Why R.E.M. Don't Get The Credit They Deserve 

Absolutely agree. They are one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, bands of all time and my personal favorite. Plus, no scandals, they weren’t assholes, they cared about social issues, and remain close friends to this day- all of that is reflected in their music. Brilliant, haunting, emotive, provocative, thoughtful, joyous, mysterious music-that is R.E.M. Nobody does it better- and they did it on their own terms without selling out. Who else can say that? Judith

Such and underrated band. Rem wrote some of the greatest albums ever.

Reckoning is one of the most underrated albums of all time.

Thanks for this. Couldn't agree more. R.E.M. were for decades the perfect group: elusive, punchy, cutting edge, yet with something traditional. Simply a marvel. That they could do all this for so long at such an incredible level is up there with Rush, the Stones, Pink Floyd and the rest of them. For me they were a strange mix of CCR and The Cure, as strange as that sounds. Wholly unforseeable. That they are all but forgotten today speaks far more of our present cultural empoverishment that of their greatness.

My favorite REM Album is probably which ever one I am listening to at the time. Each one has its own vibe, a different color on their palette, a different brush stroke on their canvas. Murmur is different, raw, energetic, ambiguous. Where automatic for the people is lush, mature, poetic and harmonically beautiful., a very focused effort. Fables is dark, mysterious and haunting. Throughout their career they always amazed me. Even their last Album accelerate contained some of their best music such as mr richards, hollow man, and supernatural superserious. Even the outakes album had the gem of gems in Voice of Harold. I Wish almost every day I could talk to people who love REM as much as me.

R.E.M. are one of my favorite bands of all time and I've also been feeling that they don't get the credit they deserve. Thank you so much for this great video.

My love of REM started at the age of 14 when i bought a copy of Out of Time on cassette after hearing Losing My Religion on the radio. However, it was a copy of the IRS years Greatest "Hits", borrowed from a friend's mum that really pulled me in. I was utterly spell bound by what i heard on that compilation and proceeded to buy all the albums one by one (I was earning £8 a week for delivering newspapers, so it took me a few months). REM have left us with one of the greatest back catalogues in rock music history and are the best live act I've ever been to see by some distance.

Thank you for doing justice to this band. They mean a lot to me, especially when I was a teenager in the 90's. R.E.M is still, in my opinion, one of the most exemplary bands in the world. They broke up when they thought It was time to, not so many bands are this smart.

R.E.M. should've done what Joy Division/New Order did - if R.E.M. broke up when Bill Berry left and the three remaining members re-grouped under a different name to release those last 5 lesser albums, their 10 album run would be unparalleled

I love R.E.M. seen them twice and still listen to them today . Fantastic band ❤️

You hit every nail on the head here, i’ve always felt this way as a younger R.E.M. fan. I dismissed them early on because i had only known them from Everybody Hurts and Shiny Happy People (which i grew to love) but my mind was blown when i heard Harborcoat for the first time because i had no idea they even made music like that. I think the way they carried out their career definitely explains why they haven’t been “retrofied” yet, but maybe they will be made cool again like The Smiths were when music communities re-acclaimed some early alternative greats

R.E.M. is one of my favorite bands. They were always true to their vision and put out consistently great music right up until the end.

Call me biased but I think Monster is a masterpiece.

REM will always be one of the greatest bands ever and never be forgotten

When I was 16 years old, i was driving my car, with friends, when driver 8 came on the radio. It connected with us so deeply, as American kids, that REM became the soundtrack of our youth. Nice to see them get the recognition they deserve. Great job. Thanks.

I saw REM in a small club in LA in 83. They were beyond electrifying. Changed my life.

RADIOHEAD always talks about R.E.M. as being their biggest influence.

Thankyou for this. It is appreciated. I don't know why they are ignored. They are easily the best band I ever heard.

