Jesusetc84

It's a gorgeous song, one of only 3 on Sky Blue Sky that I love.

What does it matter what they record?

The official release will center around the painful mediocrity of Sky Blue Sky, not the brilliance of the band's previous albums.

The Fifth Monarchists- The Abyss Gazes Also Into You

New Adventures In Hi-Fi is one of the best albums in the REM catalogue.

 

That is all.

It's decent. I'd still rank Automatic, Murmur, Reckoning, Life's Rich Pageant, and Document over it though.

granted to me, all of the IRS albums are flawless, save maybe Fables.

I listened to nothing but Bob Dylan for a semester and burned out on him really hard. One time I locked myself in my room with a bottle of jack and his entire 60s output. On a daily basis I was listening to his mid-60s rock trilogy and the outtake songs from those albums (basically an extra albums worth of songs.)

I just put together a Nirvana Live compilation from bootlegs, and after listening to dozens of hours of bootlegs to find the right choices, I wound up extremely burned out on them this X-mas.

I'm kind of burned out on David Bowie lately too. I listened to "Young Americans" 196 times in a row...yeaah.

I'm right there with you. I've seen them three times, and will no doubt ante up for this next tour as well. One could also argue the point that the astronomical deal that Warner Bros. showered REM wit after "Out of Time" has contributed to laziness, or some kind of complacency where they simply put out mediocre records, simply to fulfill their contractual obligations.

kevin

I agree.

Other than a little album called Automatic for the People (which is my favorite by R.E.M.) I think the IRS albums are almost entirely better than the Warner Bros albums.

I updated mine:

01. Wilco- Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)

02. Radiohead- In Rainbows (2007)

03. The Microphones- The Glow, Part 2 (2001)

04. Modest Mouse- The Moon & Antarctica (2000)

05. Radiohead- Kid A (2000)

06. Joanna Newsom- Ys (2006)

07. Antony & The Johnsons- I Am a Bird Now (2005)

08. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds- Abbatoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus (2004)

09. Interpol- Turn on The Bright Lights (2002)

10. OutKast- StanKonia (2000)

11. Brian Wilson- SMiLE (2004)

12. Bob Dylan- Love & Theft (2001)

13. Sufjan Stevens- Illinoise (2005)

14. The Shins- Chutes Too Narrow (2003)

15. The Animal Collective- Sung Tongs (2004)

16. The Streets- Original Pirate Material (2002)

17. The White Stripes- White Blood Cells (2001)

18. TV on the Radio- Return to Cookie Mountain (2006)

19. Andrew Bird- The Mysterious Production of Eggs (2005)

20. The Flaming Lips- Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002)

21. OutKast- Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below (2003)

22. The Arcade Fire- Funeral (2004)

23. Elliott Smith- New Moon (2007)

24. The Strokes- Is This It (2001)

25. The National- Boxer (2007)

26. Radiohead- Amnesiac (2001)

27. Beck- Sea Change (2002)

28. M.I.A.- Arular (2005)

29. M.I.A.- Kala (2007)

30. Wilco- A Ghost is Born (2004)

31. Bob Dylan- Modern Times (2006)

32. Ryan Adams- Heartbreaker (2000)

33. Spoon- Kill The Moonlight (2002)

34. The Notwist- Neon Golden (2002)

35. Radiohead- Hail to the Thief (2003)

36. The Animal Collective- Feels (2005)

37. Franz Ferdinand- Franz Ferdinand (2004)

38. Grand Daddy- The Sophtware Slump (2000)

39. The New Pornographers- Twin Cinema (2005)

40. Loretta Lynn- Van Lear Rose (2004)

41. The Arcade Fire- Neon Bible (2007)

42. LCD Soundsystem- Sound of Silver (2007)

43. Iron & Wine- The Creek Drank the Craddle (2002)

44. Queens of The Stone Age- Songs for the Deaf (2002)

45. Bob Dylan- Live 1975: The Rolling Thunder Revue (2002)

46. Godspeed You Black Emperor- Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennaes to Heaven (2000)

47. P J Harvey- Stories From the City, Stories from the Sea (2000)

48. Yo La Tengo- And Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out (2000)

49. Wilco- Kicking Television: Live in Chicago (2005)

50. Broken Social Scene- You Forgot it in People (2002)

plus I added favorite singles/songs of 2000-2007:

01. "Mississippi" by Bob Dylan

02. "Pyramid Song" by Radiohead

03. "Ms. Jackson" by OutKast

04. "Jesus Etc;" by Wilco

05. "1 2 3 4" by Feist

06. "3rd Planet" by Modest Mouse

07. "New Monkey" by Elliott Smith

08. "You Know You're Right" by Nirvana

09. "Do You Realize??" by The Flaming Lips

10. "Rebellion (Lies)" by The Arcade Fire

11. "Saint Simon" by The Shins

12. "Bamboo Banga" by M.I.A.

