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This is such a great post. I'm not exactly sure when my musical awakening was, but in the summer of 1986 I started paying attention to the charts and started (for lack of a better word) "charting" my own course when it came to my musical tastes. Granted, most of it was determined by what was playing on the radio at the time, but I came into my own and got out from under my parents' musical tastes (although the influence my mom had on my taste is very evident.)

In any event, my college roommate loved REM and that was my introduction to them beyond what was played on the radio in the late 80s. I vividly remember going to Musicland with him to buy Monster and I'm pretty sure I was buying the 2CD release "Barbra: The Concert" lol - I was still pretending to be straight at that time although the signs were definitely there.

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I can relate to this for sure. I am definitely a product of my parents' listening habits, and I'm grateful for that to a large degree. The depth of music I appreciate from the '60s and '70s is driven largely by my dad, and his memory lives on in me through that music.

As for R.E.M., while "Monster" was my own level of self-discovery, I owe my discovery of some of their back catalog to a friend who roomed with me during a three-week summer camp experience in high school. He was really big into "Green" at the time for whatever reason, and it was repeat listens of that album during that summer (I think 1995, maybe '96?) that pushed me further into discovering their back catalog.

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Hi there Matt,

As someone who has written a LOT on R.E.M. it was fascinating for me to read this. I struggled with Monster on release, and your couple of paragraphs right under 'reflecting on...' pretty much sum me up. I do NOT think it's up there with Automatic for the People, but then again, I am surrounded in my life by people who feel about the 8th R.E.M. LP, compared to the 7th, and all the way back to someone who thinks they never bettered Chronic Town. I do believe a lot of this comes down to "they were my band before they were your band" and it's understandable when a band can have changed your life the way that R.E.M. did for so many people. When Monster was remastered and reissued a few years back, I approached it afresh and on its own merits, it's a wonderful album. And what I have always loved about R.E.M. has been their willingness to take risks and turn musical corners. At the time, it sounded like they were 'going for it' when there was no 'it' left for them to go for except the stadium tour, which didn't work out so well. It's really beneficial for me to read from your perspective of how fresh this album sounded and how it sent you back on a voyage of discovery.

On that (musical) note, I'm afraid I was a little precious. When I got into The Who around age of 11, I set about discovering their back catalogue. It took years because, it was back then and the first LP wasn't even available in the UK. (For real: the My Generation LP was only available as an expensive import.) R.E.M. are t he only band who rival The Who for me in terms of those musical twists and turns, a band for whom my fave LP depends what mood I am in.

Thanks for sharing!

Tony

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Appreciate the feedback and the thoughtful response!

R.E.M. is unique. As I've said in a few other places on here, they're really three different bands: pre-WB era (IRS), early WB era, and post-Barry era. And what I'm finding here on Substack is there are nuances even within those broad categories. Lots of folks love the slowed-down, reflective quality of "Out of Time" and "AFTP," whereas others appreciate the bridge between the eras that "Green" provided. Still others are hard-core jangle-rock diehards, who appreciate later R.E.M. stuff but just can't muster the same appreciation for their pop-crossover heyday.

I'm lucky that I found them when I did, because I think I caught them at just the right time in my musical maturation where I could appreciate "Monster" as something fresh and new while also learning to appreciate the band's journey to that point. And it's a testament to R.E.M.'s unique styles and sounds that they were able to remain relevant and awesome for pretty much their entire 30-year run.

There's something for everyone in R.E.M.'s catalog, and there's no right or wrong way to have discovered them. And even though "Monster" is a favorite of mine, I'd be one of the first to tell you that I have a deeper connection to "Up" than "Monster" for myriad reasons, and consider that one among their very best.

Appreciate you, sir, and your patronage in following along with my random musical musings! Always fun to make connections over shared experiences!

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So in June 1983 I finished 8th grade, and about 1/3 of our tiny class was going to public high school and 2/3 to the catholic high school (I was in the minority). I went to my first kids-only, boys AND girls party that night. Nearly everyone at the party was going to the catholic high school so it felt like it'd be my last night being with this group. (It was. I haven't seen most of them literally since that night, 41 years ago.)

What stuck with me that night was the music. I had been indifferent to music to that point, occasionally using a battery operated cassette player to record a song or two off the radio with a wired microphone held against a clock radio speaker. But I saw how much these guys liked most of the music that was playing, singing and occasionally dancing to music I should have known but didn't. The songs and bands reads like the Billboard charts from that month:

Def Leppard-Photograph

Naked Eyes-Always Something There to Remind Me

Human League-Fascination

Duran Duran-Is There Something I Should Know? and Rio

Greg Kihn Band-Jeopardy

The Kinks-Come Dancing

Madness-Our House

Dexy's Midnight Runners-Come On Eileen

There were more. Some of those songs occasionally turn up on my playlists even now. If you're my age or older you know all those songs (even if you don't like them) so there's no hidden gems there. But it was my first real intro to pop music.

