Tag: REM

audio review : It Happened Today ( song ) … REM

What happened? Michael Stipe is too ambiguous a poet to say, but concept isn’t what matters here. It’s about the music, which stomps along a bassy drum beat, guitars, and what sounds like an array of tambourines. It’s the kind of folky dance vibe you haven’t heard in an REM song for a long time.

What’s unusual is how traditional word-based vocals; lyrical verses and bridges; are abandoned before even the halfway point. “Huh-huh” murmurs take over from there for what serves as the chorus section. It’s a celebration chant of sorts, layered with harmonious melodies, and one of the band’s all-time best.

my rating : 5 of 5

2010

audio review : Collapse Into Now ( album ) ... REM

audio review : I’ll Take The Rain ( song ) … REM

“The rain came down,” Michael Stipe sings, thrice until he gets it right. Those first few bars are a preview of the subtle melody shifts to come. The song; a winter “love” song; doesn’t go full power ballad until the refrain, which soars high thru a backdrop of airy guitars.

my rating : 4 of 5

2001

audio review : Reveal ( album ) ... REM

audio review : Leaving New York ( song ) … REM

The best part comes near the end. “I told you I’d love you forever,” Michael Stipe reminds a special someone and when the chorus comes back, with a layer of windswept harmony, it soars as one of the band’s catchiest. Leaving New York is an ambiguous ballad, but it seems there are feelings of both affection and despondency in the air.

my rating : 4 of 5

2004

audio review : Around The Sun ( album ) ... REM audio review : Part Lies Part Heart Part Truth Part Garbage ( album ) ... REM

Sad Professor ( song lyrics ) … REM

Sad Professor ( song lyrics ) ... REM

If we’re talking about love, then I have to tell you,
dear readers, I’m not sure where I’m headed.
I’ve gotten lost before.
I’ve woke up stone drunk, face down in the floor.

Late afternoon; the house is hot.
I started. I jumped up.
Everyone hates a bore.
Everybody hates a drunk.

This may be a lit invention;
professors muddled in their intent
to try to rope-in followers to float their malcontent.
As for this, reader, I’m already spent.

Late afternoon; the house is hot.
I started. I jumped up.
Everyone hates a sad professor.
I hate where I wound up.

Dear readers, my apologies. I’m drifting in and out of sleep.
Long silence presents the tragedies of love.
Note the age. Get afraid. The surface hazy with attendant thoughts.
A lazy eye metaphor on the rock.

Late afternoon; the house is hot.
I started. I jumped up.
Everyone hates a bore.
Everybody hates a drunk.

Everyone hates a sad professor.

I hate where I wound up.
I hate where I wound up.

1998

audio review : The Outsiders … REM ( featuring Q-Tip )

The best part is when Q-Tip raps, but it’s not because of Q-Tip. His verse, which reads like a poem, is neither here nor there. What makes that part standout is the soothing tranquility of the background music, which, along with some urging ad-libs from singer Michael Stipe, is just beautiful enough to save the song.

my rating : 4 of 5

2004

audio review : Around The Sun ( album ) ... REM

audio review : Hallelujah ( song ) … REM

A piano plays at 02:34. It’s panned to the right, but it should be mixed, louder than it is, in stereo. That or dead center. It should play repeatedly, perhaps as a continuous loop, so that the guitars, drums and what sounds like orchestral strings revolve around it.

As it is, REM’s Hallelujah, their final song as far as album chronology goes, struggles to lift itself up from the pits of mediocrity. The music carries with it the grandeur of a huge and historic cathedral. The verses are also enchanting. It’s the refrain that suffers.

my rating : 3 of 5

2011

audio review : Part Lies Part Heart Part Truth Part Garbage ( album ) ... REM