Jacknife Lee on a Pogo Stick! What is R.E.M. Thinking?
Unos, dos, tres, catorce!
Fresh off their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, R.E.M. is slated to work with Jacknife Lee on their 14th studio album. Lee’s previous credits include Bloc Party, U2, and Snow Patrol. Oh, goody, R.E.M. is going to be hip, trendy, and relevant.
Damn it! Why does every “aging” band have to pull this shit?
The Stones did it with Bridges to Babylon when they had the fucking Dust Brothers come in and convince Mick Jagger to rap. 28 producers in the studio and it still sounds like a fucking Stones album, which is OK because they happen to be The Rolling Stones.
U2 does it every few albums to convince us how hard they are. Pop anyone? Let’s not forget the Atomic Bomb saga. They get the Sex Pistols producer to work on an album so they can remind us that they have always really been a punk band. Bono tells us ad nauseum the big guitar sound is the sound of The Edge getting cranky because Bono spends so much time trying to save the world- fucking spare me! When that incarnation of the album goes nowhere, they get Steve Lilywhite to return to the fold and get Jacknife Lee to help out on a bit here and there. All of this leads us to “Unos, dos, tres, catorce.” That gibberish, when it was properly mocked, was blamed on a bit of drinking- as if no one ever sobered up long enough to tell the Bono he said “1, 2, 3, 14.” Nonsense. The irony in all of this is that I actually like the Atomic Bomb record. I really love U2, and that is why I get so angry when they start acting like jackasses.
Someone needs to tell Bono and Sir Mick they are about as likely to be confused with The Kingston Trio as they are for 20-year old rockers from Seattle. The desire to branch out and keep things from getting stale is an understandable one, but there are right and wrong ways to approach that. If rock and roll is a young man’s game, and that is debatable, you don’t want to call attention to your age by getting self-conscious about it to the point you hire every hipster you can to give your sound a facelift. Translation: don’t work with Howie B. or Jacknife Lee. It’s about finding new wrinkles within your sphere of excellence. It’s about finding new ways to do what you do best. If either of those fail, just write 12 great songs and don’t apologize for being the icon that you are.
Didn’t R.E.M. just have Q-Bert or Q-Tip or CoQ10 in to rap on their last album? Didn’t it sell somewhere around 11 copies? In fact, since Bill Berry left the band, R.E.M. has churned out three albums that were ignored and/or reviled. They are sampling crinkling M&M wrappers for percussion sounds. Guys… hit the drums! That’s why they’re there! Stop outsmarting yourself. Stop trying to outsmart everyone else. You’re a great band! Stop pretending you’re not!
R.E.M. should not retire because they’re getting older. Age doesn’t have to be anything more than a number. I don’t believe in mandatory musical retirement ages. By the same token, loyalty extends only so far. I own every R.E.M. album and I’ve bought some of them twice! I’m a good sport and I love most of the music they have made for 25 years, but I am not going to keep getting soaked. They can stamp their name on whatever they want, but I know what R.E.M. music is, and I am through paying for knockoffs.
They don’t owe me anything. I understand that. I would be disappointed if Peter Buck called and asked me for advice on a chord change. I’d be appalled if Michael Stipe called and asked if he could run some lyrics by me. They are free to do with their band as they wish. It’s their band, but it’s my money. I guess we both have some decisions to make. I’m not lecturing or threatening. The three remaining members couldn’t pick me out of a lineup (of course, I’ve not been in a lineup. I leave that to Peter) and I am sure they aren’t going to hold a band meeting to reconsider their musical direction when they (inevitably) read this post. I’m not mad at them. I’m just saying. I’m just saying Around the Sun and Jacknife Lee have stretched the bonds of loyalty. They are going to have to prove it to me this time to get another wad of my cash.
I don’t want to stop buying their records, but I will. I want to love this new album. I want to eat my words.
Filed under: Like I Need A Hole in My Head, R.E.M., Rolling Stones, U2
so the ‘catorce’ thing wasn’t related to it being the fourteenth album?
R.E.M…ya, i bought the last three records too. it’s like they forgot how to rock. or something.
No, Bono said alcohol might have had something to do with it. He was trying to sound all “hard.” I was so afraid with AtomicATS was more mellow than they planned and that this new one should rock more, but…
Nothing would make me happier than for them to make a great record. I still think they have great music in them. They just seem lost in the studio as of late.
that last REM record gave me the same feeling as that last Peppers record…two listens all the way through and i could remember nothing about it.
Other than “Leaving New York,” which is a magnificent song, the album was dull beyond belief. “Hey Michael, that’s not a moog! That is people snoring!”
“Leaving New York” is gorgeous, though.
aaah, opinions.
I like REMs last few albums. Are they the same as the old? No. Are they better than 95% of the music out there? Hell yes.
Change is good. Repeat after me. Change is good.
Change is neither good nor bad, Gary, it is simply different. The past few albums have had some good songs, but there seems to be a downward trajectory from Up through Reveal down to Around the Sun.
That there are worse things out there doesn’t make me feel better, it makes me feel worse.
I’ll buy any album REM puts out, period.
That said, my least favorite song of theirs ever is Radio Song, which soured me to KRS-1 for like 15 years. Only recently did I buy a KRS-1 album, realizing the dude is freaking great.
Maybe we can convince them to invite a rapper to collaborate once every ten years or something, because the nonsense on ATS was really not very good.
EB, I’ve been a “anything with the name R.E.M.” for a long time and they’ve provided me with more good than bad by a longshot, but the trajectory is heading in the wrong direction and I don’t think their choice for producer augers well for that reversing.
I think you are dead-on. We all want good record from R.E.M., and as you point out, they are capable of making good songs without Bill.
What we need is a record with the following recipe: Four tracks of mid-tempo stuff , like ‘Leaving New York,’ four tracks of the ambient stuff, like ‘I’ve Been High,’ and ‘Why Not Smile’ and four ROCKERS.
That’s what has been missing sans Bill. They haven’t rocked since ‘Low Desert,’ the next-to-last track on ‘New Adventures In Hi-Fi.’
You’re right that the rockers have been gone and they have written some good songs in those other two categories. 12 songs is a good album length.
The question then becomes, can you mix all those styles on record and have it sound like an album or does it simply become a collection of songs? Some people won’t care, 12 good songs is 12 good songs. Others like the idea of the album as an art form.
I think it can be done, the blending, but it’s really tough. Here’s hoping. I’d like to get excited about a new R.E.M. record.