Monster

Today's Music That You Shouldn't Hate Even Though Some People Do is R.E.M.'s Monster. This is probably one of the oldest CDs in my collection, possibly only preceded by Credence Clearwater Revival's Chronicle and a few Miles Davis albums.

This album came out in 1995, very much on the tails of the whole 'grunge' movement, and it's hard to say that the album wasn't influenced by grunge in mood if not sound. It's very different from most anything R.E.M. put out prior - while there were some straight-forward rock songs scattered in their back catalog, there wasn't much fuzzy distorted rock in such great chunks. Consequently, I think a lot of people disliked this album immensely. In hindsight, I don't think it was such a bad album, just not the introspective, literate work that R.E.M. had come to give us in the past.

I can't say that this is my favorite R.E.M. album, not by any stretch of the imagination, but I do think it is a strong work if something of a detour. It does seem as though this album indicated that we wouldn't get another "Losing My Religion" or even another "Everybody Hurts" for a while, if ever, though I believe that the people who became R.E.M. fans due to Out of Time were bound for disappointment to begin with.

There are some wonderful songs on this album, though: "What's the Frequency, Kenneth" is pretty enjoyable, "Crush With Eyeliner" and "King of Comedy" are strong, too. Even the dated and fuzzy "Star 69" isn't bad; some people like "Strange Currencies" but it's a little too close to "Everybody Hurts" for my taste. Even "Let Me In" has its merits, though the story behind it is pretty sad. Basically, the whole album isn't bad, outside of "Tongue", which I will probably never like.

So, to summarize, Monster is awful and you'll hate it. Unless you like things that are fun, in which case you might enjoy jumping around to some of these songs.

In Other News:
Suprisingly, things seem okay today. Maybe? Yes.

It's gray and rainy outside today. This probably makes you unhappy but I love it.

Also, I'm almost unpacked. Finally.