13. "No Cars Go" by The Arcade Fire

14. "Cherry Chapstick" by Yo La Tengo

15. "Tonight, I'll Be Staying Here With You" by Bob Dylan (Rolling Thunder version)

16. "There She Goes, My Beautiful World" by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

17. "Hard to Explain" by The Strokes

18. "Hey Ya!" by OutKast

19. "One With the Freaks" by The Notwist

20. "The Way We Get By" by Spoon

And that's the point: how the record is heard. I don't think an artist has to be going through a divorce to make a breakup album.

But the point of the THREAD as stated was the album has to BE about breakup/ divorce.

THAT was the name of the game.

Thus completely going against the thread.

Michael Jackson's Thriller could be your perfect breakup record...but it doesn't mean it's a breakup record.

This is what seem to be my favorites of the decade so far.

01. Wilco- Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)

02. Radiohead- In Rainbows (2007)

03. Radiohead- Kid A (2000)

04. The Microphones- The Glow, Part 2 (2001)

05. Antony & The Johnsons- I Am a Bird Now (2005)

06. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds- Abbatoir Blues/ The Lyre of Orpheus (2004)

07. Joanna Newsom- Ys (2006)

08. Brian Wilson- SMiLE (2004)

09. OutKast- Stankonia (2000)

10. Bob Dylan- Love & Theft (2001)

what about you?

"Lounge Act" by Nirvana from their 1992 reading concert.

UGH How could I forget.

The Microphones- The Glow, Part 2.

One of my favorite albums of all time. It's just so dark and beautiful and weird.

"The Moon" by The Microphones

from the album The Glow, Part 2 (2001, K Records)

I drove up to the city at night and found the place

Where you grew up and then where you stayed

And we walked around and stayed up late under city lights

I spent the night, next to you in the house where you grew up

Next to you I miraculously woke up

In your parents' house I laid in bed with you

I went back to feel alone there

I went back to wipe it clean

I took the lights and radio towers out of my dreams

And we went all the way up to the small town where I'm from

With foggy air and the wind and the mountain top

And we clung to rocks and looked off and you held my hand

You almost got to start feeling me

I finally felt like I was breathing free

Under swaying trees we fell asleep and we had the same dream

The stars were bright, we dream the same every night

On my island home I spent some time with you

I went back to feel alone there

I went back there by myself

I gave up on everything that we'd felt

We found a precious place in the sand right out in the wind

And we laid under a blanket and heard the furious sound

The roar of waves, the pounding surf, two bodies on the earth

It was intense just getting to be there next to you

And you trying to get me then, and I was happy to let you in

I went back and wished I hadn't

I went back and felt regret

I went to the beach and I stared west

Every night when the sun went down in the town where we lived

The empty streets were lit up by reflected light from a distant sun

Bouncing off a glowing ball of rock and we just laid on the roof

And watched the moon, the moon, the blue light of the moon

We didn't talk and silently we both felt powerful

And, like the moon, my chest was full because we both knew

We're just floating in space over molten rock

And we felt safe and we discovered that our skin is soft

There's nothing left except certain death

And that was comforting at night out under the moon

I went out last night to forget that

I went out and stared it down

But the moon stared back at me

And in it's light I saw my two feet on the ground

she was hot back then

yeah...if a hotty like her divorced me...I'd write an album as depressing as Veedon Fleece, too. (though not of the same quality obviously.)

I'm not excited at all...and this is from someone who counts R.E.M. as their #3 band ever, after The Beatles and The Stones. I don't want high energy R.E.M.; I want weird R.E.M. that underwhelms at first then grows on you, and eventually becomes indispensable. I didn't like Murmur at first, and now it's my favorite record of the 80s. I was underwhelmed by Automatic for the People at first, now it's my favorite record of the 90s.

Great records don't instantly reveal themselvs..they're murmurs that eventually develop into voices that document an important part of Life's rich pageant. They're definitely not automatic for the people. (I'm sorry, I got on a punning spree and couldn't stop.)

That being said, I will still give my kidneys to see them and The National on their tour.

Asked for, and received, this for Christmas. It's terrific being able to see it again after all these years.

Yeah. Great having the complete show too.

Kurt: Any requests?

Smart ass in the crowd: Jeremy!

