One of the first novels ever published, Gulliver's Travels is a sharply written satire of 18th Century society and of the folly of human endeavor. Unfortunately, due to the abstractions of size in the text, with the minute Lilliputians and giant Brobdingnagians, the text is often mistakenly read as fantasy and thus tends to be presented to children. This is a shame because Gulliver's Travels is probably the finest example of literary satire ever written. The story should be familiar to most, Lemuel Gulliver is a traveler and ship's surgeon that is repeatedly shipwrecked on alien shores, learning the culture, language and customs of wherever he finds himself.
To go too much into the detail of this text would be to ruin many of the delightful surprises that await the reader, such as when politicians start, literally, jumping through hoops to get elected and scientists attempt to return feces to its component foodstuffs. Although it was Swift's aim to "vex the world" of the Age of Reason, the text remains relevant to contemporary society as humans continue to be unpredictable, foul, political and argumentative and far inferior to the noble Houyhnhnms, a race of pacifist, equine philosophers.
One of the hardest parts of reading Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels will be finding a copy of the text that is not adapted for children, a Penguin Classic or similar is about the only way to find the original in its entirety. If that can be managed, prepare yourself for dense 18th Century English ripe with metaphor and allusion, an annotated version (Norton) may be of some help here. For most, Gulliver's Travels is a novel to challenge, but the rewards can be great, if you haven't encountered this text since childhood, it is well worth revisiting.
Hat Guy
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
BAYNH Special: Australian Bands
Well, actually Australian bands that never got the success they deserved overseas. Australian music is a strange beast, some weird stuff has come out of our island nation over the years, it may have something to do with our isolation and proximity to Asia, but it does make life interesting. Sadly, the bizarre beauty of Australian music doesn't always translate internationally and some brilliant acts never really hit outside of native shores. So this is my little effort for my handful of international readers so that they can hear some great music that they may otherwise never come across.
TISM (This Is Serious Mum)
Ok, so the song "Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me" did go viral back in the day, but aside from that blip, TISM have never really had much international fame. That's a shame, because the band's lyrical work is stunning and needs closer scrutiny. I'm a little guilty of not paying them as much attention as I should and I aim to fix that once I'm done here.
Regurgitator
Yeah, I chose Polyester Girl, this song ruled my life for a good six months in school. Regurgitator was an odd little band that I'd have to call "College Indy", a little like an Australian, Gen X, REM if that makes any sense; weird lyrics, incomprehensible videos and the kind of craziness that can only come from a University background. Once, the band locked themselves in a bubble in Melbourne for a month and made an album; they deserve your confused respect.
Radio Birdman
Little known fact, one of the first Punk bands started in Brisbane. Radio Birdman is one of those bands that only beardy music types talk about, the kind with 8 track cartridges who roll their eyes when you don't know who Marc Bolan was. Despite this, Radio Birdman are a fantastic act that have influenced generations of music makers both in Australia and overseas. This song (about Hawaii 5-0) makes great use of traditional rock riffs and the frantic vocals of the infant Punk movement.
These are just some of my picks for underappreciated Australian acts, if you have one or two you want to throw in the comments, I'd love to hear them.
Hat Guy - Steve, I wanted to thank you...
TISM (This Is Serious Mum)
Ok, so the song "Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me" did go viral back in the day, but aside from that blip, TISM have never really had much international fame. That's a shame, because the band's lyrical work is stunning and needs closer scrutiny. I'm a little guilty of not paying them as much attention as I should and I aim to fix that once I'm done here.
Regurgitator
Yeah, I chose Polyester Girl, this song ruled my life for a good six months in school. Regurgitator was an odd little band that I'd have to call "College Indy", a little like an Australian, Gen X, REM if that makes any sense; weird lyrics, incomprehensible videos and the kind of craziness that can only come from a University background. Once, the band locked themselves in a bubble in Melbourne for a month and made an album; they deserve your confused respect.
