that “Losing My Religion” is the band’s most popular song even though the Band started in a church

    • @mattbeatgoeson
      @mattbeatgoeson  11 месяцев назад +47

      lol mos def. By the way, I think that song is overrated.

    • @ihavetowait90daystochangem67
      @ihavetowait90daystochangem67 11 месяцев назад +14

      @@mattbeatgoesonyeah i prefer So Central Rain/Pretty Persuasion

    • @majicdude88
      @majicdude88 11 месяцев назад +4

      I mean, well...they did Lose their religion lol

    • @michaelwilson2340
      @michaelwilson2340 11 месяцев назад +5

      ​@@ihavetowait90daystochangem67 I go for Driver 8 and Wolves, Lower myself.

    • @torgejh9189
      @torgejh9189 11 месяцев назад +6

      ​@@mattbeatgoesonAgreed. It's not a bad song, it's just an ok song that got absolutely overplayed into the ground.

  • @scifiwriter98
    @scifiwriter98 10 месяцев назад +6

    Talk About the Passion is my favorite song, followed by Disturbance At the Heron House and Shiny Happy People.
    Out of Time is my favorite REM album.

  • @dinosaurcola
    @dinosaurcola 11 месяцев назад +44

    I will forever admire R.E.M. for how amazingly they handled their fame and how they did what they wanted to do until the end

  • @michaelratcliff8634
    @michaelratcliff8634 11 месяцев назад +42

    REM's first 5 records are pure gold. The next 5 are exceptionally good. It's fun to listen to their catalog back-to-back. You can hear them grow. It's amazing.

    • @matchavez8530
      @matchavez8530 11 месяцев назад +3

      Yeah actually most good bands are like that. Especially if they start young. You hear them grow as musicians but you also hear how they learn each other and how to elevate one another's playing. Pearl Jam is another good example.

    • @tonybates7870
      @tonybates7870 11 месяцев назад +3

      My fave is Life's Rich Pageant, but pretty much everything they did up to and including New Adventures was fantastic.
      Pageant's one-two-three-four opening of Begin The Begin, These Days, Fall On Me and Cuyahoga is stunning.

    • @dice1296
      @dice1296 9 месяцев назад +1

      also amazing that they sold more albums in the US with each release until 'out of time', then less with each release until they called it quits. their last 3 have sold less than murmur. i should note, however, that murmur did eventually sell more than reckoning and fables, ruining the bell curve

    • @fullario
      @fullario Месяц назад

      One of the reasons I love REM is that you can also hear them age. I've been a fan for 20 years and am now 38, and Up -> Reveal -> Around the Sun makes a hell of a lot more sense to me now that I'm approaching middle age. To me REM diving into slower and quieter sounds, while critics and record sales didn't take to it, was a more natural move than the "old guys trying to rock hard" you see with many aging bands.

    • @markresendes9626
      @markresendes9626 Месяц назад

      I would add AFTP is not only their best album, but it is in the conversation for the greatest album ever. That was their 8th album.

  • @JoshuaLoewen0923
    @JoshuaLoewen0923 11 месяцев назад +28

    Once you know Automatic For the People is almost entirely about death, it’s hard not to be blown away by it’s depth and beauty.
    That being said, Life’s Rich Pageant crushes every time. ❤

    • @dice1296
      @dice1296 9 месяцев назад +2

      also OOT is about love and monster about sex (as stated by mr. stipe)

  • @void0094
    @void0094 11 месяцев назад +85

    Murmur almost has a magical feel about it. It feels like it came out of nowhere, there was nothing like it before and after the album came out

    • @mattbeatgoeson
      @mattbeatgoeson  11 месяцев назад +7

      It really was groundbreaking

    • @jamesrobert4106
      @jamesrobert4106 11 месяцев назад +5

      The early albums were exceptional.

    • @greensombrero3641
      @greensombrero3641 11 месяцев назад +3

      brilliant album all around - great comment

    • @adamweston4152
      @adamweston4152 11 месяцев назад +4

      A flash of intense lighting in a drab world, murmur and reckoning are the best albums for me.

    • @adamweston4152
      @adamweston4152 11 месяцев назад +2

      @@jamesrobert4106 I totally agree with you.

