Someone above said they were always political.
I would counter that most great rock n roll is inherently political.
But please please don't go have the rails. Grab your wife's Ambien.
Is R.E.M. underrated by new music nerds?
I've been in a R.E.M. phase in late 2018, they kept me going through the toughest period of my life. A lot of their stuff especially in their incredible 1987-1996 run means a lot to me and have been pivotal in growing my music taste but emotion aside I think quality-wise they were one of the greatest rock band of all time, if not one the best band. I actually think this is not a hot take.
What I think is an interesting thing to discuss is how R.E.M. are relevant to new audiences of my age (I'm 20 btw) like all the music nerds that grew on the Internet (RYM or /mucore) or the music channels or profiles on YouTube and Instagram that review or examine music.
I think that in this demographic area R.E.M. are underrated or more specifically they are put inside the categories of "Gen X bands" like U2 or similar. And i think it's a shame because they have one the best musical palettes of all time provided by really skilled musicians and an incredible and eclectic vocalist and songwriter like Michael Stipe. A band that even when they became globally famous they managed to stay coherent to their sound (until at least the early 90s) and political ethic. Their material should get more recognition among younger audiences like mine considering the huge influence they had on a lot of artist.
What do you think?
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They got lucky it seems, and although they produced a few decent songs they are utterly overrated. Some friends opened for them years ago and said they were absolute jerks to them...bad bad bad. Otherwise, meh...I've known too many great bands that never got the shot they did. Right place at the right time I suppose. |
@seola30 So good that REM´s music gave you strength when you needed it. That´s a lot. And they have a lot of beautiful songs. Personally I´m more of an „until Automatic for the People“–person but there are great songs on all of their albums. But that´s just me. I think there are a few reasons why REM has not been widely rediscovered by a younger audience yet. Guitar music in general has become more of a niche in popular music. I just checked the US Charts: I´m not familiar with all the songs and artists but there´s hardly a rock song in the singles charts and in the album charts there´s a Greatful Dead-album on #18. So much for the younger demographic. And the younger artists and bands that do make rock music seem to reference or build on other styles than REM´s. I wouldn´t be surprised if at some point more young people discovered them, but rock history is so vast and offers so many styles, attitudes, signature sounds and expressions of emotions, that it may be just coincidence that so far they´ve been overlooked. Also a big part of REMs catalogue is not music that calls for attention, it´s more a world you can come in or relate to. I´m not a rock critic or historian, others could make these points much better, but I think there´s some truth to them. |
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