Turning away from the sweet pop of Out of Time, R.E.M. created a haunting, melancholy masterpiece with Automatic for the People. At its core, the album is a collection of folk songs about aging, death, and loss, but the music has a grand, epic sweep provided by layers of lush strings, interweaving acoustic instruments, and shimmering keyboards. Automatic for the People captures the group at a crossroads, as they moved from cult heroes to elder statesmen, and the album is a graceful transition into their new status. It is a reflective album, with frank discussions on mortality, but it is not a despairing record -- "Nightswimming," "Everybody Hurts," and "Sweetness Follows" have a comforting melancholy, while "Find the River" provides a positive sense of closure. R.E.M. have never been as emotionally direct as they are on Automatic for the People, nor have they ever created music quite as rich and timeless, and while the record is not an easy listen, it is the most rewarding record in their oeuvre.
REM's "Automatic For the People" was in heavy rotation my sophomore year of college, so I was really excited to download Stereogum's "Drive XV: A Tribute to Automatic For The People". Chock full of covers, some faithful to the original tracks, and some lovingly reconceived, the whole album simply makes me smile.
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And I'm not dreaming.Let's start from the beginning. Last Thursday, I headed to an opening of Ryan McGinley's photography in Soho, innocently with my good friend Spyro. Some background: Ryan McGinley is an ingenue- his photos both gritty and ethereal. This show- was dosed in blissed out sunshine- of celestial beings- afloat in liquid, suspended in air- battling with gravity- lost in fields. He ...
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When I reached out a few weeks back for some suggestions in books that I may want to read, the MOG universe did not let me down! Wow, what a well read group you guys are...I have reading materials for years now...thanks again for all of the wonderful suggestions.So i thought each month I would do a VERY BRIEF book review and pick a song or video to accompany it. I don't feel comfortable writing...
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I have a friend back in Columbus that says 'Find The River' is her anchor song. Whenever she is feeling out of sorts,overworked, or overwhelmed she pauses, takes a deep breath, and plays the song. Instant calming effect.I just listened to the entire 'Automatic For The People' album and I am a little sad to say that I had forgotten how great it is. The whole record has so much heart...maybe my ...
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Stereogum's tribute album for REM's near decade and a half year old ??Automatic For The People??(Warner Bros.) was made available for free download today."CLICK HERE FOR THE SITE":CHEach track from Automatic... is covered by a different band. The site offers info on each of the participating bands their reasons for covering a particular R.E.M. song. Additionally there are comments by R.E.M.'s Mike
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It is officially Christmas....at least here in the Eastern US...hope everyone has a wonderful holiday....g'night
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Looking back it's no wonder to me that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is my favorite book. Like On The Road, Mark Twain's classic is a story about the exploration of yr personal dreams. A journey through the beautiful wonder that is the Mississippi River.I guess this is why I've always lived or was drawn toward places near water. They say that the best music and art is created near large bo...
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one of the first albums i ever bought was R.E.M's Automatic for the people (specifically i think it was the fourth or fifth). honestly i dont know why. i mean i love r.e.m. but i dont think i was particularly jones'n for some mike mills at the time. i remember the day i picked it up. i walked into this small record store (the only one in my town at the time) called "sounds great" its run by thi...
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"When your day is long and the nightThe night is yours aloneand I don't know what you mean to mebut I want to turn you on, turn you up, figure you out, I want to take you onDon't let yourself go, 'cause everybody criesand everybody hurts, sometimes ...they say fool might be my middle nameBut I'd be foolish not to sayIf you think you've had too much of this lifeWell hang onThese words, 'You will...
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I'm feeling extra frisky tonight, so here's another track from the Stereogum presents Drive XV: A Tribute To Automatic For The People compilation.Seriously, go and download this now.And just to make this post better, here's a R.E.M. video that I saw too much when I spent my summer watching MTV:
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This might be old news to the hip, happening crowd on Mog, but I can't stop listening to this CD. It's on the same lines of their OK Computer compilation - get a bunch of cool indie kids to cover great albums. Stereogum's new one is called Drive XV: A Tribute to Automatic For the People.Normally I'm not a fan of cover albums, but this one is fantastic. Here's my favorite track:
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REM's "Automatic For the People" was in heavy rotation my sophomore year of college, so I was really excited to download Stereogum's "Drive XV: A Tribute to Automatic For The People". Chock full of covers, some faithful to the original tracks, and some lovingly reconceived, the whole album simply makes me smile.
More >
R.E.M.s songs are always good in recalling my thoughts and feelings, of memories of my college days in California and of my young fatherhood, which ties into this song and others like "losing my religion", love the power of their craft!
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Drive |
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| 2 Try Not to Breathe |
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| 3 The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite |
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| 4 Everybody Hurts |
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| 5 New Orleans Instrumental No. 1 [Instrumental] |
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| 6 Sweetness Follows |
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| 7 Monty Got a Raw Deal |
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| 8 Ignoreland |
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| 9 Star Me Kitten |
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| 10 Man on the Moon |
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| 11 Nightswimming |
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| 12 Find the River |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Automatic for the People")