Radio Birdman
Little known fact, one of the first Punk bands started in Brisbane. Radio Birdman is one of those bands that only beardy music types talk about, the kind with 8 track cartridges who roll their eyes when you don't know who Marc Bolan was. Despite this, Radio Birdman are a fantastic act that have influenced generations of music makers both in Australia and overseas. This song (about Hawaii 5-0) makes great use of traditional rock riffs and the frantic vocals of the infant Punk movement.
These are just some of my picks for underappreciated Australian acts, if you have one or two you want to throw in the comments, I'd love to hear them.
Hat Guy - Steve, I wanted to thank you...
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Essential Listening: Bad Religion
Bad Religion (or BR) are one of the oldest and most respected Punk acts still recording. Based out of California in the United States, BR is possibly the most politically active band on the planet; organizing lobby groups and raising awareness of even the smallest government misdeeds. I'm not going to go too much into the politics of Bad Religion, as this is a blog about music, but should you be interested in the social justice side, check out http://www.badreligion.com/ for more information.
Bad Religion's name and logo (The Crossbuster [above]), mistakenly leads many to believe that the band is wholly anti-religion, however, BR typically promotes an anti-organized-religion attitude as well as promoting the separation of Church and State.
Musically, a little bit of BR can go a long way; several members of the band past and present have admitted that there is a distinct "BR" sound, as they use the same chord progressions in almost every song. BR's 2011 album "The Dissent of Man" did feature some minor experimentation, but it was overshadowed by the typical BR songs on side one of the record. Despite this, Bad Religion remains one of my favorite bands; their fast rhythm lines and harmonic vocals combine in a unique way that some have tried to emulate, but remains distinctly BR.
Against the Grain (1990)
Aside from having fantastic cover art, this album was BR's first really "big" album, insofar as a Punk album about American Fascism can be "big". The song "21st Century (Digital Boy) charted well in Australia and the UK, partially thanks to its pretty damn cool video. Instead of that, here's a song about religious groups trying to hold back science and advancement in the name of tradition.
The Gray Race (1996)
The concept of a "Grey Race" is not, as it may first appear, about interbreeding to eliminate racial barriers, but instead about the loss of individuality in a postmodern society. "Punk Rock Song" is about the futility of attempting to change the world by making music. However, the act of dissenting is better than doing nothing and hoping things get better.
The Empire Strikes First (2004)
Not actually about forest fires, but rather about the film industry, "Los Angeles is Burning" is my favorite BR song hands down. The bass line is fantastic and great fun to play. Seeing BR do this live was fantastic, the whole venue roared along, way out of tune.
Hat Guy - Missing you is like kissing cyanide.
Musically, a little bit of BR can go a long way; several members of the band past and present have admitted that there is a distinct "BR" sound, as they use the same chord progressions in almost every song. BR's 2011 album "The Dissent of Man" did feature some minor experimentation, but it was overshadowed by the typical BR songs on side one of the record. Despite this, Bad Religion remains one of my favorite bands; their fast rhythm lines and harmonic vocals combine in a unique way that some have tried to emulate, but remains distinctly BR.
Against the Grain (1990)
Aside from having fantastic cover art, this album was BR's first really "big" album, insofar as a Punk album about American Fascism can be "big". The song "21st Century (Digital Boy) charted well in Australia and the UK, partially thanks to its pretty damn cool video. Instead of that, here's a song about religious groups trying to hold back science and advancement in the name of tradition.
The Gray Race (1996)
The concept of a "Grey Race" is not, as it may first appear, about interbreeding to eliminate racial barriers, but instead about the loss of individuality in a postmodern society. "Punk Rock Song" is about the futility of attempting to change the world by making music. However, the act of dissenting is better than doing nothing and hoping things get better.
The Empire Strikes First (2004)
Not actually about forest fires, but rather about the film industry, "Los Angeles is Burning" is my favorite BR song hands down. The bass line is fantastic and great fun to play. Seeing BR do this live was fantastic, the whole venue roared along, way out of tune.
