Automatic For The People

Its kinda mid

Molto bello, sia come instrumentazione che come melodie. Un ascolto solidissimo dall'inizio alla fine

Stipe’s vocals are excellent when they need to be (I’m looking at you, “Everybody Hurts”), but most of the songwriting is uninspired and dull. The 90’s trying on different outfits to see what fits, and this just wasn’t it for me. R.E.M. hits their stride layer.

I get it, but I still don't care for most of it. I'll keep it short and say I still like the songs from this album that I already knew, and the rest I don't feel like I need to revisit. Gave it 2 listens and my opinion didn't change.

R.E.M. is definitely a distinct taste that certainly isn't for everybody, but Automatic for the People is a good entryway. It's got some art/baroque influence mixed with the jangle that they are known for, and creates this very unique sound. Not one that I could listen to all the time, but a good album to add to the rotation periodically. Favorite Song: The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite Score: 90/100

Poor Doug Butabi...REM at their best.

Ended v strong

love it! every song that comes gets better

This is #day807 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... here's to my fourth and final record by R.E.M., and I'm checking off yet another band from the list. I haven't listened to this one in quite a while, but it's always a pleasure. The album is full of R.E.M.'s signature songs: "Drive," "Everybody Hurts," "Man on the Moon," and "Nightswimming." A stone-cold classic of '90s alternative rock. This is a 5 out of 5, of course. Looking forward to #day808.

This album is amazing. REM is truly an amazing band that gets overlooked way to often

Альбом спокойный, посидеть где нибудь под него на природе, или почиллить. Есть небольшой вайб кантри

7/10 Buen album, muy tranquilo. Acompaña bien, sin molestar pero tampoco aburre

It may make me basic to say this, but this is by far my favorite R.E.M. album. Granted, I was never a big fan other than a couple of albums and a few songs, but here everything comes together so well. The songs are great, the performances are great, there is stylistic variety, beautiful arrangements, all of it. I applaud the band for dropping all pretense after achieving a huge cross-over hit with "Losing My Religion" and doubling down on accessibility instead of going the opposite direction and purposefully alienate the wide audience they've garnerd. They would just that with thier following album, Monster (1994), but at this stage they rightfully decided to just be unpretentious make a song like "Everybody Hurts". It may be corny, but I love that song, and this whole album. Key tracks: Drive The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite Everybody Hurts Man on the Moon Nightswimming Find the River

Wink wink heart heart love this one thank you. First one I listened to of yours

7/10

Ehhhh

Some warm memories from this one, but it sounds kinda dated and is a little too, I don't know, REM for me. I think I missed the wave, I was too young.

Not a good album guys

preferred over green

I really enjoyed this album. I've never been super into this sub-genre of rock but something about this album really clicked with me. The vocals are nice with catchy choruses and all the instruments sound great. I will definitely be returning to this

Currently absolutely knackered post a friends wedding. I am glad this is something slow paced and chill. I think I had a R.E.M album already. I am not a big fan, but it might be the right music for the right time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Drive - A surprise - it's a neat, rhythmic song that even goes a bit rocky too. It has a folky undertone too which is satisfying. Promising start. 4/5 Try not to Breathe - ah now we are back in what I expect. The biggest crime are the drums - just cymbal patter - bore off. Sounds like christian rock. 1/5 The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight - Oh god those "wimboweh" eeeees in the intro make me want to skip. Must not skip. Think I have heard this on the radio. It's got a lilting organ melody but the rest is so bleh. The chorus sounds like he's vomiting letters 1/5 Everybody hurts - Strong dislike of this song. 1/5 New Orleans Instrumental no1 - Thanks for giving my ears a break. Sounds really nice in my headphones. Kinda trippy. 3/5 Sweetness Follows - More organ. I bloody love an organ. Also some farty strings (Cello?) Inoffensive chill track. Would be very sparse without the embellishments. Getting man and a guitar at a party vibes from this. I actually like this for it's 70's vibes. 4/5 Monty got a raw deal - Mild minimal rock with an accordion? Folky vibes with tambourines and bells. It's fine. 2/5 Ignoreland - Strong 80s feeling to this one from the get go. Drummer found his toms - go drummer! Vocal performance is better - the faster paced delivery adds a good energy. Man without those "yeahs" in the chorus this would be a real gem. 4/5 Star me kitten - Didn't even notice this was on until it was nearly finished. Heard him say Fuck me kitten. Fuck off dickhead. 0/5 Man on the moon - This one hurts too. Really overplayed. Heavy dislike. Reminds me of the world music colonial music of Paul Simon et al. 1/5 Nightswimming - My wife warned me about this. Whiny, repetitive. 1/5 Find the River - I had clocked out by this point. Don't really have anything to say but meh. 2/5 What is striking about the reviews - barely any are of any real length. Representative of the apathy the album evokes. Looking at my 120 albums so far I'd stick this somewhere in the middle. 25/60 Low 3*

