I think Stipe said he was working with different people for the album, so I wouldn’t expect every song to have the same style.
But he will do anything to avoid songs sounding anything like R.E.M., at least that’s what I assume.
Future If Future has got to be the tackiest thing ever, I really can’t stand it. No Time For Love Like Now on the other hand, is a personal favorite and a beautiful song. So who knows what his album will be like.
None of their solo projects will ever touch on the brilliance they had as a band together.
I really like it, as I have all his stuff so far. It’s warm and beautiful.
R.E.M. always challenged the listener, they always evolved and tried new things. It didn’t always work. But it surprises me that so many R.E.M. fans are so critical of a lot of their post-R.E.M. (post-Berry?) stuff.
For me, being an R.E.M. fan is what made me receptive to weird/different/alternative things. So it seems strange to me that a lot of people on here have such a strong negative reaction to Stipe’s solo stuff, Buck/Haines etc.
Not a judgment; you can’t help what you like and what you don’t like. Personally, I didn’t like the Arthur Buck album at all, which a lot of people did. Each to their own I guess!
I like Arthur Buck, and even more Buck/Haines. Not Buck’s solo albums, tho.
But really, Stipe’s solo songs sound to my ears like what feces feel to the nose. I’m not trying to stir anything up or be controversial, you know. After all, this is a forum about all of R.E.M.'s work and beyond, and I really have that impression from his solo material. I swear I always make a point in listening to his work, always in the hope that I will like it. Never do.
Fair enough! I love Buck’s solo stuff. I thought the Arthur Buck album was extremely boring. But, like you, I’ll listen to anything the guys do. I like most of it.
I like some of Buck’s guitar work on Arthur Buck but was never a big fan of the album itself. Quite frankly, I have a hard time keeping up with everything he and Scott McCaughey are involved with but the vast majority of it I enjoy.
I think Give Me A Hand is superb. It has an ethereal primeval quality about it (is that a dog in the background???!) and Gaelynn’s voice works perfectly. Lyrically I reckon its up there with Everybody Hurts " Believe you can be who you are" or words to that effect. Reminds me of The Man In The Iron Mask- the biggest secret in life is to know who you really are- Alexandre Dumas or “O Man Know Thyself” (all the poets/philosophers etc).
Michael Stipe could be a pop star again whenever he wants. Don’t think there’d be an artist alive who wouldn’t want to work with him on a mainstream solo album. He’d step right into the void that Bowie left, have a weekly article gushing about him in The Guardian and headline the sunday Legends slot at Glastonbury. Throwing in four or five classic REM songs and blowing the minds of every generation from X to Z.
This won’t be that though. It’ll be 75 mins of talk-singing over the dial-up Internet tone, performed once at a Patti Smith charity coffee morning.
Neither am I, but I was bothered by your comments “stupid cartoonish voice” in particular the word “stupid,” and “what feces feel to the nose.:” I could have laid into you for it. You have stated on this board that you yourself has a disability and english is your second language, I let it go, considering that I personally, think you’re a great person who has made better contributions to this board.
I think the thing to remember is that Stipe is not a musician. He was always a conduit for turning other musicians ideas into human, believable songs. What that means is that any solo material from him is at the mercy of his collaborators best efforts. With the right pairing I have little doubt that Stipe still has an incredible record in him (a whole album of properly recorded Dessner music would be a dream for example, as I find in many ways the National are spiritual successors to REM with a modern twist). However, I don’t think he’s particularly interested in finding that gold. He’s happy doing his niche art house electronic doodles and who can blame him. For my part, I don’t mind his solo stuff, but it’s certainly not setting my world on fire. I think some of the reactions are a bit extreme though. I mean he was never going to come back with minor key jangle pop hits at this stage in his life.
