Everyday is yours to win - R.E.M
First review: "It took R.E.M. fifteen albums and three decades but they've finally done it - they've released an album which brings nothing new to the band's sound. R.E.M. are a band who have always looked forward and each album has had something new to bring to the band's repertoire. Even Reckoning, which is somewhat of a Murmur Lite, revealed small glimpses of the band doing things Murmur hadn't revealed. Collapse Into Now on the other hand doesn't add anything unheard to the band's discography. It does it knowingly: as an album it's somewhat of a R.E.M. microcosmos, gathering together glimpses of what the band has pulled through during the decades. You have the acoustic moments, the rifftastic rockers, the introspective and the electronic, and even traces of a little bit of jangle here and there. The keyfocus is still keeping things a bit rocky, a bit loud: Accelerate producer Jacknife Lee returns with his hate-it-or-not-be-bothered-by-it crisp modern rock production and the songs at least sound like their cores have been recorded together as a band rather than assembled like puzzles, and some of the influence of Accelerate lingers constantly in the background. Only now, it's got some friends.
Stylistically diverse albums are always slightly risky. You can go into two ways with them: the album either takes power from being so diverse and turns the slightly schizophrenic sound into a weird sound of its own, or it sounds a bit disjointed and lacking in cohesive nature. I've always been heavily into cohesivity - for many it's not a point they even think about in music, but I've come to genuinely appreciate albums which sound like a full body of work rather than a scattering of individual things. It makes them stronger. Collapse Into Now falls to the latter category. It never really sounds like the unified body of work that you usually expect from R.E.M. albums. I've been steadily playing it quite a lot ever since its release and the feeling persists. The glue that binds together the songs is missing and there's a surprisingly noticeable feeling of something lacking due to that.
But like said, I've been steadily playing Collapse Into Now quite a lot. The feeling of it sounding like an album where not much thought was placed into the overall build persists. I have however also come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter in the slightest. Why?
Because of the stadium rock crowd-raiser finale of "Discoverer" and the sheer rock n roll joy it eminates.
Because of the spellbinding chorus and flow of "Überlin".
Because of the ever-growing horde of vocal harmonies singing in joyous unison in "It Happened Today".
Because of the chorus in "Mine Smell Like Honey" that offers nothing new to the world of music but sounds rejuvenated, energised and like it's on the top of the world.
Because of the simple, understated yet downright classically beautiful tenderness of "Walk It Back".
Because of the shouting competition between Stipe and Peaches on "Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter".
Because of the way the strings swell and flow on "Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I"
Because of the sudden reprise of "Discoverer" that raises like a phoenix from the static ashes of the end of "Blue".
All moments that make my hair on my back raise every time from sheer awe. The sort of feeling you get when you encounter a brilliant piece of music for the first time and get all excited about discovering it, except the feeling persists and comes back each time I hear those moments. There is only a couple of genuinely brilliant songs on Collapse Into Now ("Überlin", "It Happened Today", "Discoverer"), but even some of the 'lesser' songs have a moment within them that strikes with a magic touch, like listening to something with genuine classic value.
I don't think Collapse Into Now will ever climb its way up near my favourites in the R.E.M. discography. It doesn't really sound particularly engaged with itself, which sounds nastier than it is, and what's arguably worse is that Stipe's once brilliant lyrical pen is somehow capable of only vague inanities these days. It sounds like a good, solid late-period addition to the discography: the sort of thing people often expect artists three decades into the game to put out to please the fans, happy in its own world and good by all accounts but not a major gamechanger in general standards anymore. But what makes it a bit more special is that every now and then, or fairly frequently actually, you can hear a moment that sounds downright fantastic and which captures that same magic that have made the band come this far in the first place. Not a classic by any means, but a bloody good album that overcomes its (small) flaws with ease."
Seconde review: "At last! R.E.M. have come up with an album to compare with their 'greats' of the past. Brand loyalty can come at a price, and R.E.M. have tested my patience with a series of disappointing albums, 'Accelerate' promised much but in reality just offered 4 or 5 good tracks and some really poor tracks also.
