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R.E.M. LIVE Autographs and DVD/CD Giveaway Contest... for the Musically Inclined!!!

Oh, Michael Stipe. by Burgundy82	Oct 25th, 2007 09:33:20 PM
You look so very weird. Love R.E.M. though, always have and always will. My first ever concert that didn't involve Ninja Turtles was their final stop of the Monster Tour in '95.
Hey look, someone who didn't say "First!" by Burgundy82	Oct 25th, 2007 09:34:06 PM
Not to be self-congratulatory or anything...
they're still alive? by Sir Loin	Oct 25th, 2007 09:37:28 PM
Somebody had to say it, sorry. And may I say that their song "Stand" should be used as torture for captured Al-Qaida loons, it's the worst "song" ever created by the hand of mankind.
Harry, dammit... by Nordling	Oct 25th, 2007 09:37:50 PM
my favorite band of all time. OF ALL TIME. And I can't play a musical instrument to save my life. Sigh.
You sure its signed by Bill Berry and not... by Kirbymanly	Oct 25th, 2007 09:47:13 PM
Peter Buck? Berry doesn't even play on this
Also... BEST BAND EVER by Kirbymanly	Oct 25th, 2007 09:51:22 PM
They don't get enough props these days
Kirbymanly by Burgundy82	Oct 25th, 2007 09:59:03 PM
Damn right ... one of the first bands I ever remember listening to that I'm still not embarrassed about today. I was 9 when I first heard them and still in elementary school when I bought Monster on cassette. (OK, so I hopped on at a relatively bad time. I was 10.) Dad told me the band got their start less than an hour from where we lived, in Athens. Now, that town is better known among America's youth for producing Ryan Seacrest. How the times have changed.
I'd use it as a coaster by Deus Vult	Oct 25th, 2007 10:04:53 PM
Sorry Harry, but REM has sucked for the last 12 years, no question. As soon as Mike Stipe decided he was a complete flame thrower they've been in the toilet. When the drummer had a stroke or whatever they started using drum machines and boy did it show. Now with that said, I have to admit their concert at the woodlands pavilion here in houston back in 96 was awesome. after that however; suck city. that is all.
my girlfriend is 23 and she has NO idea who.. by Cotton McKnight	Oct 25th, 2007 10:05:35 PM
REM is. I'm just saying.
Stipe has apologized for "Stand" by Larry of Arabia	Oct 25th, 2007 10:28:47 PM
Numerous times. I saw them on the Monster tour. Radiohead opened for them. Stipe introduced them by saying, "I've been listening to some of the things they are working on back there and it's pretty special. I just thought I'd tell you that." He left and Radiohead proceeded to play through most OK Computer before it's release. Naturally, the douche next to me kept shouting "Fake Plastic Trees!" and "Creeeeeeeep!"
Burgundy.... by Kirbymanly	Oct 25th, 2007 10:28:59 PM
Don't feel bad...Monster is actually a great album. I'm sure you've had it sitting aside for years. Try revisiting it...its aged well. Their one misfire for me is most of Reveal. Only two or three tracks on that thing make it to my playlist.
They were good... by Mr. Nice Gaius	Oct 25th, 2007 10:30:40 PM
...but I haven't purchased an album of theirs since AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE. Seems I rarely listen to them anymore. When I do, I never listen to anything post GREEN. Their music just doesn't connect with me now and it all feels rather listless. Having said that, LIFE'S RICH PAGEANT would probably still make my Top All-Time Favorite Albums List.
great band by Beerisgood	Oct 25th, 2007 10:37:47 PM
Saw them once in concert, Sept. 95 in Hershey for Monster. Wow. VERY good. Although my only gripe was they played a lot of songs from the NEXT album, which wasn't even out yet - great songs, but I hate hearing songs for the first time at a concert. I admire them for their perserverance. Just picked up REM Live, which is great. Keep going, guys.
REM sucks my throbbing asshole by themasterofnonsense	Oct 25th, 2007 11:10:23 PM
I thought this was "cool" news.
Put the DVD in an envelope by Dr. Strangelove	Oct 25th, 2007 11:46:38 PM
...and send it to ten years ago, when I might have actually given a crap about REM.
