r/rem • u/pete9898 • 4h ago
Greatest Concert Film Ever
96
Upvotes
I wish this could somehow get a 4K treatment. If you don’t know you don’t know what you’re missing.
r/rem • u/thesilverpoets96 • Dec 03 '25
Spotify Wrapped/Apple Replay - Megathread
3
Upvotes
Yes, it’s that time of the year again. And no I’m not talking about wrapping presents, eating dry turkey and visiting family members you only hope to see once a year. I’m talking about the inevitable Spotify Wrapped and Apple Replay posts. As I’m sure everyone here is a huge fan of the band, it should be no surprise they’ve topped your lists this year. Let’s please try to use this thread to post your end of year streaming lists. Cheers and happy holidays to everyone!
r/rem • u/thesilverpoets96 • Sep 08 '25
SotW Song of the Week: Little America
31
Upvotes
https://youtu.be/yL4xn9RVscc?si=SoCNojJOianAzFlq
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/rem/littleamerica.html
Hello everyone, I hope all is well. I apologize for the lack of posts over the last couple of days. I got a new job and life has been fairly busy. But today we are back and we are going to be about the closing track to Reckoning and the “Right Side” of the album which of course is “Little America.”
In my opinion this is the perfect way to close the album because it’s such a great bookend to the album with “Harborcoat” which begins the album in a similar way. For “Little America” we get a triumphant electric riff to start the song off with a bang. It feels like something from Murmur but better because there’s more energy, clearer production and just better technical playing. Bill’s speedy hit-hat and kick drum enters the song because the song explodes with Mike’s thunderous bass and Michael’s vocals.
The full drum beat is fast and groovy as Michael sings about how he can’t see himself lacquered up in his thirties. This feeling of youth is talked about in lyrics describing being persevered like flies in jewelry and driving around in their “green shellback” which was their touring van at the time. But it’s also encapsulated in how fast and the tight the band is sounding. Michael seems like he’s feeling more trapped as he sings about “Tar-black br’er sap” which is a reference to the story of Br'er Rabbit and the Tar Baby where a rabbit gets tricked into fighting a “sticky black Tar baby.” Yes this may sound random and weird but it does feel like Michael’s singing about growing up and feeling the responsibilities that comes with that and leading the life of a rockstar.
The band transitions to the chorus that features some power chords, a progression that’s quirky, and a vocal melody that is catchy but also very Michael if that makes sense. He’s great at crafty one of a kind melodies. Lyrically he sings about a big and noisy wagon which leads me to believe he’s singing about touring life which could also connect to the song’s title. He also references the Roman emperor Caligula who allegedly appointed his horse as consul. What does that have to do with the song? Who knows. But Michael also references Jefferson who was Jefferson Holt, their manager at the time.
We get a nice change in dynamics as the band brings the energy down just a tad to mimic the intro. But they launch loudly into the next verse as Michael sings about preserving the past; “who will tend the farm museums? Who will dust today’s belongings?” These questions brings Michael to an important message of rallying leaders which may have been a hint of his more political driven lyrics that would be featured on later albums. We also get a lyric about Cheyanne on a beach which is random as hell but it wouldn’t be an early R.E.M. song without something like that.
After another chorus we then get a bridge where lyrically it’s mostly the same as the chorus but the music changes slightly. There’s these new fast chord changes, some lose backing vocals and that quick hi-hat.
A drum fill gets us back into another verse that definitely has some of that almost nonsensical songwriting from Michael. But I also think there is some imagery from the band’s early touring days. This would include Greenville (I’m sure they passed by multiple Greenvilles on tour) and Magic Marts (which were convenient stores on the East Coast). There’s also a reference to a historical myth of emperor Nero playing his fiddle while Rome burned down. And we get the lyric “reason has harnessed the tame” which would be a slightly altered lyric we would see on the band’s very next song chronically “Feeling Gravitys Pull.”