Definitely a contender for album of the 1990s, and recorded straight after their highly rated and successful 'out of time' album with no tour. Intended to be an album or rock songs, it ended up with an approach more akin to the unplugged craze of the period. String arrangements from Zep's John Paul Jones, there are no duds on it, it could work as three 4 track EPs theses days, but the two side cassette version would mean that four classics were on either side with the four more experimental albums tracks split between both. Drive, sidewinder, everybody hurts, man on the moon, nightswimming and find the river are completely top drawer. Very 18 million sellers feature lyrical inspirations in Andy Kaufman, Montgomery Clift, Nazareth, the lion sleeps tonight and David Essex (Rock on). Magnificent stuff.

This is the only R.E.M. album that didn’t resonate with me frfr. “Man On The Moon” was a nice song tho

Their best album with several hits on it.

Solid album

Broing

V.good

2 for being a boring REM album, plus one for Man on the Moon, minus one again for bloody Everybody Hurts

I wish I could see what everyone else seems to in these guys.

Some of this rating may be nostalgia, but like many who grew up in the 90s I am very familiar with R.E.M, in fact this is the first time I’ve been recommended an album that I definitely owned in some form.. revisiting it after 20ish years and I’m reminded how unique a sound they have, how they can seamlessly go from sentimental to upbeat, and how almost every song is a good song, in fact the 2 standout songs on this album are among my least favourite.. I get that R.E.M isn’t for everyone… but they definitely hit the spot for me

They are so right, everybody does hurt sometimes. For example: right now my ears hurt from listening to that fuckass song. Crazy that they managed to get Elvis for a short cameo.

Mit Automatic for the People legten R.E.M., die US-amerikanische Alternative-Rock-Band aus Athens, Georgia, im Oktober 1992 ihr achtes Studioalbum bei Warner Bros. Records vor. Die Platte entstand an vielen Orten: Demos in Athens und in Daniel Lanois’ Kingsway Studio in New Orleans, die Sessions mit Produzent Scott Litt ab März 1992 im Bearsville Studio bei Woodstock, Overdubs in den Criteria Studios in Miami, die Streicher in Atlanta. Man hört davon nichts. Das Album klingt wie aus einem Guss. Nach dem Erfolg von Out of Time ging die Band nicht auf Tournee, sondern machte ein Album über Tod, Verlust und Erinnerung. John Paul Jones schrieb die Streicherarrangements, und sie sitzen dort, wo sie gebraucht werden: Bei „Drive” öffnen sie den schleppenden Opener, „Nightswimming” lebt von Mike Mills’ Klavier. „Everybody Hurts” ist zum Trostlied einer ganzen Generation geworden, „Man on the Moon” verneigt sich vor Andy Kaufman. „The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite” lockert die Stimmung kurz auf, „Ignoreland” setzt Wut dagegen. „Find the River” beschließt das Album. Das Tempo bleibt durchgehend gedrosselt, und wer Wucht sucht, ist hier falsch. Peter Bucks Gitarren treten oft hinter Akustikinstrumente und Streicher zurück, Michael Stipe singt so deutlich wie selten zuvor. Gerade das macht die Platte aus: Sie verzichtet auf jede Geste, die den Schmerz kleinreden würde, und wird dadurch nie larmoyant. Wer R.E.M. nur von „Losing My Religion” kennt, sollte hier weitermachen.

Decent but sad I like them only already knew everybody hurts

Kis meleg takaro. Jokor jott.

