R.E.M. Monster

Pearls&Stones · February 2008

With R.E.M. set to release their first rocker since 1996's "New Adventures in Hi Fi," I thought I'd pop in "Monster" for a listen. I tend to agree with the consensus that "Monster' is not very good and is solely resposnible for the band's popularity decline in the U.S. I've always liked "What's the Frequency Kenneth," "Crush With Eyeliner" "Bang and Blame" and "Strange Currencies," plus a few of the other songs are ok ("I Took Your Name") but the songs that are bad are REALLY REALLY bad. For example, I can't stand "You," but that is at the end of the cd and easy to avoid. The other one is "Tongue" which is right in the middle and ruins the whole album. Everything else is kind of hard on the ears too.

I know there are a lot of R.E.M. fans on here (I LOVE 95% of their stuff), and I know there are others that don't love Monster (which is obvious by the nosedive their sales took afterword and the dozens of copies that are available in used cd bins everywhere.)What are your thoughts?

MLC2006 · February 2008

I think it is by far their worst cd up to that point, though I always liked "what's the frequency, kenneth". I don't know though if that was the reason for their decline or if rock music had just taken a much heavier, less poppy turn by then. because I think "New Adventures" was their 2nd best album after "Automatic for the People", so it's definitely not like that was the end of their greatness or anything.

red mos · February 2008

Pearls&Stones wrote:

With R.E.M. set to release their first rocker since 1996's "New Adventures in Hi Fi," I thought I'd pop in "Monster" for a listen. I tend to agree with the consensus that "Monster' is not very good and is solely resposnible for the band's popularity decline in the U.S. I've always liked "What's the Frequency Kenneth," "Crush With Eyeliner" "Bang and Blame" and "Strange Currencies," plus a few of the other songs are ok ("I Took Your Name") but the songs that are bad are REALLY REALLY bad. For example, I can't stand "You," but that is at the end of the cd and easy to avoid. The other one is "Tongue" which is right in the middle and ruins the whole album. Everything else is kind of hard on the ears too.

I know there are a lot of R.E.M. fans on here (I LOVE 95% of their stuff), and I know there are others that don't love Monster (which is obvious by the nosedive their sales took afterword and the dozens of copies that are available in used cd bins everywhere.)What are your thoughts?

I pretty much agree with you 110% I got that album for my Birthday (was that 95 when that came out)? It had a few good tunes (the ones you named), but I hate "what's the frequency Kenneth?" I hate that song. I loved "Bang and Blame" and "strange currencies" is my favorite on the album. Sadly, I just didn't really look at REM as highly after that album. I mean they continued to release some decent singles in the latter years, but I just didn't care to purchase anymore of their albums. I will however would love to see them live. I haven't gotten to yet. Who plays drums for them now? I know Bill Berry will come play once in a blue moon, but who replaced him as far as touring and recording?

Anon · February 2008

i agree that monster is a horrible album. and its a shame because when you put it on, it starts off with kenneth, which is a great great great song. then it just turns to complete shit and is almost unlistenable. ive always been a fan of everything through automatic the most. life's rich pageant, automatic for the people, and murmur are my faves. i dont get how a band could make such mindboggling albums as those then make something like monster.

lalalalaaaaaaaa · February 2008

I dunno...the album was multi-plat and was #1 for a while...and frequency is one of the best songs they ever did. I loved it...still do.

markymark550 · February 2008

Monster was actually the album that got me interested in REM. May sound strange, but it's true. What's the Frequency, Kenneth? got me hooked on their music and is still one of their best songs imo. I also like Strange Currencies, Bang and Blame, Crush with Eyeliner, and King of Comedy. I will admit though, that other albums of theirs beats Monster.

Pearls&Stones · February 2008

Saturnal wrote:

I dunno...the album was multi-plat and was #1 for a while..

Yes, but that was followed by the classic New Adventures in HiFi making no splash when it came out. One of the best ways to tell how people feel about an album is to see how the follow up debuts (ie People were crazy about Ten---look how Vs did when it came out)

By the time New Adventures came out, every cd store I went to had 5 used copies of Monster. The funny thing is, that even though Monster wasn't great, it didn't destroy them at all. New Adventures is still one of my favorites to this day, as is Reveal. And there are songs on Up and Around the Sun that I like.

Plus, I can't wait for Accelerate.

btb002 · February 2008

It was the start of the decline, but only because Automatic for the People was a truly great all-time record. The album wasn't a failure commercially. What's the Frequency Kenneth was on the radio forever. Bang and Blame had tons of radio play. As did Strange Currencies. I sort of dig the change of pace. Songs like Tongue pop up on almost every R.E.M. album. Star (Fuck) Me Kitten anyone?

Adventures in Hi-Fi, now that is a difficult album. For me that is the most dense one, and obviously longest. I blame the decline on that album. No successful singles on that one at all. Does anyone else think "Leave" is their "How Soon Is Now?"

I also conclude that the decline stage is over and they are like the Rolling Stones where it doesn't matter what type of album they release. People see them because they are R.E.M. Pearl Jam would be the same way if their last album was unsuccessful.

