R.E.M.: “Finest Worksong” (Document, 1987)
By now you know: R.E.M. announced their breakup yesterday. In my opinion, it wasn’t the worst news to come out of Georgia yesterday, but this blog isn’t about politics, so let’s talk about this band.
As uninterrupted 30-year runs go, very few bands can lay claim to having one as rich and rewarding as R.E.M.’s. Even if you think, as I largely do, that their post-Bill Berry output never quite matched the work of the original quartet version of the band, it’s hard to deny that hey were creative and interesting to the end. They never stopped trying.
Back when they chose the name R.E.M. for their band, I doubt these guys knew just how appropriate the name would be. They made a lot of different types of music over their career, but to my ears, there is a thread that runs through it all. Even their most demonstrative music seems to live in this place where the dream state can intrude at any time.
Put another way, in both music and lyrics, the band filtered reality and memory in such a way that it felt hyper-real and surreal at the same time. It’s a hard intangible to describe, but they had it.
Source: everygreatsongever
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“Finest Worksong”, Document,
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