  • @stevemoody13
    @stevemoody13 11 месяцев назад +23

    At My Most Beautiful is probably my favorite song of theirs and Monster is likely my favorite album, though you might get seven different answers each day of the week. One of the greatest bands ever and these days about the most under-appreciated ever. Thanks for shining a little light their way. These kids today don't know about rock music. I tell ya, back in my day we knew what was good!

  • @void0094
    @void0094 11 месяцев назад +59

    My most favorite band for many reasons. They were great musicians who handled their success incredibly well

    • @mattbeatgoeson
      @mattbeatgoeson  11 месяцев назад +6

      Yep. Stayed humble 'til the end.

    • @avolite719
      @avolite719 10 месяцев назад +1

      Guess you forgot the times Pete went off on club employees from time to time and even took a shit on a meal cart while flying on a commercial airline. It's all there on Google if you care to check it out.

    • @void0094
      @void0094 10 месяцев назад +1

      @@avolite719 yeah whatever
      The Replacements did plenty of shit and they were a great band still

  • @toddb5760
    @toddb5760 11 месяцев назад +13

    Great video, thanks. I bought Fables of the Reconstruction when it first came out while I was in law school and bought all of their albums thereafter through Monster when released. I guess I did not ever research charts/sales figures to realize just how popular Out of Time, Automatic for the People and Monster were. To me R.E.M. was always just my own quirky little moderately successful favorite band. Thanks for setting me straight! Love this video.

    • @tonybates7870
      @tonybates7870 11 месяцев назад

      They deserve every penny, don't you think? Especially when you consider some of the utter dullards that have made a fortune out of music.

  • @mickcollins1921
    @mickcollins1921 11 месяцев назад +12

    Bittersweet me is my favorite, hands down.
    The punchy distortion chords going into the chorus and the line ‘I’d sooner chew my leg off than get trapped in this.’ Really spoke to me.
    To this day I mutter that line to myself under my breath as a reminder that I should avoid some unhealthy drama.

    • @mattbeatgoeson
      @mattbeatgoeson  11 месяцев назад +2

      I remember rockin' out to that one quite a bit in high school.

    • @dice1296
      @dice1296 9 месяцев назад +1

      terrific album, establishing an every other album "return to form" that would continue until the end

  • @Redmenace96
    @Redmenace96 11 месяцев назад +6

    Grew up with Murmur, Reckoning. Attended a concert for Reckoning, blew me away. Thought that Document was the pinnacle. Grew up, started work, couldn't hang out in record stores anymore. After the years go by, Automatic and Monster hit me as new, fresh and fantastic.(Thank you Peter Buck) Never say, "sell out". They kept growing as artists, and each work was honest, if not successful.
    Video has little commentary but it is obvious that Mike Stipe is a douche. Berry, Mills, and Buck are equal genius without the celebrity drama.
    Radio Free Europe belongs in the Library of Congress collection, and thank you for that trivia bit. Made me smile.

  • @fuzzytalz
    @fuzzytalz 11 месяцев назад +8

    My favorite R.E.M. album, without hesitation, is “Automatic For The People.” It’s just the right collection of songs and sounds for anything!
    My favorite R.E.M. song has to be “Find The River!” But that’s only until I hear “Nightswimming,” at which time I’ll tell you that’s my favorite.
    How can one choose???

    • @dice1296
      @dice1296 9 месяцев назад +3

      several years back i heard 'nightswimming' for the first time in ages on the radio at dusk. blown away. when that oboe comes in at the end!

  • @lennybruce6476
    @lennybruce6476 11 месяцев назад +14

    The greatest band. Pioneers. Deserve far more credit then they get.

  • @CoolDoggo16
    @CoolDoggo16 11 месяцев назад +11

    THANK YOU THIS IS MY FAVOURITE BAND

  • @chamberlainquench2484
    @chamberlainquench2484 11 месяцев назад +18

    Some of the first music I was ever introduced to as a kid was R.E.M. since my dad was and still is a big fan of their work. So the band has a special place in heart as a result. Nice video!

