Murmur

REM are the godfathers of indie rock. They were the epicenter of what was then called college rock, which would then mutate into alternative, and finally become indie rock as we know it today. I feel like people take them for granted now, partially because their sound was pretty much completely absorbed by others in their time, and partially because they don't have a particularly aggressive sound - something that I actually appreciate them for. I get tired of rock and roll having to be cranked to 11 all the time. This is easily one of the most important and unique debut albums of the 80s. The jangly guitars, melodic basslines, and toe tapping beats are certainly nice, but I think the real secret sauce is in Michael Stipe's poetic lyrics and seemingly casual but subtly emotive vocal delivery.

R.E.M indeed. This is a snore fest.

Still my favorite REM album, though Reckoning comes damn close. This albums ringing guitars, impossibly tight rhythm section, beautiful backing vocals, soaring melodies and just general youthful exuberance cement this as their best album. REM are a great band and became more mature and polished but they never again matched their early period for pure excitement. Wow! 5 🌟

Highlights: Laughing, Talk About The Passion, Striking Through Before they were shiny and happy and lost their religion, before everybody hurt, before they crushed with eyeliner...it was Murmur. The breakout album by R.E.M. that reignited America's love with sweeping guitar rock that was increasingly becoming punky- metal- glammy- and loud. R.E.M. would have fallen victim to the loudness wars if not for their just getting everything right, paving the way for acts like Live and Radiohead.

Depending on who you ask, this is REM’s best album. A debut that contends with some of the best debuts ever. I really enjoy this album. Hooky basslines, jangly guitars and weird lyrics that burst into catchy sing a long choruses. This album laid the groundwork for what was to come later in the 80s underground music scene and how big REM was about to become with albums like Document and Automatic for the People. Favorite song: Radio Free Europe Least favorite song: Shaking Through

One of the best debut albums of all time and it’s probably not even their best album. Great melodies, great harmonies, great guitar, GREAT bass, great drums. Just all around great. R.E.M. are The Beatles of indie/alternative rock.

warm guitars, sometimes naive sometimes deeply melancholic. feels like walking with band t-shirts, my headphones connected to my walk-man under a sunny campus, green paves the way.

Couldn't get into this one. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood but it just seemed so instantly forgettable

Personally, Murmur was one of those life-changing records that shifted the direction of my music tastes. R.E.M.'s sound was refreshing and much needed. Around this time I discovered other like-minded bands, the Replacements, Husker Du, Violent Femmes, etc. ,bands outside mainstream radio (college rock) and this music was the reason the 80's actually had some great music. I'll always have a special place for the first four R.E.M. records (especially the first two) in my collection and all of them are essential listens!

I love this record. Moral Kiosk is one of my favorite REM songs.

Murmur is exactly what it says on the tin. Critics have fallen over themselves for decades to praise this record, singling out Stipe's lyrics for special attention. I mean listen to this piece of critical onanism from Jonathan Gregg in Record; he describes Murmur as "a splendid little film noir of an album, austere but rich in implication." But, as my mate Dave (hi Dave!) once said: "I used to think Michael Stipe wrote good lyrics until I actually heard what he was singing." I argue that Stipe's singing is best understood as impressionistic strings of sounds. They aren't cryptic ciphers with great depths of profound meaning. They are a hazy backdrop onto which the listener can project their own meanings and insights (which is why critics all think the lyrics are oh so clever; they are simply preening at their own reflections). The band, however, are pretty great, channeling the Byrds and Beatles and little bit of folk punk into the absolute template for college rock for the next decade. Special mention to Mike Mills, whose bass and other instruments anchor the arrangements, and whose backing singing is wonderful. The album is not well recorded, but I like the resulting aesthetic. This record would have been woeful if some cigar-chomping A&R man had dragged them down to Criterion Studios in Miami to spend six months doing bumps of coke, overdubbing synthesizers and polishing their masterpiece. Much better we ended up with this, one of the pivotal documents (no pun intended) of alternative rock. Personally, I lean more towards Husker Du, but I reckon every share house I lived in during the 1980s and early 90s had a copy of this album.

Interesting to hear an early REM album from the eighties. The music was okay, but did not blow me away either.

-major keys -jangly clean guitars -the same fast, aggressive drumming on almost every song This is feel good music. It's definitely not a chore to listen to. However, listening to this album further cemented my opinion that REM is a band that does one thing well and that thing is not particularly memorable or original. My favorite track was 9-9.