R.E.M. is arguably the greatest band of the 80's *and* 90's. The only other band who I think has influenced as many artists is The Pixies, their contemporaries. Their run of the first 8 (and I would say 10) albums, is one of the most unparalleled streaks of songwriting in the history of popular music. Even half of "Collapse Into Now" is brilliant. In fact, I can't think of another band who had that many perfect to near-perfect albums in a row. I don't know why popular radio stations don't play them anymore. I don't know why you never hear their name from modern bands (apart from a very select few). They basically wrote the soundtrack to the late 20th century - and the number of bands who wouldn't exist because of what they did is bewildering. I can only think it's because that when they ended, they *ended*. Stipe's never done anything else, Mills has never done anything else, Buck's been mostly behind the scenes, Berry's been practically non-existent. They did their re-issues recently, but besides that, they just disappeared from the spotlight - and as such, the spotlight forgot about them. But it still blows my mind that they're barely talked about now. They mean more to me than ANY band I grew up with. If I had a "desert island" band, I wouldn't even hesitate to say R.E.M.'s catalogue. And Stipe was one of the greatest lyricists in the history of rock.

REM is in my Top 5 bands of all time. The 1st song/video i heard was "Can't Get There From Here" in 85. The following year in 1986 i saw them live in Vancouver during the Life's Rich Pageant tour playing an "all ages" gig in a Gymnasium at the University of British Columbia with Guadalcanal Diary opening. Tickets were only $12.75.

Almost no one mentions how great the double album new Adventures In Hi Fi is: so many great songs and E-Bow The Letter is among their most original and spine-tingling creations

I think most people are unaware of how great their first (IRS albums) were .. their songs / hooks are so catchy & can't get them out of my head ! They were tight in the beginning years :Starting with Chronic Town right thru Life's Rich Pageant - immaculate ,jangly guitar parts , harmonies , good lyrics / singing .. a good example of this is the concert from Capitol Theatre NJ 1984

Congratulations friend, you spoke for thousands of fans of this magnificent band, who, like The Smiths, made the lives of those who love music essentially happy...

Gutted I never saw REM live. I had front row seats for the Monster tour at Sheffield Arena that got cancelled. An amazing band - their 80s output alone is beautiful. Green my favourite album.

Cant believe Im just finding your channel, The Sound, Throwing Muses, and THIS!!!

You make some great points. «Why don't R.E.M. get the credit they deserve?» I guess some people just don't have what it takes to appreciate great art.

I got aboard the REM train with Monster as a teenager… Still regard it as my favorite album from them… I then became hooked, and I started to explore their earlier stuff, and it was like a revelation how well rounded they were…

When I first heard Murmur, it was so different than what was being done, it grabbed me immediately. I saw them in 1983 for my first and only time. The IRS years are the best IMO.

Truly one of the most iconic bands of a generation, if not all time. This video is spot on!

Love this so much. Thank you. And I love your shoutout to "Perfect Circle"-what a glorious 3:31 seconds of pure art. It galls me to go on RYM and see 'Murmur' their highest rated album, only score at 3.92 out of 5.00(near excellent) whereas the very fine but flawed 'Doolitle' by The Pixies or The good but highly overrated 'In The Aeroplane Over The Sea' by Neutral Milk Hotel both are more highly rated but overpraised.

Absolutely my favorite band. I still find a lot to love in those albums post-Bill Berry, and I think they went out on a high note with their last two albums. To me, it would have been tragic if they did split when Berry quit the band, and I think they quit at just the right time.

Well said. It really comes down to, they had basically two careers, indie in the 1980s, major label fame in the 90's, and therefor two fan bases. The cult fan base discounts the later output and the late joiners are often not too familiar with the early stuff. And that is probably why they are not held in the highest regards by as many people as the legendary 60-70's groups you cited.

I think you've got the right idea when you mention that a lot of their '90s singles are sort of "unrepresentative" of their broader sound. I'd even extend that to some of their late '80s singles like "It's the End of the World As We Know It" and "Stand". Some of their singles are among their best songs (like "Orange Crush"), but if you only listen to the songs that get radio play it's almost like it's a different band. So maybe the problem is that R.E.M. is probably the band that most rewards exploration. "Life and How to Live It", "Sweetness Follows", and "Welcome to the Occupation" (to name just three of many) are absolutely masterful songs, but you will never, ever hear them on the radio, or even most playlists. You've really got to either search them out yourself or someone needs to show them to you.

