Thursday, September 30, 2004
September 25: REM - Monster
The REM album you're most likely to find for $1 in your local used CD store.
I remember being pretty disappointed by it when I bought it in '94, and I think most people were, too, coming after Automatic for the People (which, as hardcore readers of this thing will remember, was my album of the '90s). Listening to it again, there's some good stuff on here, such as "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" and "Star 69," but "Strange Currencies" is a grunge reworking of "Everybody Hurts" and way too many of the songs rely on one semi-cool riff from Pete Buck (who apparently had just discovered what happens when you combine the distortion and delay pedals).
As the story goes, Bill Berry threatened to quit the band unless he got to play some actual drums and the band made a rock record, so this is what resulted: the first and only REM album designed to sound good in arenas and stadiums. Michael Stipe shaved his head, Mike Mills grew his hair out long and started wearing weird paisley Western suits, and the band did a huge, worldwide tour. Then Berry had an aneurysm on stage, made one more album, and quit anyway. But that's a story for a different day.
I have a theory about "seedcorn albums," those albums that turn off your loyal fans. They might buy the seedcorn album, but it's like eating the seedcorn: the next album, they won't be back. Incubus is touring behind a seedcorn album right now, for example. And this is a textbook definition: kids who got into the band through the pop of Out of Time and Automatic weren't exactly down with weird pseudo-grunge tunes about sex. (if you're keeping track, this is the "sex" album)
An interesting what if?: Kurt Cobain, reportedly, spent some of the last week of his life frantically trying to get in touch with Stipe with the idea that they team up to make an acoustic record. Had that happened, this album might never have.
I remember being pretty disappointed by it when I bought it in '94, and I think most people were, too, coming after Automatic for the People (which, as hardcore readers of this thing will remember, was my album of the '90s). Listening to it again, there's some good stuff on here, such as "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" and "Star 69," but "Strange Currencies" is a grunge reworking of "Everybody Hurts" and way too many of the songs rely on one semi-cool riff from Pete Buck (who apparently had just discovered what happens when you combine the distortion and delay pedals).
As the story goes, Bill Berry threatened to quit the band unless he got to play some actual drums and the band made a rock record, so this is what resulted: the first and only REM album designed to sound good in arenas and stadiums. Michael Stipe shaved his head, Mike Mills grew his hair out long and started wearing weird paisley Western suits, and the band did a huge, worldwide tour. Then Berry had an aneurysm on stage, made one more album, and quit anyway. But that's a story for a different day.
I have a theory about "seedcorn albums," those albums that turn off your loyal fans. They might buy the seedcorn album, but it's like eating the seedcorn: the next album, they won't be back. Incubus is touring behind a seedcorn album right now, for example. And this is a textbook definition: kids who got into the band through the pop of Out of Time and Automatic weren't exactly down with weird pseudo-grunge tunes about sex. (if you're keeping track, this is the "sex" album)
An interesting what if?: Kurt Cobain, reportedly, spent some of the last week of his life frantically trying to get in touch with Stipe with the idea that they team up to make an acoustic record. Had that happened, this album might never have.
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