it's that time again...R.E.M. - New Adventures in Hi-Fi Appreciation Thread

mpp · 01-17-2004, 09:35 AM

wow, is there a bad song on this album?

i've heard people make arguments for "low desert" and "zither" but i don't see it

in fact, "low desert" is one of my favorites on the album

Irrelevant · 01-17-2004, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mpp
wow, is there a bad song on this album?

well, not bad necessarily, but are there that many good ones?

i'll have to go download it as a refresher. i have the cd somewhere but i haven't listened to it forever and don't know where it is.

pale blue eyes · 01-17-2004, 10:34 AM

Love it. I have just started to really listen to it again and it's probably one of if not my favorite R.E.M. album. Low Desert is really good but New Test Leper is probably my favorite. How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us is great too, and E-Bow still gives me chills. I heard a live version of them doing that with Thom Yorke and I haven't been able to stop listening to the album since.

Irrelevant · 01-17-2004, 02:38 PM

here we go:

How the West Was Won and Where it Got Us - mediocre, but like lots of latter day REM, kind of embarassing to listen to. the chorus sucks.
The Wake-Up Bomb - one of the better cuts on the album. again that kind-of-embarassing quality that permeates this album. while repetitive, at least it doesn't have a shitty part anywhere.
New Test Leper - this song is pretty sucky and uninteresting, but is saved by a good chorus.
Undertow - a decent song. not too bad, not too great.
E-Bow the Letter - eh. this song is meh. has some good musical sections but the verses are fucking lame and boring.
Leave - the intro is pretty unnecessary. but still, one of the best R.E.M. songs after Out of Time. it just manages to actually be interesting. kind of U2-y though, unfortunately.
Departure - uh, annoying ass vocals and pointless guitar riff and song structure. this song sucks, dude. i'd take any song on Monster over this shit.
Bittersweet Me - i always liked this song and didn't like it at the same time. it has that embarassing quality again. i mean seriously "i couldn't taste it, i'm tired and naked"? great lyrics there. if you haven't heard a million other rock songs.
Be Mine - a pretty good song. one of the better ones on the album i guess.
Binky the Doormat - decent verse, boring chorus. haven't they made enough songs that sound like this already?
Zither - pretty pointless, but at least it doesn't have Michael Stipe on it. that's the problem with a lot of these songs. Michael Stipe is lost just doesn't fit with their style. nuh.
So Fast, So Numb - another snoozefest. god R.E.M. got boring.
Low Desert - boring. boring. boring. and what the fuck is with the funky bass? this song is pretty bad dude.
Electrolite - more suck. the last 5 songs make me be like, fuck this album. nuh. Monster is better than this shit.

2Marlon2Brando · 01-17-2004, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Irrelevant
blah blah blah

man, it must suck to be you.

pale blue eyes · 01-17-2004, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Irrelevant
Monster is better than this shit.

Ghetto_Squirrel · 01-17-2004, 04:15 PM

I really liked E-Bow the Letter, but I didn't really find the rest of the album very interesting. I ended up giving it to a friend a few years ago.

Irrelevant · 01-17-2004, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by 2Marlon2Brando

man, it must suck to be you.

no, it's pretty cool to not like mediocre rock music.

Irrelevant · 01-17-2004, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Phreak

oh fuck yeah. Monster is slightly underrated and New Adventures is overrated. there's not a song on New Adventures as good as Tongue or What's the Frequency Kenneth or Star 69 or Crush with Eyeliner, the only songs that are really close are Leave and Be Mine.

mirrar · 01-17-2004, 05:12 PM

i adore this album-ebow the letter, bittersweet me, be mine, so fast so numb and electrolite are all wonderful.

pale blue eyes · 01-17-2004, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Irrelevant

oh fuck yeah. Monster is slightly underrated and New Adventures is overrated. there's not a song on New Adventures as good as Tongue or What's the Frequency Kenneth or Star 69 or Crush with Eyeliner, the only songs that are really close are Leave and Be Mine.