The idea of R.E.M. not getting enough credit today is wild. In their day, they were hailed as legends and hugely influential. It was probably nauseating to people who weren’t fans.

Life’s rich pageant … is my all time favourite … even the title is brilliant… I just love the images in my head when I listen to their music.

Since REM has been my focus since my reincarnation-within-life in1989, and Stipe's abstract expressionist lyrics proved a springboard for my poetry ... i've never been aware that benighted others didn't hold them in the same reverence...until this video ... then, i reflected that this has happened in every musical age ... and am back to focusing on REM.

REM is my favorite band. I saw them only once live in Buenos Aires and I loved them more than ever. Thank you!! The video is very good

You describe and talk about music better than just about any music writer I can think of.

Thanks for this informative video. I saw them open for The Police on the synchronicity tour (1983), then saw their Fables tour ('85), then Life's Rich Tour ('86) and that was for me the end of their great period. They still made some great songs, but for me, Chronic Town (their six-song EP, 1982) through Life's Rich Pageant is all gold. Certainly those albums helped create the "alernative" grunge 90s music. At the same time (late 1970s to mid 1980s) you had the post-punk revolution across the pond--Joy Division, The Cure, echo and the bunnymen, Gang of Four, Jesus and Mary Chain's Psychocandy, The Fall, etc. Just one correction, REM signed with Warner Brothers in 1988; they had been on IRS Records (headed by Police drummer, Stewart Copeland's, brother, Miles) through Document, but Green was with Warner.

Wasn't sure what to expect. Found so little on REM on YT. Gotta say this is a terrific critique of the band. I agreed wholeheartedly with every word. Even your assessment of "New Adventures In High Fi" was spot on. I'm going to recommend this revue to my fellow audiophiles who I now realize always did have a snub-nosed look when I brought up REM. Never knew many fellow fans post-97.

My favorite band, and I’m super lucky I was able to see them once

I love you man for saying all those things about REM , succinctly yet so eloquently you have conveyed everything that was so great about them

Whilst Monster can be pointed at as the start of the downward curve, I genuinely think you needed to experience it live to understand why they released it. I was lucky enough to see them a number of times, the first time being on the Monster tour. They are without doubt the best live experience I had with music, nothing came close after. Thank you for making this, I couldn't agree more.

My favourite band ever. I discovered them in 1990, and fell in love. Then found out they had a huge backlog of albums and was overjoyed. Every album is brilliant, but some better than others. The loss of Bill changed things, but the later stuff is still much better than a lot of other things around then and now. Thanks for this video, and being so eloquent.

Living in Atlanta, during the 80's and 90's...REM was a "local" phenomenon since the mid 80's. It was surprising to us locals that they weren't "famous" until the early 90's. In the Atlanta area, they were and had been "famous" for many years before that.

Had they broken up after Automatic, this would not be an issue. Their first three records, especially, are as strong as anything ever recorded.

I was on board early. For me the IRS years were when I fell in love with the band. Everything after that was hit and miss. There were only like three albums that I really liked on Warner Bros. But every single album on IRS was pure gold to me.

I Love Up and love how it rubbed rockists the wrong way :P And i agree: their 4 albums between 1983 and 1986 is the greatest one ever. 80s REM is far too mysterious and enigmatic to be easily understood. Which is great, it means that everyone can have their own unique relationship to those songs. Other great 4 albums runs imo: Sonic Youth 1985-1988 The Mountain Goats 2005-2009 Dead Can Dance 1984-1988 Animal Collective 2004-2009 Waxahatchee 2013-2020 Radiohead 1997-2003 Jens Lekman 2005-2017 Wow, what a nerd i am!

Preach brother, preach! I was hooked the moment I heard 7 Chinese Brothers on KROQ in 1984. REM is simply one of the most important American rock bands of all time

im 51. r.e.m. were one of the best live bands ever.

Another great video. Well done.

first time i seen ur channel but u sir are 100 percent right. they will be discovered by new crowd as thre music will stand the test of time im older neow and some one stole my out time cd and so i bought the deluxe version and has rekinkled my love thank u for posting this. from ox

They were an acquired taste but once you latched onto their complex ingenious chords and esoteric lyrics, it’s like getting high. Not everybody gets it. Also they kept changing and didn’t fit into a specific genre. There wasn’t a niche that they fit in that fans of niches could latch onto. Their true fans went with the flow and were able to open our minds and tag along for the ride.