'Collapse Into Now' in many ways offers a similar style to 'Accelerate' but 12 of the 12 tracks hit the mark. I am not ready (yet!) to heap too much praise, but this could prove to be a truly great R.E.M. album. I guess my low expectations, might lead me to over state the quality of this album, but I need to go back to albums such as 'Up' and 'Reveal' to hear equivalent quality (and I hold both of these albums in very high esteem).
What is particularly impressive about 'Collapse Into Now' is the combination between the gentle and the more rocky tracks. This album flows beautifully and will probably satisfy all R.E.M. fans who have stuck with them over the disappointments of recent years.
So if you are hesitating in respect to this latest album, get out there now and buy your copy!
PS: This was indeed the final R.E.M. album, at least they went out on a positive note!!
Key Track: Uberlin"
'Collapse Into Now' in many ways offers a similar style to 'Accelerate' but 12 of the 12 tracks hit the mark. I am not ready (yet!) to heap too much praise, but this could prove to be a truly great R.E.M. album. I guess my low expectations, might lead me to over state the quality of this album, but I need to go back to albums such as 'Up' and 'Reveal' to hear equivalent quality (and I hold both of these albums in very high esteem).
What is particularly impressive about 'Collapse Into Now' is the combination between the gentle and the more rocky tracks. This album flows beautifully and will probably satisfy all R.E.M. fans who have stuck with them over the disappointments of recent years.
So if you are hesitating in respect to this latest album, get out there now and buy your copy!
PS: This was indeed the final R.E.M. album, at least they went out on a positive note!!
Key Track: Uberlin"
Source: http://rateyourmusic.com/
Biography of the band: R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention because of Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's unclear vocals. R.E.M. released its first single, "Radio Free Europe", in 1981 on theindependent record label Hib-Tone. The single was followed by the Chronic Town EP in 1982, the band's first release on I.R.S. Records. In 1983, the group released its critically acclaimed debut album, Murmur, and built its reputation over the next few years through subsequent releases, constant touring, and the support of college radio. Following years of underground success, R.E.M. achieved a mainstream hit in 1987 with the single "The One I Love". The group signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1988, and began to espouse political and environmental concerns while playing large arenas worldwide.
By the early 1990s, when alternative rock began to experience broad mainstream success, R.E.M. was viewed by subsequent acts such as Nirvanaand Pavement as a pioneer of the genre and released its two most commercially successful albums, catapulting it to international fame, Out of Time (1991) andAutomatic for the People (1992), which veered from the band's established sound. R.E.M.'s 1994 release, Monster, was a return to a more rock-oriented sound, but still continued its run of success. The band began its first tour in six years to support the album; the tour was marred by medical emergencies suffered by three band members. In 1996, R.E.M. re-signed with Warner Bros. for a reported US$80 million, at the time the most expensive recording contract in history. Its 1996 release, New Adventures in Hi-Fi, though critically acclaimed, fared worse commercially than expected. The following year, Bill Berry left the band, while Buck, Mills, and Stipe continued the group as a trio. Through some changes in musical style, the band continued its career into the next decade with mixed critical and commercial success, despite having sold more than 85 million records worldwide and becoming one of the world's best-selling bands of all time.[4] In 2007, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. R.E.M. disbanded amicably in September 2011, announcing the split on its website.
Source: em.wikipedia.org
I personally didn't like the song or the video at all. I am curious though to find out the meaning of this "home-made" video which probably has a secret meaning. As for the song, it is not at all the kind of music i like, and the slow and repetitive rythm iritates me a little. I don't feel any groove at all in this song and i find it boring, but again, this is a personal opinion.
The video is related to the notion of myths and heroes because the song talks talks about how heroes are made. Also, it is related to spaces and exchanges and maybe places to because we see different type of exotic animals that could be living in the 4 corners of the earth and also people from different ages and nationalities. Last, we can relate it to the notion of progress because it captures moments of an everyday life with a camera, thanks to progress, because before the end of the 20th century, you couldn't do that.
The video is related to the notion of myths and heroes because the song talks talks about how heroes are made. Also, it is related to spaces and exchanges and maybe places to because we see different type of exotic animals that could be living in the 4 corners of the earth and also people from different ages and nationalities. Last, we can relate it to the notion of progress because it captures moments of an everyday life with a camera, thanks to progress, because before the end of the 20th century, you couldn't do that.
Google doc: http://pinkisthenewblack0.blogspot.com.es/