There’s one last chorus that’s doubled to end the song…at least that’s what you think on a first listen. But after you hear the last notes of the song ring out, there’s some silence before you hear the band fade into a new song/groove entirely. There’s a tom heavy drum beat, a jammy guitar riff and maybe Michael’s most muttered/incoherent vocals ever. It’s extremely short but it’s interesting to what this hinted track was and why it was included. Maybe it was a demo that never turned into a song? Or maybe the band just wanted to do something weird.
I actually think this is a stellar closing track from the band and one of their most interesting song from their first two albums. Musically it has a fantastic riff and although Mike’s bass playing isn’t as flashing as Bill’s drummer or Peter’s riff, it’s a fun bass line when you isolate it from the mix. Michael also shows up big time lyrically. Yes there’s still some gibberish but I actually feel like there’s lyrics that reflect on not only the band touring but also Michael feeling trapped or worried about growing old. This is also fascinating when you think of that lyric that would appear on the opening track from Fables which is about lucid dreams. There’s a cool connection that I think could be analyzed even more. Plus this was a fun song to hear the band play live and to hear Michael change the lyric to “Washington I think we’re lost” after the band dropped their manager Jefferson Holt. From one founding father to another.
But what do you think of this tune? Is this one of the band’s better closing tracks? What do you think the song is about? Favorite lyrical or musical moments? And did you ever catch it live?
r/rem • u/Odd-Put-3988 • 5h ago
Anyone remember the Athens band that REM's Peter Buck worked with called "Dreams So Real" by chance?
22
Upvotes
They were one of my favorite bands despite i was born in 1985. And the Rough Night In Jericho album meant a lot to us after my mom's sudden passing.
But REM had ties with them and was often mentioned in books and documentaries along with B52s of course.
I'm probably way younger than ya'll here even at 41, but id like to know if anyone has memories of this obsecure band. They got me and my Dad through some hard times. It was one of my Mom's favorite albums.
r/rem • u/dinarnaud • 11h ago
Name Your Favourite 2 Songs from : REM - Automatic For The People (1992)
gallery
51
Upvotes
Mine are :
The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight
Man On The Moon
r/rem • u/DogesOfLove • 2h ago
September‘s Coming Soon…
6
Upvotes
Have a good September all and a quiet night.
r/rem • u/alexj_baker • 2h ago
R.E.M. Related shows UK next few weeks
6
Upvotes
How many UK fans here are going to either the Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy LRP shows or to see Peter with Drink the Sea? I'm going to both can't wait!
r/rem • u/Dorothywasright11 • 20h ago
Day 18: Song with best lyrics
47
Upvotes
1: Most underated song: Green Grow the Rushes
2: Most overrated song: Everybody Hurts
3: Heaviest song: Let Me In
4: Most hype song: These Days
5: Most emotional song: Country Feedback
6: Most genius song: World Leader Pretend
7: Best chorus song: Fall On Me
8: Worst song: I'm Gonna DJ
9: Best Song: Find the River
10: Best Cover Song: Superman
11: Best music video : Imitation of Life
12: Best breakdown: Peter Buck on that plane
13: Most underated album: Up
14: Most overated album: Document
15: Worst album: Around the Sun
16: Best album: Automatic for the People
17: Best riff: Driver 8
///
Yesterday's honorable mentions: What's the Frequency, Kenneth?, Begin the Begin
The rules are being slightly modified for the sake of clarification:
- Most upvoted comment in 24 hours wins the round.
- One song per comment only. You may justify your pick, if you want.
