(no subject)
R.E.M. announced that it broke up today. And as much as I have adored its music over the years, I can't say that I wish it weren't true. These days, the prospect of a new R.E.M. release does not cause me to be excited so much as it makes me nervously hope they don't lay a big egg. They had a good run. And all good things must come to an end.
I think R.E.M. will always be first in my heart as far as music. They were the first band that I was just crazy about. They were my first two concerts -- the one in Louisville when the Green tour started and the one in Cincy when the tour wrapped back around to the area. The Cincy one was the one where my best friend and I stole better seats. I thought we were dead meat when the usher shined a flashlight on us, only to discover that the person NEXT to us was the one in trouble for smoking. I have come across other musical acts that mean a great deal to me since I discovered R.E.M., but they'll always be just a little lower on the totem pole.
I'm glad the band was able to end on the relative high notes of Accelerate and Collapse Into Now. In particular, Accelerate was the one that really made me feel a bit of the old magic after a long stretch of poor output. Up was awful. Just awful. They really seemed confused after Bill Berry left. (I remember an interview where Berry referred to it as the band's best record, leading me to assume that he was just putting on a brave face or descending into madness). Reveal had its moments, but if it were not surrounded by Up and Around The Sun, I imagine I'd find it quite disappointing. Around The Sun might be the worst offender because it was just so ... blah. At least Up stirs up some genuine what-is-this-crap irritation. Around The Sun just kind of sits there. So, yeah, I was thankful for Accelerate. Really, there are maybe two songs that don't give me that "ooh, I like that one" reaction. That's a batting average right up there with their classics.
It's hard to pick a favorite album of theirs. That's probably how it should be, isn't it? Having an embarrassment of riches to choose from? But if you put a gun to my head, if you insisted that I could only hear one of the band's albums for the rest of my life, I guess I'd go with Lifes Rich Pageant. Hardly a dead spot on the thing, and it also gets a few extra points for just-before-they-broke-big coolness. The copy editor in me desperately wants to insert an apostrophe in the first word, but I guess I can live without it. Out of Time has to be up there as well, and Murmur ... like I said, an embarrassment of riches.
Of course, they're not dead or anything. There's no reason that they couldn't decide that this was a temporary thing and fire things back up. Wouldn't be the first breakup that didn't take. That'd be all right with me, I guess, but if they did stick to their guns and honestly put R.E.M. in the past, I think that'd be just fine.
I think R.E.M. will always be first in my heart as far as music. They were the first band that I was just crazy about. They were my first two concerts -- the one in Louisville when the Green tour started and the one in Cincy when the tour wrapped back around to the area. The Cincy one was the one where my best friend and I stole better seats. I thought we were dead meat when the usher shined a flashlight on us, only to discover that the person NEXT to us was the one in trouble for smoking. I have come across other musical acts that mean a great deal to me since I discovered R.E.M., but they'll always be just a little lower on the totem pole.
I'm glad the band was able to end on the relative high notes of Accelerate and Collapse Into Now. In particular, Accelerate was the one that really made me feel a bit of the old magic after a long stretch of poor output. Up was awful. Just awful. They really seemed confused after Bill Berry left. (I remember an interview where Berry referred to it as the band's best record, leading me to assume that he was just putting on a brave face or descending into madness). Reveal had its moments, but if it were not surrounded by Up and Around The Sun, I imagine I'd find it quite disappointing. Around The Sun might be the worst offender because it was just so ... blah. At least Up stirs up some genuine what-is-this-crap irritation. Around The Sun just kind of sits there. So, yeah, I was thankful for Accelerate. Really, there are maybe two songs that don't give me that "ooh, I like that one" reaction. That's a batting average right up there with their classics.
It's hard to pick a favorite album of theirs. That's probably how it should be, isn't it? Having an embarrassment of riches to choose from? But if you put a gun to my head, if you insisted that I could only hear one of the band's albums for the rest of my life, I guess I'd go with Lifes Rich Pageant. Hardly a dead spot on the thing, and it also gets a few extra points for just-before-they-broke-big coolness. The copy editor in me desperately wants to insert an apostrophe in the first word, but I guess I can live without it. Out of Time has to be up there as well, and Murmur ... like I said, an embarrassment of riches.
Of course, they're not dead or anything. There's no reason that they couldn't decide that this was a temporary thing and fire things back up. Wouldn't be the first breakup that didn't take. That'd be all right with me, I guess, but if they did stick to their guns and honestly put R.E.M. in the past, I think that'd be just fine.