I have conflicted feelings about it. On one hand I want R.E.M. to quit because I do feel that ever since Bill Berry quit the band they've gone down hill and I hate watching a band I love become a sad version of themselves (Aerosmith, U2, Mettalica and some others I can't recall right now.) But, really, who the hell am I to say they should quit. They've made three or four mediocre albums and I start calling them pieces of shit. I have to wonder whether I'm, not only pining for old R.E.M, but for my own lost youth. When I think about it I don't think I've given them a fair shake. Afterall, they did lose an important member of their band and maybe it takes quite some time to figure out what to do as a three piece. Maybe their next album will be genius. I don't know. I'm not really mad at them for not keeping their "promises." I know I made promises to myself when I was younger that I laugh at today. I was a naive idiot. When success hits and your twenty years older I'm sure it's a whole new ballgame.

On the other hand, wouldn't it be great if R.E.M. broke up and started releasing odd and wondrous solo albums? Ah, one can dream.

Am I too hard on them? Yes. Are they a good band right now? No. Do they suck? Hmm. I don't think their THAT bad. I'll probably always wait for the next great R.E.M album. I owe them that much for all the happiness they gave me through the years. They're still one of the greatest bands of all time. Here's hoping they prove us all wrong.

I actually liked New Adventures in Hi-Fi. Coincidently, it is what I was listening to when I drove in to work today. Hmm. It is a long cd, and 5 or 6 of the songs could have been left off. But, in my opinion, that would have left a pretty darned good album. Being I can skip those songs I don't care for, I like the album a lot. Not bad for something they pretty much just threw together while they were touring.

Up was ok. There were about 4 songs on it I really liked, and the rest was just enh. I totally agree about Reveal. One good song and that is it. That said, I think if it were not for how awesome most of their other albums were, we wouldn't think Up and Reveal were so bad, especially compared to most of the crap that is out these days. I do not think R.E.M. sucks now. I just don't think their last couple of albums have been all that great.

But they COULD be the next Rolling Stones if they don't polish up a bit! Maybe it is time to move on to movies or farming or a laundrymat or something. :P

I've never been a die-hard fan... just own two or three of their CDs... but whenever I hear their newest song on the radio, I start singing "It's the End of the World as We Know It," because the two songs sound very, very similar.

I'll always love "Nightswimming" and "Find the River" best.

Having finished listening to New Adventures in Hi-Fi in my car during lunch, I have determined that tracks 11-13 could be removed, and the song New Test Leper because it is boring. I like the rest of the album a lot, though I would not rank it higher than Monster or several or their 1980s albums.

That old "it was a good album considering the circumstances" argument has never convinced me. If you record an album while being shot at and the results are crappy, that won't make me want to listen to it. I'll say, "Wow, they recorded this while being shot at," and I'll put it in my CD holder and forget about it.

I agree that a bad album is a bad album and the circumstances in which it was made makes no difference as a listener. I never meant you should sit around listening to a crappy album. I just figure if they had a rough time getting used to being a three piece, and they get it figured out, there is hope for a great R.E.M. album in the future.

Ok. I can deal with that, Mike. But the fact stands that I like 10 songs on the Hi-Fi album. That is more songs than I like on Automatic for the People, and that is a lot of people's favorite. So I think Hi-Fi was a great album. Nyah!

Hey, Shane. What songs did you not like on Automatic?

I really like 5 songs on Hi-Fi. I think five needed to go, and I am completely indifferent on 4. On Automatic, I really like 8 songs, I think two need to go, and I am completely indifferent on 2. Therefore, Monster is my favorite REM album. :)

Aside of the fact I liked 10 songs on Hi-Fi, though I must admit only about 5 or 6 of them did I REALLY like, you can pretty much insert what Mike just said for me. There were about two songs that I could have lived without on Automatic: Ignoreland and the instrumental. I am indifferent toward Star Me Kitten and Find the River. Everybody Hurts has been played to death. Other than that, it was great!

That said, I loved every song on the album when I first bought it. It just didn't hold up over time as well as some of them did. I'll take Automatic for the People over almost anything out today, but I guess I will always like R.E.M. better as a rock band than as an easy listening group.

I'm a fan of REM. Though it's funny that for some reason Dee can't tell the difference between REM and U2.

I know, it's weird.

My wife originally couldn't tell the difference between R.E.M., U2, Drivin' N Cryin', and a box full of rabid cats. She was more into R&B and show tunes. After time, though, she started to figure it out. I think she is a better person for it.

I, on the other hand, am not a better person for the R&B and show tunes! : P

Show tunes are evil. That's a scientific fact.