  • @earphermes5538
    @earphermes5538 11 месяцев назад +7

    During the Monster tour they played in Cologne, Germany, Open air and free of charge, in the middle of the City, right on the steps of the Cologne Cathedral. When they start 'Losing my religion' it was the goosebumps moment i will cherish till i die.

  • @TheRealTomWendel
    @TheRealTomWendel 11 месяцев назад +6

    “Life’s Rich Pageant” gave me quite a feeling- especially “Begin the Begin” and “Cuyahoga”.

  • @Kylefassbinderful
    @Kylefassbinderful 11 месяцев назад +10

    I loved Accelerate a lot. It was very energetic and I often blasted it in my car on the way to/from work at Starbucks, the place where I bought the album. I think bands like them had a hard time with sales because we were within the first decade of internet music and the controversy that followed. The music industry as a whole had a hard time dealing with it especially artists from the 20th century.

  • @j.r.a.f.t.m.
    @j.r.a.f.t.m. 10 месяцев назад +12

    That 10 album is the greatest run ever (Murmur to New Adventures) all amazing. Even Up and Reveal are underrated imo.

    • @jirky015
      @jirky015 10 месяцев назад +2

      It's an incredible run of albums but The Beatles and Led Zeppelin had the greatest run of albums ever.

  • @laladoopsy
    @laladoopsy 11 месяцев назад +48

    Since they split, hardly anyone talks about them. Shame as they were very consistantly an amazing singles band and while they stopped making great albums they still had great songs.

    • @dixirose111
      @dixirose111 11 месяцев назад +2

      Stipe announced he was gay! Why he wants people to focus on that instead of the music, we’ll never know…

    • @tharveytucker1
      @tharveytucker1 11 месяцев назад

      @@dixirose111the fuck? He came out bc he was being honest about who he was. And that was in the early 90’s. Are you trying to say that him coming out was a downfall?

    • @gx1tar1er
      @gx1tar1er 10 месяцев назад +3

      They haven't translated to Gen Z culture & so irrelevant among my generation. What a shame though since they're one who gave birth to US alternative rock which alt Gen Z likes.

    • @gx1tar1er
      @gx1tar1er 10 месяцев назад +1

      The Smiths, The Cure are very popular with Gen Z but even they're into Pixies, Sonic Youth more then R.E.M too.

    • @MedalionDS9
      @MedalionDS9 10 месяцев назад +1

      They broke up because hardly anyone talked about them. Their style of music was no longer in.

  • @paullewis69
    @paullewis69 11 месяцев назад +5

    Life’s Rich Pageant is my favorite; discovered it in the late, late 90s & it’s great from beginning to end. I’m always late to the party. 😊

  • @silencekit
    @silencekit 11 месяцев назад +10

    Hey Mr. Beat, thanks for doing this. You've done bios of many of my favorite bands, but this one hits home. I saw REM some 15 times, including a legendary St. Paul show in '99. Love this band.

    • @mattbeatgoeson
      @mattbeatgoeson  11 месяцев назад +4

      Woahness! 15 times? That is amazing. When was the first time?

    • @silencekit
      @silencekit 11 месяцев назад +2

      @@mattbeatgoeson My friends and I used to follow the band throughout the midwest seeing several shows in a row. The first show was in college in '89 in Ames, IA. Great show!

  • @Kylefassbinderful
    @Kylefassbinderful 11 месяцев назад +7

    Automatic For The People is still my favorite album from start to finnish from the 90s. It's a true masterpiece with ups and downs but mainly downs. I still remember when I bought it at Warehouse in the early 90s at the South Shore mall in Alameda, Calif.

  • @emoryh8602
    @emoryh8602 11 месяцев назад +13

    Literally just now getting into them and Beat randomly drops a whole doc 😂 looking forward to watching it!

  • @AlexArrowsmith
    @AlexArrowsmith 11 месяцев назад +5

    Favorite album: Automatic For the People
    Favorite song: Nightswimming
    But I love everything from Chronic Town to Collapse Into Now!!

  • @emmrld2783
    @emmrld2783 11 месяцев назад +10

    Even when they're in the Rock n Roll hall of fame, I feel like they're still underrated especially their early stuff.

    • @WeatherWeasel66
      @WeatherWeasel66 11 месяцев назад +1

      How can you say "Even when they're in the rock and roll hall of fame you will still feel they're underrated" ? what ? because they didn't make the Super duper hall of fame ???

