He also talked about āLoving The Alienā and asked if there was āLife on Mars?ā so thereās some concerns that he may be pre-occupied with upcoming Pentagon report on UFOās.
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Saw them at the Cardiff Arms Park for the Monster tour and Belly were the first on. So many support acts it felt like a mini festival. Anyway I felt like I was the only person getting into Belly, they were met with total indifference from the maybe crowd which was such a pity cos they were fab.
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The thing with R.E.M. is they did keep going for longer than they were credible, maybe.
This said, their arc to what can only really be seen as being a huge band is just wonderfully laid out. Iāve mentioned upthread that I rate Green a lot. I even feel to a fair extent it influenced the Nevermind sound with its loud / quite structure in most of its songs.
In early 1991 I was at an all night house party and most people may, ahem, have experimented with a drug that was pretty popular back then. At 5am about 20 people were sitting on the floor in a large living room. Mostly strangers, mostly coming down from some euphoric feeling. The stereo playing music, general quiet chatter. Losing My Religion came on the stereo and the room went totally silent, other than the song. You could feel its sound washing through the room, then this one guy just started crying, not a sad cry, but just a cry of sheer joy, utterly lost in the music. Such a warm vibe went through the room and this was the first time Iād heard the song.
Whilst itās easy for me to say R.E.M. became somewhat formulaic in their latter years, the soul of their rise to becoming a band with worldwide clout, well - itās right up there.
Not as good as Husker Du mindā¦
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Green is their best album. It captures them at the perfect point in their ascension. Losing My Religion is however - their best ever song, only diluted with hindsight by just how popular it became, overfamiliarity, etc. I kind of feel Losing My Religion is the end of the 80ās and the real start of the 90ās, it balances out both decades so well whilst managing to sound completely timeless also.
Hope, loss, introspective, looking for courage, maybe not finding itā¦ searching. The lyrics, tone, feel and delivery, just so much depth in it. Majestic and quite faultless.
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I have a friend who once accidentally asked him for a light in the kids field at Glastonbury. Apparently he was polite but un-chatty. Finished by saying āplease donāt tell anyone Iām hereā.
I get the impression that he is cripplingly shy with strangers and would rather the job involved no interaction with other human beings.
Maybe heās just a prick though. They happen too.
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As in she didnāt realize it was him when she walked up to him. Thought he was just a short guy smoking a cigarette. She meant to ask for the lighter.
Right, have just made my mind up and finally voted. I reckon that Iāve got more enjoyment out of Radiohead overall over the years, but the highs of R.E.M. at their best just edge it. Losing My Religion is the best song by either band too.
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I voted Radiohead. I am now conflicted after giving what R.E.M. have meant to me thought.
I always saw Radiohead as a dud for their first album and Creep. Just an Oxford knock off Nirvana. I was working in a record shop when The Bends came out and came vividly remember a girl who worked in the cake shop next door buying it on cassette with what would have been her Saturday job pay packetā¦ and thinking, why would you buy that.
I then saw a short time later the video to Just on MTV and was somewhat gripped with by the video and the actual way the song was shaping to a lunatic guitar jab at its end. I knew then that I was probably wrong about them.
The same pattern for OK Computer except I saw that album sell in really big quantities, bought it myself on vinyl, listened to it - and whilst very good it never really grabbed me like other records I was listening to circa 1997. Kid A and Amnesiac were interesting but again I would listen to other bands a lot more upon their respective releases.
The moment Radiohead really clicked for me was watching the Jools Holland special in 2001, which I feel is their real peak, the music they can fall back on at this point, collectively suddenly hit me. Their ability to make such dramatic soundscapes. The delivery of those songs. Their clear musical bond. The way they wander back to Pink Floyd (really) and the post early 90ās - feels and sounds they now bagged to take real ownership of. The suit fitted all of a sudden and they wore it well.
I saw them live at the Manchester Apollo in 2003 and they completely knocked me for 6. The way songs like No Surprises sounded live, the way the audience received them. Of all the live bands Iāve ever seen, and that is a lot, I have never felt and audience love a band more, like a tangible love, people crying, strangers talking to each other. The only other live set that has made me feel like this is Joanna Newsom.
Radiohead are in a position where they have the luxury of being able to do no wrong, not many artists can achieve this and I feel it is deserved. I do feel, like many other probably, that they have already made their best records, that seems pretty clear.
Generationally both bands mean a lot to me but neither are real top tier for me, the gap and crossover in their respective output means nothing to me. The World Cup has made me re-evaluate R.E.M. which Iām kind of thankful for, I already knew how I feel about Radiohead. Both bands are great in slightly different ways, both bands are easy targets if anyone wants to knock them, both bands the music really stands up.
A worthy final.
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I checked back to see how I rated them in the HGATR poll you did last year (where you asked people to put their top 20 on the leaderboard in order): Radiohead 6th, REM 7th. I voted for REM this time
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This world is big
And so are we
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Think youāre allowed to change your vote? Obv only if youāre sure ā¦
Lovely post btw.
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Ftfy
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For all the votes I have gone with my direct feel and I think I will stick with Radiohead. Whilst being far from my favourite band they are a very important band and Iām happy to leave my vote with them. I think the gig in 2003 sways this. If Iād seen R.E.M. live (which I havenāt), especially circa Green or Out Of Time I might feel a bit differently.
Thereās not much in it. Although Iād rather listen to late 90ās Boards Of Canada than Radiohead, I really enjoy the way they embraced electronica partially. R.E.M are more direct and sometimes their songs really hit a spot. They are both 9/10 bands for me I think. If either band had been cut down in their prime creative period like say a Nirvana, theyād universally be acclaimed as legends.
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Robin On a Friday
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Youāre right, they are mostly. I feel R.E.M. perhaps stuck around too long. I say this about The Cure also. As lovely as In Rainbows is, it feels like Radiohead are revisiting older ideas, itās great - but it isnāt fresh.
Stop R.E.M at New Adventures In Hi-Fi. Stop Radiohead at Amnesiac. Iām glad their latter albums are there, but something has gone, maybe. Iām overthinking this now and will shut up.
Husker Du pleaseā¦
it still amazes me that collectively dis hasnt come to the conclusion that weāve said everything that needs to say about radiohead (and rem). the capacity for more is unlimited, it seems. i feel like ive read every single one of the posts on a weekly basisā¦ since 2008. even just not too long ago we had this:
i find this all kinda charming tbh, dis gonna dis
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Elliott would have won btw
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(if more of you liked him)
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idk he seems alright?
(that horrific slur aside)
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