Automatic For The People

Better than that other REM album on this list.

Kind of mindless on first listen. I can see how this might get into one’s craw, but that would take more listens.

I don't love this album, it was just an okay one to me.

A few good tunes.

J'ai écouté sans faire trop gaffe, mais c'était cool.

Didn't really dig this at the time or now. Song are well written and great lyrics, but far too whiney for my taste.

1/07/2022

I divide up R.E.M.'s career in 3 eras, the I.R.S indie-ish albums, the mainstream (MTV) fame years and the after-fame albums. Automatic is smack dab in the middle of the peak fame years. I started to lose interest in the band after Document, but you can't deny the band produced some great records. This one has some well known hits, but I still prefer the days of Reckoning and Life's Rich Pageant.

Decent

Enjoyed the first half of the album but the second half seemed to drag on. I can hear a lot of 90s influences from here though it's not my favorite.

i'm familar with Everybody Hurts and Losing my religion, so I kinda knew what I was getting into once I hit play with this album but as I continued to listen to it, I feel like the songwriter was going through something at the time and having it vocalized made them show the world they need help with each song that plays.

It was okay but not for me

Held up better than I thought it would.

Perfectly cromulent like folk/blues/alternative rock album, but it was pretty musically the same across the album, it never really went anywhere

Didn't realise this was such a sedate album - kinda passed by without jumping out much

This has a few really good songs on it but also a lot of duds. I know I'm in the minority but "Everybody Hurts" is a pretty overrated song. I didn't like any of the songs I had never heard before. The good songs make up for the bad ones, but I can't give this more than 3 stars.

The first half of the album blurred together - it all sounded vaguely the same (except for "Everybody Hurts" of course). I may have zoned out at times because of this. Towards the end of the album I noticed more variation that I enjoyed. Did I hear an Elvis impersonation? Heard some piano which is always welcomed for me. They successfully sounded doom and gloom but upbeat at the same time.

Good. Solid. A bit bland. Couple of truly amazing songs and a few real self indulgent moments.

Classic album with some killer, timeless tracks.

Grows on you over time.

Man, yet another sentimental one. I actually don't love a lot of these songs, but Nightswimming is grafted onto my soul, somehow, like a 90s alt-indie horcrux. Anyway... plenty of catchy stuff here and not at all hard to listen to.

‘Everybody Hurts’ is epic but after playing the album 3 times I’m struggling to find anything else I’ll listen to again.

Bastante flojo con un par de joyas.

Buenísimo dicen los que saben. Yo que no sé tanto me gusta para un tres y medio.

Nooit een enorme fan van REM geweest, maar dit is natuurlijk wel een kwaliteits-werkje. Zijn stem blijft mij altijd licht irriteren helaas.

Good background music

not that good

Classic

Yessss

Fun but unsupecial

Difícil de catalogar. En ocasiones más calmado, en otras, con más fuerza. Buenas melodías

I’ve been a fan of Man on the Moon, especially since seeing the Andy Kaufman movie, of the same name I think. Overall this is a darker sounding album – the strings contribute to the mood. It gets off to a good start with “Drive”. I guess “Everybody Hurts” was the big single but I don’t remember it.

A clear classic, though REM is not really my jam.

I like their previous album. A lot of this is too soft and a bit too easy-listening for me. Everybody Hurts is almost a parody of itself. Man On The Moon is good though.

Some songs really good. Somewhat monotonous album. Some songs a bit hysterical

Non ce la faccio, ma okay. Riscoperto canzoni rimosse dal mio cervello.

Alright

.

Good album, more folky mood music

I knew the hits and not much else about R.E.M.. After listening to the album, none of the songs I hadn't heard before really stood out to me.

The four songs I already knew still hold some quality uniqueness, but nothing from the rest of the album really stuck out.

Pretty good, earlier stuff is better.

Some goodies, some are a bit bland. Not sure it's REM's best.

Beste Band, klasse Texte, Wohlfühlfaktor 100. 3/5 Sternen. Dass das jetzt schon das zweite Album von denen ist, damit habe ich nichts zu tun.

Would actually rate 3 1/2 stars if I could. Tracks 5-6 reminded me of the end of David Bowie album Hero's. Definitely a album you should listen too.

Never been a fan of REM but actually quite enjoyed this album

Some great songs, but the rest blend into the background.

ok pop rock but i felt this album needed maybe one or two more hits to even help it move along, pretty slow and tended to drag. Man on the Moon is a classic tho

😶 < Michael Stipe.

REM. What else can you say?

R.E.M not my favourite band but the album had lots of classics on it so a solid ***

Perus REMmiä. Muutamia tuttuja hittibiisejä ja Nightswimming jäi myös mieleen (en ainakaan tunnistanut hittibiisiksi). Ehkä tähän bändiin on aikanaan tullut yliannostusta, laulajan ääni ja biisien laahaava meno meinaavat vähän ärsyttää. Kolmosta koneeseen kuitenkin.

Some good tracks on this - "Everybody Hurts" is severely played out these days but there are some gems. Favourite track: "New Orleans instrumental No.1"

Some excellent songs that define an era but probably not something on the whole I'd go back to. Although I may just be being unfair due to my recent run of fours.

Nice but maybe not exceptional. Could be 4 stars.