Hat Guy - Missing you is like kissing cyanide.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Bookshelf: David Malouf
So, you know how it says "and more" up there? Well it's time for more; I'm going to flex my literary muscles a bit and lay some fiction on the lot of you. I'm starting a new series of reviews to go with Essential Listening, Help Me I Hate and Best Acts You Never Heard; Bookshelf. In each Bookshelf I'll be talking about one of my favorite novels, commenting on the plot, history and just what it is that I like so much about it. That catch is, I'm only going to talk about Novels, no Epics, Anthologies, Biographies, Non-Fiction, Poetry or whatever, just Novels.
To start with, I'll be looking at An Imaginary Life by David Malouf.
An Imaginary Life looks at a possible life for the Roman poet Ovid after his exile (an actual historical occurrence that is well worth looking at), the novel was first published in 1978, but manages to be contemporary and striking nearly 40 years later. Ovid, after his exile, has found shelter with a primitive tribe of barbarians far beyond the Imperial frontier, he is still alive, but has lost the most important part of his life, language, he can communicate his basic needs to his hosts, but no one around him is able to learn Latin. Much of the conflict of the first part of the novel comes from the struggle between primitive hunter-gatherer existence and the loftier pursuits of art and culture.
Drawing upon the universal myth of the "feral child", Ovid encounters a child in the wilderness that he identifies with a similar figure of imagination from his childhood. After reclaiming the child from the wilderness, Ovid begins to impart his knowledge and teachings to the child, attempting to instill in him more Roman values. In this, the latter part of the novel deals with something of a nature versus nurture conflict as well as expanding upon the ire between Ovid and his hosts, who increasingly see him as unable to provide for himself.
I won't expand upon the plot any further for fear of ruining the magnificent ending, but there is more to discuss. David Malouf's prose is lyrical and profoundly naturalist, evoking a great, unbound wilderness that is at once totally alien yet inexorably intertwined with the nature of humanity. There is a similar theme of a "return to the earth" that runs through several of Malouf's novels that is not an overly Romantic, Pantheistic idealized nature, but instead more of an embracing of humanity's part in the wider scheme of the universal order of predator and prey.
An Imaginary Life is not an "easy" read, the text is steeped in symbolism and there are few passages that are overtly literal in their meaning. However, the language is familiar and approachable for most; almost anyone should be able to read An Imaginary Life in its entirety in a reasonable amount of time. This is easily one of my favorite novels and well worth your time if you feel like something a little bit different.
Hat Guy
To start with, I'll be looking at An Imaginary Life by David Malouf.
An Imaginary Life looks at a possible life for the Roman poet Ovid after his exile (an actual historical occurrence that is well worth looking at), the novel was first published in 1978, but manages to be contemporary and striking nearly 40 years later. Ovid, after his exile, has found shelter with a primitive tribe of barbarians far beyond the Imperial frontier, he is still alive, but has lost the most important part of his life, language, he can communicate his basic needs to his hosts, but no one around him is able to learn Latin. Much of the conflict of the first part of the novel comes from the struggle between primitive hunter-gatherer existence and the loftier pursuits of art and culture.
Drawing upon the universal myth of the "feral child", Ovid encounters a child in the wilderness that he identifies with a similar figure of imagination from his childhood. After reclaiming the child from the wilderness, Ovid begins to impart his knowledge and teachings to the child, attempting to instill in him more Roman values. In this, the latter part of the novel deals with something of a nature versus nurture conflict as well as expanding upon the ire between Ovid and his hosts, who increasingly see him as unable to provide for himself.
I won't expand upon the plot any further for fear of ruining the magnificent ending, but there is more to discuss. David Malouf's prose is lyrical and profoundly naturalist, evoking a great, unbound wilderness that is at once totally alien yet inexorably intertwined with the nature of humanity. There is a similar theme of a "return to the earth" that runs through several of Malouf's novels that is not an overly Romantic, Pantheistic idealized nature, but instead more of an embracing of humanity's part in the wider scheme of the universal order of predator and prey.