    • @emmrld2783
      @emmrld2783 11 месяцев назад +5

      @@WeatherWeasel66 it just feels like R.E.M. doesn't get enough credit for what they deserve for being pioneers of alternative rock.

  • @isabellecolonia4261
    @isabellecolonia4261 11 месяцев назад +15

    Finally a rem video, they are my favorite band!! I can’t possibly chose just one favorite song but New Adventures in Hi-Fi is my favorite album!!!

    • @mattbeatgoeson
      @mattbeatgoeson  11 месяцев назад +3

      It's a highly underrated album!

    • @isabellecolonia4261
      @isabellecolonia4261 11 месяцев назад

      @@mattbeatgoeson it really is

    • @dice1296
      @dice1296 9 месяцев назад +1

      you have excellent taste

  • @sethlastname6595
    @sethlastname6595 10 месяцев назад +3

    I would die for a brief history of Dead Kennedys vid!!

  • @EvellenAims
    @EvellenAims 11 месяцев назад +8

    U2 can be another cool band you can look at in the future. R.E.M's one of my favorites too, so glad you finally did them.

  • @rino09876
    @rino09876 11 месяцев назад +13

    Up is a direly underrated album.

    • @christophercox9150
      @christophercox9150 10 месяцев назад +1

      I love Sad Professor. Something about the intimacy of his voice in the quiet bits, and the crashing guitars into the chorus

    • @curly_wyn
      @curly_wyn 8 месяцев назад

      I love Why Not Smile!!

  • @notsoaveragejoe7275
    @notsoaveragejoe7275 11 месяцев назад +5

    You should totally do a video on The Jam and The Zombies and The Kinks. That would be awesome, great video

  • @robharrison8139
    @robharrison8139 11 месяцев назад +7

    Thank you for this video. I love REM, they're a top 3 artist for me. For so many years whenever they released a new album, I'd run to the CD store that day it was released to get it, and they never let me down with bad music. I love all their work, even the maligned ones like Up and Around the Sun. Thanks Michael, Peter, Mike, and Bill for all the wonderful music.

  • @Redmenace96
    @Redmenace96 11 месяцев назад +6

    The strange and garbled lyrics were a feature, not a bug. I love music that draws you in through curiosity. It sounded like nothing else.

    • @ericferguson1302
      @ericferguson1302 6 месяцев назад +1

      Yes, they were at their best when you could barely understand half of what Stipe was singing. When he started enuciating his lyrics more clearly the music lost something for me.

    • @Redmenace96
      @Redmenace96 6 месяцев назад

      @@ericferguson1302 Well, it did work. Their WB records went through the roof and I did enjoy that, too. REM just shifted. My favorite song is, "Gardening at Night" and I don't know wtf it is about 😂 It just has an emotion contained in it. Compare that to, "Night Swimming", later. NS is objectively a better recording, and a more clear emotional message.

  • @laurachristianson1688
    @laurachristianson1688 8 месяцев назад +2

    The best time of my life was working at a record store in the early eighties……this was why I learned about REM early on. Still have my original copy of murmur and most of their output hence.

  • @klmullins65
    @klmullins65 9 месяцев назад +2

    REM used to play in Knoxville in clubs around the University of Tennessee before they they released Murmur, ai I thought they were a local band! A friend of mine insisted on playing Murmur for me, and I was reluctant listen because I was too musically naive at the time, and thought I wasnt supposed to like bands and music that had certain LABELS placed on them...I'd heard Radio Free Europe before, but when I heard songs like Pilgrimage and Talk About the Passion, I was transfixed. I was especially impressed with the amount of acoustic guitar playing on the album, because very few acts were using acoustic instruments at the time (1983), except for John Cougar Mellencamp, who was also just hitting his stride at the time. My friends couldn't believe that I could be so into REM, and I'd try to tell them them that there was something extraordinary about this band...some of them came around eventually. I'd say my favorite overall is "Fables of the Reconstruction", followed by "Automaric For the People", and "Out of Time". Oddly enough, as much as I love REM, I've still never heard any of their albums past "Adventures in Hifi"!

  • @soundofhistory_
    @soundofhistory_ 11 месяцев назад +10

    We're gonna talk about REM in the next episode of our podcast. Which means it'll be a video on our channel eventually. Super interesting band

  • @JodyWelter
    @JodyWelter 8 месяцев назад +3

    Great tribute documenting their discography and public consumption. Well done.

  • @davidtardio9804
    @davidtardio9804 11 месяцев назад +7

    Great choice. Really enjoying this "Brief History" series.

  • @dinnerputter8757
    @dinnerputter8757 11 месяцев назад +3

    R.E.M. Captures the warmth of small town America. Makes me feel nostalgic. Great video!

  • @AnonymousCaveman
    @AnonymousCaveman 11 месяцев назад +5

    I obviously love all their popular stuff but imitation of life is probably my favourite. Remember listening to it in 3rd year in a university lecture (about 3 months before the pandemic) and listened to it throughout with my very small bubble of friends (COVID 19 and all that) through that stressful time.

  • @stratinolampino
    @stratinolampino 11 месяцев назад +16

    fun fact: REM stands for Really Engaged Monkeys.

  • @kafkastiles
    @kafkastiles 10 месяцев назад +2

    R.E.M's 'Green' tour, which spanned most of 1989, was certainly NOT the first time the band started playing stadiums. I saw them three years earlier (November, 1986) at the New Haven Colosseum for their 'Pageantry' tour, and yes the Colosseum was a big-ass stadium until it was eventually torn down in 2007.

  • @prismaze
    @prismaze 11 месяцев назад +7

    my FAVORITE band ❤

  • @millsromane7494
    @millsromane7494 11 месяцев назад +3

    Thanks Mr. Beat, I’ve been waiting for this one!

  • @JH_75
    @JH_75 11 месяцев назад +5

    R.E.M. is a band for which I fall short of superlatives. This is one of your best, Beat.

    • @mattbeatgoeson
      @mattbeatgoeson  11 месяцев назад

      Thank you and yeah I was quite excited to make this one. :)

  • @peterkremer925
    @peterkremer925 7 месяцев назад +1

    Pretty brilliant wrap up of the history of an unforgettable band. Thanks!

  • @semipenguin
    @semipenguin 11 месяцев назад +5

    I got to see them in concert on the Document Tour when I was 17. That was a great show. Too bad they won’t be touring at least one more time. I’d love to see them again.

  • @rikkousa
    @rikkousa 10 месяцев назад +5

    I love Perfect Circle. Maybe not the most important song they ever wrote , but uniquely rem

    • @DennisChary
      @DennisChary 3 месяца назад

      Their absolutely best song-thank you!

  • @mcdrunkis
    @mcdrunkis 4 месяца назад +1

    Because of my age, I listened to these guys the most during the 90s era. Like I had heard their songs before that, but I was a little kid when Document came out. Their 90s albums you mentioned (Out of Time, Automatic for the People, Monster, New Adventures) were part of the sound track to my high school years. I loved these guys so much it was insane. A lot of fans dropped off after New Adventures, but Reveal was also a really great album if you ask me.

  • @alexandramarshall5673
    @alexandramarshall5673 11 месяцев назад +5

    r.e.m is my fave band

  • @RemnantCult
    @RemnantCult 11 месяцев назад +5

    I enjoy the format of these videos. These make for great introductions to popular bands that some may have yet to explore fully yet. There's knowing a band by their most popular works, then there's knowing them by their entire discography and outside work and these videos helps introduce that possibility to a potential new fan. Thanks Mr. Beat (If you don't mind calling you that here).

  • @tonybates7870
    @tonybates7870 11 месяцев назад +6

    I bloody love REM. Up until they went in to a bit of a decline in the late 90s, they pretty much didn't put a foot wrong. We're talking 10 or 11 albums here. Great, great band.