I will agree that Monster is slightly underrated. It's definitely not total crap but I still don't care for it that much. It almost sounds like a b-sides album to me, some good songs but the album doesn't sound like it fits together too well. Anyway, that is a big reason I like New Adventures - it just seems like all the songs fit together nicely. I'm not saying it's perfect, yes, it does have some songs that are weak lyrically but I can honestly say the more I listen to it the more I appreciate it.

GrungeGuy · 01-18-2004, 02:46 AM

There isn't much about this album I don't like.

sawdust restaurants · 01-18-2004, 03:05 AM

Oh Lord, RP. "Tongue"? And you say the stuff on New Adventures is embarrassing? He sings "Ugly girls know their fate/Anybody can get laid/I want a room with a fire escape/I want to tell you how much I need this" in a fuckin' falsetto, for God's sakes.

New Adventures is fantastic. Overlong by 3 songs, but otherwise completely solid. Their best Warner album, except for maybe AFTP.

Irrelevant · 01-18-2004, 03:29 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by sawdust restaurants
Oh Lord, RP. "Tongue"? And you say the stuff on New Adventures is embarrassing? He sings "Ugly girls know their fate/Anybody can get laid/I want a room with a fire escape/I want to tell you how much I need this" in a fuckin' falsetto, for God's sakes.

New Adventures is fantastic. Overlong by 3 songs, but otherwise completely solid. Their best Warner album, except for maybe AFTP.

New Adventures is trying too fuckin' hard. Monster isn't really, and Tongue is just goofin' pretty much. the shit on New Aventures is too Look How Deep I Am. Up is better than New Adventures slightly but it's got that embarassing quality of trying so hard also. Green and Out of Time are both better than all 3 of those though.

sawdust restaurants · 01-18-2004, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Irrelevant
New Adventures is trying too fuckin' hard. Monster isn't really, and Tongue is just goofin' pretty much. the shit on New Aventures is too Look How Deep I Am. Up is better than New Adventures slightly but it's got that embarassing quality of trying so hard also. Green and Out of Time are both better than all 3 of those though.

Green and OOT are both so inconsistent, though. And they both have their silliness, too; you can't tell me he's not trying to sound earnest on stuff like "Hairshirt" and "You Are the Everything," or you can't tell me he doesn't just sound fuckin' stupid on "Radio Song" and "Shiny Happy People." I guess what I'm saying is that every R.E.M. album has songs or idiosyncracies you could consider embarrassing, stretching all the way back to "We Walk," and you kind of have to take them with a grain of salt to really appreciate them (though I should point out that the only songs I've mentioned in this post that I like are "We Walk" and "You Are the Everything").

THRILLHO · 01-18-2004, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Irrelevant

the shit on New Aventures is too Look How Deep I Am.

uh... isn't almost all REM like that?

new adventures kinda seems like their pinnacle. it confidently displays every style they've done up until then and almost everything they've done since is totally reaching for new ideas and sucks.

zither is kinda stupid and it only seems to be there because it was recorded in a washroom or something and i remember when the record came out people and reviews were saying "there's even songs recorded in washrooms! isn't that insane?"

otherwise, yeah. a favorite.

eyesbomb · 01-18-2004, 06:36 PM

Irrelevant · 01-18-2004, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by THRILLHO
new adventures kinda seems like their pinnacle.

lol

mpp · 01-19-2004, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Irrelevant

New Adventures is trying too fuckin' hard.

New Adventures doesn't try at all.

It was recorded live (for the most part) for god's sake

it really must suck to be you

ravenguy2000 · 01-20-2004, 09:00 AM

Not one of my favorite REM records. And I'm one of the biggest fans here. I'd rather listen to

Out of Time
Up
AFTP
Murmur
Reckoning
and Document

before I got to New Adventures. Meh. I've never understood the appeal. But I do like Wake Up Bomb, Ebow the Letter, and Electrolite a whole whole lot.

NewFreshness · 01-20-2004, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mpp

New Adventures doesn't try at all.

It was recorded live (for the most part) for god's sake

it really must suck to be you

He meant trying too hard in the areas of songwriting, thematic content, and lyrics--not recording and studio perfection, you dumb faggot.

