So REM broke up eh? Any thoughts U2...

So the REM break up has being playing on my mind for a few days now and it's mainly been about when bands should break up as opposed to whether they do. It maybe heretical to many but I was mainly thinking about U2 - huge band, huge pulling power and can sell out arenas anywhere in the world. But what was the last U2 album I really enjoyed from front to back? Achtung Baby which is celebrating it's 20th anniversary this year.

When I think back, Zooropa was spotty (although it has some great songs towards the end of the record and Stay [So far, so close] is one of their best of that decade) and then there was Pop. As I was thinking about this on a train trip two days ago, I decided to listen to Pop in its entirety for the first time in a gazillion years. I couldn't do it - once I hit Mofo and started to wonder who advised the boys to add all those Chemical Brothers flourishes, they had lost me. Maybe they thought it was some Achtung-esque reinvention but maybe there was no thought at all or too much thought... Who knows? There's some good songs there but it is a hard listen.

I then listened to All that you can't leave behind which sounds like a U2 tribute band aping their greatest hits. There's some good songs there but the back end is pretty poor. From then on, it seems that U2 forgot how to write a memorable chorus on Atomic Bomb and No Line on the Horizon. To be honest, Atomic Bomb features what I consider the worst U2 line ever (which is apparently one of Bono's favourites):

Freedom has a scent like the top of a newborn baby's head

Uhmmm... no. REM had a much noticeable decline in both popularity and quality but while U2 remain huge, I'd argue the quality control has been lacking. Obviously, there is the will in the band to continue although Larry always looks grumpy but should I expect a band like this to be producing good albums at this stage of their career? I'd argue that Fugazi's last record was one of their best some 20 years into their existence and you know, that last Metallica album was pretty good.

Maybe this is a product of being in a behemoth band. I went to see Metallica last year and had a blast. I later saw the live video from the same tour (Français Pour Une Nuit) and it was pretty much, move for move, the same concert I saw in Brisbane except for a slightly altered setlist. I know a production of that size or the U2 360 show needs to have a certain regularity to be manageable and the fans want to hear the hits so I get that. I saw U2 on the Zoo TV tour and it was pretty much the same as a live broadcast I'd seen on TV. I wonder does this size and routine make the bands over think everything from the live show to their recording? Achtung Baby is such a primal howl of a record - a record of turmoil, inventiveness and raw power. No line on the horizon seemed like it was micromanaged and produced in a test tube by scientists.

Now, to be honest, I'm not advocating for U2 to split up. I mean the Rolling Stones keep on keeping on and no one expects them to release a really great album at this stage. I guess the thing is with REM, they knew the jig was up but with U2 I always have this glimmering hope that they will produce one more really great record. It's a terrible expectation and probably an impossible one but that's partly because I am a fan. There may never be another Joshua Tree or Achtung in them but we can hope. I'm being a little unfair here, I could say this about any band who have been around for a while, I mean you could say the same thing about the Cure or the Beastie Boys or Aerosmith or Radiohead (WHAT! WAIT! NEVER!). Actually, you could say it about some newer bands too, I mean Coldplay haven't done anything interesting since their second album apart from wear stupid jackets (if they ever did anything interesting at all). But whatever, I'm just tossing some seeds around here. Thoughts?

--

A song a day: REM - Lotus

Up was REM's first record without Bill Berry and it is actually pretty great although it wasn't that well received at the time. I loved the ruse that the band played by releasing the single Daysleeper first which was a slice of Automatic styled acoustic pop from the band. Anyone who was suckered into that must have been slightly perturbed when the hoarse sounding Stipe started squawking "HEY HEY" on Lotus, which seems to be, for all intents and purposes, a song about tripping. There is something sinuous and sexy about this song and while on first listen, it sounds slightly innocuous, its charms sink there way deeply into your cranium. I'm not sure what the last great REM song was but this is definitely a good one from the post-Berry period.

Update: I wrote this a couple of weeks ago and read today that REM have broken up. Really it should have of happened years ago. With the lifeless live albums and seemingly never ending greatest hits packages, it just seemed to be getting worse and worse. I actually think that Up was their last consistently good record and Reveal had three nice little pop gems on it. My friend who is a lifelong REM fan tried to convince me the last album was good but I really couldn’t hear it. Still, they had a great run of incredible albums in the 80’s and 90’s so as a music lover I’m thankful for the joy that they bought me over the years (and I will still defend New Adventures in Hi-Fi to my death). RIP REM.

--

Played out: REM

I know REM have a new album out and it's supposed to be good but for some unknown reason I can't bring myself to listen to it. To be honest, I haven't been able to listen to them in years. My good friend who is a big fan gave me a copy of their last proper album Accelerate and I couldn't get past five songs. I have absolutely no idea why this is as I used to be a big fan.

Now, when I say big fan, I was a fan in the most unorthodox sense. While I liked their early stuff and was a fan of the their commercial breakthroughs (Green, Out of Time, Automatic), the two albums I liked the most were the often reviled Monster and completely dismissed New Adventures in Hi Fi. I'm not saying this to be willfully contrary as I think there's a strong case that can be made for both these albums. While Monster is remembered as their big rock move, the album's underlying darkness and Peter Buck's wild use of tremolo makes for an exciting listen. Post Monster, REM signed some ludicrous record deal for millions and then released New Adventures which sold about ten copies worldwide. Actually, it sold ok but was a significant dip on their previous sales which isn't a problem although this is where people often pinpoint the beginning of REM's decline. Personally, I would argue that REM would still be the biggest band in the world if it wasn't for Patti Smith (who paradoxically was the reason why they became the biggest band in the world in the first place).

Michael Stipe has often spoke of the impact Patti Smith had on him as a young man and how it was the inspiration for him to become a musician - no Patti Smith, no REM. As such, I guess it's no surprise that New Adventures first single was E-Bow the Letter which featured Smith as guest vocalist. Too bad it was a terrible choice of first single. I would contend if they had released Bittersweet Me or the Wake Up Bomb (followed by the overlooked album highlight Be Mine), they would have kept the momentum that had been building since Out of Time going but one dud lead single choice stopped the engine dead. You may ask 'well, how do you know this?' Here's the reason: in 1996, I was walking past a building site and the roofing guy was singing along to Bittersweet Me at the top of his lungs and punching the air with unbridled joy - now that's a lead single.

Many people blamed the departure of drummer Bill Berry (post-Adventures release) as the reason REM lost the plot but I'm not sure that's true. The following Up (1998) was actually a pretty great record and Reveal (2001) had its moments too. But I really think E-Bow the Letter was where people fell out of love with REM, not because it's a bad song, it's just doesn't work as a single - at all. When you achieve a certain mass of fans beyond the core rabid listeners, the challenge is to keep them engaged (if you want them). E-Bow the Letter is like leaving a turd in a flaming bag on the doorstep of the casual fan.

Anyhow, the next album was Around the Sun which was an unlistenable piece of shit and for me was where I really lost interest in the band. The problem is that this falling out of love has affected the entire back catalogue and I can barely bring myself to listen to any of their albums much less listen to anything new. When they pop up in my life, I'm reminded of how great a song Drive is or the lush emotional rush of Strange Currencies or the sheer sonic presence that Losing My Religion commands, but it doesn't compel me back into their arms or inspire me to seek out their new music.

I'm not sure if this is because I have moved on musically, the timbre of Michael Stipe's voice or just the general REM sound but there seems to be nothing there for me now. To be honest, there's a sense of loss there because we (REM and I) had some great times together but my falling out of love of with them seems permanent.

--