That's great it starts with an earthquake by Aphex Twin	Oct 26th, 2007 01:24:50 AM
Virgin snakes and aeroplanes, and Lenny Bruce is not afraid.
would rather listen to Justin Timberlake by shagdrum	Oct 26th, 2007 01:46:34 AM
being raped with a chainsaw... would have about as much musical value as anything REM have ever put out
Dr. Strangelove.... you don't deserve the name by Kirbymanly	Oct 26th, 2007 02:23:28 AM
annnnnnd.... eat a dick while you're at it. Oh and Shag-- you're the reason the music industry sucks today.
Stand happens to be one of my favorite songs... by cifra	Oct 26th, 2007 05:29:28 AM
... who can forget about Chris Peterson (Chris Elliott) in the cult series "Get a life"??? But REM has lost it. They haven't done anything really good in years.
Best band ever, yup by johnnyjlawless	Oct 26th, 2007 05:56:50 AM
even counting that the last two albums sucked. From what i've heard of the Dublin sessions, the new record is them back on form. Even so, in a fair world they should be able to ride on the quality of their back catalogue for years.
going to enter this.. by johnnyjlawless	Oct 26th, 2007 06:01:16 AM
time to break out the rickebacker and Vox AC30..
by johnnyjlawless	Oct 26th, 2007 06:01:43 AM
rickeNbacker, goddamnit
REM invented alternative rock by I am_NOTREAL	Oct 26th, 2007 07:32:42 AM
and are thus deserving of their place in American musical history. One of the truly original bands - even if you don't like them, you have to admit that no one else sounds like REM. Maybe I'll break out Life's Rich Pageant in honor of this story.
I am_NOTREAL by YakMalla	Oct 26th, 2007 08:08:37 AM
I second your comment. I picked up "Murmur" in 1984 (yeah I'm old), and it was transformative. Best band from 1983-93 or so, hands down. Yes, their time has passed, and yes, some of the more famous songs are annoying or have been overplayed, but damn, what a run.
How great they were.. by Vic Twenty	Oct 26th, 2007 08:33:40 AM
I remember picking up Eponymous and realizing there were a good 20 songs that could or should have been included on it. That is when you realize how great they were for such a long time.
Oh Man, You've Gotta Watch This! by Prague23	Oct 26th, 2007 09:02:04 AM
This is frakin amazing. Can I enter these guys on their behalf? http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=EEKVJZa_gdE
thanks to R.E.M. by millsfan	Oct 26th, 2007 10:23:33 AM
This is a really generous gesture. You can thank the band's fan club at lordmillsey@yahoo.com. They respond to emails with special offers and stuff.
Don't get me wrong here... by jimmy rabbitte	Oct 26th, 2007 10:58:48 AM
I like R.E.M.'s earlier stuff (read: the years with I.R.S. records) but they haven't made a CD I'd want to buy since 1992. ...and yes they were HUGE on the alternative music scene... actually back then it was more often referred to as college music... but I don't know if I can agree that they "invented" anything. Especially since their most well known songs bear a striking resemblance to The Byrds. So... perhaps R.E.M. invented a certain '80's/ alternative type of persona; but musically speaking they owe their sound to Roger McGuinn.
I would like this prize by INWOsuxRED	Oct 26th, 2007 11:11:41 AM
But I don't think you could pay me enough to try and make an AICN theme song.
Oh and Harry... by Kirbymanly	Oct 26th, 2007 11:54:51 AM
you're welcome for the correction
how to write an R.E.M song,, by johnnyjlawless	Oct 26th, 2007 12:55:12 PM
circa 1980-86 Get a 12 string Rick and a vox.Go from A minor to D/Dsus4(your pick)and arpeggiate. If you are worried about getting stale just lift off either your first or last finger of your fretting hand at any point during the chords. For the bridge, go E minor, then run up the bass E string to A or B (your choice)before hitting a few lightly distorted power chords for the chorus/end. Whatever you do, do not venture past the tenth fret of the guitar neck; 'that's not the R.E.M way.' As for the lyrics, fuck knows, esp if they have to refer to AICN.
If you were the last band on earth... by KarmicRelief	Oct 26th, 2007 12:58:48 PM
...you still wouldn't cite R.E.M. as an influence.
