R.E.M., like or no?

[Shell Beau]

[kick-ass-bob]

1. No.

No fucking shiny happy people.

No.
No.
No.

[Shell Beau]

10. You wouldn't you terrist lover!

[KamaAina]

31. Have you no appreciation of irony whatsoever?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiny_Happy_People

The song is supposedly an ironic reference to a piece of roughly translated Chinese propaganda; and the massacre in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, two years before the song was released. The inference apparently relates to how politics is controlled by those with children in powerful positions, not idealistic revolting unhappy students on the ground in Tiananmen Square. The idea that propaganda is often used to cover up stark weaknesses in political systems. The song is mockingly played to encourage unknown political candidates to be upbeat even under fire.

[Parche]

2. REM Sleep?

:woohoo: :hi:

[av8rdave]

3. Like.

There are a handful of songs that suck, but by and large I'm fond of their work.

[Tektonik]

4. Love

[redqueen]

5. Like.

You?

[Shell Beau]

9. I do like!!!

[Lyric]

6. Like

:hi:

[1gobluedem]

7. Love

I think they're great.

[stuntcat]

8. Like!

Everybody Hurts, Superman, Find The River, Low.. :loveya:

[SteppingRazor]

11. Like a lot of their stuff, can't stand them live.

They're a great band, but Michael Stipe is a preening, self-important jackass. Watching that guy vogue onstage makes me ill.

[britpopper]

12. Likey very much...

Not quite as spot on as the early years but nonetheless great...and I quite enjoyed them live

[malta blue]

13. like very much.

seen many concerts - dating from 1983 to 2000. :hi:

[IndianaJones]

14. boo. nt

[Shell Beau]

16. Halloween is over!

:P

[Lucian]

15. Like.

:)

[Sebastian Doyle]

17. Early stuff is best.

Don't really care for anything since Bill Berry left the band. Who would have thought the drummer was the key player in that group?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ykp0Vq77IBw

[southpaw]

18. On balance, I like them

They've had some cringe-worthy moments... but most bands/artists have.

[bikebloke]

19. Anecdote

A long, long time ago at the 9:30 Club in DC, a woman came up to me saying she was a promoter (or maybe manager) for some band. Would I dance with her, when they played the video? Sure. The band was REM.

[Initech]

20. Excellent band

[Amerigo Vespucci]

21. Twelve "Desert Island Disc" songs, basically...and I can take or leave the rest.

Radio Free Europe
Sitting Still
So. Central Rain
(Don't Go Back To) Rockville
The One I Love
The Flowers Of Guatemala
Superman
Fall On Me
Bittersweet Me
What's the Frequency, Kenneth?
Crush with Eyeliner
Circus Envy

:toast:

[flvegan]

22. Big bowl of meh.

[MilesColtrane]

23. They don't really do anything for me.

Stipe's voice is particularly annoying.

[mainegreen]

24. no

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

25. over-rated... next

[Bryan]

26. I like them very much

I like the post-IRS years a lot more than most of the music people I know, but I don't think Monster has dated very well at all, and I think Reveal and Around the Sun are terrible; limp and aimless. Accelerate was pretty good, though. It won't be on my top ten for the year, but it's solid. Even the songs I didn't like have a welcome sense of playfulness.

[AngryAmish]

27. For a man of a certain age like myself, irreplaceable

You have to understand how bad music was in the 80s to appreciate how good REM was....

[CrownPrinceBandar]

28. Early R.E.M..........

They had me until Green, after that it was pretty hit-n-miss.

Reckoning is probably my favorite.

[Orsino]

29. Yeah.

Especially the rawer, less arty earlier albums.

[Mutley]

30. Like

[Sheltiemama]

32. Love.

[tigereye]

33. yes, since the early 80s - loved their early stuff and mostly like the recent

stuff.


It's like your neighborhood- indie band becoming famous...

[harmonicon]

34. mixed

I think "chronic town" and "green" are pure brilliance. REM was a real force for someone like me coming of age in the 80's and 90's, so I'll always have a soft spot for them. However, I've never been a huge fan, and probably won't ever be. I saw them live once, and it was just "meh".

[leeroysphitz]

35. I grew up on REM so I loved them right up until...

Monster. After that one not so much.

[CottonBear]

36. Love their music and their politics! They are from my town of Athens, GA!

I've met the band members as well as heard them perform locally. They are very nice guys who support local, state and federal Democrats and many local causes and charities here in Athens!

[vi5]

37. LOVE up until Green....

Everything after that I can respect but just never kept up with. I can appreciate their post-Green output but it never really did anything for me.

It's easy to forget now, but when I was a teen in the early 80's, liking a band like REM was pretty subversive. They weren't "classic" and they weren't RAWK!!!! enough or punk enough. They were just a really good, catchy, intelligent independent rock and roll band with some weird influences.

[nclib]

38. Love, love, love

We saw them twice this summer and I wish we could have seen them more.

[Zavulon]

39. Detest. Loathe. Despise. Hate that band like I hate Rove, Bush AND Cheney.

If I were in the military and captured by the enemy, ten seconds of "Stand" would make me crack like a walnut and spill every secret I knew. I might be able to endure twenty seconds of a few other songs.

[cordelia]

40. Like very much. n/t