Some great songs here, but I'd probably only listen to this once every three months

I bought this album for my mom. She really liked the radio songs. I am lucky to have parents with open minds. Growing up we always shared cool new music with each other. I haven't heard this since high school and I don't remember all the songs. Very solid album with no real weak songs.

esperaba más

Wzf - Ich finds besser als das letzte REM Album, aber eben nur weil ich auf diesem Album mehr Songs kenne. Ansonsten ist ok, doch mir egal. Anzahl der Sterne demnach äquivalent zu der der Anzahl der Neffen von Donald Duck.

2 good songs but the rest are meh

Initial thoughts are that they have a very jam band feel to them. Everrrybody hurts did not know that was REM! Never really listened to REM before but I don’t mind it. At times it is a little too jam band for me but not terrible.

Kind of driving rock album. Nice singing, pleasant melodies.

Tengo un tema con REM... puedo decir que el grupo me gusta en general, y tienen una de mis canciones favoritas (si, Losing My Religion qué mainstream ¿no?), pero a la vez muchas de sus canciones tienen algo que las hace como 'densas' u 'oscuras'. De este conocía 'Man on the Moon' y 'Everybody Hurts', y agregué 'Drive' a mi lista, pero las demás canciones me parecieron X. Podría no volverlas a escuchar y creo que no me perdería de demasiado. Aún así, fue interesante escuchar el disco completo.

Side A is dull; side B is mostly interesting except for "Man on the Moon". Pop R.E.M. is boring; can't imagine this holds up for anyone but gen-xers.

I love REM songs (including a bunch from this one) but I can't really get into their whole albums as much as I should.

Decent, not my normal cup of tea but a few great tracks, specifically Ignoreland

esta conmadre la rola de everybody hurts, hitazo, pero el resto del disco es regular

Pari megalekaa ja muuten ihan kuunneltavaa musiikkia.

Listen to again, probably would appreciate more when you can really focus on it, instead of at work

Dope and mellow

Imogen: some good songs on this album, but I generally prefer REM's earlier work ('Green', 'Document', 'Lifes Rich Pageant' etc.)

Dang they snuck me with Man on the Moon and Everybody Hurts. Still can’t believe they have 3 albums on this jawn

3,5/5

2.5-3. Can see why people like this album but not my thing

Eh?

Cool stuff

Emblematic album. Contains the classics: "Everybody Hurts" and "Man On The Moon".

While this album is well produced and has some lovely instrumentals the lead singers voice is so annoying to me. This can never be more than average unfortunately despite my appeal to this genre. 5/10

I used to think I really loved this album and now I realise I was more in love with the idea of the friend's big sister who kept playing it in her bedroom

- Controversial opinion: This is my least favorite album of the three R.E.M. albums I have been given so far. I know this is considered their masterwork in a lot of circles, but yeesh. - Did not mind the stretch from "New Orleans Instrumental No. 1" to "...Ignoreland." in fact, I somewhat liked the barebones western nature of "Monty Got A Raw Deal." - However, I cannot stand "Everybody Hurts" or "Nightswimming"...I did not mind the latter at first, but when the oboe comes in, I can feel my eyes roll back into my head with the pretension of it all. Stipe's voice really kills me on these tracks. - On another note, the lyrics of "Star Me Kitten" are weird. And not in a good way.

I miss the jangle Fav track: Nightswimming

fav songs: everybody hurts man on the moon lush, warm, consistent 40/100

Very boring album. Nothing really bad about it but just felt very monotonous and no interesting elements

god i fucking hate rem Would I listen again: no. Deserves to be on this list: apparently. 2.0

2/4

fine

aparentemente eu vivo em uma bolha pq só descobri a existência desses caras agora 22hrs da noite não é muito meu estilo não, só to escutando pra aumentar meus minutos no spotify meu deus eu conheço os caras sim da música de comercial pra doação de médicos sem fronteiras ta me dando vontade de dormir

Different and I love everybody hurts. I just couldn't get into the other songs

Heard before?:❌️ Will listen again?:❌️

Despite this list’s best try, my opinion of REM remains unchanged. I will always love “Man on the Moon” because of the Jim Carrey/Andy Kaufman movie and documentary, but this album was a snoozer for me.

More R.E.M? I started this perfect to hear music that was exciting and new to me. R.E.M, in their third appearance on my list, are neither. And, in fact, out of the last 10 albums on my list, 8 of them are artists which have already appeared. For the album itself, honestly this is the best R.E.M. album so far, but that's not a very high bar. I found a couple of the central tracks pretty musical, which I realise is also faint praise. if I were editing the next edition, I would ditch the other two albums and keep this. It's got some good tracks and also Everybody Hurts, which as close to essential as anything R.E.M. have done.

I did not really enjoy 'drive' I don't really enjoy this style of music. I do like, 'try not to breathe' The sidewinder sleeps tonight is also ptetty good. Ignoreland is not too bad I like man on the moon

R.E.M is toch wel peak WMvMLmuziek… daarom wil ik graag nu op de rem trappen met dat genre. Wanneer is het genre WMvML leeftijd genoeg geweest? Ik ben er al klaar mee, laat staan hoe jullie daar tegenover staan met 100+ extra albums.

Ik vind het een geweldig album! Nee ik lieg, ik vind het niet leuk Ik zou liegen als ik zou zeggen, dat ik maar wat doet.