Could not agree more! Now a professionnal musician, I had the chance to grow up in the mid 80’s when each new album was a treat to discover, absolut masters of song structure, harmonies, mood and emotion, they where my Beatles!

I saw R.E.M. live 19 times between 1985 and 2008 and I treasure them all. Luckily they were also cult quite early in Europe (where I live). I discovered the band when Rolling Stone made 'Murmur' their album of the year, which made me curious. It turned out to be a love for life.

Rem grabbed me and never let go.

What a consistent, brilliant, intelligent, unique band. By far, the best of the 90s.

Texarkana is forever my fave R.E.M. song. Great video!

Really good and well spoken essay on REM. I have been a fan of the band since the early 80s and wholly agree with your perspective. I would be curious to hear your thoughts on Lloyd Cole, London artist from 80s who I thought should have had more commercial success.

To me R.E.M. is the greatest band of all times... of course just in my personal life. I discovered them when I was a teen in the 90s. For years before, they were just "there", but when I heard Nightswimming one summer night, combined with this video, I was completely lost and fell in love. I discovered all their music from the years before and this opened such a brillant world of music to me, undescribable! I followed the band until their end. They set the marks for my musical socialisation. The band of my life, no doubt.

great vid dude!

Really Good video, thank you for posting! New Adventures is my favourite record of all time.

Superb summation!

ITS ABOUT TIME!!!! Its about time someone posted a video like this. Thank you so much!! To me R.E.M. just might be the most underrated bands of all time. They really dont get the credit they deserve. Just look at what they have done. When we think of the 80s, we think big hair bands like Def leppard, Warrant, Van Halen, Bon Jovi and the rest of the whole sex, drugs and rock and roll scene. R.E.M. was not like that. They were different from all the rest. They were the first band to have initials in their name. They wrote songs that were completely unlike the usual rock songs that you heard in the 80s. Compare Van Halens' Hot for Teacher to Coyahoga. Or Def Leppards' Armageddon It to King of Birds. Through out the 80s and 90s every album of theirs were classics. Lifes Rich Pageant to me was the best album of the 80s. Even in the 90s while teenagers were listening to either grunge or gangsta rap, I would be listening to Automatic for the People. Its a shame that songs like Nightswimming and Ignorland were never played on the radio. Its hard to say what album of theirs is the best in the 90s, but what I do know is that New Adventures in Hi-Fi was their most underrated album. And although they didnt have that success like they had after Bill Berry left, I still think that UP was their best album post Bill Berry. I really am hoping for an R.E.M. reunion tour.

Great pick bro...so many hits and under-hits, different vibe album-to-album, sing-alongside and anthems along with obscure insider favorites. REM is my jam.

Great job!!! Yeah. I remember when they were on Letterman singing “Radio Free Europe” then continued singing at county fairs for 50 people. They were my age and I followed them from Murmur. Their talents were amazing, their music great, lyrics thoughtful.

Another great vid, man. Thanks. And there’s that bloody spot on the wall again! Hahaha. Poster up the background. It’ll look cool.

So much truth about "New Adventures in Hi-Fi". I didn´t love the album from the get-go, but it continuously kept growing on me until I regarded it as one of their deepest and most textured piecees of work.

Recently found a used copy of Lifes Rich Pageant on vinyl at a local used record store. What a find, its my favorite one.

I appreciate this. REM were a massive band for me and really perfectly timed in terms of my age - from a teen to an adult I followed them from their grassroots beginnings to the super stardom. I entered university in 84 just as they were getting airplay on College radio and saw them at my university on the tour for Life's Rich Pageant, got all their records through the 80s, and kind of lost interest in the later 90s, although always respected them. I noticed in recent years that they are dissed by hardcore punk devotees and others into heavy music as representing "soft" or wimpy alternative music - I think that analysis is shallow and lame and ignores the breadth of their material and the power of the songwriting. Peter Buck is in the line of post punk guitar playing that focusses on texture and rhythm over virtuosity, and is really creative. Mike Mills is a beautifully melodic bass player and on of the great back up voices. And watching the hugely charismatic Stipe develop and change over the years as a singer was a beautiful thing. Rock and roll was their toolbox, and the dreamy and jangly were only one aspect. I agree, one of the great bands.