Two R.E.M. records in a row! What are the chances?! This is a formidable debut. The band feels so fully formed and distinctive right out of the gate. My personal preferences for jangley guitar make this a really nice listen. It's a sparer version of the R.E.M. that would come to dominate the airwaves in the 90s, and I appreciate what it reveals about the band's musical dynamic. It's right in my wheelhouse. Some interesting range here, too. I'm hearing more of a post-punk vibe than I expected from R.E.M. on tracks like "9-9" and the triumphant piano-powered "Shaking Through". Of course, Stipe's vocals and lyrics are characteristically personal, introspective, and haunted throughout. I feel like this record gets a little lost in R.E.M.'s long career. If this was all they ever made, it would be a cult classic. Favourite songs: Radio Free Europe, Talk About the Passion, Moral Kiosk, Sitting Still, Shaking Through Rating: 4.5/5

Great album. Probably my second fav REM. Early REM is the best REM!! 4.5/5

I would listen to this album all day, every day and never get tired of it. A top three R.E.M. album, flawless from top to bottom.

One of the most important and significant Alt Rock records of all time

Perfect R.E.M album, as I guess everyone knows..

Top-notch record, recorded by nobodies in a nowhere town that shot them into the spotlight (beating out Thriller!!). The only issue I have is the sometimes too-clean composition that reflects a band piecing together in a studio rather than REM's legendary stage presence and ensemble. The key to the band in my opinion is there meticulous knowledge and reverence of the history of rock music. The Byrds, Patti Smith, Television, Wire, Neil Young, and local acts like Pylon and B-52s are all here, though in a fresh way that uses nods rather than outright plagarism. Moral Kiosk, Laughing, Radio Free, it's clear these young men from Athens had something that no one else did.

Excellent album. A delight to be reacquainted with it.

Great album! Very nice rhythms. Good for vibing

For whatever reason, I’ve never kicked the tires on Murmur. Monster would be my go-to and I like Green is fair enough, too. This is pretty great, especially as a debut. Didn’t realize they had their shit together like this from the get-go. Dialed back a bit sonically, but that’s to be expected; what’s unexpected though is how tight the songwriting is. Stipe sounds great as usual and Buck’s playing is understated but still carries great weight. I don’t think this’ll change anyone’s mind about REM, but this is an awesome change of pace record for me personally as a semi-fan. Very cool. 3.5

This debut album is pleasant enough. Good early indie music with a nice vibe that foreshadows even better things to come from this band. However it gets repetitive very soon.

I know some later R.E.M. (Losing My Religion) but found this pretty boring. The songs blurred together a bit, and I got the impression of a less dynamic Tragically Hip.

Pulled out the Vinyl for this one, cooled down the beers, and let Hank (son) hear what pure unadulterated rock n roll sounds like. Thoroughly enjoyed it, as I do every time. Not a song on this I don’t love. Perfect.

Bop K admittedly i was zoned out for a lot of it but it was just banger after banger Relistened to it driving home in the dark and ive never felt more like an irresponsible teen that will grow into a girl dad

They knew what they needed to sound like.

I didn't know that post-punk became alternative rock but now I do.

Wow 1983? By my RECKONING this album is way ahead of the trend for alternative music. Almost OUT OF TIME. It is AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE to say that REM are a little dull but I vote this one UP and would like to DOCUMENT my approval. I am not GREEN, I can tell that the production is weak in places and dig beyond the first few tracks and it does REVEAL some weaker tracks that I was happy to ACCELERATE past. Overall a MONSTER of an album and I look forward to more NEW ADVENTURES IN HI-FI as I discover new music by the band.

Rock.

I love this album, obviously. Murmur isn’t just R.E.M.’s debut—it’s a whole vibe. Mumbly, jangly, mysterious, and completely magnetic. It’s like tuning into a late-night college radio station and hearing something that sounds both brand-new and ancient, all at once. “West of the Fields” is the forgotten gem here—my personal favorite. True story—at an R.E.M. show around 1987, my college boyfriend hoisted me onto the stage, where I danced with a clearly terrified Michael Stipe for a whole 60 seconds before a bouncer politely but firmly uninvited me from the stage. When they released Murmur in 1983, there’s no way R.E.M. knew they were creating a record so good it would eventually inspire a flannel-wrapped freshman to launch herself onto the stage like a woodland creature in a dream-pop panic. This isn’t just a debut album—it’s the blueprint. Long live the kudzu.