Drive is a good R.E.M song. Do you have to put the periods in the band name? Everybody Hurts was the big song off the album and it's super overrated. I like New Orleans Instrumental No. 1 though. I am not loving the album tracks. Man On The Moon is a good song as well. Nightswimming suuuuucks. It's like the embodiment of whiny rock, like Ben Folds without a sense of humor.

was fine didn't finish, i did like the instrumentals

More less.

not my bag but pleasant to hear in Spatial audio Songs I liked: none

peak

Didn’t actually listen bc I had REM for the last album and was bored

I can absolutely imagine spending more time with this and absolutely loving it and thinking it's one of the greatest (I think I did to some extent when I was younger). On this particular day though it felt shallow and kind of uninteresting. The sidewinder sleeps was still great fun. The other huge hits felt a little bit dry and formulaic to me though. Album tracks melted in a bit. I think maybe I didn't engage with the direct earnest delivery style today.

Sad but in a boring way. Feel like lead singers voice didn’t really carry the emotion of the lyrics making it feel a bit flat. Music was decent but did feel like it dragged

this is the second R.E.M. album I listen for this project and still is just not my thing

Before diving into these 1001 albums I'd have told you REM bored me to death. That they were slow, sad and dull. After getting some of their albums sent my way I realised I couldn't have been more wrong - Michael Stipe's dulcet tones aside, this band rocks. They're fun. They're bouncy. Lively even. This album proved me right at the start. Christ what a slog.

Not a fan of REM. It's fine.

saw this come up and went oh nooo but was OKayer than anticipated. still wont ever revisit. dont like the vibe of the band or the vocals and cant relate but i get thay theyre good songs. had to skip everybody hurts for grew up in the 90s reasons. fave track sweetness follows

I gave this a few tries but it was really a bore. I didn't find Stipe's vocals enjoyable, the arrangements were uninteresting and the lyrics were somewhat goofy. R.E.M. might've been a pioneer of alt-rock but I think it pales in comparison to the bands the came after.

it was ok

I'm so confused

By this time I became less of an R.E.M. fan. They had lost their rough edge and their college sound (best way I could describe it). Very polished record, which made it worse for me. Also, the music seems more pop (though it is odd to say because they are a jangle pop band). Not a fan of this record.

😐

Vel...

Nice sounds, great instrumentation. It's great i guess, just not for me

Det här var släpigt. Everybody hurts motiverar inte en plats i boken. Det är först i Man on the moon som det händer något.

The sidewinder sleeps tonite is my favorite one its very all over i didn't understand it at first and then I looked up the meaning its very weird song all over the place great instrumental but weird song overall I give the album 4.7/10 great instrumental great voice but lyrically not that much

Wasn't the bangers I was hoping for.

Einzigartig unverkennbar allgegenwärtig aber irgendwie auch langweilig

One I feel I'm more familiar with, but I've only heard a couple of the songs already. I'm listening to the Dolby Atmos mix/remaster so perhaps has more "features" than the original mix but obviously essentially the same. The songs are fine I guess, all decent and fine. 2/5.

3/10 I got a lot less out of this than I did with Document

There are a few tracks from this that are immediately recognizable by title. And I don't really like R.E.M. in general, and don't enjoy the tracks I recognize either. So I don't really have high hopes for sitting down to listen to this start-to-finish. I don't like Michael Stipe as a vocalist, and the music just generally is uninteresting. No thanks.

Listened to like an hour and it's the most boring shit i've ever heard in my life i'm so sorry to thr musicians who made this but it makes me feel nothing

Evvveeerrrryyyyybody hurts.... especially when my ears have to endure this song (this song ruined all R.E.M. for me for a very long time).

Le doy un 6,5 porque no está mal, suena bien y me gusta el tipo de efectos que utilizan, la voz y la mística del álbum, pero en cierto punto me aburre porque no es algo que rompe con todo y marca la diferencia (pero sí es distinto al resto). Además, es bastante lenta a comparación de lo que acostumbro a escuchar.

this was so goddamn depressing

Bastante heavy no like all apologies safa

may need to re-listen

Ninguna canción te da ganas de seguir escuchando el disco. Igual tampoco es que sea horrible.

did not listen to the full album.

Meh. Notes deleted dont care about this album enough to type more. Favourite: Everybody Hurts Least favourite: Ignoreland

The song writing is amazing and night swimming is still one of my favorite songs of all time. However, his voice gets to me after awhile

I really like Drive. Unfotunately for my taste the rest of the album is not nearly as good.

Listened once all the way through, nothing really grabbed me but New Orleans Instrumental No.1 was a nice change of space. Something about Michael Stipes delivery just kind of puts me off. Didn't love it, didn't hate it, just empty noise for me.

jebo vas rem da vas jebo više, stvarno. četvrti album na popisu! usto čobanskiji i lošiji od prethodna tri zajedno. dosadnooo. nema tu ničeg novog u usporedbi s njima, sve sam ovo već u stvari čuo na prethodnim (boljim!) albumima. zašto je ovo trebalo da preslušam prije nego crknem?

pretty good, not really anything special

Im surprised how slow and sad and frankly boring that was

sounds corporate idk not for me

I don't remember R.E.M. being such downers...

спокойная музыка, нет резкой смены в битах, все довольно плавно думаю?? повторяются строчки в лирике, но чот не зацепило совсем. даже самые популярные песни

This album was fine. There were a couple songs that stood out, but for the majority of the album I found myself saying this is cool, this is fine, I’m not mad at this.

This is their landmark album? man they're so boring

I really don't get REM. It all sounds the same, amd is fairly boring.

not my cup of tea

😎 > 😌 > 🙂 > 😐

Meh

meh

I don't understand how people manage to hate R.E.M. they're too average to bother

I dont even know what kind of person would like this

how is this sooooooo boring and then everybody hurts is one of the greatest songs ever made

niciun chef sa ascult ăsta.

