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

I recall a dealer system demo back in the 90s of “Radio Song” on my CD copy of “Out of Time” using Dynaudio speakers that put me into system upgrade mode big time. There was so much musical articulation on display with that demo that drew me in and it took me quite a long time to be able to pull off that same trick at home. I ended up replacing pretty much everything at the time to do it.  I still use that track as a reference. My setup has to do that one a certain way or else. 

When R.E.M. were hot I was already too old for them. By then I was listening to NRBQ, John Hiatt, Ry Cooder, Tom Waits, Lucinda Williams, Los Lobos, Steve Earle, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, The Blasters, Marshall Crenshaw, Nick Lowe, etc. You know.....adult music. Better songwriters, singers, and musicians than the guys in R.E.M. IMO, of course.

While the music of those I mention still sounds fresh and current (timeless), R.E.M. sounds of it's time: dated. Again, IMO. I know a couple of older musicians who are still stuck in 1966, to whom the music of the 60's (particularly The damn Beatles) is the best ever made. Just as older people in the 1960's felt the same about the Big Bands of the 30's and 40's.

There is no reason to expect current young people to be able to relate to R.E.M. any more than fans of the Big Bands could relate to the new music of the 60's. Just as the fans of the Big Bands didn't get or like The Beatles, young people now have no obligation to like R.E.M. We had our time, it's now their's.

Well now for a contrarian opinion. Last night, I had an 80s'-90's ROON radio stream kicked off by "NIGHT TIME" by Killing Joke. REM came up on this stream and I was just thinking how good they were and that I need to go back and listen again to some of their great albums. Especially now that I have some gear that works perfectly for my ears.

BTW - in my 80's binge last night, I got stuck on Killing Joke's catalog and "MIND BOMB" by The The. On headphones that MIND BOMB is something else.

If you want to impress a young person, play he or she a Rockabilly song. Try "The Train Kept A-Rollin’", for instance. Jeff Beck got The Yardbirds to record their pretty good version of the song (the first one I heard), but in pales in comparison to the version by The Johnny Burnette Rock ’n’ Roll Trio, which is absolutely incendiary! The original is a 1951 Jump Blues by Tiny Bradshaw, also very cool. And then there is the embarrassing version by, ugh, Aerosmith.

By-the-way, the lead guitar playing on Burnette’s version is in dispute. The Trio’s Paul Burlinson is credited with the part, but some think it is actually that of Nashville studio guitarist Grady Martin. It didn’t matter to Beck: he loved the playing of both.

Another by-the-way: If you like the playing of Jeff Beck (and who doesn’t?), do yourself a huge favour and get some albums by Danny Gatton. Gatton’s Rockabilly (and Jazz, and Blues) playing is far hotter than that of Beck. IMO, as always, but every advanced guitarist I’ve played with also feels (or felt, if RIP) that way. THE guitarist’s guitarist.

I think we should stay away from stating what is good, better best.  I happen to  particularly like three bands from the 1980s: U2, R.E.M., and The Smiths.  In answer to the original poster's question, I agree that the last two are less well known than U2, certainly in part because they haven't been active for a long time.