  • @ericdeforest3811
    @ericdeforest3811 2 месяца назад +1

    Great Rockumentary covering their full creative span of albums from the early days through their final album... with some good perspective on their successes. Thanks and well done. It's very difficult to pick favorites from the guys, as I am a fan of all of thier music, but ultimately, much of the IRS early years are truly my favorite.
    Just a few of my favorite tracks> Gardening at Night, Boxcar, Radio Free Europe, Perfect Circle, South Central Rain, Can't Get There from Here, Driver8, Begin the Begin, What if We Give It Away, Fall on Me, Crazy, Firnest Worksong, The One I Love, Near Wild Heaven, Texarkana, Bang/Blame, Until the Day is Done, & Supernatural Superserious among so many other great R.E.M. songs...

  • @mumblescares193
    @mumblescares193 11 месяцев назад +3

    Can't pick just 1 favourite so I'll have to say "Find the River" and "The Great Beyond" are tied . But man oh man, do they have A LOT of great, moving, beautiful songs.

  • @Jackfargo91
    @Jackfargo91 11 месяцев назад +13

    I mostly like hard rock bands like ACDC Guns n roses and Stone temple pilots but damn i love REM just as much. Thanks for the video

    • @mattbeatgoeson
      @mattbeatgoeson  11 месяцев назад +9

      Thanks Jack. I can't wait to make videos about those bands, too.

    • @Jackfargo91
      @Jackfargo91 11 месяцев назад +3

      @@mattbeatgoeson can't wait to watch them, subscribed for sure

  • @danielalopez6656
    @danielalopez6656 3 месяца назад

    The first time I heard REM I was 14 years old, it was the 90's, I can't describe what I felt. It was Out of Time, and I loved it from start to finish. I lived in a small town in Mexico and it was not easy to get their CDs. Every day I turned on MTV hoping to see one of their videos. Sadly I never got to see them live and I regret it so much. There is always a REM song in my head for every moment of my life.

  • @Digidanny
    @Digidanny 10 месяцев назад +3

    Know all of the albums, great great and even greater. Especially the early rocksongs. But my favorite would be a few from Collapse, namely Uberlin and Mine smells like honey. Mine... has such a feelgood uptempo vibe as so many other memorable ones going way back, and Uberlin sounds like a perfect goodbye. I think Uberlin is my choise for best ever REM song.

  • @philbraithwaite1316
    @philbraithwaite1316 11 месяцев назад +2

    Saw them live in 84 in the UK. I thought at the time that they’d go far, they did! The IRS years were the best.

  • @stevecowder4774
    @stevecowder4774 10 месяцев назад +3

    I got into REM back in ‘87 through the release of “ Document, “ clearly one of their finest. But ultimately it was the preceding album, “ Life’s Rich Pageant “ and that magical debut “ Murmur “ that converted me into an avid fan. There were plenty of innovative bands to come out of the 80s but these guys truly possessed the most unique and distinguished style, thus leading to their overwhelming success. And not an easy task considering the enormous competition from that decade. Oh and as far as my favorite song, gotta go with “ Pretty Persuasion. “ Love the way that one carries itself. Excellent review !

    • @mattbeatgoeson
      @mattbeatgoeson  10 месяцев назад +2

      Great analysis and thanks for the kind words.

    • @mmiller303
      @mmiller303 9 месяцев назад +2

      You described your journey almost as if it mirrors my own! I was a metal head as a kid but started college in the south in '87 and discovered REM via Document, backed into Pageant and Fables as a result, but it was Murmur that solidified them as a life altering musical discovery for me. Pretty Persuasion, as is most of Reckoning, one of my faves too, but Begin the Begin drives a hard bargain for me. 5 damn near masterpiece records in as many years is unheard of.

    • @stevecowder4774
      @stevecowder4774 9 месяцев назад

      @mmiller303
      From one REM fan to another, thanks for your reply. Even though they're not around anymore, it does seem harder to find fans who can still appreciate what they've done.

  • @cranklabexplosion-labcentr8245
    @cranklabexplosion-labcentr8245 11 месяцев назад +2

    Never thought I’d see a throughly rehearsed discussion about rapid eye movement on this channel but I am now intrigued

  • @bifff8433
    @bifff8433 11 месяцев назад +3

    Favorite Album for me ... Reckoning. It introduced me to the band when it was released and changed what I listened to going forward.