This started really strong, and it ended up being a lot poppier than I was expecting it to be. And it really didn't have any lyrics worth noting, it was just sort of things that sounded good. And it did sound good, but it's just sort of an empty experience. Favorites: Drive, Try Not To Breathe, Monty Got A Raw Deal

Its ok I like r e m but not my favorite

Love Sidewinder but I just couldn’t connect with this one. It’s boring to me. The “pain” feels fake. Maybe I’lll like it more in a couple years.

What a boring album and a boring band.

I guess I’m one of the few from my generation, but I find REM boring and simplistic. Who writes a song about Andy Kaufman?

2.5 pretty good not bad maybe 3 stars

Not for me - I skipped Everybody Hurts

i’m not a fan of the lead singers voice

Опять не мой вкус, интересно спокойно возможно треки подойдут к какому-то фильму

Seen some other people say its boring so really hoped i could break the mould and be one of the many people leaving 5 star reviews, but regrettably, i did find this boring, i enjoy mopey music but i fear this isn’t my type of mopey music. Never knew they were the everybody hurts people tho so 2/5

This was the first album that didnt resonate with me.

It's... fine? Again, got bored and DNF'd

Het aantal albums dat niks voor mij is begint aan me te vreten. 2/5

Not my style

So this album came to me on a Monday and set the mood for the day. It was a moody Monday. I was familiar with "Drive," "Everybody Hurts," and "Man on the Moon." The other songs were a blend of blahness. I'll stick to the songs I know.

no es mi estilo, pero es muy bueno

No conecté mucho con las letras pero si con las melodías de algunas de las canciones de este álbum. Igual capaz me hace falta conocer el contexto.

Did not feel like anything special, I do like the sound but the lyrics and vocals are not that impressive. So overall don't think I’ll come back to it in the future, though trying a different album by them is not a bad idea.

Meh, not my favorite. Very much divorced dad music imo.

Where have I been? I didn't think R.E.M. was still around doing big things in the 90s. Over halfway through, and I don't really get it? It's good, but I wouldn't call it great. It's just dad rock. Without anything really special going on. They're like the precursor to Nickelback. And I think I'm just experiencing disappointment. I hadn't really listened to R.E.M. before, but by name alone, I held them in a fairly high regard, and this is just meh. The last song was pretty good, though, that was nice way to end the album. Favorite Song(s): Sweetness Follows, Find the River

Surprised by how much I didn’t like this. REM being the most REM they could be and it’s annoying. Man on the Moon is doing a lot of work here

pretty unforgettable honestly. Not much enjoyment out of this one.

Booooring. Why is REM so boring? They've got like 2 good songs, the rest is like a worse version of the Cure. Two stars since they're 'influential'

Album was slow thought it ramp up but never did 2

eh. the single was about the only highlight

Boring, uncreative, soulless.

156/1089 i had heard of REM before but subconsciously I had thought they were more metal/rock-y rather than sort of folk/indie ish ofc I know Everybody Hurts so it was nice to hear where that came from are REM “fake moon landing” truthers?? I liked Try Not To Breathe and Monty Got A Raw Deal but otherwise I wasn’t particularly enthused by this project. it was alright just not really part of my interests apparently there are 3 more REM albums on this project so hopefully they’re more my speed 47/100

Kinda al sounded the same. Saved 1 song

Overall: 4.9/10 Didn’t enjoy this. I found it boring. Kept waiting for it to get good and excite me but it never did so I spent the whole time waiting for it to end. Drive- 4/10 (boring) Try not to breathe- 5/10 (fine I guess) The sidewinder sleeps tonight- 6.5/10 (knew already, half point for nostalgia) Everybody hurts- 6.5/10 (knew already, it’s good, he’s not very good at riffs) New Orleans instrumental no.1- 3/10 (sounds like the type of beat I cook up on garage band) Sweetness follows- 4/10 (was optimistic at first but was too repetitive for me) Monty got a raw deal- 4/10 (waited for it to get good but it never did) Ignoreland- 7/10 (first one I actually like) Star me kitten- 3/10 (snooze fest) Man on the moon- 5/10 (missed opportunity to say hey mama as elvis, may have better rating because baseline of album is ass) Nightswimming- 5.5/10 (I’m so disappointed by this album) Find the river- 5/10 (I’m so bored thank fuck this is the last one)

Don’t like the first song, i skipped half way through this is like if an emo kid fell in love with a country boy and wrote an album for him i’m liking sidewinder sleeps tonite but it might just be because the drums are more interesting Everybody hurts instrumental sounds like a cigarettes after sex but the singers voice is really not it for me I fear i’m half way through and was not very wowed by any songs

How boring can you get and still call it rock? It's the curse of the Gen X aging hipster that we experienced the decline of our essential bands (yes, all of them) in real time, so we cannot evaluate each album independently. However, even if I weren't comparing this to Murmur or Reckoning I would still think it sucks.

It seems I was never really into R.E.M. Very 80 after all. The synths are often too much, the voice... The hit "Everybody Hurts", rings familiar and almost right after so many listening even though the singing does seem a screaming complaint.

Hightlights: - sweetness follows - nightswimming Nicht schlecht, aber sehr dad rock Leider nicht meins

There are certain bands that you can only describe as "rock" which were destined to be middle of the road from the start. REM is one of those for me (U2 another). I was surprised that a couple of tracks on this I found quite moving but I would never put it on. I find the opaque lyrics quite irritating and tracks like nightswimming feel overly-sentimental; reaching for the nostalgia levers to try to cheaply elicit an emotional response.

