#373: R.E.M. - Automatic for the People (1992)

Zack: This is the second R.E.M. album we’ve listened to. The first – Document – was just the 15^th album that we reviewed back in November of 2010. To give you a sense of how long ago that was, neither Emily nor I could legally drink, and I had yet to master my dorm room bathroom mead recipe to circumvent that particular conundrum. We were sophomores in college and as such had so little actual work to do that we were able to review 20 albums that month which…damn. That’s literally 10 times the pace we currently work at. Using that as a proxy, our lives are 10 times busier now. That actually sounds about right. Also, I don’t think women could vote yet, although I may need to double check the dates on that one. It looks like Emily and I were both underwhelmed by that album (I relistened to it a few months ago and came away thinking the same thing), and honestly things didn’t really change for me on Automatic for the People. It still was a combination of alternative rock with a softer, jinglier side. It still was generally pleasant, but it was still kind of unexciting. I can see how a bunch of different alternative artists from the 90s drew on them, but I think I’d be much happier checking out a band that was influenced by R.E.M. than just listening to R.E.M.

Favorite Tracks: Man on the Moon; Everybody Hurts; Drive

Emily: R.E.M. was super prolific and super critically acclaimed in the '80s and early '90s. That has since slowed down considerably, but the band is still regarded as one of the pioneers of alternative rock and their numerous singles are still in heavy rotation on alt-rock radio. In another few years (and perhaps even already), those songs will migrate to classic rock stations, but I'm sure R.E.M.'s ubiquity will remain. Automatic for the People, R.E.M.'s eighth album, arrived in 1992, as alternative rock was shifting and morphing into grunge. It's definitely not a grunge album, though, but rather more of R.E.M.'s signature mumbly-dude-with-a-guitar sound. I prefer when the band picks up the tempo and goes a bit more tongue-in-cheek (a la It's the End of the World as We Know It), but R.E.M.'s influence on the indie and alt-rock music of the last 20 years is undeniable.

Favorite Tracks: Everybody Hurts; Nightswimming; The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite