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evan saks's avatar

Life's Rich Pageant is one of the few albums I distinctly remember putting in the CD tray the day it came out, and playing it in its entirety on repeat for several hours. I had the top floor bedroom in a fraternity house (the "Moon Room"), had saved all summer for top notch stereo gear from Tweeter, Etc, and the entire neighborhood was awash in R.E.M. that day.

While I love all their albums (some admittedly more than others), this is probably the closest to my heart. The poetic lyrics, the aspiring melodies, the uniquely dissonant harmonies. Especially coming on the heels of Fables, which was intensely introspective and features harsh guitar licks (reflecting the band's near break-up), Pageant was a blossoming of their best musical attributes and most experimental style. The deep cuts, like Swan Swan H, still stop me cold when they come on my phone or car random rotation, I must drop everything and belt out every word.

While it was Superman that captured my ear that first day the album came out, with the benefit of time, I've come to consider Flowers of Guatemala one of the all-time underrated rock anthems, which soared as a concert standout as well, since I've always placed higher weight on music that goes to a higher level live than studio.

As much as any music ever recorded, I feel a kinship with this album that's hard to put into words. It's where I walked and swam, hunted, danced, and sang. While I readily admit R.E.M. is an acquired taste, and leaves plenty for purists to criticize, I've always been drawn to their homespun charm and authenticity.

Kudos to Don (whom I've never met!) -- an outstanding choice for opening salvo of musical debate!

PS. I still have the giant album art poster from Newbury Comics rolled carefully in a tube in the attic somewhere

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Scott Madden's avatar

what Mitch said......

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