Ei jotenkin nappaa vaan jää tylsäksi. vaikkakin ihan pätevää.

nicht wirklich was ich mir anhören würde… ein lied ist sehr bekannt aber ich glaube nicht dass ich das album sonst einfach anmachen würde

"Meh". That's been my thoughts on R.E.M. for years. In my opinion they have two good songs, and only one of them is on this album. Man on the Moon will make the playlist. The rest of the album is just filler.

Distinctive sound with a number of iconic songs on here. It’s easy to understand how someone would love it, but unfortunately it just didn’t click. Feels like a case of “lead-singer-itis”, where you either love his sound or hate it — same case as Oasis! Also, driving to pickup pizza at 8pm to Everybody Hurts was a horribly depressing experience.

I have loved REM songs before, this is the first record I'm checking out by them. I'm not a huge fan. There are moments of greatness but most of it is... for lack of a better term, whiny, to my ears. I respect it but it ain't me. I think I'll check out some of their earlier jangle pop work because those are the songs I've heard that really click for me.

one popular song

Yeah this is really a stinker. I don't enjoy it at all and I don't think it needs to be on a list of music to hear before one dies.

R.E.M. - reminds me of Athens GA; Athens GA reminds me of UGA; UGA reminded me of the Bulldogs. I hate the Bulldogs, therefore Athens and R.E.M can’t be too far down the list. Honestly though- typical 90s “I want to be deep and introspective” navel gazing BS. Hasn’t aged well, and it didn’t start all that great for that matter.

A few good songs. Very slow melancholy album in my opinion.

Generic rock album.

Sogar nightswimming ist langweilig … zum Glück hat mir das andere Album, das ich gestern gehört habe, richtig gut gefallen 🐻

bleeh

My wife has helped my grow my disdain for them....its warranted.

I just find them while bland

R.E.M.’s Automatic for the People is a moody, introspective record that trades the band’s earlier jangly energy for slow tempos and somber reflection. Songs like “Everybody Hurts” and “Nightswimming” aim for emotional resonance but often feel overly sentimental and sluggish. While the production is polished and Michael Stipe’s vocals are distinct, the album lacks the drive and immediacy that made their earlier work engaging. Overall, Automatic for the People feels more like a sleepy meditation than a compelling listen.

I don’t think I really “get” R.E.M. An extra star for “Ignoreland”.

I listened to this with my wife on the way to our honeymoon and now we are getting a divorce. 2 stars for Stipe’s voice

Midling and no greater

slow. chill. meh. couple catchy. sad.

Знаю, що гурт дуже поважний і цей альбом зокрема, але це максимально не моє. Напів акустичний поп-рок з оркестровками раніше взагалі викликав стійке відторгнення. Зараз сприйняття трохи краще. Проте все одно за темпераментом та аранжуваннями максимально не моє. Дуже крутий головний хіт та дійсно чудова пісня Man on the Moon в якій вистачає динаміки для мене. Хороші тексти на альбомі, цього не можна не визнавати.

Idk man, that voice just irks me

I survived another R.E.M. album. I don't understand how this is my fourth R.E.M. album! I mean, fine, when Michael Stipe wasn't singing or droning or being boring, it was kind of OK. The instrumental part of "Nightswimming" was quite beautiful. But that's all I've got for R.E.M.

Can’t deal.

Depressing whiny

Landmark 90s album which is in effect a pop masterclass so much as it did the job in terms of commercial and wide appeal on a giant scale for the decade.  tick. I dont give points for the band sorting themselves out or it being their best mind! I just find this is a pervasive, heavy atmosphere that never lifts. Its a singular contribution of monotonous technical / clinical acoustic instrumentation. I just dont feed into the energy it provides and not sure I want to have any emotional investment in it.

Pretty sure I’ve thought REO Speedwagon and R.E.M. were the same band until this moment. Don’t really fuck with this, couldn’t even make it through the whole album.

Moody folk rock. Didn't really do it for me, I didn't really feel anything, not event the apathy that the album is trying to convey I think. Might be that I need to listen through it a couple of times, but I don't think I will be bothered.

Ehh

Bardzo powtarzalne, trochę nudne, muzyka równie szara co okładka

Radio PSR Musik

A sense of familiarity was enjoyed through listening to songs I heard as a teenager, but ultimately a depressing album populated with samey songs and a whiney vocalist. Wants to be deeper and more meaningful than it actually is.

Not for me

Idk why, they could never make me care for this band.

This is actually the most forgettable album of all time. Nothing was bad just nothing stood out. Alright vocals, alright guitar nothing crazy on hooks just all around mid. The only stand out is the biggest song Everybody Hurts. Nothing rly to say other then mid 5.2/10 2.6/5

Started good but progressively turned into a boring album, as expected. The inflection point was the cheesy ballad.

Boring

No.

Everybody hurts and night swimming are good but the rest is boring

no me convenció, solo me gustaron un par de temas

I'm still trying to figure out if I'm an R.E.M. fan. They're so hot, or miss. I do enjoy the ambience of this album, and many of these tracks can be used at funerals, but nothing truly stuck out to me. It was more of a vibe than an album. Favorite Track: "Nightswimming".

1.5 Most (“alt”) rock music from the 90s continues to exist in a nether-realm, upon which the light of my interest will never shine.