Etűdök szomorkodàsra

6/10, lehozott az életről kedvenc: Everybody Hurts

🤷‍♀️

komfortzona, kozben meg brutalisan kemeny dolgokrol van szo benne 9.5/10 Fav: Drive, Everybody hurts, Ignoreland (1992-ben ilyen preciz dalt irni a Trump elnoksegrol - tudom, persze a Reagan-Bush-evekrol szol), Man on the Moon (<3), Nightswimming, Find the river

Too funny, I was just thinking about this album yesterday, wondering if it was going to be on the list! Another great listen. So many hits - Drive, Everybody Hurts, Man On The Moon, Nightswimming - and the other songs are pretty solid as well. A great listen for an overcast fall day. (4)

9/10 I've heard some of these songs so much now, they do lose their initial magic, but it is a great album

Drive - good, i enjoy the sound a lot. can't tell the lyrics very well, quite murmur-ish but the instruments makes up for it. fan of the lyrics near the very end of the song. 4.7/10 Try Not To Breathe - weaker than Drive sound wise, but I enjoy the lyrics more in this one. 3.7/10 The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite - enjoyable intro. soup mention🤤 catchy chorus, more enjoyable lyrics. 4.9/10 Everybody Hurts - #truedat but too slow for my liking. i don’t dislike slow music but this is not the kind of slow music i can enjoy. kind of classic? ive heard it before never knowing it was REM. 1.7/10 New Orleans Instrumental No. 1 - calming and nice, no singer which i enjoy in REM’s case. 4.8/10 Sweetness Follows - i like the guitar. sounds like it should have some wise lyrics but i can’t tell what this guy is saying. its cute. 3/10 Monty Got A Raw Deal - my notes for this got deleted and im not re-listening #oops think my rating was 3.9/10 but i dont remember. Ignoreland - big fan of the lyrics, fuck capitalism or whatever!!! pretty catchy, too. 4/10 Star Me Kitten - another slower song, lightly reminds me of led zeppelin. "you sre wild and im in your possession so fuck me kitten" um no i hate this song EWWWW EW EW EW -10/10 Man On The Moon - catchy, i like the lyrics. 4/10 Nightswimming - calming. 4/10 Find The River - 2/10

Solo escuché 3 canciones. Drive, Try not to breath y The sidewinder sleeps tonite. Me gustaron. Las primeras dos que mencioné son bastante literales mientras que la tercera es más metafórica y me costó más entender de qué hablaba o a qué hacía referencia pero cuando lo supe, creo que me gustó. Aclaro que mi reseña se basa en estas tres canciones.

Iconic always

I think that Green or Out of Tike may be better but I will cross that bridge when I get there. This is an awesome album. Stipe was probably at his peak here re songwriting as Night Swimming is maybe his most perfect song. That combined with how in sync the band is and how great this album sounds 32 years later make this Athenian rate this a 5.

Solid. easy listening.

His voice is so bad it’s good

ThAtS Me iN tHe COrnEr!! Aber actually echt gut

Often an artist who has been out of the mainstream has a massive successful album, and it creates a dilemma for their next work. Stay what they did before a new listeners might get turned off. Stay in their new sounds and they risk alienating their original fans. And then there’s what REM does with AFTP. Expanding on their newfound popularity they add new elements to their sound like strings and accordion. Their lyrics are more mature, discussing aging, giving guidance, mortality, and politics. And they still haven’t forgotten how to rock it out, especially The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight. All four are at their musical and songwriting peaks, and Michael Stipe’s voice can bring pathos and humor, sometimes in the same song. An absolute landmark.

Over the years this one has become a huge grower. I always liked the singles, but for some reason really really hated "Everybody Hurts." I still don't think that's their best song but for some reason I acted like it weighed down the whole project disproportionately. Like, sure, a lot of the abstracted, bizarre, maybe nonsensical lyrics stand out a lot more when the vocal aren't buried like they were on the more "post-punky" albums, but that leads to some really catchy and idiosyncratic moments! I can't hate on the "hey baby" on Man on the Moon, I can't hate on whatever the hell he's talking about on Drive, because Michael Stipe says it all like he means it. And outside of him, this album has a lovely simple sound palette, everything sounds great. Love the iconic mandolin, the way the piano is captured on "Nightswimming", the acoustic guitars and strings, everything just sounds perfectly of its time in a way that sticks with me. Really emotional, really beautiful, and surprisingly fun.

I love night swimming

Their most highly polished & commercial album (6 singles!). Lacks the freshness of their earlier work.