I'm stepping up with my old school cred. by malificus	Oct 26th, 2007 02:02:29 PM
By declaring I saw R.E.M. in a tiny club in Franfurt during their tour for Fables of the Reconstruction and if you thought they were great on Monster you have no idea what it was like in their prime. Jokers before the show crushed us good by telling us that Stipe and Mills were in the bar playing pool before the show. Still have the cool t-shirt. That being said they should have quit when Bill did. Seeing Stipe now wandering around in his Col. Sanders suit and scary-bald head hurts me in the spot this great band will always live. Please stop guys, you're like Curley Joe era 3 Stooges, Moe's all old and puffy and it's just painful watching Larry get slapped again.
Last good REM album was New Adventures in Hi Fi. by rbatty024	Oct 26th, 2007 03:20:21 PM
They've kind of lost the plot, but I can't complain too much they did give me thirteen years of great music. In other words, I agree malificus, they should have quit when Bill Berry did. I remember watching "I Love the 80's" and the lameass from Anthrax said, in his "metal" way, that REM are nerd rock and they'll always be nerd rock. That may be true, but dude, you named your band fucking Anthrax! and you're growing a rat tail out of your chin! Pot calling the kettle black if you ask me.
akshully by millsfan	Oct 26th, 2007 04:12:27 PM
that's mills real email...heh. tell him what ya think!
he's a fag, isn't he by greekopa	Oct 26th, 2007 07:11:30 PM
looks like a fag, acts like a fag, gotta be a fag
I'd like to stomp on Stipes wind pipe by greekopa	Oct 26th, 2007 07:15:53 PM
hes so bad
Up, Monster, Document, Hi-fi, Murmur are my favourites by performingmonkey	Oct 26th, 2007 07:59:44 PM
OK, I think almost everything they've put out is great (Around The Sun unfortunately turned out to be one of their worst moments) but Up in particular is an amazing piece of work. Something quite different from them due to Bill Berry's departure. It contains Stipe's best vocals. Monster remains one of my favourite records of all time. I don't get how people can't love tracks like I Took Your Name, Circus Envy, King Of Comedy, I Don't Sleep I Dream etc. It got slated at the time because it wasn't another acoustic fest like Automatic For The People (which IS a great album but by no means their best - Everybody Hurts and Man On The Moon are overplayed and overrated, I much prefer other tracks on there like Sweetness Follows, Ignoreland, Monty Got A Raw Deal). And what can you say about the early days? Sublime.
And the next selection will be by Engelbert Humperdinck by rsswope	Oct 26th, 2007 10:08:51 PM
That's Craptastic!
"REM invented alternative rock" by themasterofnonsense	Oct 26th, 2007 11:34:14 PM
Are you fucking STUPID?! Have you ever heard of Devo, Husker Du, or ANY punk band from the 1970's? (punk was the first true "alternative" to mainstream rock n' roll) For fucks sake, I call myself the MASTER OF NONSENSE and even I make more sense than you!
"Stand" = Jumping the shark by Soops	Oct 27th, 2007 02:19:46 AM
I will never forgive them.
Show some respect fools by giger167	Oct 27th, 2007 07:52:11 AM
They wrote At My Most Beautiful, one of the greatest songs ever, if they never make another good record again no one can take that away from them. The song idea might be fun, I'm thinking a chorus line along the line of "everybody's fat' (copywright me bitches) sung in almost falsetto register. Perhaps I will dust off the strat and have a go. Or not.
MasterofNonsense by I am_NOTREAL	Oct 27th, 2007 08:37:05 AM
That depends on what you want to call alternative rock. I suppose you call it punk or New Wave, judging by your post and the examples you cite. I don't. Now shut the fuck up.
Furthermore, MasterofStupidTalkbackPosts by I am_NOTREAL	Oct 27th, 2007 08:43:24 AM
Alt rock is also commonly known as college radio, which started in the early 80s, at least in the opinion of nearly every rock critic with a couple of firing synapses. It does not equate to punk, which was an entirely different and earlier movement. But if you want to slap your own labels on everything and then get all pissy, I guess that's your right. Now resume drooling.
I love to watch people bitch about REM... by rbatty024	Oct 27th, 2007 08:45:17 AM
a band who has created one of the few purely unique sounds in rock music in the past twenty years, when they themselves have done jack shit with their lives. REM rules, eat it bitches!
