[music] R.E.M. - Around The Sun (Warner)

[dot_fennel]

First listen: At least it sounds more like Automatic For The People than like Reveal. It sounds like the few songs on AFTP that I never paid much ATTENTION to, but that's okay. However, I'm writing this the morning after listening to the record and I remember nothing except that there were some faster songs in the middle. Or maybe not faster, but louder. My expectations for this album are so, SO low that it will be hard to disappoint me. I did predict in print that it would sound like "Bad Day" and it doesn't-- wishful thinking? Second listen: Okay, I think I see what happened. I heard the album was 'angry', then misinterpreted that. It does sound like Stipe is mad, but the band is deep into VH1 territory and the vocals don't really stray. In an interview, Stipe talked about how everybody needs fluffy pop music, and (if I remember correctly) gave "Aftermath" as an example of how radio pop had influenced him. It's my favorite song here, so far, but it's not intense enough to be fluffy pop music. Taken individually, these songs' middling tempos are each reasonable, unlike with some of the plodders on Reveal. But they still aren't writing in a mode where that tempo feels *natural*, and so over the course of the whole album, it's like, dude, wake me up when something happens. Next time I'm actually going to pay attention to the words. That may be what seals my opinion. Third listen: Tried to pay attention to the words and kept tuning out involuntarily. Sorry. I think this one needs more salt. It has the tone I'd been missing in recent REM, but that was enough to make me believe it could be good, not enough to make me like it.

Comments

[bluepapercup]

Damn, damn, damn.

Just what I didn't want to hear.

Thanks for suffering through for the rest of us. It is a noble cause indeed.