So I was listening to this the other day and a thought crossed my mind. If this record were released today, I think it would be a huge disc with the 'indie' type, yet it was almost universally panned upon release (1993?). I know it isnt their best work, but definitely an adventurous disc, one that holds up.

i'd like to pick up a copy of this but i can't find it used.

Don't love it. It's solid. And yeah, adventurous. Sometimes kind of silly.

my first R.E.M purchase, I need to dust it off.

It's a pile.

rated
>here<

I like it very much. Prob. in my top 5 R.E.M.'s

f a critic.

Your face.

Heh. Phil's a Pile Face. Nernee nernee.

Now, now my good doctor, it's the fine art of throwing barbs and insults that separates us from feces flinging apes. Don't take my dislike of the album personally. And come up with a better epithet to hurl.

And it's still a pile.

and it's still.....your face.

Yeah not a bad album. The only thing that used to bother me was there was no doubt that Peter Buck had just discovered the delay pedal. If memory serves he uses it in like 6 songs on the album. And not like The Edge does. Just one chord and fade out.

Example, from "What's The Frequency Kenneth" Chorus:

You wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh
[guitar]Ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga[/guitar]
I never understood the frequency, uh-huh

the title was formerly "monster delay pedal". it was shortened when stipe found a cute bear picture.

Agreed. It all just sounds kinda the same.

I still can listen to "Crush with Eyeliner", "Tongue", and "Let Me In" occasionally but "Bang and Blame" is damn near unforgivable.

You're right, an irrefutable argument.

That's a tremelo pedal. And, yes, overused.

My problem with the record is that it sounds so awkward. It's supposed to be a a big rocker, but to me it feels really disjointed and gawky, like they weren't on the same page. Berry's contribution seems especially weak, for some weird reason. This might be the whitest album ever made.

And I hate the guitar tone - it's all mids and is really honk-y.

I consider this record to be a fascinating disaster, and I am a shameless REM apologist.

Still not as bad as Around the Sun, which I can't even explain.

Oh yeah, forgot about that. Ouch.

bang bang bang bang bang
blame blame blame

[i actually like this song. foo.]

During the '80's, I worshipped R.E.M. and I probably spent more time with their catalog from Murmur through Automatic than any othe artist. I remember fervently awaiting the release of Monster and upon initial exposure thought "What's the Frequency, Kenneth" as the lead single was a good, fun rock song along the lines of "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight." With that said, after my first listen, I thought Monster was awful. Unfortunately, I felt the same after giving it about 100 more tries. Several things always bothered me about this album. First, Michael had become enamored of Kurt Cobain and this album reeks of desperation as he seemed to try and transform the band into something it wasn't in order to fit in with the grunge scene. It was the first indication that they had fallen prey to rock star-itis and had become enamored of their own celebrity. I'd always thought that R.E.M's strengths lay not only in their melodies but in the vocal harmonies between Stipe and Mike Mills. This album has very little of either. Secondly, it was the first sign that they were beginning to repeat themselves. The verses in "Bang And Blame" are almost identical to those in "Losing My Religion" and "Strange Currencies" sounds suspiciously like "Everybody Hurts.' I saw R.E.M on the Monster tour and I still think it's the worst show I've ever seen. An arena rock band, try as they might, they simply weren't. In retrospect, Monster clearly signified the decline of the band. Bill Berry saw the writing on the wall and bolted shortly thereafter and while New Adventures in Hi-Fi was far better and certainly had its moments, the band has never approached its pre-Monster glory in the 13 years that have followed. Monster can go fuck itself.

You don't look in the $1 bin very much do you?

Jewels has made that joke so many times that you should at least get it.

Hey, now. 'Your face' is comic gold, and according to Dr. Dorian, always works. No offense taken and none intended, Phil. Just my overactive sarcastic commentary.

Ive always just assumed it was the last album on their contract, and I hope for a much better one soon.

Me = slow

Hope. Not sure about their contract, but they worked on that record for years and it is awful. I've been playing the "next one will better" game for ten years, which is pretty sad.