Kurt *looks up*: Fuck you all...this is our last song.

hmmm so many good ones, especially from Summer Teeth, YHF and AGIB:

01. "What you once were isn't what you want to be anymore."- A Shot in the Arm

02. "The snipers are harder to see my friends

hiding in the deep end weeding out your weekend"- Not For the Season

03. "Last cigarrettes

are all you can get

turning your orbit around."- Jesus, Etc

04. "The ones I dream float like leaves

and freeze to spread skeleton wings

I passed through before I knew you"- She's a Jar

05. "Carelessness is what I miss

and that's how I think of you."- Cars Can't Escape

06. "I see us all as something

but nothing like we truly are."- More Like the Moon

07. "Is any song worth singing that doesn't help?"-Wishful Thinking

08. "If rivers burn and then run backwards

for her that's enough."- New Madrid

09. "Please Don't Cry

we were designed to die"- On and On and On

10. "Can you be where you want to be?"- When You Wake Up Feeling Old

Redoing mine because I'm indecisive:

01. Radiohead- In Rainbows

02. The National- Boxer

03. M.I.A.- Kala

04. The Arcade Fire- Neon Bible

05. LCD Soundsystem- Sound of Silver

06. The Arcade Fire- Neon Bible

07. Elliott Smith- New Moon

08. Feist- The Reminder

09. P J Harvey- White Chalk

10. Spoon- Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

Surprisingly great album of the year: Dinosaur Jr- Beyond

Most dissapointing album of the year: Wilco- Sky Blue Sky (Not that it was bad, but when a Wilco record doesn't change my life, it falls under "dissapointing".)

Soundtrack of the year: Various Artists- I'm Not There

Single of the year: "1 2 3 4" by Feist

Best posthumous compilation: Elliott Smith- New Moon

Worst posthumous compilation: Jeff Buckley's Greatest Hits disc.

Greatest song of the year actually written forty years ago: "I'm Not There" by Bob Dylan & The Band

Greatest song of the year actually written ten years ago: "New Monkey" by Elliott Smith

"It's About Fucking time" of the year: Led Zeppelin reunites

"It's About Fucking time" of the year #2: Nirvana's classic Unplugged concert finally gets a home video release...13 years after the album came out.

When I got West earlier this year, it bored me. Then my Nano broke and I had West in my car CD player for a week - and now it's become one of my favorite CDs of the year. It kinda crept up on me. "If" is probalby my favorite song on it.

 

As for "stupid lyrics" --- I think some of the best songs lyrically can look "stupid" typed out without their context (the music, the sincerity of the vocals) behind them, including Jeff's. I always laugh when he rhymes "C" with "sea" in Shot in the Arm.

 

So yeah, give West a few more spins.

 

- Laura

but "followed me down the neck to D" is really nice :-).

I need to check out West...as a guy who lived in Louisiana for his entire adulthood, Car Wheels will always be one of my favorite records ever. I'm incredibly guilty of not having explored Lucinda as an artist beyond that record though.

Richard and Linda Thompson - Shoot Out the Lights

 

Edit - Didn't see it in the first post. Greatest break-up album ever.

I love that album...I think Linda wins the argument with "Did She Jump or Was She Pushed?" and "Walking on the Wire"...but I will always have a special place for "Man in Need"

Really? I had no idea...

 

LouieB

Yeah the whole thing was about his divorce from Janet Planet. It's all very veiled and kind of esoteric...but supposedly the whole thing is about his divorce, and those dark divorce feelings.

I love that record.

By breakup/ divorce albums, I don't mean ones you listened too during a breakup...I'm more referring to ones written during breakups divorces in the artists lives.

I'll start off with the ones I can think of off the top of my head:

Van Morrison- Veedon Fleece

Bob Dylan- Blood on The Tracks & Desire

David Bowie- Low (written during his divorce, among other things.)

Fleetwood Mac- Rumours

Richard & Linda Thompson- Shoot Out The Lights

Beck- Sea Change

The Boxer is a great record. I dunno if it's genius, but it's one of the few records I connected with this year.

Still haven't heard the new Lucinda...probably won't :-(.

Song: "Who Was That Masked Man?"

Artist: Van Morrison

Album: Veedon Fleece (1974)

Oh ain't it lonely

When you're livin' with a gun

Well you can't slow down and you can't turn 'round

And you can't trust anyone

You just sit there like a butterfly

And you're all encased in glass

You're so fragile you just may break

And you don't know who to ask

Oh ain't it lonely

When you're livin' with a gun

Well you can't slow down and you can't turn 'round

And you can't trust anyone

You just sit there like a butterfly

You're well protected by the glass

You're such a rare collector's item

When they throw away what's the trash

You can hang suspended from a star

Or wish on a toilet roll

You can just soak up the atmosphere

Like a fish inside a bowl

When the ghost comes round at midnight

Well you both can have some fun

He can drive you mad, he can make you sad

He can keep you from the sun

When they take him down, he'll be both safe and sound

And the hand does fit the glove

And no matter what they tell you,

There's good and evil in everyone

01. Radiohead- In Rainbows

02. The National- Boxer

03. Feist- The Reminder

04. M.I.A.- Kala

05. LCD Soundsystem- Sound of Silver