All the songs seem to run together and I didn’t vibe with the first half. However the second half of the album does pick up and get better. This album requires you to be in a certain mood to fully understand and enjoy it, and it really strikes a chord when it does hit. The musicianship is excellent though and the guitars sound fantastic.

Had not listened to REM debut previously - and found it more fun that had been expecting. I do like a lot of REM songs but had to admit that do find a lot of them fairly middling. Was therefore surprised by the energy of this record - would like to listen again - so sneaks a low 4.

Murmur Not sure I’ve listened to this, I get a bit mixed up with their albums from Murmur to Green. I do like REM a lot, but I’m nowhere near an aficionado, so I was quite surprised at how fully formed and ‘REM’ this felt stylistically, I had thought it might be an album of them feeling for their sound, but the jangly guitars, rhythm patterns, bouncy bass and melodic character are all in place, and it it feels reminiscent of their albums post New Adventures in HiFi, Perfect Circle for example sounds like it could have come straight off Reveal or Around the Sun. I suppose what’s missing is a really great song or two. Despite Radio Free Europe and Talk About the Passion being very good, and there being no bad songs at all, there is nothing that truly transcends as some of their later songs do. Having said that, it is still clearly a very good album, especially for a debut. And despite the lack of a killer song or two, as a whole 45 minutes it's a very coherent and enjoyable listen, with well crafted songs and the requisite amount of enigmatic lyrics and vocals. Not much more I can say, its a solid 4. 👁️‍🗨️👁️‍🗨️👁️‍🗨️👁️‍🗨️ Playlist submission: Radio Free Europe

I got my bit of jingle and a whole lot of jangle.

Joyita new wave, 4 estrellas

R.E.M. brought the heat. What a sick album.

Fav song: Laughing I've always really loved the way R.E.M albums sound. They have this summertime dryness to the production. I also adore the way Michael Stipe sings, his voice is amazing. One of the greats for sure. I'd have given this album a 5 stars but I don't think any of the songs really massively stuck out as killers to me, but the R.E.M vibe alone deserves a 4 at least.

Really good album

It's been a while since I got a really good album. Although I've never heard of the album before, it pleasantly surprised me. The instruments and vocals make songs that are creative and come together nice. The drums are especially good. The only song that wasn't great was, "We Walk" but otherwise definitely a good album to hear. Glad I got to listen to this album, 4/5

Some albums in this project pop up like an unexpected visit or call from an old friend. How are you doing REM? Where have you been? Keep in touch. I miss you.

I liked it, a less obvious recommendation than expected

Can see how its influential Alt Indie rock but it took me a couple of listens to start to get it. A real grower that I get more out of the more i play it. Given its release date this must have been one of the first crossover records from the Alt-Rock scene which exploded in the early 90s. 4/5

Uno de los primeros álbumes que dio a luz a lo indie?? Estaba bien pero nada particularmente interesante 🤔

Nothing stood out good or bad

Sorta background rock. Unremarkable to me but not bad

Jangly and catchy, but not exactly memorable

Overall kinda bland to me

I liked Moral Kiosk but can't speak much about the rest.

Love the REM sound, brings me back. I'm wavering between 3 and 4 stars having just listened to it. I will think a little on it but I think 3 overall. Solid but nothing too spectacular.

Murmur has not helped me decide whether I find R.E.M. boring. I certainly find them boring some of the time, but ‘Radio Free Europe’ is exciting. Rest cheerfully slided past my ears without residue on first listen. Then I listened to this in OUR NEW CAR and they made more sense. The passion one stood out in particular. Is this car music? I still have trouble remembering most of the record, but I felt happier when it came on automatically when I worked out how to start the engine again. Maybe the connection is boredom: driving is boring at its best, a good kind of boredom. This is an important record, and I respect how they manage to pin down a distinctive aesthetic straight out of the gate. Calling their first album "Murmur" is gloriously on the nose, vaulting past the introductory, peak and self-parody phases straight to the post-modern. Feigned kindness has me refrain from repeating Chris Morris's cruel dark mirror description of Stipe, but I mention its existence in case it reminds S or anyone else here of it to bring a nasty smile.