01-17-2004, 09:35 AM	#1
mpp Minion of Satan Posts: 7,577	it's that time again...R.E.M. - New Adventures in Hi-Fi Appreciation Thread wow, is there a bad song on this album? i've heard people make arguments for "low desert" and "zither" but i don't see it in fact, "low desert" is one of my favorites on the album

01-17-2004, 10:34 AM	#3
pale blue eyes NOPE. Location: :/ Posts: 15,110	Love it. I have just started to really listen to it again and it's probably one of if not my favorite R.E.M. album. Low Desert is really good but New Test Leper is probably my favorite. How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us is great too, and E-Bow still gives me chills. I heard a live version of them doing that with Thom Yorke and I haven't been able to stop listening to the album since. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

01-17-2004, 04:15 PM	#7
Ghetto_Squirrel Minion of Satan Location: Chicago Posts: 7,157	I really liked E-Bow the Letter, but I didn't really find the rest of the album very interesting. I ended up giving it to a friend a few years ago. __________________

01-17-2004, 02:38 PM	#4
Irrelevant Minion of Satan Location: kitties Posts: 6,842	here we go: How the West Was Won and Where it Got Us - mediocre, but like lots of latter day REM, kind of embarassing to listen to. the chorus sucks. The Wake-Up Bomb - one of the better cuts on the album. again that kind-of-embarassing quality that permeates this album. while repetitive, at least it doesn't have a shitty part anywhere. New Test Leper - this song is pretty sucky and uninteresting, but is saved by a good chorus. Undertow - a decent song. not too bad, not too great. E-Bow the Letter - eh. this song is meh. has some good musical sections but the verses are fucking lame and boring. Leave - the intro is pretty unnecessary. but still, one of the best R.E.M. songs after Out of Time. it just manages to actually be interesting. kind of U2-y though, unfortunately. Departure - uh, annoying ass vocals and pointless guitar riff and song structure. this song sucks, dude. i'd take any song on Monster over this shit. Bittersweet Me - i always liked this song and didn't like it at the same time. it has that embarassing quality again. i mean seriously "i couldn't taste it, i'm tired and naked"? great lyrics there. if you haven't heard a million other rock songs. Be Mine - a pretty good song. one of the better ones on the album i guess. Binky the Doormat - decent verse, boring chorus. haven't they made enough songs that sound like this already? Zither - pretty pointless, but at least it doesn't have Michael Stipe on it. that's the problem with a lot of these songs. Michael Stipe is lost just doesn't fit with their style. nuh. So Fast, So Numb - another snoozefest. god R.E.M. got boring. Low Desert - boring. boring. boring. and what the fuck is with the funky bass? this song is pretty bad dude. Electrolite - more suck. the last 5 songs make me be like, fuck this album. nuh. Monster is better than this shit.

01-17-2004, 05:12 PM	#10
mirrar Braindead Location: in our bedroom, after the war. Posts: 19,826	i adore this album-ebow the letter, bittersweet me, be mine, so fast so numb and electrolite are all wonderful.

01-18-2004, 02:46 AM	#12
GrungeGuy Ownz Location: New York Posts: 769	There isn't much about this album I don't like.

01-18-2004, 03:05 AM	#13
sawdust restaurants Fucking Creep Location: On the East Coast Posts: 5,992	Oh Lord, RP. "Tongue"? And you say the stuff on New Adventures is embarrassing? He sings "Ugly girls know their fate/Anybody can get laid/I want a room with a fire escape/I want to tell you how much I need this" in a fuckin' falsetto, for God's sakes. New Adventures is fantastic. Overlong by 3 songs, but otherwise completely solid. Their best Warner album, except for maybe AFTP.

01-18-2004, 06:36 PM	#17
eyesbomb Apocalyptic Poster Location: Roma, €urope Posts: 2,935

01-20-2004, 09:00 AM	#20
ravenguy2000 NO FATS Location: NO FEMS Posts: 29,008	Not one of my favorite REM records. And I'm one of the biggest fans here. I'd rather listen to Out of Time Up AFTP Murmur Reckoning and Document before I got to New Adventures. Meh. I've never understood the appeal. But I do like Wake Up Bomb, Ebow the Letter, and Electrolite a whole whole lot.