why do zoomers like the Cure or The Smiths but not R.E.M?
>>130242450I like the album with the cat on it. Murmur is REALLY boring and overrated though.
>>130242472Bro...don't even.
>>130242450REM is a really specific type of southen gothic rock at first that gradually evolves into a more mainstream but still distinct sound as their career goes on. It's also harder to recommend a specific starting album for REM and a lot of normalfags are put off with a recommendation like "Start with Murmur and listen to every album through New Adventures". They want a singular "THE" album to start with. Even Automatic despite being their biggest album commercially is a weird sort of one-off in their discography so recommending it as the starting point feels off.Compare that to The Cure and The Smiths that comes from a similar background of 80s English alternative and have albums pretty much everyone points to as starting points that don't require listening to a large part of their discography. They're just more accessible in that way for most people. Which is kind of funny in retrospect remembering those few years in the early 90s where REM was one of the most popular bands in the world.
>>130242450>jingle jangle :/>jingle jangle, British :D
>>130242450I'm a zoomer and i love REM
"Shiny Happy People", #1 Wussiest Song Of All Time:https://web.archive.org/web/20060826070723/http://music.aol.com/feature/111-wussiest-songs-number-1Nobody understands irony.
Because Morrissey is qt and based and literally me
>>130242759>umm actually it's aboutthey were definitely trying to have their cake and eat it too, like Bruce Springsteen
>>130243254you love sucking cock too?
My local alt station is really keen on spreading rock to THE YOUTH since they bring on loads of high school "DJs". Whoever the head is, I'm guessing REM is their favorite band cuz they play them all the damn time. And it's not the usual suspects but stuff like The One I Love and Radio Free Europe >>130242573Yeah shut yp
>>130242450REM don't have any clear aesthetic. Image is important to yoof. Style over substance and all that.
>>130242450REM just made music in their own little niche and ventured out a bit but never tried to have a defining look or feel to them, and there's basically no drama with the band whatsoever. The biggest drama they had was Stipe being anti-military, but he clarified he was just against war in general and that died down. Nobody even cared when he came out as gay.
>>130243377>they bring on loads of high school "DJs".Wait, are you saying they occasionally bring in high school kids and let them pick the songs? That's pretty based, and also a good way of helping kids get into broadcast media.
Is REM is suppose to be a post modern band. Their style kind of reminds me of what Peter Gabriel did with his Street Spirit cover?
>>130242450The got too big and prominent to keep the cool underground mystique Zoomers also do not like the southern musical influence that is prominent in their content Also they are a victim of making irony-drenched songs no one gets the irony of
>>130242450I like R.E.M.
>>130242450Coz no aesthetic vibesThe Cure have the gothic and Smiths the dejected teen borderline-gay thingREM look like dadrock figures, they don't have the lore
>>130242450REM is for people that just like music and don't care about gay aesthetic bullshit. The Cure and the Smiths are great but they attract the gay aesthetic crowd sadly.
>>130244574I respect them for coming up with a perfect radio friendly rock sound. I hear Stipe’s voice and that guitar tone and think “huh that’s pleasant” but never get the urge to dive into them.
>>130242450Zoomer here. Listened to a couple of albums recently, and while they were certainly pleasant, they didn't really stick with me. I don't feel like listening to them again. Should probably mention I'm a bit sick of The Smiths and never cared much about Cure, though.
>>130242450They are essentially equal on monthly Spotify listens with the other two you math-challenged retard.
I think it's image. In the 80s R.E.M. actually had a lot of mystique, combining difficult post-punk with Appalachian folk, and a mysterious frontman. In the 90s they were seen as the band with the greatest integrity, not letting commerciality dictate their moves at all. Now I think they're viewed as an uncool, bland mainstream pop rock band along the lines of U2 or Coldplay. The Smiths are still considered the hipster band for quirky indie kids. The Cure are really the progenitors of the cuddly, accessible goth aesthetic that became popular with emo/scene kids via MCR.That said, I love R.E.M., but they aren't considered cool anymore. I like The Smiths a little more than them, but I like both The Smiths and R.E.M. a lot more than The Cure.
>>130242450just look at them
>>130242554I find Reckoning to be a good starting point personally. Very solid front to back and a bit more approachable than Murmur.
>>130244011from what I gather that's what's happening. There have been a few days where I tune in and they're very clearly picking songs that autoplay on Spotify when you listen to early '80s alt. Caught some really surprising stuff playing like David Sylvian and Orange Juice
>>130242450probably because michael stipe is a boring uninspiring front mantoo much of a generic hipster
>>130242554Automatic is a good jumping on point though. It's accessible. Shows their knack for writing hits as well as writing more strange but alluring tracks as well.
