On a secret love for R.e.m.

"So, like... what're you listening to at the moment?"

"Oh, god... Loads of stuff. Uh, LCD Soundsystem's new record; that's AMAZING. A Canadian band called Stars... What else? Um. Finally got into The Arcade Fire. Yeah. Wilco's new record is really pretty. Duels' second album demos. Feist. Discovering Bjork as well... R.e.m. actually. Early R.e.m. ... the really sort of post punk, college rock stuff that they did with IRS."

"R.e.m.? Uh, they're just like an American U2 though; really bloated and stadiumy."

"Oh yeah, yeah. I only listen to their early stuff. Anyway, I'm not a massive fan; they did some good tunes back in the day... So... uh... back to Carlos D's moustache..."

Being an R.e.m. fan in 2007 is not easy. Being an eighteen-year old R.e.m. fan in 2007 is impossible. To have spent the past few years trying to discover more obscure and, yes, vaguely hipster-esque bands to namedrop in these sorts of conversations, having R.e.m. as easily your most listened-to band is a serious drawback. 

It's bizarre for a band who, certainly in the early days, oozed a kind of cool mysticism to be so thoroughly embarassing in the 21st century. You almost feel as though people regard them with the Rolling Stones or the Who as dinosaurs who refuse to die out, knocking out the hits for balding Mondeo drivers.

On a musical level though, right up until Around the Sun, R.e.m. had failed to make a truly bad record. In fact, you'd struggle to find a hipster who doesn't have Automatic for the People somewhere in the house. Sure, they've mellowed out as you'd expect after twenty years, but it seems bizarre that a band like Oasis, who've essentially made the same record seven times are given legendary, godlike status in some circles, while R.e.m. , with a back catalogue as diverse and engaging as theirs are consigned, in most peoples minds, to an early nineties flash-in-the-pan.

I almost feel guilty every time I play down my love for R.e.m. In particular, the way I dismiss the post-Berry era seems like a betrayal. A quick look at my last.fm page reveals that, startlingly, Reveal, Up and Around The Sun are by far and away the albums I listen to most. Up and Reveal in particular, give me this sedate, fuzzy glow that no other records manage. My love-hate relationship with Around The Sun also deserves more than a flippant "Their last album was really crap".

Saying that R.e.m. have lost their way doesn't bother me; failing to admit that that's actually what draws me to their later work certainly does.