Is R.E.M. underrated by new music nerds?

They did what they did, and for a short while they were great; until Michael Stipe's ego and political leanings spoiled what was best about them. I think thatt hey were average musicians, but Peter Buck just had the spirit to evoke emotions from his playing that far more technically adept players miss. 

The first few discs were really a revelation at that time I think, my favorite being Life's Rich Pageant. I believe that time will be good to the earlier part of their catalog, where their more obscure lyrics inspire individual interpretation rather than the dated and tiresome political commentary that came later. 

@czarivey 

Count on you for an ignorant comment like that. Since you're such an expert on the band, give specific critiques of which discs you are even familiar with. 

Let me guess, you know one song like "Losing My Religion", and you didn't like it. Well neither did I, but they had 4 earlier discs which were very good.

@dodgealum 

Well, I don't think that rock music ever needed "saving". It's just a loose category that has many variations, and within that, REM certainly made their unique contribution. They were exciting, different and passionate, and not afraid to throw in an unusual instrument here and there. My apologies for underating Mike Mills. I saw them three times live, and I will agree that he is very talented. I don't know if you will agree with this, but I am someone who always pays attention to drummers, and I don't think that Bill Berry was much of a drummer at all. It's fortunate that the rest of the band was so interesting that it didn't matter much. He never had any interesting fills. He just sort of "kept time".   

@czarivey

I thank you for proving my point about you. You were talking out of your a** about a subject you know nothing about. Surprise.

@loomisjohnson 

Disagree about the Byrd's. They had a lot of great material, and yes, Clarence White was a great addition. I saw them a number of times when he was in the band.

I completely disagree concerning The Cars. Candy O was their magnum opus.

The Smiths were brilliant and still one of my favorites. Their best music is timeless.

"Who were REM?" 

...And you call yourself @clearthinker ?

Oh brother ...

Ignorant comment. Not surprising.

There's no question that their later albums were not good, but I also have to wonder if the other members ever told Stipe to just shut up. I guess not, because he never did. By the end I was hating him. I've just reached the point in the last year when I can start listening to the good ones, like Fables of the Reconstruction.

@plasticspoon8 

I have allllways thought that the first song on Fables, Begin the Begin, was one of the best album beginnings that I ever heard. It's like a call to arms. 

They had a great moment, but by the time the general public knew that they existed, that moment was long over.