Any way you slice it, early REM rules by Librerarian	Oct 27th, 2007 01:20:16 PM
Murmur is on a very short list of albums that I could not live without. Fables of the Reconstruction is possibly my favorite album of all time. Reckoning and Lifes Rich Pageant are great too... those four albums alone cement REM as one of the best bands ever. Their recent output has been less awe-inspiring, and I think they need to get out of pop and move back to their rustic, strange, ambiguous roots.
ZOMBIE NEWS. by dr.bulber	Oct 27th, 2007 02:09:54 PM
try to run with it.
Anyway you slice it, REM is atrocious by TheViper1979	Oct 27th, 2007 02:13:29 PM
bubble gum garbage
Any way you slice it, Viper needs to switch to Doublemint by Librerarian	Oct 27th, 2007 02:18:33 PM
Those albums must be hard on the teeth. Heh.
AWESOME! by DoctorWho?	Oct 27th, 2007 04:20:03 PM
I need some new coasters for my coffee table.
Screw REM... by Jaka	Oct 27th, 2007 08:25:36 PM
...and screw this sellout contest! Good lord. How much did they pay you for this? Because we all know how much you've all professed your love of REM over the last 10 years. I swear these guys are the luckiest MF's on the planet. Because they've never been more than average, at BEST!
HAHHAHAHHAHAHA!!!! by Jaka	Oct 27th, 2007 08:27:49 PM
The only thing REM invented was .... oh, wait, I'm sorry. That would be NOTHING!!!! Lucky, lucky, lucky. Mumblin' ass singer, weak musicianship, other than bass player guy. Fugly. Bad dressers. Shiny happy people? Bleh! This is, just, ugh. Clearly the biggest AICN sell out ever.
JUST TELL ME HE'S OKAY !!!!!!! by The Atomic Worm	Oct 27th, 2007 09:56:23 PM
"Umm, he's nightswimming."
DAVID DOBKIN TO DIRECT FLASH MOVIE by aicndoesntwantmorecowbell	Oct 28th, 2007 07:25:38 AM
of the justice league.FUCK THIS GUY IS DIRECTING FRED CLAUS WHY WOULD THEY GIVE HIM FLASH WB YOU FUCKIN UP http://www.superherohype.com/ n ews/topnews.php?id=6456
oops typo by aicndoesntwantmorecowbell	Oct 28th, 2007 07:28:07 AM
what i meant was david dobkin to direct a falsh movie, will be a spinoff of the justice leauge movie and take out the spaces in the link http://www.superherohype.com/ news/topnews.php?id=6456
I saw REM live in Concert in Lansdowne in by emeraldboy	Oct 28th, 2007 11:05:57 AM
in 1999. IN my concert going years, which includes Crowded House, Peter Gabriel, james brown and the red hot chilli peppers and more. If I was to pick two of the best bands ever I have to say REM come out on top with Crowded a very close 2nd. I worked near enough to where REM played that summer and during the morning they were doing the sound check and I knew they were going to be awesome. and they were.
REM is extremely overrated by shagdrum	Oct 28th, 2007 03:42:05 PM
Plenty of other band out there with much better writing chops and performing chops; Dream Theater and Spock's Beard just to name a few
REM is overrated part two by shagdrum	Oct 28th, 2007 03:44:45 PM
... REM is like a talentless U2, or Dave Mathews, 10-15 years ago. Was very popular with the college crowd at one time
Ugh, did you just say Dream Theater is better than... by rbatty024	Oct 28th, 2007 04:04:17 PM
REM? Dream Theater is a band I'll put on with some friends to laugh at. They're the Ed Wood of musicians. Incredibly cheesy and enjoyable despite themselves, not because of their talents. Just because REM was popular with the college crowd at one time does not mean they're anything like Dave Matthews. Try listening to an album before you judge. By the way, "Nightswimming" is one of the greatest songs ever written.
The musical ignorance in here is astounding. by Mr. Anderson	Oct 28th, 2007 07:59:23 PM
R.E.M. invented nothing? Atrocious bubble gum garbage? CREATED FUCKING EMO???? Jesus Christ, do yourselves a favor and go listen to all their albums from 1983 to 1992. Educate yourselves, fools.
