ThePumpkins.net

What's your ranking KJ?

ryon wrote:
Holy shit, that's difficult but here goes.

1. Up
2. Reckoning
3.Murmur
4. Automatic FTP
5. New Adventures In Hi Fi
6. Fables of the Reconstruction
7. Reveal
8. Collapse Into Now
9. Document
10. Monster
11. Out of Time
12. Accelerate
13. Green
14. Life's Rich Pageant
15. Around the Sun

Those are just studio album rankings. Dead Letter Office would probably fall inbetween Fables and Reveal if I counted it. I like all of these albums alot (save for around the sun) so take my rankings with a grain of salt. (rankings 10-15 change alot)

What are some of your favorite REM songs Ryon?

I love how different everyone's favorite REM rankings are. It just goes to show how great all of their work is. It really surprised me that Up is your favorite.

My favorite songs:
Radio Free Europe
Harborcoat
(Don't Go Back To) Rockville
Driver 8
Maps and Legends
Feeling Gravity's Pull
Begin The Begin
These Days
It's The End of the World as We Know It
Country Feedback
Me In Honey

Yeah, Up does something for me that no other REM album does. It's just pure beauty in music form to me.

The three songs you chose from Fables are kickass and Country Feedback + Me in Honey are criminally underrated. Another one of my favorites is "Camera" from Reckoning. I don't like to choose favorites from Murmur because honestly, every song is friggin great in its own way. One of the things I have grown to love about a lot of REMs early stuff is how abstract the lyrics are. Most of the time, I don't think Stipe even knew what he was writing about. This abstract style allows the song to be anything the listener wants it to be. The listener makes the meaning and I really like that.

I'm anxious to see what you think of Around the Sun and Reveal, Ryon. Around the Sun always sounded very tired and uninspired to me. REM just really didn't sound into it. Reveal on the other hand is almost like a more pop friendly Up, and I appreciate that album alot.

Also, this is a little off topic but I recently acquired Liz Phair's "Exile in Guyville". It really is a kickass album, so thanks alot to you Ryon for bringing it to my attention.

kjrain12 wrote:
I'll give reviews of Up-Around he Sun after I listen to them a little more.

And I'm so glad you checked out Exile! It's literally one of my favourite albums of all time. Her second album, "Whip-Smart", is nearly as good! Definitely check it out.

^Really? Nearly as good as her first!? I'll definitely have to buy that soon.

I find it odd that there are so few REM fans on an SP board. REM practically invented alternative rock, and I don't think this forum gives them enough love. Well, at least they have a thread I guess, haha!

You'll definitely love Dead Letter Office. Especially since it contains the Chronic Town EP which has some of REM's best songs period. (Wolves Lower, Gardening At Night, Carnival of Sorts)