B-52's vs. R.E.M.

[Kimmelweck]

Went with R.E.M. The apostrophe in B-52’s always turned me off.

[Dr. Medulla]

Went with R.E.M. The apostrophe in B-52’s always turned me off.

Which is why Lifes Rich Pageant is your favourite R.E.M. album?

[Flex]

I think you're the only other person I know who regards Fables as highly as I do.

Nah, not the only one. Fables is their best album (after monster, of course)

[Dr. Medulla]

I think you're the only other person I know who regards Fables as highly as I do.

Nah, not the only one. Fables is their best album (after monster, of course)

[revbob]

Its a tie and I haven't voted yet. Im like the undecided idiots you hear about in every presidential election.

[Dr. Medulla]

Its a tie and I haven't voted yet. Im like the undecided idiots you hear about in every presidential election.

Be the true American and not vote.

[Heston]

Went with REM just for Murmur.

[Silent Majority]

I've got to do a deep dive on the B52s, I know little about 'em.

[dave202]

While I've liked a few things by B-52s, I like the whole of R.E,M.'s IRS catalogue, so it wasn't really a choice.

[Wolter]

I love the highs on the B-52’s, but i find the first three REM albums to be flawless, especially Fables. If I feel like listening to the B-52’s, I usually either listen to the debut or Nude On the Moon, but if I want REM, I tend to dive into the entire IRS catalog.

I think you're the only other person I know who regards Fables as highly as I do.

I know one other person not on here who does too.

[Kimmelweck]

Went with R.E.M. The apostrophe in B-52’s always turned me off.

Which is why Lifes Rich Pageant is your favourite R.E.M. album?

I hadn’t noticed that, but now I dislike Lifes Rich Pageant too.

Seriously though, I had only ever listened to Cosmic Thing from the B-52’s. I listened to their first 3 albums last night for the first time for the sake of the poll. I think I just find Fred Schneider’s delivery a bit on the annoyingly goofy side in a way that gets overly repetitive. I agree with Flex’s comparison to Devo though, and that aspect I like, musically. I’ll give them another listen at some point.

I’ve always liked R.E.M though, everything up to and including Green anyway. Saw them on the Green tour in 1989. I bought the next 3 albums after that (Out of Time, Automatic for the People, and Monster) but I didn’t like those albums nearly as much as the IRS stuff (or Green), and then I kind of tuned them out. I know nothing of their final 6 albums. Of the first 3 albums, I’m probably in the Fables camp too, but these days I'm more likely to just listen to Eponymous before listening to one of the first 3 albums start to finish.

[WestwayKid]

I love the highs on the B-52’s, but i find the first three REM albums to be flawless, especially Fables. If I feel like listening to the B-52’s, I usually either listen to the debut or Nude On the Moon, but if I want REM, I tend to dive into the entire IRS catalog.

I think you're the only other person I know who regards Fables as highly as I do.

I know one other person not on here who does too.

I love Fables and rate it higher than Murmur and Reckoning (which are both excellent albums). It's maybe the best collection of songs they ever did from start to finish. It's got this odd, almost creepy vibe at times. I'm not from the South, but I've always felt the rural South through this album (which interestingly was recorded in London). Their entire IRS output is top notch, but Fables is the best.

[WestwayKid]

Went with R.E.M. The apostrophe in B-52’s always turned me off.

Which is why Lifes Rich Pageant is your favourite R.E.M. album?

I hadn’t noticed that, but now I dislike Lifes Rich Pageant too.

Seriously though, I had only ever listened to Cosmic Thing from the B-52’s. I listened to their first 3 albums last night for the first time for the sake of the poll. I think I just find Fred Schneider’s delivery a bit on the annoyingly goofy side in a way that gets overly repetitive. I agree with Flex’s comparison to Devo though, and that aspect I like, musically. I’ll give them another listen at some point.

I’ve always liked R.E.M though, everything up to and including Green anyway. Saw them on the Green tour in 1989. I bought the next 3 albums after that (Out of Time, Automatic for the People, and Monster) but I didn’t like those albums nearly as much as the IRS stuff (or Green), and then I kind of tuned them out. I know nothing of their final 6 albums. Of the first 3 albums, I’m probably in the Fables camp too, but these days I'm more likely to just listen to Eponymous before listening to one of the first 3 albums start to finish.

Their final 6 albums are tricky. New Adventures in Hi-Fi is really good. Up, Reveal, and Around the Sun were not very good. Accelerate and Collapse into Now were a welcome return (and worth checking out), but could never recapture what they once were or completely erase the bad taste of the previous trio of duds.

[Dr. Medulla]

Seriously though, I had only ever listened to Cosmic Thing from the B-52’s. I listened to their first 3 albums last night for the first time for the sake of the poll. I think I just find Fred Schneider’s delivery a bit on the annoyingly goofy side in a way that gets overly repetitive. I agree with Flex’s comparison to Devo though, and that aspect I like, musically. I’ll give them another listen at some point.

A book I taught this past year on new wave suggested that Schneider's voice, however honest or affected, is a satire of the uptight, middle-class white man's voice. Combine that with (esp. in the early years), his fashion of recycled leisure wear from the late 50s/early 60s, there was some mockery going on.

[Dr. Medulla]

I love the highs on the B-52’s, but i find the first three REM albums to be flawless, especially Fables. If I feel like listening to the B-52’s, I usually either listen to the debut or Nude On the Moon, but if I want REM, I tend to dive into the entire IRS catalog.

I think you're the only other person I know who regards Fables as highly as I do.

I know one other person not on here who does too.

I love Fables and rate it higher than Murmur and Reckoning (which are both excellent albums). It's maybe the best collection of songs they ever did from start to finish. It's got this odd, almost creepy vibe at times. I'm not from the South, but I've always felt the rural South through this album (which interestingly was recorded in London). Their entire IRS output is top notch, but Fables is the best.

It's Southern Gothic. It's ghosts and haunting. Wolter gets it on a visceral level, whereas I only understand it on an intellectual level, but it sounds like a Faulkner story.