REM was just a flash in the pan the some can't let go... by shagdrum	Oct 28th, 2007 08:56:16 PM
rbatty, you actually say they are in anyway superior to Dream Theater? Ask any musician and he will tell you otherwise. The keyboardist alone has absolute pitch, and was admitted to Julliard at age 9. Most of the other members had scholarships to the Berklee college of music, and have been recognized in their respective intrumental circles as some of the very top players alive! Your comparison is like saying Pink is more groundbreaking then Miles Davis
Take away REM's lyrics and you have nothing... by shagdrum	Oct 28th, 2007 09:00:31 PM
Like I said, untalented version of U2 or Dave Matthews band. All sell to the same college market (or started out doin so), but U2 actually makes good music and Dave Matthews has outstanding musicianship, all REM has is lyrics people like, nothing outstanding musically.
I am_NOTREAL by themasterofnonsense	Oct 28th, 2007 10:39:28 PM
so what your saying is college radio did not exist before the early 80's? the first time i heard the ramones was on, you guessed it, a college radio station in 1978, which by your definition makes them an alternative rock band. and since the ramones predate shitty REM by fucking YEARS then REM cannot possibly be one of the first alternative bands. You know shit about music. stick to sucking off school children, its what you do best.
WTF...masterofnonsense you have confused me... by shagdrum	Oct 29th, 2007 12:16:36 AM
was that a response? a comeback? You "try" to counter a point that was that I can't find being made in this talkback, then make a personal attack? Not a very logical argument, unless you are a five year old calling someone a "doo-doo head", or some such nonesense.
Shagdrum, there is a difference between... by rbatty024	Oct 29th, 2007 06:06:21 AM
great musicianship and great songwriting. Granted, Dream Theater are great musicians. You could play guitar your entire life and never be as good as them. However, they are terrible songwriters. Everything is so over-the-top cheesy I just can't help but laugh at their music, not with. My comparison to Ed Wood was off point. They're more like Michael Bay. Michael Bay's films actually take a lot of technical work. He uses a ton of cameras for each scene and uses a lot of complex special effects, but his storytelling is atrocious. Technically, the guy has talent, but as a storyteller he's shit. Likewise Dream Theater are great musicians but terrible songwriters. Just my opinion. REM rules! (at least through New Adventures, anyway).
Have i told you lately that R.E.M. Suck? by Wired Earp	Oct 29th, 2007 07:35:14 AM
I just couldnt pass this opportunity and say this is the most uncoll news ever. R.e.m. are vimps. they have always sucked. They are to be recommended for a huge variety of ways to suck. I work in a record store and anyone over the age of 8 is told to leave when they request that shit. "But its so deep..." yeah, but in what? If a friend offered me a free concert ticket he would cease to be friend. I dunno what i hate the most. The deformed skull or that stupid little hat. Cant choose really, there are many moore reasons that hate those fucks.
Please forgive the bad spelling. by Wired Earp	Oct 29th, 2007 07:37:00 AM
I suck at a keybord when i´m angry.
No body here likes by emeraldboy	Oct 29th, 2007 12:19:05 PM
anything. This post proves as much.
I'm not musically inclined or ... by Uga	Oct 29th, 2007 09:18:50 PM
... hell, I don't even know how to make an mp3. However, I do know that my best friend is the biggest R.E.M. fan in the world (we both went to UGA in Athens, GA - R.E.M.'s home). If you don't get enough entries - and from the sound of it, mostly haters here - you could give me the opportunity to give the best Christmas present of the year.
Dream Theater by Abominable Snowcone	Oct 30th, 2007 11:34:31 AM
are almost certainly better musicians than REM. Petrucci is a great guitar player--I've seen and heard him on recent G3 shows. But even though I'm a prog fan, I never did enjoy DT. Whereas many of the great prog bands like Yes can inject heart and emotion into the complex musical strains, no DT I've ever sampled showed evidence of that. It's just clinical music, technically proficient, but leaves me cold. I'm not a big REM fan, either, but I give them high props and would listen to an album of their shit over DT any day. The only real solution is to have the members of DT and REM engage in cage-match stompkata. You know it to be true.