An Imaginary Life is not an "easy" read, the text is steeped in symbolism and there are few passages that are overtly literal in their meaning. However, the language is familiar and approachable for most; almost anyone should be able to read An Imaginary Life in its entirety in a reasonable amount of time. This is easily one of my favorite novels and well worth your time if you feel like something a little bit different.
Hat Guy
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Excelsior!
Greetings True Believers! To celebrate the release of Marvel's The Avengers on DVD and BluRay, this week I'll be counting down the;
Top 10 Stan Lee Cameos in Marvel films!
So without any further ado:
10. Fantastic Four (2005)
- My man Stan pops up as Willie the Mailman, a staple of FF comics since the 1960s, creating a great little nod to the fans in what is, otherwise, a pretty poor film.
9. Daredevil (2003)
- A young Matt Murdock has discovered his powers and is training in secret when he prevents Stan Lee from walking into traffic. A nice little scene that's not on the nose.
8. Thor (2011)
- Stan Lee wrecks a pickup truck trying to pull Mjolnir out of a crater, his line? "Did it work?" Stan can be a funny guy.
7. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
- Stan Lee is on-screen maybe as much a two seconds in this film as he drinks a Gamma-tainted energy drink and keels over. The only film to kill Stan Lee to date.
6. Iron Man (2008)
- On his way into a party, Tony Stark stops to greet Hugh Hefner, as played by Stan Lee, complete with pipe, smoking jacket and bunnies. Funny and memorable without being distrating, bravo.
5. The Avengers (2012)
- "Superheroes? In New York? Give me a break." It's funny because Stan Lee created so many heroes that live in New York, see? Ok... yeah... I'm a nerd.
4. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
- Top Army brass await Captain America when an aide walks in instead, Stan's response? "I though he'd be taller."
3. Hulk (2003)
- Ang Lee's experimental, Freudian examination of the duality of Bruce Banner is, in my opinion, unfairly maligned, but it does give us a great double-whammy cameo with Stan Lee and Lou Ferrigno as security guards at the Gamma facility. Their response to the Hulk? "We need to beef up security around here."
2. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
- A beautiful scene where librarian Stan listens to classical music whilst Peter and Curt tear up the school behind him. You know this kind of thing is working when the whole cinema is roaring with laughter.
1. Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
- Ok, so this film is terrible, but it does give us one of Marvel's most iconic moments, the marriage of Reed and Sue. A familiar face is trying to get in only to be told that he's not on the list; "I'm Stan Lee!" "Sure you are buddy." Fourth-wall breaking? Yes. Hilarious? Hell yes.
Now I'm off to watch The Avengers again...
Hat Guy - Earth's mightiest pedant.
Top 10 Stan Lee Cameos in Marvel films!
So without any further ado:
10. Fantastic Four (2005)
- My man Stan pops up as Willie the Mailman, a staple of FF comics since the 1960s, creating a great little nod to the fans in what is, otherwise, a pretty poor film.
9. Daredevil (2003)
- A young Matt Murdock has discovered his powers and is training in secret when he prevents Stan Lee from walking into traffic. A nice little scene that's not on the nose.
8. Thor (2011)
- Stan Lee wrecks a pickup truck trying to pull Mjolnir out of a crater, his line? "Did it work?" Stan can be a funny guy.
7. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
- Stan Lee is on-screen maybe as much a two seconds in this film as he drinks a Gamma-tainted energy drink and keels over. The only film to kill Stan Lee to date.
6. Iron Man (2008)
- On his way into a party, Tony Stark stops to greet Hugh Hefner, as played by Stan Lee, complete with pipe, smoking jacket and bunnies. Funny and memorable without being distrating, bravo.
