Album of the Day: R.E.M. - Automatic for the People

Automatic for the People (1992)

Once my father realized that I was becoming a burgeoning R.E.M. fan and I had listened to Document, Green, and Out of Time multiple times, he decided to get me their following album as a birthday gift.  I was excited, but after my first listen, I was confused.  This album didn't have any breakout pop hits like the first three that I enjoyed so much.  No "Losing My Religion." No "Stand." No "It's the End of the World as We Know It."  But upon repeated listens, I found the true beauty in this album.  The tone was quieter and sadder and overall, it just clicked with my teenage brain.

1) Drive - 5/5
Right away, we get the different vibe that this album is trying to offer.  As a message to the youth listening to their songs, the lyrics suggest that it is up to them to take a hold of their own lives.  It's a mellow and somber way to open, but it's realistic and honest.  This won't be the same pop sound that the last two records were full of.

2) Try Not to Breathe - 4/5
The mellowness continues.  While it's a bit simpler with a song about holding on to memories, it's effective and memorable and a great transition to the next upbeat song.

3) The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite - 4/5
Reactions are mixed to this song.  It's silly and energetic and tonally at odds with the rest of the album, but it was included as that breath of levity before things get really dark.  It bounces around from colorful cartoonish ideas and while I usually have to be in the right mood to enjoy it, I do appreciate it's existence.  And I like that Stipe laughs at his own mispronunciation in the third verse.

4) Everybody Hurts - 5/5
While this song may be overly simplistic, it's one of those songs that just needs to exist in the world.  It's the perfect sad song for any occasion.  It can appeal to everybody.  And it's quite beautiful in that way.

5) New Orleans Instrumental No. 1 - 4/5
A nice transitory instrumental piece (because you kind of need a break after "Everybody Hurts"). It's wonderful background music for a quiet scene.

6) Sweetness Follows - 4/5
Death and sadness can be overwhelming.  So it's nice to have a reminder that sweetness follows.

7) Monty Got a Raw Deal - 4/5
A look at the sparkly glamorous fiction that is portrayed in film vs. the actual gritty reality that stays hidden beneath the surface.

8) Ignoreland - 4/5
Here's an angry song that spits fire against the then-recent Republican administrations.  It provides more power to the album, and it can really get you in the activist spirit.

9) Star Me Kitten - 4/5
This one almost sounds like an old slow-dance song from a '50s dance.  Until you listen to the lyrics.  Which makes it amazing, in a way.

10) Man on the Moon - 5/5
This is the song that really hooked me the first time I listened to this album.  As a fan of Andy Kaufman, I appreciated this fun tribute to his life, legacy, and spirit.

11) Nightswimming - 5/5
This is my absolute favorite R.E.M. song and one of my all-time favorite songs period.  It fills me with such nostalgia and it hits that right emotional balance that always resonates with me.  I'm not sure how soon this became one of my favorites, but listening to the album repeatedly helped me connect quickly with this song.  While I ever have actually experienced what this song is about, I find it so relatable.

12) Find the River - 4/5
This is a wonderful closer to everything that preceded it and it suggests that after all the bleakness, there is hope around the corner.  A great end to a great album.

Music Video: Drive

What a great intro to the disorienting and sinking feeling that this song suggests.  Black-and-white slow-motion footage Stipe crowd surfing just works so well with the mixed emotions of the music.

Music Video: Man on the Moon

The various stock footage superimposed over Stipe in a cowboy hat just walking down the road to a bar fits with the tone of the song.  I feel this video could have gone in a lot of directions, but it works! Especially once he reaches the bar and everyone just seems to be on the same wavelength.

Music Video: The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite

This feels like a Red Hot Chili Peppers video to me, for some reason.  Not the song, of course, but the colorful visuals with the band being bathed in different images and lights.  It doesn't quite add much to the song like the first two, however.

Music Video: Everybody Hurts

Fantastic!  A traffic jam is the perfect metaphor for the collective pain we all can feel.  We get a glimpse into all of these people's problems and they are all unaware of each other until the end when they all choose to leave and join together.  It's wonderful!

Music Video: Nightswimming

So, I don't think I've ever seen this video until today, and it's exactly as I picture this song in my head.

Music Video: Find the River

This is a very simple video.  Like the song, it's not too flashy and it serves it's purpose.  I can't tell if that means I like it or not.  Filming the band just performing/recording the song always feels like taking the easy route.  At least there's an alternative story happening with an old man and his dog.  I wish that had been the whole video.

Overall: 4.40/5 - A
I may be biased or blinded by nostalgia, but I think this is the absolute best album that R.E.M. has to offer (many critics agree).  It's the first album where it doesn't feel like there is a dud or an exception on the track list.  I may not always want to pop in one of the songs randomly, but the whole experienced is beautifully focused and composed.  Even the songs I don't quite connect with, I enjoy listening too.  It may not have that fun pop feel like most of my favorite R.E.M. songs, but this is an absolute must-own album in anyone's collection.