Not my favourite R.E.M. but it's still great

Another banger from R.E.M and I love them for it

Good collection of rock songs. Some of the songs blend into each other a bit too much, and, other than the last two songs the ballads are weak, but everybody hurts and man in the moon are iconic for a reason and the orchestral parts on night swimming are great. Favourite: everybody hurts Likes: drive, the sidewinder sleeps tonight, sweetness follows, man on the moon, night swimming, find the river. Dislikes: try not to breathe, ignoreland, star me kitten. 7.8/10

Buen album. Buena abanda. 3.5

Homosexual melancholic alternative rock - this would be five stars, but I just hate Man on the Moon. It doesn't fit on the album, it's lyrically the weakest song and Michael Stipe's Elvis voice, even just for three seconds, grates on me. On the other hand, this is elevated to classic status almost single-handedly by Nightswimming, a top 10 song of the 90s, which creates a sense of intrigue purely by Michael's melancholic tone, even if it's literally about skinny dipping during the summer.

No words needed.

Vom Vibe her ist das nicht so mein Ding, aber ist schon ein starkes Album mit Spannungsbogen. Ich mag die Mischungen, das teils bewusst asymmetrische Stereobild, nicht gedoppelte Gitarren, die für sich auf einer Seite stehen... Dadurch sehr klar hörbar.

When I was young, I had a youth culture pass. It gave you discounts at museums and theaters and came with a monthly magazine—I believe it was called *De Plug*. I clearly remember an article in it predicting that R.E.M. would become a huge band (even though no one in the Netherlands had heard of them yet). That article always stuck with me because I wondered how anyone could be so certain about the future. What I find even more remarkable is that what was written back then actually came true.

I've never really quite got what the fuss was with R.E.M. This is a decent album with some good songs, but also a lot of kind of generic pop-rock, and Michael Stipe's voice is quite whiny.

True classic!

It's always a joy when I get an album I'm not expecting much from that blows me away. Automatic For The People is achingly beautiful.

What a great album! Very enjoyable. Not much wrong with it.

Dette albumet har jeg tydligvis hørt altfor lite på.

Not much opportunity to listen, fav song was Everybody Hurts

I dont get the hype

555555555555

Dad will like

Better than I thought, but worse than I had hoped. I was only familiar with " out of time" and " green" before listening to this. I hoped it would hit the highs of out of time but I thought there was no way it could. This album was right down the moddle for me.

Not on Apple Music. Rating based on other album.

I have a contradiction with R.E.M. where I think I like their music but don't know more than like 3 songs. I think if I listen to more of their music, I won't like them, so I try not to. I guess not anymore. Overall, I liked this album, another one that I'm in between a 3 and 4, so I will go with 4 stars. 1.) Drive: Do you remember when there would be a random performance in school from a group or some organization? This sounds like one they would do. I also think there is an accordion in the background, but I wasn't sure, so that distracted me. 2.) Try Not To Breathe: The beginning triangle sounds like "Shout" by Tears for Fears. The singer's cadence could fit a medieval tune. I kinda like this one because of it. 3.) The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite: I don't like this one. The only thing I like is the symphony backing at parts but that doesn't saving. It also sounds like the lead singer almost laughs at one of the "call me when you try to wake her" in the middle after he talks about Dr. Seuss. 4.) Everybody Hurts: This is one that I know. Good depressing song. 5.) New Orleans Instrumental No. 1: I like this one but I don't think the band has been to New Orleans or knows what New Orleans sounds like. 6.) Sweetness Follows: Honestly would be a good song if it ended at one minute. Felt like it went on too long. 7.) Monty Got A Raw Deal: I like this one, its got some variety from sea shanty accordion (I'm 95% confident that its an accordion) and the christmas bells. 8.) Ignoreland: Kinda sounds like a Genesis song. I like this one, might be my favorite on the album. Interesting political song. Has elements of It's The End of The World As We Know It with the listing cadence. 9.) Star Me Kitten: Kind of sounds like a Future Island song. I like it. 10.) Man On The Moon: I like to think this song is about the conspiracy behind the moon landing rather than an Andy Kaufman tribute. 11.) Nightswimming: I feel like I shouldn't like this one but I do. Its got a good amount of variety with the symphony backing and I think an oboe solo. It has a nostalgic subject around aquatic activities. 12.) Find The River: Don't like that it switched from a song about nightswimming to a song about where people drown. A real splash to the face.

I feel REM kinda lost the plot after the first 2 records.

regular rem record

not really my type

There are a couple of songs on here that I have maybe heard too often and, as is often the case with REM, the songs that get most airplay are usually not the ones I like most. But I'm very happy to listen to songs like Sweetness Follows and Find the River.