5. The Avengers (2012)
- "Superheroes? In New York? Give me a break." It's funny because Stan Lee created so many heroes that live in New York, see? Ok... yeah... I'm a nerd.
4. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
- Top Army brass await Captain America when an aide walks in instead, Stan's response? "I though he'd be taller."
3. Hulk (2003)
- Ang Lee's experimental, Freudian examination of the duality of Bruce Banner is, in my opinion, unfairly maligned, but it does give us a great double-whammy cameo with Stan Lee and Lou Ferrigno as security guards at the Gamma facility. Their response to the Hulk? "We need to beef up security around here."
2. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
- A beautiful scene where librarian Stan listens to classical music whilst Peter and Curt tear up the school behind him. You know this kind of thing is working when the whole cinema is roaring with laughter.
1. Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
- Ok, so this film is terrible, but it does give us one of Marvel's most iconic moments, the marriage of Reed and Sue. A familiar face is trying to get in only to be told that he's not on the list; "I'm Stan Lee!" "Sure you are buddy." Fourth-wall breaking? Yes. Hilarious? Hell yes.
Now I'm off to watch The Avengers again...
Hat Guy - Earth's mightiest pedant.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Musical Team-ups I'd Like to See...
Just a quick update today, in a bit of a funk of late and forcing myself to write. So, fair warning, this may not be the best entry I've done to date.
There exists in popular music a grand tradition of two (or more) acts teaming up to create a fantastic hit. True, most of these team ups are pretty terrible (Islands in the Stream, Dancing in the Street), but there have also been a couple of great dual efforts in the past like "Smooth" (Santana and Rob Thomas) and the Bowie/Queen version of Under Pressure. Rap artists can never seem to go a whole album without getting a couple of guest artists on to shoot some rimes.
So, without further ado, here is a list of team-ups I'd like to see (hear?); this list is not exhaustive, just a few off the top of my head...
Public Enemy and Lupe Fiasco
Public Enemy, the original social activist Rap group and Lupe Fiasco, the Muslim-American social activist rapper. I imagine that the two would come up with something a bit like an American version of "Thou Shalt Always Kill", a rapid-fire tirade on all the things wrong with contemporary American culture and the oppression of minorities.
Andrew W.K. and Lady Gaga
Confused? Both Andrew and Gaga have one major theme in common, the promotion of self-esteem. Andrew (I can call you Andrew right?) focuses on partying as a method of self-expression, party how you want and fuck anyone who tells you not to enjoy yourself. Gaga tells her "Monsters" to love themselves and live their lives how they see fit. If these two could get together (musically, Andrew is happily married), the result would be the greatest party song ever created. The only problem I can foresee is the blending of styles, Andrew does Power Metal and Gaga makes 80s pop. I think maybe they could meet in the middle with 80s Hair Metal? Given Andrew's fantastic work on "Gundam Rock", I think it could work.
Devo and Weezer
The two greatest Nerd Bands of their respective generations unite! Not much to really explain with this one, I'm thinking a combination of "Girl U Want" (Devo) and "Buddy Holly" (Weezer). Both bands have a big pop appeal but still maintain that subversive edge that really makes them worthwhile acts. While I'm dreaming, I may throw They Might Be Giants into this mix...
Henry Rollins and Iggy Pop
Iggy and Rollins have had this kind of fake "rivalry" going on for decades now, often going back to back at festivals to compete with one another. It's about time they got together and did an album like Kanye and Jay Z, before they get too over the hill. Besides, Punk Rock really needs a kick in the rear to get going again and Rollins and Iggy could do that without breaking a sweat.
That's it for now, see you next time.
Hat Guy - The world's forgotten boy.
There exists in popular music a grand tradition of two (or more) acts teaming up to create a fantastic hit. True, most of these team ups are pretty terrible (Islands in the Stream, Dancing in the Street), but there have also been a couple of great dual efforts in the past like "Smooth" (Santana and Rob Thomas) and the Bowie/Queen version of Under Pressure. Rap artists can never seem to go a whole album without getting a couple of guest artists on to shoot some rimes.
