R.E.M. only landed one song, "Radio Free Europe," on Pitchfork's "Best Songs Of the 80s" list. There was a time when I would have considered that a shocking and unjust result. R.E.M. after all was one of the most critically praised bands of the 80s, and I loved them at the time, awaiting each new album and what mysteries it would reveal with baited breath.
But today, as I go
back through their catalog, I don't actually see a lot of great songs.
Maybe I soured on them by because of the long string of bad albums they
released after the 80s. Maybe they just stuck around too long. Maybe
they made really good albums filled with good, but not great, songs.
Maybe I'm just a cranky pants. I don't know, but R.E.M. looks a lot less
impressive in retrospect than they seemed at the time. Sometimes
objects in the rear view mirror are smaller than they appear.
R.E.M.'s third album, 'Fables Of the Reconstruction' (or 'Reconstruction of the Fables' if you prefer) stands out as a kind of oddball album in their discography. Produced by the legendary Joe Boyd in London, the album is steeped in Americana, but about as bright as an overcast London morning. As with most of their songs from this period, I don't really know precisely what "Driver 8" is about, it's oblique enough to be open to all kinds of interpretations. But I've always dug its dark Southern Gothic feel and Byrdsian jangly guitars. I still do.
Whatever I think of R.E.M. now (and honestly, I'm not sure what I think), I am forever grateful to them for the music being a fan of theirs introduced me to. Throughout the 80s and beyond the band consistently used their fame to promote other artists they loved, whether it was through guest appearances, production, or just generally talking other bands up in the press. A partial list of artists I discovered at least in part because of some connection to R.E.M. includes: The Replacements, The Feelies, Game Theory, Robyn Hitchcock...(actually I think I'll just stop there as those are four of my favorite artists from the decade).
R.E.M.'s third album, 'Fables Of the Reconstruction' (or 'Reconstruction of the Fables' if you prefer) stands out as a kind of oddball album in their discography. Produced by the legendary Joe Boyd in London, the album is steeped in Americana, but about as bright as an overcast London morning. As with most of their songs from this period, I don't really know precisely what "Driver 8" is about, it's oblique enough to be open to all kinds of interpretations. But I've always dug its dark Southern Gothic feel and Byrdsian jangly guitars. I still do.
Whatever I think of R.E.M. now (and honestly, I'm not sure what I think), I am forever grateful to them for the music being a fan of theirs introduced me to. Throughout the 80s and beyond the band consistently used their fame to promote other artists they loved, whether it was through guest appearances, production, or just generally talking other bands up in the press. A partial list of artists I discovered at least in part because of some connection to R.E.M. includes: The Replacements, The Feelies, Game Theory, Robyn Hitchcock...(actually I think I'll just stop there as those are four of my favorite artists from the decade).