Earp, you suck on a keyboard? by johnnyjlawless	Oct 30th, 2007 02:03:19 PM
Try a cock. R.E.M ruled, that is all.
I like REM. I liked Stand. by Bumpasses Dawg	Oct 30th, 2007 04:44:54 PM
The band just seemed to lose it's inspiration about the time Michael Stipe lost his hair. Stipe and Sting both went the ponderous and pretentious route, and stopped having fun with music. About the same time Bono strapped on those big stupid sunglasses.
Comparing Dream Theater with REM... by jbm009	Oct 30th, 2007 10:50:14 PM
...is possibly the stupidest things I've ever heard, lol. That's like comparing Metallica to Matchbox 20. Or Star Wars to Gone with the Wind, lol. Two totally different genres of music. And for those who say DT has no depth and is cold; listen to songs like 'The Spirit Carries On', 'Hollow Years', 'Surrounded', etc. Plenty of heart and soul in Dream Theater music, you just have to know where to look for it. Now listen to 'In the Presence of Enemies' and freaking 'Shinny Happy People' and tell me you can put these two bands in the same world, lol.
I didn't compare them by Abominable Snowcone	Oct 31st, 2007 02:07:33 PM
Someone else did, and I just went with it. I like REM, but I agree "Shiney Happy People" is a pretty gay tune. When I hear the words "Shiney Happy People," I think about retarded people, which is probably an insult to retarded people, and possibly not what Michael Stipe had in mind.
This is yet another obligatory whining post by Boromir	Nov 1st, 2007 12:23:04 AM
...written by a douchebag who hates the post topic beyond all rationality or comprehension--all the while completely ignoring the fact that universally entertaining works of art don't exist. It is being written in lieu of another round of trolling Usenet to relieve a deep and abiding case of self-hatred and ass-itching boredom. I hate the topic of this story, and I refuse to allow that anyone else might hold an opinion that differs from my own. Furthermore, realizing that the topic of this story was one that I hate (indeed, hate beyond all rationality or comprehension, as I have stated), and knowing that I would find herein losers who profess NOT to hate said story topic, I could not help but take the time to chime in with my contrarian point of view and a heartyh helping of insults for those who refuse to yield to my superior worldview. Actually though, I don't know much about the topic of this story except that I hate it. Hell, I might have chosen it randomly, as I have a complete list of negative post Mad Libs stored on my drive in the same folder as the troll posts I keep to remind myself of the good times in case Dad ever cuts my Internet service off. I sure hope that this is enough to produce an angry response. Now excuse me while I down the two liter of Mountain Dew Game Fuel and hit Refresh over and over until someone replies.
Mr. Anderson by Jaka	Nov 1st, 2007 09:09:27 AM
I did listen then, and I talked endless shit to all the people that kept trying to tell me how good they were. As has been mentioned, Buck and Mills (although I still say Mills, mostly - Buck is a barely passable strummer) wrote some nice melodies, drummer went boom bap boom bap and Stipe mumbled some incomrehensible lyrics and nothing. Then, when you could start to understand the lyrics it was like, "gah! go back to mumbling!!" They just suck. But more to the point, it's a blatent paid promotion that has very little (near nothing) to do with AICN's regular readership. Warna Brother must have paid nicely.
Heart and soul v. technicality?! by shagdrum	Nov 2nd, 2007 12:13:59 AM
You can't really compare the two. Subjective v. Objective. "heart and soul" is next to impossible to define (in any concrete/vivid terms) let alone assign neutral standards to judge by. Technicality is quite the opposite, and really one of the few standards you can objectively use to compare bands. So the argument comes down to "REM is mediocre from a technical stand point, but I like them, so they are one of the best bands of all time"; pretty absurd. I can understand "I like them" or "they are one of my favorite bands", but to claim they are one of the "best of all time" or "one of the best", or even "classic" is patently absurd!! They are at best mediocre. AS to DT and REM being different styles, they are both subgenres of rock (it's not like comparing a jazz band to a symphonic orchestra), in fact prog rock does touch on about every other style of rock. When you are talking about some of the aburdly grandious claims people are making about REM here, style is somewhat transended. If asked who is the greatest rock band of all time, the Beatles as well as Led Zep will surely be mentioned and are on totally different ends of the rock sepectrum

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