Surprised R.E.M. has more than one on the list and this not being my second choice I may be very surprised they have 3 on here

REM is overrated. I'm sorry, that's just the truth. This is like the 3rd album of theirs I've gotten and I've liked exactly 0 of them outside of a select few songs

Never really "got" R.E.M. I wasn't really interested in the album and tapped out after 4 songs

I keep trying to get into REM but I just don’t seem to enjoy they’re music very much.

This is so boring I can barely form an opinion on it. If I was a film editor, I would lazily use literally any of these tracks as 30-second clip to ease transitions of a travel montage showing a protagonist driving to a new city in a low-budget romcom or buddy comedy movie.

I forgot about this while I was listening to it.

I historically have been pretty ambivalent towards REM. They're one of those bands whom I respect for what they have contributed to the world of music, but I don't choose to listen to. This album was a pleasant surprise. No standout songs, nothing to make it GOOD per se, but Michael Stipe is less whiny here than my audio memory of him would indicate.

Ehh

Ehhh

A little prom bandy

I don’t think I understand this band

What are they singing about

So I genuinely have very little to say about this. I kinda sorta liked some of the songs, but not much at all. The songs sounded the same to me and I was very bored. It was kind of a chore to get through this album if I’m being completely honest. Perfect Circle might be one of the most boring songs I’ve ever heard. Maybe I’m just tired, but these songs are seriously unbearably boring to me. The cover art is kind of intriguing. I think my neighbors have started to smoke. I keep smelling weed really strongly whenever I go out at night or open my window. This project has introduced me to a few songs I really like like Bigmouth Strikes Again by The Smiths, but now I’m just starting to realize that music critics and snobs hate to have fun and only like boring music. I’m so bored with listening to this album that I’m talking about other groups and personal matters in the notes. I’m only like 10 albums in though, so hopefully they will get better.

After starting this I'm often left wondering about pop/rock albums that frustrate me by leading off with a mid or challenging opening track - why not bring the house down immediately like this album does? That bass in "Radio Free Europe" is everything [and is a/the sneaky weapon on this entire album] - it drives the entire killer opening track, setting the tone for the rest of the album. Mysterious and haunting while maintaining strong melodies throughout, I really like this early period R.E.M. Sparse and a little weird in that boxy early 80s way you know when you hear it - might be the band's best album and one of the better debut albums by anyone. Personal faves: "Radio Free Europe" "Moral Kiosk" and "9-9" 9/10 5 stars.

A bunch of unusual sounds all coming together to make an iconic record.

I love this album. Probably heard it first around 1987. So, at 14. Who knew I would work in the building that housed the namesake of the first track. It’s a fantastic debut. One of those timeless classics.

Phenomenal album listened to it way before i did the 1001 records its class

This album is great!!

I fuckin love REM

Hard (impossible?) to write about Murmur in 2025 without considering the subsequent R.E.M. catalogue. It was a kid musician's dream--imitating the guitar runs and mystic singing after endless tape rewinding. It still felt like true underground. We walked (we thought) into cool. Though we can argue endlessly now about if they eventually sold out, sold out then came back, lost it, never lost it, ad infinitum, our love then feels justified. The first leg of a brilliant marathon..

What a great trip down memory lane. This thing holds up well, and it brought me back to the senior year of high school (the album had been out for eight years before I discovered it). It was cool to finally have access to the lyrics. So that's what he was saying all this time? (Not sure it helped my understanding all that much, but it was nice to read along.) This is one of those albums that made an enormous impression on me at just the right time in my life. It must have been years before I could *stop* singing like Michael Stipe. And as much as I loved Peter Buck's guitar, I think Mike Mills' bass playing had a bigger impact on me. That tone still sounds so great. Just about every song hits its mark, though 9-9 is still my favorite of the bunch. Lifes Rich Pageant might be a better album, but I don't know. This one's pretty special.

Album 805 of 1089 R.E.M. -Murmur (1983) Rating : 4.5 / 5 Awesome debut album from one of my favorite bands. Only take half a point off because they have others I like more. Great songs, great sound...love the jangly guitars. They don't put out much I don't enjoy.

One of the best debuts of all time and remains my favorite REM album.

Murmur is by far my favorite R.E.M. album. This one played endlessly during college and beyond. My favorite lines from my two favorite songs: A perfect circle of acquaintances and friends. We could gather, throw a fit.

To release on of your best albums as your first album is pretty astonishing.

