meandthestereo

Some bands stay with you through the years, others are just a passing trend.

In high school, I listened to Fuel and the Foo Fighters and Live and Counting Crows.  In college, my freshman year, I would listen to A Perfect Circle and Tool.  Later on, I would listen to The Shins and Elliott Smith.

I’ve listened to R.E.M. for many years, and their songs have stuck by me through good and bad times, thoughtful and emotional times.  The first R.E.M. album I got was New Adventures in Hi-Fi.  Because of my age, I was joining them late in the game.  It has been a treasure trove of albums to discover.  I admire how unique R.E.M.’s career has been and how they seem to continually challenge themselves to keep being creative. Of course, besides the music and instrumentation, I am a huge lyrics person.  My ears always strain to make out the singer’s words when I’m listening to any music.  Michael Stipe’s lyrics and delivery never fail to be poetic.  One of my favorite songs is “Find the River,” the last song on Automatic for the People.  In high school, my favorite R.E.M. song was “Strange Currencies.” Read the rest of this entry →