So, without further ado, here is a list of team-ups I'd like to see (hear?); this list is not exhaustive, just a few off the top of my head...
Public Enemy and Lupe Fiasco
Public Enemy, the original social activist Rap group and Lupe Fiasco, the Muslim-American social activist rapper. I imagine that the two would come up with something a bit like an American version of "Thou Shalt Always Kill", a rapid-fire tirade on all the things wrong with contemporary American culture and the oppression of minorities.
Andrew W.K. and Lady Gaga
Confused? Both Andrew and Gaga have one major theme in common, the promotion of self-esteem. Andrew (I can call you Andrew right?) focuses on partying as a method of self-expression, party how you want and fuck anyone who tells you not to enjoy yourself. Gaga tells her "Monsters" to love themselves and live their lives how they see fit. If these two could get together (musically, Andrew is happily married), the result would be the greatest party song ever created. The only problem I can foresee is the blending of styles, Andrew does Power Metal and Gaga makes 80s pop. I think maybe they could meet in the middle with 80s Hair Metal? Given Andrew's fantastic work on "Gundam Rock", I think it could work.
Devo and Weezer
The two greatest Nerd Bands of their respective generations unite! Not much to really explain with this one, I'm thinking a combination of "Girl U Want" (Devo) and "Buddy Holly" (Weezer). Both bands have a big pop appeal but still maintain that subversive edge that really makes them worthwhile acts. While I'm dreaming, I may throw They Might Be Giants into this mix...
Henry Rollins and Iggy Pop
Iggy and Rollins have had this kind of fake "rivalry" going on for decades now, often going back to back at festivals to compete with one another. It's about time they got together and did an album like Kanye and Jay Z, before they get too over the hill. Besides, Punk Rock really needs a kick in the rear to get going again and Rollins and Iggy could do that without breaking a sweat.
That's it for now, see you next time.
Hat Guy - The world's forgotten boy.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Essential Listening: R.E.M.
Those that have read my blog with as much regularity as my sparse updates can allow should already be well aware of my love of Athens-based indy group R.E.M. and their varied back catalog. I find it interesting that whilst most people I talk to can name one or two R.E.M. songs (usually "It's the End of the Word As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" and "Everybody Hurts") there are few that readily admit to being fans. I think this can be put down to one of the major things that attracts me to R.E.M. as a group; their diversity. When pushed, I would categorize R.E.M. as "Indy Pop", but this is only due to the fact that this is the broadest genre that seems to fit them. Over the course of their career, R.E.M. have dabbled in various flavors of Pop, Rock and even Folk, Bluegrass and Country. R.E.M. have never been beholden to what people expect of them (for the most part) and have always done what they felt like doing and this can be off-putting to the non-pretentious art student crowd. That aside, R.E.M. are still brilliant, even their charting Pop hits are far more intricate and cerebral than most Pop songs, which is probably a reason for their continued success.
So the thing with R.E.M. is, every R.E.M. fan has a different take on the band. There are Pop R.E.M. fans, IRS era R.E.M. fans and a great many other varieties of people who will talk your ear off about how awesome R.E.M. are. Given that, here's the deal; this is MY pick of R.E.M., this is the stuff I like. If you like something different, great, but this is the R.E.M. that does it for me. I recommend that you listen to way more R.E.M. than just the three albums here to really get an idea what the band is like, however, I still think these are a good place to start.
Automatic for the People (1992)
Ok, so I like the "Mainstream" R.E.M. album, why do I like it? Because it's good damn it. This is the R.E.M. album that seems to be the most common to own, even though I wasn't really into music when this came out (I was in Primary School), I still remember it being all over the radio despite its downbeat mood. Riding on the back of the Grunge movement, R.E.M. became really big for a little bit in the '90s as people began to realize that they were all depressed before it was cool. I love this song, it's beautiful and a perfect example of R.E.M.'s mastery of slower and less "poppy" songs.