Kudos on the absolute best summation of REM's greatness I have ever heard.! This band's willingness to embrace different styles, to follow the muse wherever it leads, is a true template for any rock band aspiring to creative and commercial heights. Just the fact that Peter Buck decided to not write any songs on guitar for a couple years, eventually emerging with the game-changing brilliance of "Losing My Religion", speaks volumes about REM's commitment to creativity above all else. And I agree, "New Adventures In Hi-Fi" is a sprawling masterpiece full of amazing songs. Though their output becomes more spotty after Bill Berry's departure, the first 4 songs on "Accelerate" (especially Supernatural Superserious ) provide proof that REM could still craft amazing songs, even as their career was drawing to a close.

Great video. Well-researched and argued.

REM's '80s material is just (almost) absolute perfection for me. What amazes me is not only the quality, but how prolific they were too, without the quality ever letting up - they were releasing an album a year and touring at the same time. It really is an incredible back catalogue that deserves a bit more attention and respect: Chronic Town EP (1982) Murmur (1983) Reckoning (1984) Fables of the Reconstruction (1985) Lifes Rich Pageant (1986) Document (1987) (albeit the one that doesn't really do it for me) Green (1988) That is an absolutely incredible run that Michael and the rest of the band should be eternally proud of. OK they aren't the first band to be releasing one (or more) album/s a year, but the consistent quality just emphasises how brilliant they were - other than Document, which I would class as 3.5 or 4 out of 5, the rest are 5/5 albums, no debate. And then after Document, they returned to 5 star form with Green. I didn't even have to look up the years those albums were released - those albums, the songs on them and the year are forever stamped on my mind. It's hard to think of any other band who had, from start to finish, such a consistently brilliant decade. The '90s for me were hit and miss - Out Of Time probably my favourite from the '90s - have to admit I thought Automatic For The People was good but overrated, and Monster and New Adventures were alright but patchy. Up wasn't bad but I'd kind of lost interest by then, and couldn't really tell you anything at all about anything after Up. But yeah - that '80s run - just wow. I can't think of a band who had such a consistent decade from start to finish.

I got into music in general when I was like 14, and R.E.M. was the first band I decided to check out myself, due to liking "It's the End of the World as we know it" from the movie Independence Day. To this day, they remain my favorite band. Did they make great music after their mid 90s stuff? Certainly! their 2001 album Reveal I consider to be one of their top 3 albums, up there with Automatic and Reckoning.

The first time I heard and saw them at Piedmont Park, Atlanta, May 1982 I really liked them but can't say I knew they'd take over my life for the next decade and a half. It does my heart good to hear someone so young get them . Bravo !!

I’m definitely one or those who jumped in the bandwagon way too late, like in 1998… but I’m glad I have seen at least 10 years of concerts of this great band. Very interesting video, thanks

I’m 21 years old and recently heard about the band on twitter was thinking of getting into them thanks for this vid!!

The thing is with REM is that when I go back to their music they still relevent to me no matter how many times I listen or how old. Think its because their sound is so unique but also very accessable at the same time yet they never get old. Man on the moon for example. Its hard to figure out the decade it came out if someone new to REM listen to it. Yet it still fresh and nice to listen to. I mean even the one I love from the 80's is still fresh if it was released this year. Heck it would have been better than most music out now. Yes REM and Beatles for me will never get old

This channel needs more subs. Great takes.

I like this video because you're expressing a view that I've had for some time. I've never understood why many listeners turn their nose up at REM. The first album I heard was Out of Time off the success of Losing my Religion. I then went to the record shop and immediately bought Murmur on vinyl and my love affair with REM began. The breadth and depth of their catalogue is well worth a look for anyone who remains to be convinced.

Just discovered this channel. Stellar, spot on takes throughout . Loved it. In fact my only difference of opinion is that I have a more traditional choice for favorite album (either Murmur or Life’s Rich Pageant, depending on the day)…but your solid observations here make me want to go listen to “New Adventures in Hi Fi “ again, right now! Fantastic job!!