Love the orchestration. Extremely well produced. Drive, Nightswimming and Find the River are sublime. Ignoreland is dated and skipable.

One of my favorite R.E.M. albums hands down.

Very pleasant album, some great songs, and overall good listen. For me, it’s a 3,5, but since we can’t put half stars, I put a 4. Drive: 3,5 Try Not to Breathe: 4 The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite: 3,5 Everybody Hurts: 5 New Orleans Instrumental No. 1: 3 Sweetness Follows: 3,5 Monty Got a Raw Deal: 3.5 Ignoreland: 3 Star Me Kitten: 2 Man on the Moon: 5 Nightswimming: 4 Find the River: 3,5

Dürfte das einzige R.E.M.-Album sein, was ich mehr als einmal gehört habe (die meisten hab ich gar nicht gehört) und sogar als CD besitze. Weiß gar nicht, warum ich bei denen nie tiefer eingestiegen bin, denn diese Platte ist absolut großartig. Es fängt schon damit an, dass 5 (!) Singles absolut zeitlose Hits sind, die auch heute noch unfassbar toll klingen. Und alle anderen Tracks stehen diesen Hits quasi in nichts nach. "Sweetness Follows" kannte ich bereits durch den Film "Vanilla Sky" (ebenfalls ein wahnsinnig guter Soundtrack). Zieht man das etwas unspektakuläre Instrumental ab, hält man hier eine durch und durch perfekte Platte in der Hand.

Habe mich mit dieser Band nie wirklich beschäftigt, aber das war schon wirklich fantastisch. Durchgehend fand ich das einfach wundervoll.

Ganz schön solide. Mir hat es hier und da eine Länge zu viel, aber an sich sehr interessantes Songwriting und gut als Album umgesetzt. Werf ich immer ein bisschen mit Smashing Pumpkins in einen Topf. Offensichtlich unbegründet und unfair.

An diesem Album ist nichts schlechtes dran. Alle ist perfekt.

Some great singles on this, some lesser songs. Clearly a much more subdued and chilled album from REM. Enjoyed it, and in the right mindset this will be a fantastic album to have playing. But I think that's its problem, you need to be in the right mindset for it overall.

Feel like listening to a recent remaster helped highlight more details in the music which I hadn't noticed so much when listening to this years ago. Possibly their best album?

I’d already fell out with REM when this was released. Played it in full for the first time in years. It’s basically a greatest hits album now

Haven’t really sat down and intentionally listened to an R.E.M. record before, so this was a nice recommendation. Liked it more than I thought I would, tbh!

DAMN! Same as you, surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. Likely a 3.5, but wanted to give it a 4 as well because of my surprise and excitement. Great record

Gosto da banda, mas esse disco foi bem prepotente em mim, não senti nada escutando ele. Acho que essa fase do grupo não me interessa tanto quanto seu trabalho mais antigo. Ainda assim, muitas melodias agradáveis aqui. Não é ruim. 3/5

Boring asf but there are sm good songs like the sidewider sleeps tonite andmonty got a raw deal and thats it the rest is like the same song repeated and boooring

It's ok I respect REM but I find listen to a whole album some how inventive but dull after a while but in single song listening it's great it's fresh but a whole album it grows stale within me

REM are great. Why did I stop listening to them?! So many beautiful, dynamic songs here.

I was quite excited when this popped up, as I remember really liking it, but good grief was it dull. Lukewarm, overly sentimental middle of the road indie pop, albeit with a place in my heart. Maybe it’s because I’ve spent so much more time with other albums of theirs since last listening to this… nearly dropped another star because Tidal rolled onto Counting Crows straight after and I nearly vomited, but that’s hardly their fault.

pretty good, I likes quite a few of these songs, Man on the moon I had already heard and liked, and everyone's heard Everybody Hurts.

Already rated this magnificient R.E.M. album as 4.5 on RYM but it will definitely go up to 5 stars here, cause why the hell not? It's great man

I can be ambivalent about REM.I don’t love everything they did. But THIS album, which I’ve owned since back in the day, is full of gorgeous music and lyrics. They’re best in my opinion. Night Swimming is an elite song.

8.6

Un poco mejor que el otro que document, pero igual siento que la música de R.E.M no me encanta

Love some REM.

Corker

This is harder to listen to on a bad day. I love this. So much more down than Green was though. Weaver D's!