Green (1988)
This song is about the Vietnam War. For some reason people can never figure that out, despite the fact that Michael Stipe has repeatedly said as much in interviews. Anyway, Green is one of the albums (and R.E.M. one of the bands) that music historians reference as a big inspiration for the Seattle Grunge Movement that gave us Nirvana. If that still isn't enough reason for you to check out this album, it also features some of R.E.M.'s best pop work with songs like "Stand", which remains one of my favorite pop songs of all time.
Around the Sun (2004)
Yeah, ok, so I've put this exact video in one of my reviews before (a no-prize for the first to say which one) but this song is that good. Around the Sun is not the last good R.E.M. album released before they split up, but it does serve as an excellent example of how the band maintained their skill over an extended career. R.E.M. were just as good more than a decade after their big hit album, if not better. Around the Sun is probably the R.E.M. album I'll listen to most often, the progression of songs and overall flow of the album is excellent and R.E.M. have never been tighter. Maybe it's not the "best" R.E.M. album, or the most "artistic", but Around the Sun remains one of my personal favorites in the genre of Pop.
R.E.M. are a brilliant band and if you're only listening to "Losing My Religion" you're missing out. Check out some more R.E.M. and you'll be hearing one of the greatest bands in history.
Hat Guy - Stand in the place where you live.
Next Time: Something to do with rap... I've been listening to a lot of Rap recently...
So the thing with R.E.M. is, every R.E.M. fan has a different take on the band. There are Pop R.E.M. fans, IRS era R.E.M. fans and a great many other varieties of people who will talk your ear off about how awesome R.E.M. are. Given that, here's the deal; this is MY pick of R.E.M., this is the stuff I like. If you like something different, great, but this is the R.E.M. that does it for me. I recommend that you listen to way more R.E.M. than just the three albums here to really get an idea what the band is like, however, I still think these are a good place to start.
Automatic for the People (1992)
Ok, so I like the "Mainstream" R.E.M. album, why do I like it? Because it's good damn it. This is the R.E.M. album that seems to be the most common to own, even though I wasn't really into music when this came out (I was in Primary School), I still remember it being all over the radio despite its downbeat mood. Riding on the back of the Grunge movement, R.E.M. became really big for a little bit in the '90s as people began to realize that they were all depressed before it was cool. I love this song, it's beautiful and a perfect example of R.E.M.'s mastery of slower and less "poppy" songs.
Green (1988)
This song is about the Vietnam War. For some reason people can never figure that out, despite the fact that Michael Stipe has repeatedly said as much in interviews. Anyway, Green is one of the albums (and R.E.M. one of the bands) that music historians reference as a big inspiration for the Seattle Grunge Movement that gave us Nirvana. If that still isn't enough reason for you to check out this album, it also features some of R.E.M.'s best pop work with songs like "Stand", which remains one of my favorite pop songs of all time.
Around the Sun (2004)
Yeah, ok, so I've put this exact video in one of my reviews before (a no-prize for the first to say which one) but this song is that good. Around the Sun is not the last good R.E.M. album released before they split up, but it does serve as an excellent example of how the band maintained their skill over an extended career. R.E.M. were just as good more than a decade after their big hit album, if not better. Around the Sun is probably the R.E.M. album I'll listen to most often, the progression of songs and overall flow of the album is excellent and R.E.M. have never been tighter. Maybe it's not the "best" R.E.M. album, or the most "artistic", but Around the Sun remains one of my personal favorites in the genre of Pop.
R.E.M. are a brilliant band and if you're only listening to "Losing My Religion" you're missing out. Check out some more R.E.M. and you'll be hearing one of the greatest bands in history.
Hat Guy - Stand in the place where you live.
Next Time: Something to do with rap... I've been listening to a lot of Rap recently...
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