Monster is indeed R.E.M.'s long-promised "ock" album; it just doesn't rock in the way one might expect. Instead of R.E.M.'s trademark anthemic bashers, Monster offers a set of murky sludge, powered by the heavily distorted and delayed guitar of Peter Buck. Michael Stipe's vocals have been pushed to the back of the mix, along with Bill Berry's drums, which accentuates the muscular pulse of Buck's chords. From the androgynous sleaze of "Crush With Eyeliner" to the subtle, Eastern-tinged menace of "You," most of the album sounds dense, dirty, and grimy, which makes the punchy guitars of "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" and the warped soul of "Tongue" all the more distinctive. Monster doesn't have the conceptual unity or consistently brilliant songwriting of Automatic for the People, but it does offer a wide range of sonic textures that have never been heard on an R.E.M. album before.
There's probably not a single R.E.M. fan in the world that would claim Monsteras their best or favorite record from the band. It may in fact be the worst record the band ever produced, but as awful as it is it did happen to be the first record from the band that I actually bought. Sure, I had heard all the hits along with everyone else in the early 90's and my parents owned a couple of the band...
More >
Back in 1992, REM was often cited towards the top of Favourite Artist lists, and everyone and their gran had a copy of Automatic for the People. And then they went and followed it up with Monster. A brave decision, and one that, at the time, was branded as totally stupid.But have you listened to this album lately? Presuming of course that you're not one of the thousands of people that took it b...
More >
Tomorrow promises to be historic regardless of who wins the Presidential Election.For the first time in US history we may have a woman Vice President if the outcome favors John McCain and Sarah Palin. On the other hand, if the outcome favors Barack Obama and Joe Biden we will have our first sitting black President.Whomever is elected you can be sure that the fundamental societal changes that ar...
More >
Attention all R.E.M. fans, if you ever wanted to know the secret meaning behind some of yr favorite Michael Stipe penned songs head over to Pop Songs 07-08 and read some of the responses. Yes, you can e-mail Stipe, in care of Pop Songs, and he'll reply on the Pop Songs website.One of the surprises that I discovered was the meaning behind "Tongue" from Monster. I always thought it was, as Stipe...
More >
i am somewhat of a completist in terms of my music consumption. 99.9% of the music i own, digitally or otherwise, are complete packages, albums, etc. however, i will not go out and purchase or download albums that suck by artists that i like. my solution to this is to enter a state of denial about those shitty records. i have a unique ability to pretend that careers ended after certain albu...
More >
Back in 1992, REM was often cited towards the top of Favourite Artist lists, and everyone and their gran had a copy of Automatic for the People. And then they went and followed it up with Monster. A brave decision, and one that, at the time, was branded as totally stupid.But have you listened to this album lately? Presuming of course that you're not one of the thousands of people that took it b...
More >
A treat for REM fans who aren't members of the fan club. Every year, for $10, you can join REM's fan club. I'm a bit embarassed to admit that I joined in 1985. Every year around the holidays they send a gift - usually a calendar with some pictures, a sticker or two, a greeting card they've put together, and something musical - either a 45 or a CD or (as this year) a DVD.The performance here ...
More >
There's probably not a single R.E.M. fan in the world that would claim Monsteras their best or favorite record from the band. It may in fact be the worst record the band ever produced, but as awful as it is it did happen to be the first record from the band that I actually bought. Sure, I had heard all the hits along with everyone else in the early 90's and my parents owned a couple of the band...
More >
| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
|---|---|---|
| 1 What's the Frequency, Kenneth? |
|
|
| 2 Crush with Eyeliner |
|
|
| 3 King of Comedy |
|
|
| 4 I Don't Sleep, I Dream |
|
|
| 5 Star 69 |
|
|
| 6 Strange Currencies |
|
|
| 7 Tongue |
|
|
| 8 Bang and Blame |
|
|
| 9 I Took Your Name |
|
|
| 10 Let Me In |
|
|
| 11 Circus Envy |
|
|
| 12 You |
|
|
Click to purchase…
© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved
 "Monster")