Within a few weeks, I used a little graduation money to buy a boom box with built in cassette (remember those?) so I could record music off the radio, and started making mix tapes like Star Lord's mom. I started getting records, cassettes and 45's. At that time, it was mostly top 40 pop, but over time I gravitated away from 80s pop and more toward classic and hair-band rock and older 70s pop.

But those particular songs always bring me back to that night, just like most of the music I enjoy today brings me back to whichever moment in time I first enjoyed it in. One Headlight by the Wallflowers takes me back to my first job at Gannon and living in Erie. Last Dance by Donna Summer takes me back to middle school roller skating parties. Real Fine Place by Sara Evans takes me back to the first house my wife and I bought. Any Phil Collins song takes me to D&D sessions at my friend's dining room table. That 8th grade grad party triggered all of that by burning a soundtrack into a long-term memory in my brain.

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That's an amazing rundown of moments, Chris! And it's interesting because I think you're reflective of my own situation: there's not ONE musical awakening, but usually several, often tied to pivotal moments in life or certain memorable parties or situations. I find I still have those awakenings even now, as I discover a new band or hear hits from a band that's been around awhile, and it smacks me over the head and makes me think, "How did I miss this and how do I listen to more of it?"

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REM were the first band I listened to (around the release of Out Of Time) that made me want to go back and explore their back catalogue. My favourite period is definitely the IRS years but What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? has always been one of my favourite songs of theirs and I first got to see them live on the Monster tour so that album will also be special.

Thinking about it, I probably had a second musical awakening in my thirties. During the years when I started work and had my children I became much more of a passive listener again. I listened to contemporary music and bought albums but I was less invested. I bought The Libertines greatest hits album in around 2013 and that sent me off on another voyage of discovery into their albums and subsequent projects. I got to see them live in December 2019, right before the world locked down and 2020 changed my relationship with music again when I finally moved from cds to streaming and discovered how much music is actually out there. The Libertines led me to Black Honey, who indirectly led me to We Are Scientists, who brought me here.

Sorry! That turned into a bit of an essay.

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Thanks for commenting, Lou! I think musical awakenings are not confined to a single watershed moment or moments. I'd argue I've had several over my lifetime, and still have them to this day. Heck, I've had a couple just in the past two years writing this 'Stack, and now consider myself a pretty sizable fan of both XTC and The Replacements.

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"Out of Time" was the albums that did it for me. I still think it's their best album. Although, based on what you wrote, I need to explore "Monster" again.

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There's so much to discover from R.E.M. When I first began a job that required an hourlong one-way commute back in 2014, I listened to every R.E.M. album cover to cover, and discovered so many tracks from albums I thought I knew, and found new favorites that I missed before. Well worth the time to give it another listen!

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I love Monster. Like Bill Berry, I was really happy to get a proper rock album from the band.

My MA was when I was 11 or 12. My best friend’s brother was on the high school basketball team, and they would charge out of the locker room and do their layup drills to the opening riffs of “Walk This Way.” I immediately became the hugest Aerosmith fan I know.

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Nice!

Similar experience with The Offspring. I was in a 15-passenger van with some of my classmates on a high-school trip, and someone convinced the van driver to play "Self-Esteem." They only got through about the first 20 seconds before they turned it off, but something about that stuck with me. A few days later, it was the first cassette I ever bought with my own money.

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Long time REM fan here - I was introduced to them with Murmur and Reckoning. So. Central Rain is one of my favorites. I saw them on the Document tour. I love Monster through and through. It’s definitely in my top 5 REM albums. Strange Currencies is probably in my top 10 songs.

Sadly, I think my musical awakening happened with the worst songs released in the 70s! Hahaha!! I don’t think I can pinpoint an album in particular. I had free rein of my parents’ collection, and they got me a record player and my own requests when I was 5. I think my mom understood my passion and interest- any time we went to a store that had records, she would get me one (I’m sure I begged her mercilessly).

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That's pretty cool that you came to know R.E.M. in their jangle-pop, college-radio heyday, yet still hold "Monster" in such high esteem! I think most folks who grew up on IRS-era R.E.M. do appreciate the Warner Bros. era of R.E.M., but ultimately prefer the jangly rock and unintelligible lyrics of Stipe to his more introspective, pop-friendly side.

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I think Monster has aged incredibly well. A lot of the stuff that wasn’t expected or conventional within their pop culture persona is among the most daring choices they ever made—and I love a big swing.

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Having no context for "Monster" in terms of R.E.M.'s catalog, I didn't consider that the album was such a stark departure from their other stuff. I just assumed it was a natural progression. It wasn't until years later, when I finally consumed their pre-WB material, that I was, like, "Holy crap, 'Monster' is a completely different experience from early R.E.M."

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Enjoyed the content a lot — thanks!

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Also, my MA moments:

1. Hearing the opening screech and riff on “Black Dog”

2. Feeling the bass on Biggie Smalls’ “Hypnotize” hit me in the chest at a party

3. Listening to Fela Kuti for the first time

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