  • @seanfraser9162
    @seanfraser9162 2 месяца назад

    Seriously well done man. Nice work

  • @tylerhackner9731
    @tylerhackner9731 11 месяцев назад +4

    My dad loves this band! Happy Father’s Day btw

    • @mattbeatgoeson
      @mattbeatgoeson  11 месяцев назад +1

      haha I just Tweeted something similar to this without seeing this comment

    • @tylerhackner9731
      @tylerhackner9731 11 месяцев назад +1

      @@mattbeatgoesonI saw haha

  • @WillyPDX94
    @WillyPDX94 10 месяцев назад +1

    My favorite band is The Minus Five. Fronted by Portland music legend, Scott McCaughy, and featuring Peter Buck on guitar. I've seen Buck play with the band in local bars and tiny venues many times. Just recently I saw a double bill of The Minus Five and their latest band, The No Ones, also featuring Buck and McCaughey, at Mississippi Studios here in Portland. It is an incredible gift to have such incredible songwriters as McCaughey and Buck playing around town.

  • @paloozi0499
    @paloozi0499 11 месяцев назад +3

    Berry’s eyebrows 😭

  • @spoon4055
    @spoon4055 11 месяцев назад +4

    I would love if you could do a history on Electric Light Orchestra, I just love them especially Jeff Lynne and how they were the Idle Race to the Move and than ELO and then ELO Part 2 and then Jeff Lynne's ELO

  • @dakshshaan6469
    @dakshshaan6469 11 месяцев назад +5

    Plz do "The doors", I beg you

  • @thelorax9622
    @thelorax9622 11 месяцев назад +1

    Thanks Mr Beat - I've been an REM fan since the 1990's and missing their only tour to Australia will haunt me until I die. Fave album - probably New Adventures in HiFi. Fave song - probably Crush with Eyeliner or Orange Crush - yes, there's a theme there but I just like them a lot. I would also recommend the DVD concert film Road Movie.

  • @nicholasvermeulen779
    @nicholasvermeulen779 11 месяцев назад +2

    Thank you for another amazing video ❤

  • @ChefClary60
    @ChefClary60 7 месяцев назад

    Just found this channel. Another gem hidden on RUclips. Great job!

  • @Werdna27
    @Werdna27 11 месяцев назад +2

    I always said that "Country Feedback is their greatest moment, and then my friend told me that Michael Stipe had said the same thing in interview

  • @PeerwasNOPE
    @PeerwasNOPE 11 месяцев назад +8

    Would be interesting for you to cover the replacements and hüsker dü since those two bands like R.E.M paved the way for college rock and alternative rock in the 80’s. They also released consistent albums every year.

    • @mattbeatgoeson
      @mattbeatgoeson  11 месяцев назад +3

      I love both those bands. I also would love to cover Pavement.

    • @PeerwasNOPE
      @PeerwasNOPE 11 месяцев назад

      @@mattbeatgoeson that would be great too

    • @johnchedsey1306
      @johnchedsey1306 11 месяцев назад

      I also would love to see episodes on both of those bands. Husker Du is a longtime favorite of mine and I recently got to see Greg Norton's new band Ultrabomb live. That was special.

    • @PeerwasNOPE
      @PeerwasNOPE 11 месяцев назад +1

      @@johnchedsey1306 yea bro. R.I.P to Grant Hart tho. Great songwriter taken too soon. Glad that Bob Mould is still around as well.

    • @johnchedsey1306
      @johnchedsey1306 11 месяцев назад

      @@PeerwasNOPE at the Ultrabomb show, they played "Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely" with Greg singing and I damn near lost it. So good.

  • @LowgaenSchmidt
    @LowgaenSchmidt 11 месяцев назад +1

    These are all so good.
    I hope you do a video like this on Def Leppard at some point. A band that's gone through a lot of wild things like their drummer losing his arm in a car accident and reteaching himself how to play.

  • @tmatuga
    @tmatuga 8 месяцев назад +1

    my fave song is driver 8. my one and only time seeing them in concert was for the monster tour and it was an incredible time.