>>130245276I think most people only know REM these days from a handful of their biggest radio hits if they even know those anymore. Their cultural impact really fell off after the 90s ended.
>>130243355No one asked about what you do in your free time, slapnuts
>>130244574Honestly kinda yeah. They're not drama queens. No one left the band until that one guy literally couldn't play anymore. No scandals. They're just unexciting but they made some amazing music. God tier band.
>>130242554>gradually evolves into a more mainstream but still distinct sound as their career goes on. R.E.M's mass appeal was built on the popularity of Out of Time. Out of Time sounds really generic now, although it sounded new and fresh when it came out. I think R.E.M was a victim of their own success. Meanwhile the Cure and The Smiths/Morrissey, and even Depeche Mode remained somewhat underground throughout the 90s despite their massive success. R.E.M had the same problem U2 did, in that they passed a certain threshold of popularity where suburban moms and dads jump on board and eventually gained a reputation for being mom/dad rock.
>>130242554IMO Document is the best starting point, it has some very straightforward pop songs and more appalachian weirdness while kind of bridging their two eras together.
>>130245800Cont.The whole nu-country rock thing became really popular in the early 90s, with even Fleetwood Mac jumping on that bandwagon. R.E.M responded by making arena rock for better or for worse.
>>130244514REM did have that southern gothic thing going on, but then Michael Stipe moved to Manhattan, got AIDS from hanging out with east village "artists", and started thinking pretentious art rock was the answer. Monster and onwards are the sonic equivalent of RENT.
>>130245932Their music videos where they really leaned into the southern gothic angle were kinohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuFId1RYSZEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf6vCjtaV1khttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0GFRcFm-aY
>>130242450>R.E.M.their music sucks
>>130245749>slapnutsholy fuck its been a million years since ive seen that one
>>130245932Nah REM did Monster because alt-rock/grunge was the sound of the decade and they couldn't keep doing college poprock with mandolin riffs and whiny vocals.They had to jump on the Nirvana bandwaggon or be irrelevant. So they did an album with actual amped guitar sound.It kinda showed that they were starting to chase the trend rather than set it. So whoever spotted the similarity with U2 was spot on. These were bands that peaked in the 80s, but were struggling to stay relevant in the 90s too
>>130247979Monster is more glam tinged area rock than grunge. It's like Glam rock with Grunge production. Grunge eventually morphed into butt rock by the mid 90s anyway. U2 and R.E.M both decided to ape Bowie, but there is only one Bowie, and he happened to be a hack. Placebo and Muse eventually accomplished what U2 and R.E.M were trying to do, by making gay music for boring dads to listen to at big European festivals.
>>130242450Cure is still a touring bandSmiths is dead but Morrissey and Marr are still out ther touring and their solo albums can still chartR.E.M died in 2011 and they all just unequivocally agreed to leave the past behind. I dont think any of their ex-members is touring like a legacy act band as well.
>>130248291You still see teenagers wearing The Cure and The Smiths shirts. Half of Morrissey's fans are teenagers. Goth girls still love The Cure. R.E.M and U2 are bands that strictly appeal to over 50 dads and a few winemoms.
>>130247979>>130248162They kind of tried to find their own new sound with New Adventures but then Berry left and the impact on the band was pretty immense. You wouldn't think the drummer was that big in the creative process but the band wrote songs in a democratic way and it turns out Berry was a massive contributor to how they went about making their music. Up's not the worst album they did but it's very clearly missing something and from there on they just kind of lost the plot.
>>130248331Continuity from the original member of the band is still important especially in the era where you need to spoonfeed people to care about the stuff from the past.
>>130248331>R.E.M and U2 are bands that strictly appeal to over 50 dads and a few winemoms.I dunno I'm a younger Millennial and pretty much everyone I know likes one or both of those bands. So it's more like over 30 dads and winemoms.
>>130242450Zoomers demand that more pylons get built; that move is extremely effective
I'M BREAKING THROUGHI'M BENDING SPOONSI'M KEEPING FLOWERS IN FOR BLOOMI'M LOOKING FOR ANSWERS FROM THE GREATANSWERS FROM THE GREATANSWERRRRRSSSSS
>>130242450until someone supplies a better metric, monthly Spotify listens is, I think, best gauge of popularity with younger listeners.According to AI: 55% of Spotify listeners are under 35, and only 19% over 55 (REM's original fans)REM has essentially equal the monthly listeners as the Cure and the Smiths.So on what actual basis, besides 'duh, me and my two or three close friends don't listen to them so the whole world must be exactly like us', are you basing your claim?/mu/tards need to step up their understanding of the basic concept of PROVING WHAT YOU CLAIM.
