| mooghead 21.09.2011 14:48 |
Great band in their time but I guess all things must pass. (Will resist the temptation to suggest they could sanction an official tribute band and all the horrors that would bring) |
| Micrówave 21.09.2011 15:05 |
REM + Paul Rodgers? Anyone? |
| Dan C. 21.09.2011 16:44 |
Very saddened by this. But, at least it wasn't over petty bullshit. |
| john bodega 22.09.2011 00:28 |
Good riddance. |
| Amazon 22.09.2011 10:11 |
Great group with some of the best songs of the past 30 years. However it's not exactly a shock that they've broken up. Not only are they not as relevant as they once were (I personally haven't listened to any of their new stuff) but they are arguably not as good as they once were. If they made this announcement 20 years ago, it would have been shocking. But now? It's not all that news worthy. |
| *goodco* 22.09.2011 10:50 |
Saw them in Kalamazoo and Detroit a total of three times. Their 'New Adventures' tour, following 'Monster'...was fab. One of the best ten concerts that I have attended. During the '00's.... they became overly 'synthish' , very boring, and very lame other than one or two tracks per album. The last two albums were the REM of old, slightly raw, and damn good. They are one of a handful of bands that I still follow that makes my stepdaughter think that I am still 'hip'. One of many bands where I delete a track or three from each LP to make them listenable, and loved the end results. They could put together two very, very, very good 'best of' 80 minute disks .....and still leave fans wanting more. 'Tourfilm' and 'Road Movie' are a couple of the best live disks in my video collection. They are going out on a good note, unlike Dream Theater, The Beatles, The Police, etc. Let us never, ever forget the great lyrics from the chorus of 'The Wake Up Bomb' ......'Get drunk and sing along to Queen'.................. Reunion tour in 2016? |
| brENsKi 23.09.2011 16:43 |
i can't believe i'm reading this last post ^^ as someone who has liked REM since the late 80s i can't see any of therir post-2000 output being up to their own standards. therefore, how do you state that they wen't out on a high? and also..how is that "unlike the beatles" the beatles produced two of (arguably) their best albums Abbey Rd and Let It Be at the time they were splitting...that is what i would suggest is "going out on a high"...releasing a worthwhile and up-to-standard product depsite the sh*t behind the scenes |
| YourValentine 24.09.2011 02:39 |
While I agree with you about the 2000s material until "Accelerate" I have to say that "Collapse Into Now" is a surprisingly great album, It may not be so great as "Automatic..." but it's 2011 and you would not hold it against the Beatles that "Abbey Road" does not have the innovational power of "Sgt Pepper", either - "Collapse.." is a very amazing album imo, therefore I think goodco has a point: REM are quitting with a chart topping great album. I will miss them, I always had a lot of respect for REM. You cannot be a rebel all your life but you can be an artist with self respect. I hope they have a good life ahead. |
| brENsKi 24.09.2011 03:45 |
while i accept your point Barb, what i was trying to say was that the Beatles produced consistently good stuff right upto and including the end. REM had a dire 2000s as for the Sgt pepper reference. Beatles' fans prefer abbey rd and revolver to sgt pepper. revolver was innovative, abbey rd a work of genius (a piece of loving care assembling bits of tape togetehr into "medleys" while Lennon cooked his head on heroin.... it's the gen public who cite sgt pepper at the top of these silly all-time great polls.....perhaps the same gen public who made that one 2000s REM album a big seller. as a famous punk once said "i've met the man in the street - and he's a c**t" - i think that comment was a reference to how easily the gen public can be mainpulated and led like sheep. |
| philip storey 24.09.2011 07:24 |
Very Boring,dull group,i for one will not miss them ! |
| YourValentine 24.09.2011 10:08 |
Of course I am jumping on the chance to hijack this thread and make it a Beatles thread:-) What I meant was the following: Sgt Pepper was generally - by many musicians and people interested in popular music - regarded as the moment when pop music was considered as art for the first time while before Sgt Pepper pop music was never seen as an art form. I did not make that up, I took it from interviews -- for example the Beach Boys - who made this very statement (see for example the Sgt Pepper bit in "Beatles Compleat"). Whereas many fans may value Abbey Rd or Revolver higher, Sgt Pepper is one of the defining moments in the Beatles history as well as pop music history. You can compare it to Queen's ANATO which certainly marked a defining point in pop history and Queen history as an artistic statement - but many Queen fans like Queen 2 or another album better. In a similar way I think "Automatic For The People" was a climax in REM history - when they made the full step from intellectual college minority band to mainstream without really betraying their artistic core. It would be asked too much imo that they could repeat such an artistic climax in this point of time but "Collapse Into Now" is so much better than the previous albums that you can safely say they went out on a high. Let us not forget that the Beatles were also at an all-time low with the "Let It Be" project which they left in frustration for Phil Spector to compile it and their main reason to go back into the studio to record Abbey Rd was to prove to themselves that they were able to make another good album before they called it a day. |
| ParisNair 26.09.2011 11:04 |
I was never a big fan, but always thought REM were a good band. But it came to me as a surprise that they are disbanding now. I always thought they must have disbanded sometime in 2000s as i havenlt heard any songs/albums except those from the 90s. And I started listeting to them in 2003 or soemthing. Reminds of an american who once told me that he thought our Freddie had died in the 80s becos he never came across any songs after Bites the Dust. My fav REM song is the cover version of "First We take manhattan, then we take berlin". |
| *goodco* 26.09.2011 13:19 |
Well, I'll try this again. I liked their last two albums, since they were more in line of their pre-2000 material. The albums weren't great or earth shattering, but they were good. 'Accelerate' and 'Collapse' vs. 'Up' and 'Reveal'....need I say more? They went out on a good note.........good albums, and on good terms with one another, unlike the bands mentioned. I won't get into a 'Let It Be' debate at this time.....And as to 'Sgt Pepper', just think how good the LP would have been had Capitol Records not insisted on taking 'Strawberry Fields' and 'Pennylane' for a 45 release, thus eliminating them from the album. I do agree about 'Abbey Road', since it is my favorite. |
| Holly2003 26.09.2011 15:13 |
Great singer. Very distinctive voice. |
| MadTheSwine73 26.09.2011 18:56 |
What people always seem to forget is that The Beatles never put out something bad. Even Revolution 9 is loved by most of the fans. Ok, maybe Don't Pass Me By and Octopus' Garden, but you gotta remember, that's Ringo for ya! |
| people on streets 27.09.2011 12:31 |
Great band. Always meant a lot to me. Saw them twice in concert. First time in 2003 Utrecht , The Netherlands. Small venue, 700 people, front row, legendary show. Probably in my personal top 3. Also saw them on their last gig in The Netherlands. Big outdoor show. Also nice, but very different. Walk Unafraid probably is my favourite song after March Of The Black Queen. I can understand they have split up, but I hate the fact I can't see them live anymore. |
| Amazon 28.09.2011 09:39 |
MadTheSwine73 wrote: " What people always seem to forget is that The Beatles never put out something bad. Even Revolution 9 is loved by most of the fans. Ok, maybe Don't Pass Me By and Octopus' Garden, but you gotta remember, that's Ringo for ya!" I think ultimately the musical talent of the group was such that even if a song was crap, their playing (and singing) would make it less crap. Of course, it probably never came to that. |