#13 Reckoning: REM. Here is where I cheat. I love early REM - they have several CDs that are worthy of this list. But somehow, stylistically, to me, they are all kind of the same - one big collection of awesomeness. So, Reckoning makes the list because it is my favorite, but it could have just have easily been Life's Rich Pageant, or Murmur, or Fables of the Reconstruction, and I didnt want to have 4 REM CDs on my list. Be prepared, the rest of my top 13 is full of such cheats. I know, it's a lame cop out. But Trevor does it too.
Anyway, here we are with REM. They make great tunes with great melodies and harmonies. But what makes them unique are Michael Stipe's lyrics. Has there ever been a song of his that has really made sense? But the brilliance is that it might make sense if you think about it hard enough. There are phrases that sound really clever and insightful until you actually try and figure it out. Here is a line from ''Camera", on Reckoning: "If I'm to be your camera, then who will be your face?" Doesnt that sound really deep? But what the hell is he talking about? I guess that is what poetry is. I always hated poetry but I dig Michael Stipe. Go figure.
1 comment:
That's not cheating! I prefer to think of it as "collaborative filtering."
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