Anon · February 2008

btb002 wrote:

It was the start of the decline, but only because Automatic for the People was a truly great all-time record. The album wasn't a failure commercially. What's the Frequency Kenneth was on the radio forever. Bang and Blame had tons of radio play. As did Strange Currencies. I sort of dig the change of pace. Songs like Tongue pop up on almost every R.E.M. album. Star (Fuck) Me Kitten anyone?

Adventures in Hi-Fi, now that is a difficult album. For me that is the most dense one, and obviously longest. I blame the decline on that album. No successful singles on that one at all. Does anyone else think "Leave" is their "How Soon Is Now?"

I also conclude that the decline stage is over and they are like the Rolling Stones where it doesn't matter what type of album they release. People see them because they are R.E.M. Pearl Jam would be the same way if their last album was unsuccessful.

a bigger bang was a great album. many of those songs sounded like they could have been written in their prime.

btb002 · February 2008

GlorifiedAnimal wrote:

a bigger bang was a great album. many of those songs sounded like they could have been written in their prime.

I agree, I do like A Bigger Bang. Rough Justice, It Won't Take Long, Streets of Love, Sweet Neo Con, I think the album is really solid. I'm just saying they are a well established touring force. And they won't see a major drop in fans supportive of their touring. R.E.M. are STILL big in Europe.

Anon · February 2008

btb002 wrote:

I agree, I do like A Bigger Bang. Rough Justice, It Won't Take Long, Streets of Love, Sweet Neo Con, I think the album is really solid. I'm just saying they are a well established touring force. And they won't see a major drop in fans supportive of their touring. R.E.M. are STILL big in Europe.

ohh i gotcha. i hope they break out some old tunes at these upcoming R.E.M. shows

restlesssoul · February 2008

im not a huge REM fan or anything, but i quite like most of monster. funnily enough tongue is a standout for me. i love it.

stargirl69 · February 2008

I think there's some strong stuff on Monster and is a good solid rock album.Love Strange Currencies and Tongue.

jammerfall · February 2008

Monster. Cool record. Period.

mrwalkerb · February 2008

jammerfall wrote:

Monster. Cool record. Period.

agreed, it's probably my favorite REM record and they are in my top 5 all time bands so not like I'm fairweather here, the guitar tone on this album is just killer it's a fucking great record, while it may have blips here and there Let Me In makes up for every song on there that isn't awesome, Kenneth is still a sweet song no matter how many times I've heard it, just a cool disc

btb002 · February 2008

mrwalkerb wrote:

agreed, it's probably my favorite REM record and they are in my top 5 all time bands so not like I'm fairweather here, the guitar tone on this album is just killer it's a fucking great record, while it may have blips here and there Let Me In makes up for every song on there that isn't awesome, Kenneth is still a sweet song no matter how many times I've heard it, just a cool disc

Let Me In always came across to me like a mainstream Sonic Youth Daydream Nation-thing. Its probably my traditional stance, but I only like that amount of feedback on sort of lower end recordings. JATMC's Psychocandy, Daydream Nation, and even the first Foo Fighters CD, Monster was too polished for me to pull off that song. But that's just my thought, and I totally respect yours. Other than that the song is fine.

andreasjunge · February 2008

I must say I disagree. A lot. Monster is fun. I mean, come on, you think it would've made sense for them to continue in "Automatic..." style?

I like Monster a lot - but then again, my favorite REM albums are "New Adventures" and "Murmur", so f... the heck.

I think Around the Sun sucked, neither did I like Up, so I'm really looking forward to the new rocky stuff.

facepollution · February 2008

I love Monster, Strange Currencies is one of their best songs in my opinion.

Ricsard · February 2008

I am European and yes, they are STILL very huge in Europe: not as big as U2 but bigger than Pearl Jam believe me.

Monster is absolutely underrated, it's a lot more better than Reveal, Up or even Around The Sun. Maybe I only miss the twist in the songs, they are sometimes ...too simple...but still great. And the sound is just HUGE!!!

Tongue - I used to dislike it but the live version in 1998 was awesome, I'll never forget it and love it since.

Let Me In, I Took Your Name, Circus Envy are my biggest favs here so I can see all their songs have their own fans!!!

LedZepFan · February 2008

This is ironic.

REM's one of my favorite bands. I recently picked up Monster and love it. It's different, no doubt, but then again my favorite albums by them range from Murmur to Up, so I find myself loving all the weird incarnations this band has gone through. Whereas a lot of you seem to only like "Kenneth" I actually think thats one of my least favorites on the album. "Crush With Eyeliner", "King of Comedy", "Bang and Blame", "Let Me In," and "Circus Envy" are all awesome in my opinion.

||Release_Me|| · February 2008

Monster is REM's version of cock-rock, but with their unique style printed all over it. It's a great album, and the only song i dislike is King of Comedy. I agree with the comments about the distortion on the guitars, it's just killer!

Kenneth, Crush With Eyeliner, I Don't Sleep I Dream, Strange Currencies, I Took Your Name, Let Me In....they're easily some of the best REM songs ever in my opinion!

Personally, i thought it was a step up from Automatic for the People

R.E.M. Monster

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