OH MY GOD??? Why did NO ONE introduce me to R.E.M. before??? Murmur could've been released this morning for how modern their alt rock sound is, HOW is this album 43 years old????? Also Lynyrd Skynyrd WHO???? THIS IS TRUE redneck music, like if the cure was southern gothic instead of just goth. oh my god. it's giving South, it's giving apocalyptic, it's giving religious trauma and it is, dare I say, giving cunt. Loved it.

Shit slapsssss

Radio Free Europe

It’s crazy that no matter how many amazing albums R.E.M. has across their discography, it’s still tempting to call this first album their best. R.E.M. are simply one of the greatest American bands of all time, and their influence on the alternative and independent rock scenes cannot be overstated. And they really came out of the gate swinging. “Radio Free Europe” as their first single ever? And then track one of their first album? Genius. What a propulsive track. All of R.E.M.’s albums have amazing songs on them, but some struggle with consistency or pacing. Not so with Murmur. The energy and fresh approach to rock sounds carry all through this tracklist. That they were somehow able to bridge the gap between the shabby American punk underground scene and the more refined (though scrappy in its own way) British jangly alternative rock crowd, while sounding unlike either, is so impressive. Every time I listen to this album, I’m struck by a different deep cut, marveling how it lives up to the more recognizable hits. (This time is was “Laughing.”) I’m bracing myself to change my opinion the exact second I come to the next R.E.M. album on this list… but I think yeah, this is my favorite and their best album. Must-listen #147.

I love the way that it's saying it's OK to feel sad and lonely sometimes. Michael Stipe is as good a therapist as he is a singer.

Most albums take me a few listens before I really start to love them. But this one was an exception. While I was familiar with what aired on MTV in the mid-'80s, I hadn’t heard anything from this album before. When I finally did, I was blown away. I must have listened to it daily for weeks. I still love it and it remains my favorite R.E.M. album to this day.

This was great. I should listen to this album more often. Radio Free Europe is a favorite of mine.

I'll be honest, I haven't listened to a lot of the early R.E.M. as much as I probably should. And man, should I listen to it more, this is a great album start to finish.

One of those bands that I should have liked better when I younger. This album is such a classic time capsule of early 80's alternative record and will influence so many other bands.

College rock classic. Early REM albums were my gateway to American alternative music and have been huge inspiration younger alternative generations in different genres. One of the greatest debut albums of all time.

R.E.M are the greatest rock songwriters of all time (except maybe for the Beatles).

It appears I like R.E.M.’s past more than their future. This was way more my liking than Green. Having come to this after floating through Green it was the surprising grooves and instrumentation and melodies that sucked me in.

Great easy listening alternative rock.

One of the best debut albums of all time and it’s probably not even their best album (i.e. Document). And from an unknown band from Athens, Georgia (Go UGA and Emory!!!) Great melodies, great harmonies, unique jangly guitar, amazing bass, cool driving drums. Just all around a fantastic album that cemented R.E.M. as the best college rock band of their time, and the originators of indie rock as we know it today. 5⭐️

This album slaps. I think I get REM now.

Really dug this. Repeated listens only made it even better.

Have to start at the beginning…and this is it.

Foi uma agradável surpresa escutar este álbum. Não estava à espera de gostar tanto de o ter ouvido, principalmente depois de conhecer outros trabalhos da banda. Gostei particularmente das seguintes faixas: Pilgrimage e Catapult

Just inject that jangling guitar into my veins, it is so addictive. I have no idea what half the lyrics are here but they serve the pieces well in forming an enigmatic tone contrasting the brilliantly charming guitar and bass which feel like they came straight out of The Byrds. A foundational work in the indie rock scene and one that holds up well to this day. My vibes here are walking through a sunny, grassy uni campus, a sense of happiness but a small and underlying feeling of anxiety too. 16/04/25

Wasn’t familiar with this outside of the two “hits” (Radio Free Europe and Talk About the Passion), but loved all of it. Weirdly, this and Automatic for the People are the only albums in surround sound on Apple Music, although others (Monster, Around the Sun, Reveal, New Adventures in Hi-Fi, Out of Time) were released physically on DVD-Audio, which I used to own and sold, making rips of them before sending off. Anyway, a great album — a 4 moved up to 5 due to the surround mix, which enhances the music considerably.

Geggjuð plata. Ótrúlegt byrjendaverk.

Love it

needs a remaster but i rly like

This must have been extraordinary to hear in 1983.