Really enjoyed this, spot on with many words

Brilliant stuff. I deeply love REM and very much enjoyed your argument for them being giants they are.

Thanks for the video, I for one noticed that, despite once being among the biggest bands, they're rarely mentioned nowadays. I never really listened to them, but my best friend was a big fan and their book/biography he once borrowed me is damn interesting. Your theory is interesting, too and you're probably right: they were big and revered in the so called "underground", but when they reached the mainstream success they were already past their prime creatively speaking. And all those great albums from the 80s are mostly obscure stuff for the big audience.

Wow, yes I agree fully. I graduated college in 1983. The horrors of post-school jobs I could not have imagined. Taking orders from people I hated and did not respect seemed like the end of the world. R.E.M. was the alternative universe. A second life I cared about. Every release was anticipated. I had a friend in the music biz that got new releases about 2 weeks early. He would call me when he had the new R.E.M. album. One Friday he called me and said he had "Lifes Rich Pageant" not to be released until the following week. I picked it up and went to a party at the shore. Some guy was manning the boombox and playing the new Peter Gabriel album over and over again. I didn't hate the album but 5x in a row was killing me. I gave the R.E.M. tape to my girlfriend and said see if this guy will play it. I watched as she approached. I fully expected a "No way, Sledgehammer is going for round number 6" response. No, he immediately popped the Gabriel tape threw it over his shoulder and played the new R.E.M. album. What a relief and a great night.

You hear about a man's man, or in sports a player's player. R.E.M. are musician's musicians. They completely paved their own way and were a pioneer in a new genre. Countless musicians have credited them with influencing their own music, most notably Kurt Cobain.

Most people aren't aware of the IRS years, their best stuff in my opinion. This band is up there with the kings.👌

Another band who don’t get enough credit they deserve is The Psychedelic Furs and I’d also argue that like R.E.M. there first 5 albums are all great, each one produced a hit single which is a phenomenal feat for quite an arty band. Yet bizarrely the band always gets overlooked by other New Wave or Post Punk acts of the time despite the fact they did get some mainstream success and influenced a bunch of new musicians… I’ve never understood why they also don’t get discussed enough in the wider 80s music canon!

Amazing band. Saw them live twice they were incredible.

Chronic Town up to Life's Rich Pageant will always hold a special place in my heart.

They were an amazing band, even non Indie/College/Alternative Rock music fans purchased thier albums. My personal favourite R.E.M album is UP. I can't wait to purchase the 25th anniversary version of the album on November 10th. ❤

In the early 90s losing my religion was on Mtv & radio constantly.

Outstanding perspective!

The used to hang out in Bloomington IN and play at Jakes or The Bluebird… It was a great time. They called it their home away from home.

Well said my brother! i went to college and high school in the 80's in the South. REM blared from every Fraternity party, car stereo, and hip bars! The are a on-of-a-kind-band and also great to see live! Check out The Connells. They were also amazing, from The South and had a great run, but should have been bigger!

Their first two albums were everything to me.

I never made it to one of their shows. Document and Nirvana‘s Nevermind were the first two CDs I ever bought. I’ve been a fan since I was in grade school and Out of Time came out. Listening to REM is some of my earliest memories. I’m 37 and no other band was been with me as long as REM.

I was a huge REM fan through the IRS years, and sorta left them as their massive pop success took off.

Murmur and Life’s Rich Pageant are my two favorite albums of theirs. Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars) is my favorite song.

Coming to this late, but my favourite band of all time - discovered them as an angsty pre-teen and their music was with me through all the important points in my life. (I also like Shiny Happy People, but yeah, it's not the most representative of the rest of the catalogue....) Automatic for the People may be late in the game but it really is a masterpiece of an album, though I share your appreciation for New Adventures in Hi-Fi; it's a whole experience. Supersonic Superserious was a joy, when it came out. I saw them a few times in the early 2000s and it was always somehow both epic and intimate. And they were always themselves - they made great music, played what they wanted to play, and hung it up when it was time. Love them always.