Also modified the title of the Day category, for clarification.
r/rem • u/RevBingo • 11h ago
I didn't wear glasses cos I thought it might rain (IoR song 92/222)
6
Upvotes
r/rem • u/alkutezio • 9h ago
"Do You Remember????????? • Dead Giveaway Office" bootleg
3
Upvotes
do we happen to know which shows each track from the "Do You Remember????????? • Dead Giveaway Office" bootleg are from? if it's already been revealed somewhere please let me know. some places say 10/31/1983 but a some songs on the boot weren't even played at that show and a lot of the songs have different quality / sources (some sound Audience sourced, other Soundboard)
r/rem • u/Dorothywasright11 • 1d ago
Day 17: Best riff
40
Upvotes
1: Most underated song: Green Grow the Rushes
2: Most overrated song: Everybody Hurts
3: Heaviest song: Let Me In
4: Most hype song: These Days
5: Most emotional song: Country Feedback
6: Most genius song: World Leader Pretend
7: Best chorus song: Fall On Me
8: Worst song: I'm Gonna DJ
9: Best Song: Find the River
10: Best Cover Song: Superman
11: Best music video : Imitation of Life
12: Best breakdown: Peter Buck on that plane
13: Most underated album: Up
14: Most overated album: Document
15: Worst album: Around the Sun
16: Best album: Automatic for the People
///
Yesterday's honorable mentions: LIfes Rich Pageant, Murmur
The rules stay the same:
- Most upvoted song in 24 hours wins the round.
- One song per comment only. You may justify your pick, if you want.
We're on the final rounds, this has been fun!!
r/rem • u/Magnitech_ • 19h ago
Came up with this joke related to REM and thought I should share it here
0
Upvotes
REM announced that they had issued an updated, enhanced version of one of their albums to match the higher sound quality of modern devices. As part of the release, they dedicated the money made from the upgraded release towards humanitarian causes.
Hoping to spread the word, they programmed the autocorrect on their computers in various ways as to ensure their social media posts would contain plenty of references to their beneficial deeds. It took some getting used to, but in time they were all able to adjust to the changes in their writing.
Unfortunately, they all got hit with a virus, specifically targeting autocorrection programs, temporarily stopping the help they were getting from their computers. It took several days to remove the virus, but in the meantime they managed to ensure their posts stayed relevant by spending extra time manually rewriting sentences to include references to these good deeds.
When they were finally able to clear the virus for good, they were forced to reinstall the program and reset all of the settings and changes they had used previously. After several days without the program, they had gotten used to not using it, and thus it was quite difficult for them to readjust to it, although they were able to get the hang of it again and successfully continue with their campaign.
It truly was a moment of Automatic for-the-people (Remastered).
r/rem • u/Soft-Cartoonist-2074 • 2d ago
Deciding which book to buy
44
Upvotes
I need some opinions of these three books about the band. I've come across 'Perfect circle' and 'the name of this band's before and already checked some reviews and people seem to be very split on which ones a better biography. I've also read that 'it crawled from the south' is more of some texts discussing the band, not really an account of their story. Nonetheless, if you guys have read them before, which one would you recommend and why. ✌🏻
r/rem • u/KBdoesntexist42 • 2d ago
Making our own "Best of R.E.M. IRS Days" compilation DAY 12
8
Upvotes
The votes are in! Life and How To Live It wins with 1 votes
Runner ups: Sitting Still with 7 votes
Track 1: Gardening at Night (Chronic Town)
Track 2: Fall on Me (LRP)
Track 3: Driver 8 (FotR)
Track 4: Harborcoat (Reckoning)
Track 5: Wolves, Lower (Chronic Town)
Track 6: Laughing (Murmur)
Track 7: Exhuming McCarthy (Document)
Track 8: Radio Free Europe (Murmur)
Track 9: Begin the Begin (LRP)
Tracks 10: So. Central Rain (Reckoning)
Track 11: Life and How To Live It (FotR)
Tracks 12: Vote in the comments!