  • @jane.1603
    @jane.1603 11 месяцев назад +5

    Hello :) I just wanted to thank you for these great documentaries i really enjoy watching them, through them i actually discovered new artists i learned to enjoy, Its really great that this content is available for free

  • @LL-bl8hd
    @LL-bl8hd 16 дней назад

    They had such an interesting career arc. Some artists come out of the gate with a big hit. REM had a series of singles that got bigger and bigger over more than a decade until they finally reached superstar status. From "Radio Free Europe" to "Fall On Me" to "The One I Love" to "It's the End of the World" to "Stand" to "Losing My Religion" to "Everybody Hurts." They just kept getting more and more popular from the early 80s to the mid 90s.

  • @fransenmusic
    @fransenmusic 11 месяцев назад +1

    Whoa. Just finding this channel . Love it Mr Beat!

  • @russellsullivan7366
    @russellsullivan7366 9 месяцев назад +1

    This was cool. Thanks for the info 🙏💙

  • @LauPulstar
    @LauPulstar 11 месяцев назад +1

    my favorite album is automatic for the people, a masterpiece that is perfection. my favorite song is difficult to choose, i love walk unafraid, bittersweet me and the one i love

  • @LongLiveMetal-pw3fz
    @LongLiveMetal-pw3fz 10 месяцев назад +1

    Your videos are so entertaining plus I learn so much. Please do more videos on Heavy Metal bands. 🤘

  • @brayanjavier2452
    @brayanjavier2452 11 месяцев назад +3

    Can you do the strokes next? love your videos!

  • @tellthemborissentyou
    @tellthemborissentyou 11 месяцев назад +2

    Yup Automatic for the people is probably the one I play for most.

  • @Richard-wp6ep
    @Richard-wp6ep 11 месяцев назад +2

    I heard radio free Europe on Kroq, it blew me away ran out and bought lifes rich pageant, I was 25 and for the next 10 yrs they were my favorite band.

  • @mrp4242
    @mrp4242 11 месяцев назад +2

    REM full studio Albums ranked:
    1. Automatic for the People (my top album of 1992, and in my top 20 of all time).
    2. Green (my top album for 1988)
    3. Document (in my top 5 albums for 1987)
    4. Life’s Rich Pageant (in my top 5 albums for 1986)
    5. Murmur (in my top 5 albums for 1983)
    6. Out of Time (honorable mention 1991)
    7. Fables of the Reconstruction (honorable mention for 1985)
    8. Reckoning (in my top 5 for 1984)
    9. Monster (honorable mention for 1994)
    10. New Adventures in Hi Fi (honorable mention for 1996)
    11. Reveal (in my top 5 for 2001)
    12. Accelerate (honorable mention for 2007)
    13. Collapse into Now
    14. Up
    15. Around the Sun

  • @K.I.R.B.
    @K.I.R.B. 11 месяцев назад +1

    Been watching your videos for over three years now and have to say you never disappoint at all, really happy to see you still making great content!
    P.S. have you thought about doing a brief history on lil peep? I think his style matches a lot of the energy rock artists had at that time and would really show the appreciation of music people have! ❤️

  • @marvelmite1
    @marvelmite1 10 месяцев назад +3

    Greatest band of all time. Great video. Watched a few times now and have read through a lot of comments and always feel good seeing so many others gushing over a band that seems so forgotten by many. Favorite song is king of birds though nightswimming is a close second. Album, document. Though I honestly also love monster, around the sun, and accelerate, even though they've all caught flack over the years. No bad albums here. Any chance of seeing vids on bright eyes or cursive from just a bit north here in Nebraska?

    • @mattbeatgoeson
      @mattbeatgoeson  10 месяцев назад +2

      Well I used to live in Omaha so I am keen to cover Saddle Creek Records for a video. Stay tuned for that. Thanks for the great comment!

  • @thatcanadianman3529
    @thatcanadianman3529 10 месяцев назад

    I have a suggestion could you do cheap trick? I love them and I have been binging all of your brief history videos, I love them

  • @bobdobalina838
    @bobdobalina838 11 месяцев назад +3

    Loved them since Murmur. words cannot describe how much better those days were and how much better music was before it slowly died after september eleventh. ( Favorite album: every one up until Document)

  • @lloydonlead
    @lloydonlead 9 месяцев назад +1

    Heard REM from the beginning on EP Chronic Town. Saw them live on the Document tour. Didn't really get into their commercial records. I did enjoy Automatic for the People especially Sweetness Follows.