Hot take: Scott Litt ruined REM. He's responsible for the musical abortion that was Out of Time and as another reviewer said, "Shiny Happy People being possibly the worst song ever written," my expectations were very low for Automatic For The People. Scott Litt exceeded my expectations. This album isn't annoying as Out of Time but it's 10x more boring. I cut my teeth on Murmur, Reckoning, Fables of The Reconstruction. I was in college when Life's Rich Pageant and Document and Green came out. I saw them live for the Green show. That's when I saw the cracks, but Green wasn't so bad. Document was the last really good REM album. Normally I try to listen to hit albums with the attitude that there must be something about the album that made it so popular, but this is as middle of the road as you can get. So disappointing.

It's 1993. I'm in AP English. And Heather Duncan is talking about how amazing Michael Stipe is. Again. He's not. There are a few catchy songs, but mostly it's a mopey coffee house response to The Cure or Morrissey.

Was going to give three stars but listening to this album was a bit of a non-event for me. Plus some of the songs on it just give me the ick. Whilst the production isn’t terrible and some of the guitar tones are pleasant, there is nothing that grabs me about the songwriting really.

Ehhh I don’t like this album. None of the songs are offensively bad but they’re boring and forgettable. Any instrumental highlight is often ruined by the singing (which I know is a hot take to dislike). I find its alright at the best of times and grading at the worst. The instrumentals are bland and don’t hit hard, idk they’re just kinda lifeless. I'm sure this album would of hit hard in the day but it's completely lost it's edge as time has gone on, everything lacks a real punch. It just doesn’t resonate with me. This album is a bore for the most part with a few interesting moments sprinkled throughout. Fav tracks - Man on the moon - Ignoreland Worst tracks - Drive - Night Swimming

#625. REM sucked yesterday. REM will suck tomorrow. And for 48 minutes this morning, REM sucked today. 2/5: shit

In a conversation separate to any awareness that I was listening to this album, my coworkers today mentioned how much they loved this album. My problem is, a lot of people have felt or do feel about Coldplay (derogatory) the way I do about R.E.M. Every R.E.M. album has nearly been a nonstarter for me, especially given the peaks of popularity they reached. But the opening song “Drive” gave me some sense of hope that there’d be some acute substance to this record. The song had a memorable melody and unique sound for once. I was shot back down to doldrums and disappointment soon after. What in the world is going on with “Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight”? People just tolerated him singing like that on the intro, with nothing of significance to follow for the rest of the song? Man. I don’t think I’d remember “Everybody Hurts” if it wasn’t beaten over my head by radio stations as a kid - the song doesn’t have any stickiness to it. If I had to pick a song I liked, maybe the aforementioned intro song, or maybe “Nightswimming”. I enjoyed the string arrangement, which upon looking, isn’t even the work of the band - it’s arranged by John Paul Jones. Unsurprising. Iterative improvements but I cannot get over the hump with this band and how popular they became off the back of records like this. 2/5

Ok 2-3

I know R.E.M. only from the overplayed music videos of the late 80s and early 90s, as well as the constant radio play back in the day. I have never listened to a full album by them, are they worthy of an album I need to hear before I die, we'll see. Drive is not the best opener to the album, Try Not to Breathe is pretty forgettable, by track three I am finally interested with The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight, Everybody Hurts is painful to listen to, as it was so overplayed and, I am ok never hearing it again, maybe I'm not a fan of Michael Stipe, because I enjoyed the Instrumental, Sweetness Follows I am losing interest, and already checking how many tracks are left, Monty Got A Raw Deal is better, but at this point I would feel I was getting a raw deal if I bought this album, Ignoreland is not bad, Star Me Kitten ... um how many tracks are left, Man on the Moon, my thumb is currently hanging over the skip button, so overplayed, very dated, yeah yeah, Nightswimming I think I would rather be experiening my own Rapid Eye Movement, one more track to go, I think the last two tracks were just filler with Find the River. I was definitely listening to other things in 1992, again I remember the hits, I would like to forget the hits. I could see them making the list of 1,001 songs, but albums, I don't think they have enough rocket sauce for that. It was OK, but mostly boring. I have heard their early records are really good, so who knows, I may explore that, but will never listen to this album again.

What a letdown. Before I listened to this album I only knew maybe three songs by R.E.M. (and all three are incredible). I am actually disappointed by Michael Stipe. He has no range whatsoever, and it sounds like he sings the same 5 note melody in every song and it leads into surrounding music being kinda boring. Anytime he goes for a higher note or something different his voice is strained and sounds bad. There are great moments on this album, but all in all I didn't enjoy it. I really hoped it would be awesome. 2/5

A couple hits but otherwise uninteresting.

This is brilliant only in how forgettable and inoffensive it manages to be. If you want some music that sounds like it's in the background of a schmaltzy scene in a 90's romcom this is for you but otherwise I learnt Everybody Hurts in guitar around '09 and if my relationship with this album had ended there I don't know that I would mind. 2.5*

Better than Radiohead. I hate Radiohead.

Not a bad album....for really only two songs. Everybody Hurts was a decent song. I thought Man on the Moon was the best song on this album. To be honest this was a little underwhelming.

Meh.

Tämähän on REMiä. Hidasta ja laulajan tunnistaa kaukaa. Ei tää huonoa todellakaan mutta kelpaa kuunnella kyllä

Underwhelming experience

The belters make up for what is otherwise unremarkable filler. Listen to the sidewinder sleeps tonight, everybody hurts and sweetness follows.

Slow pace, grindy voice, overly dramatic harmonies, obnoxious chorus, making it moderate Baroque Pop.

Nothing notable.

