Document - R.E.M. (CD 1998)

Athens quartet REM, long the darlings of early-80's yuppies-in-training, all but gave their half-beatnik fanbase rampant coronaries by releasing 1987's Document. The pensive, mush-mouthed, indie-based pop that characterized earlier albums had been traded in for bona fide rock n' roll. The indie crowd collectively gasped. Document, no matter what some diehard REM-heads will tell you, is a great snapshot of a band transitioning. There was a tangible shift from Byrds-y jangle-pop to something slightly more accessible--- not that the sax break in the middle of "Fireplace" is exactly the stuff of..

Automatic for the People was the first R.E.M. collection I heard and I loved it. I started buying some of their other stuff, hoping it would be just as good. I kind of had to laugh that they were being classified as "alternative rock," which to me just meant that their style was older rather than newer. So far, I haven't been disappointed. Because it took so long for me to get back into buying music, I was surprised that Document actually came before Automatic for the People, rather than after. I have heard, and still hear, "The One I Love," on the radio, whereas I rarely hear "Drive." This...

5} Document #5 - REM (IRS 1987) REM are a band who are as old as the hills - they seem to have been going since time immemorial. Since their post-punk origins at the very beginning of the 80s, the band have gone through several incarnations, but their finest work remains this 1987 breakthrough album. The 80s were an odd time for music as most of the commercial groups were either stadium-sized rockers or endless processed pop music. However, in the underground there were many rumblings which would influence music for years to come, and of these REM were by far the biggest rumble. REM had...

There. Now you know another line, so the next time you hear "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)", you can impress your friends by knowing five more words than they do. R.E.M. began to build a mainstream following with the release of Document, thanks to its two biggest singles, the aforementioned "End Of The World", with its shopping-list lyrics and catchy hook, and the dark and somewhat disturbing "The One I Love". Suddenly, you didn't have to follow "college music" to know who they were. Their next record would be released on a major label and the next after that would.