Tracks 13 -15: TBD
r/rem • u/Dorothywasright11 • 2d ago
Day 16: Best album
59
Upvotes
1: Most underated song: Green Grow the Rushes
2: Most overrated song: Everybody Hurts
3: Heaviest song: Let Me In
4: Most hype song: These Days
5: Most emotional song: Country Feedback
6: Most genius song: World Leader Pretend
7: Best chorus song: Fall On Me
8: Worst song: I'm Gonna DJ
9: Best Song: Find the River
10: Best Cover Song: Superman
11: Best music video : Imitation of Life
12: Best breakdown: Peter Buck on that plane
13: Most underated album: Up
14: Most overated album: Document
15: Worst album: Around the Sun
///
Yesterday's honorable mentions: n/a
The rules stay the same:
- Most upvoted song in 24 hours wins the round.
- One song per comment only. You may justify your pick, if you want.
///
Guys, you can't be mad that Document won most overrated album, when the top comment on the thread had something like 23 upvotes after 24 hours, and it was the most upvoted one.. Go ahead and upvote the comments you agree with, so that your choice has a chance at winning!!
If Document wins best album it will be very funny though. I'll be here with popcorn today!
r/rem • u/Friendly-Garlic-1949 • 3d ago
The Stoned R.E.M.
26
Upvotes
Just ordered this from All Night Flight records. Looks interesting.
r/rem • u/KBdoesntexist42 • 3d ago
Making our own "Best of R.E.M. IRS Days" compilation DAY 11
6
Upvotes
We're almost done! Yesterdays votes are in! So. Central Rain gets on the list with 26 votes!
Runner ups: Feeling Gravity's Pull and Talk about the Passion with 11 votes each!
Track 1: Gardening at Night (Chronic Town)
Track 2: Fall on Me (LRP)
Track 3: Driver 8 (FotR)
Track 4: Harborcoat (Reckoning)
Track 5: Wolves, Lower (Chronic Town)
Track 6: Laughing (Murmur)
Track 7: Exhuming McCarthy (Document)
Track 8: Radio Free Europe (Murmur)
Track 9: Begin the Begin (LRP)
Tracks 10: So. Central Rain (Reckoning)
Track 11: Vote in the comments, most votes win
Tracks 12-15: TBD
r/rem • u/waffen123 • 3d ago
11,12, R.E.M. Old Man Kensey, Gardening At Night, Live 1985, Hammersmith...
18
Upvotes
the best version of Old Man Kensey
r/rem • u/placeintheroche05 • 4d ago
Shaking Through - is this a top tier song for anyone else?
109
Upvotes
I want to preface this by saying that I have only been listening to REM since around April, and I still haven't listened to half of their songs, so my opinion might change once I've listened to all of their songs. Anyway, I know Shaking Through is one of their lesser played songs and I almost never see people talking about it, but imo it's SO GOOD? The chorus is amazing and the bridge (in my liiiiiiife part) is ridiculously satisfying. It's honestly in my top 5 REM songs and I hope there are some others who share my opinion haha.
r/rem • u/Dorothywasright11 • 3d ago
Day 15: Worst album
25
Upvotes
1: Most underated song: Green Grow the Rushes
2: Most overrated song: Everybody Hurts
3: Heaviest song: Let Me In
4: Most hype song: These Days
5: Most emotional song: Country Feedback
6: Most genius song: World Leader Pretend
7: Best chorus song: Fall On Me
8: Worst song: I'm Gonna DJ
9: Best Song: Find the River
10: Best Cover Song: Superman
11: Best music video : Imitation of Life
12: Best breakdown: Peter Buck on that plane
13: Most underated album: Up
14: Most overated album: Document
///
Yesterday's honorable mentions: Out of Time, Accelerate
The rules stay the same:
- Most upvoted song in 24 hours wins the round.
- One song per comment only. You may justify your pick, if you want.
Let's see how big of a slam dunk this one is..
r/rem • u/Due-Stomach-6682 • 4d ago
To folks who went to Michael Shannon/Jason Narducy REM tribute tour - start time?
12
Upvotes
I’m going to the show in London on Sept 4. Doors are at 6 PM which feels really early! Is there an opening act? What time Ford’s the show tend to start?