Again, the only thing keeping this from being 1 star for me is Peter Buck's guitar work. 2 stars.

I hear Michael Stipe, I zone out. Can’t help it.

This is like a weird combination of The Doors, Genesis and Nirvana but somehow, despite me loving those bands (ESPECIALLY Genesis), I can't get into this album. I'd give it a 2/5, but I can absolutely see me getting more into it as time goes on

2.5

Boring, bit samey. Sad people music with a couple of classics

Mid

Not very interesting. Two stars ✌

3/10 - good vibes but lacked any songs I would add to playlist or want to have at a campfire or the like.

Meh

This didn’t do anything for me. The big hits I never enjoyed listening to. The rest was just rather bland. I did moments when I thought I might try to revisit this…. But I don’t think it has enough value for a repeat listen.

Gear: DCA ÆON 2 Noire Artwork: 🛰️⛓️★ Production: 🤷‍♂️😐👍 Music: 🤔🚫🎵😒👀💭🤷‍♂️👂💬😐👍 Rating: ★★/5

Went into this not expecting anything but, i'm not gonna lie, I wasn't mad at this one. Songs like "Star Me Kitten" and "Nightswimming" brought it up from a 1 to a 2 for sure.

Snoooooooze... REM just ain't for me

They're not really my jam and they were force-fed down my earholes all through the 90's, Everybody Hurts and Man on the Moon we're some of the tracks that still result in changing the channel or shutting it off. I think I have the previous record in my collection, but even that got boring really fast, when that hit the airwaves in Finland with full force. I'll take a proper listen and then decide how it sounds now, as a whole. Nah, still bemoany but also kinda dated.

Kinda meh, bland, boring; it didn't hold my attention. I didn't really care for it.

Only knew 3 songs of the album going into it, only left the album liking those three songs

M m m m miiiiid

1 drive - 1.5 2. breathe - 1 3. tonite - 1.5 4. hurtz - 2.5 5. orleanz - 1 6. follouuz - 1.5 7. monty - 1.5 8. ignore - 1 9. kitten - 1 10. moon - 1.5 11. night - 1.5 12. river - 1.5

i’m three songs in and i wish this was going by faster LMAO. okay i listened to the whole thing and it kinda all blurred together to me. not what i would prefer to listen to personally!

bit boring for me. nothing extra with the instumental either. or maybe its special, im not an expert. sorry

Some bangers - some mash. Wierd vocal decisions coke musta been good

Don’t really like the mix, vocals sound like broadway, nothing really catchy happened

Это было трудновато

Bit meh

Not a fan.

This album made me rapidly roll my eyes.

I’ve never been a big fan of REM ever since seeing them live in 1985 (on tour for probably their worst album, for me, fables of the reconstruction). I never really understood the appeal. They always seemed too obvious and at the same time too obtuse, trying to be clever). This is probably the first time I have listened to the entirety of this album. Obviously it has 3+ of their biggest hits and therefore probably deserves to be on a greatest album list because of that but otherwise for me it has overplayed songs and songs that I’m not particularly enamored of. I could have this on in the background and not be annoyed but wouldn’t actively seek it out again.

I keep trying to come up with rational explanations for why I don't like REM. I listened to this whole album in an attempt to better understand my taste, completely ruining my drive home from work. Still, I acknowledge the quality of the craftmanship. I can completely understand the case for liking REM. But finally, I realized the only song on here that I actually enjoyed as a listening experience is the instrumental one. So I think it all just comes down to hating Michael Stipe. I think my problem with him is that he sings with such a strong sense of emotion in his voice. That's not a problem in and of itself obviously. My problem is that it's always the same emotion. I'm not sure how to describe that emotion - it's sort of like a wounded, somewhat condescending pensiveness? Like he's just given me bad news and is now explaining the factors that caused the bad news to happen to try and make me feel better? But I just don't want to hear it right now man.

Popular isn't necessarily good. One exception: Everybody Hurts. Now that's a fine tune.

I’ve tried to get into REM several times now and I just don’t get the appeal. Nothing about the music or the lyrics is especially interesting or compelling to me, they sound like an average band with a few catchy radio hits (I do like man on the moon).

1.8 M.E.H.

This was a rare case where I actually liked this album the more it went on. When it ended, I was almost a little disappointed. It was just getting good, and then it ended. I dunno. REM has always been a bit of an enigma to me, as I'm sure they've been to most. We all know "It's the End of the World as We Know It," "Orange Crush," and "Losing My Religion." And to be honest, I always thought "Everybody Hurts" was a meme song and honestly didn't know it was REM. This felt a lot more produced than I expected. The string arrangements really caught me off guard. I always viewed them more as a band that would've forgone those kind of embellishments in their work. But hey, they added to the whole vibe I guess. I hate to say this was boring because I don't think that's really that fair to say. I think it just wasn't for me, mostly. At least not until you get closer to the end. Then it starts to catch for me. Bummer. Could've been so much better. Two stars. Standout Tracks: The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite, Man on the Moon, Nightswimming

It's eh

Not for me

ok album, bit depressing

Tylsempi kuin aiemmin vastaan tullut R.E.M:n levy. Ei niinku huono mutta eipä tässä juuri oikein mitään tapahtunutkaan.

Another REM album on here that I will never think about ever again

Never really gave these guys much of a listen before and this did nothing to convince me otherwise. The famous songs are decent but the rest were filler

melow kinda boring eh YNN

Just not a very good band

I've never gone out of my way to listen to R.E.M. and I doubt I will make the effort again. This album passes the nod test - it is able to make my head sway, but only just - for that it might have picked up 3 stars. But in the context of the other albums I've listened to whilst doing this daily exercise, I'm afraid it's time to the deepen the scale; I need to ask myself if I would listen to this over Dolly Parton or The Go-Go's and I can't quite make that leap. The first song captured my curiosity with an almost-country guitar plucking followed by an exciting electric guitar riff, but sadly the dry tonality of the lyrics did not Drive me much further into understanding the artist. A little later on we reach Everybody Hurts which is the standout classic from this album, but that classic refrain has unfortunately been co-opted by Hollywood. It slips me into the shoes of a Will Ferrell like character in a non-descript romantic comedy, as the protagonist reaches the low point in his story arc. I can envision the typical R.E.M. enjoyer, resplendent in his blue jeans and brown brogues, with the top two buttons on his M&S shirt undone. 40 years ago this man was standing at the crossroads of Alternative Rock, but when confronted with the energetic drug ballads of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, he chose the safety of R.E.M., which is a decision I cannot endorse. I wish I had better things to say about this album, but after giving it two attempts I'm just not there.

😬

Alright but a bit Sleepy

Just not for me at all

**An ok album, not what I prefer

Not as good as "Green", but still a decent listen.

I started actively listening to music for myself about the time this album was released. The singles are burned into my brain. They were practically omnipresent on the radio of the day. I can practically smell the warm radio/turntable set that I'd adopted from my Dad when he moved to CDs. So it has something on me ... but do I like REM? No.

Nope I already knew I was going to dislike this because I can't stand this guys voice. Surprisingly his voice wasn't as whiny on this album Seemed ok as background music, until I heard some questionable lyrics and it was an instant nope Please no more R.E.M. I am begging 2 ⭐️

One good song doesn’t make it a good album

Ja weet je, is prima muziek maar wel een beetje langzaam en niet heel lekker voor op de achtergrond

nothing special

I just find this album a bit too earnest, sorry.

Same as the other I’ve heard from them, pleasant enough, but won’t think about it again

It just personallyyyyyy really did not interest me the slightest bit.

Meh...I decided to give everything that is suggested to me a chance even if before I didn't care for it. This is the first time, I think, that I listened to this album from start to finish. My opinion didn't change really on this. I found the album pretty bland. Losing My Religion is not a terrible song and can at least see why it was a hit but the rest is not my cup of tea

Not really memorable

Is this a parody of overly dramatic motorcycle songs? Like wanted dead or alive or turn the page? Really weak start. Overproduced pseudo country riff sounds like it’s dying to be in a Harley Davidson Super Bowl commercial. Lulled me into an angry sleep. More sea shanty like somehow but Jesus it’s the same song structure. Simple riff accompanied by needless melodrama. Preferred the overall tone of this but it went forever. Will there be alt rock?? My note again is I hate the production of this. This might be exciting if it was some underground album and had a hint of irony. I kind of like the lead vocals here. The wail is good, but the mouthful chorus is obnoxious and gets worse as it goes on. This is by far the best song so far, but it again runs out of ideas before it runs out of track. And then here we go. How do you develop fresh thoughts on a song that has blasted in dentist offices across the continent for three decades. Like the last song, there is a touch of elements from the 50’s somehow. Like prom songs in back to the future. I hate the sentiment of this song and again it follows this repetitive song structure that is akin to being hypnotized at a poorly attended casino magic show. PASS I’m starting to lose interest big time. It really insists on announcing its arrival and then gazing at its shoes and barely playing boring rock ideas that have been executed better. I’m not feeling the emotion at all. This instrumental is a good place to ignore the mediocre music bereft of ideas and update on what is a mess so far. I find the hushed, understated nature of this album to be off putting rather than charming. There’s something that makes this sound like Christian rock or something. Song titles aside, Sweetness follows everything on this album. And it’s far too sweet. I’m looking for excuses to leave the desk. I watched trucking TikTok’s. What is with the simple repetition? Every song has the same four chords punctuated by a bad vocal melody. I thought this one might be more upbeat. Medieval guitar stabs are alright in the middle. Some variance and a little bit of a driving rhythm. Better. Oh this sounds like a Bon Jovi B side. Wait, is there energy?? Yes, Undirected energy with obnoxious instrumentals. This album doesn’t do anything right and fills with a melancholy I don’t think it intends to. While these notes are first run, stream of consciousness, the song “Star Me Kitten” compels me to sit and think. This song is obviously out of the ordinary for the album. I had to take a minute. This takes the 50s prom nostalgia to the extreme and beats you into somnambulism via a low crooning over a dream sequence soundtrack. If it’s a parody, it’s unfunny and if it’s serious, it’s an embarrassment to the band and me for having sat and wasted my time. This song is unlistenable. Time for another hit. Wrestling mentioned. BLASSIE MENTIONED. Immediately better. This song is much more charming. There’s a confidence not displayed in the previous songs. Great hook. A strength of this album is the uniqueness of the vocals and it’s far too rarely utilized. After the thrill of the chorus, their verses are a return to tedium, but this song is good to great. Rarely does the interesting music climb the charts, but I guess this is one instance. The album is getting a little better as time goes on. This song has a magnetic quality of some description, but also seems like an ironic Christmas carol. It’s fine, but can’t save this bad boy overall. A low energy end to a low energy album. This is what happens when a band has a bunch of money and no longer feels the pull of struggle. This album is bad. It unlistenable, but bad. HIGHLIGHT: Man on the Moon.