Out of Time

Today's Music of the Day is Out of Time, by R.E.M. By now, if you haven't heard "Losing My Religion" enough times to know that it came from this album, you probably never will. This is probably the most well-known (though not the best, in my opinion) R.E.M. album, being released in 1991 at the height of their popularity.

This is still an R.E.M. album, though there are some notable differences from albums past. It couldn't be called 'experimental', but there are some elements - strings, guest rappers - that weren't present before and had lesser if nonexistent presences after Out of Time. In hindsight, it's easy to see how this album, though successful, probably created a schism between casual and determined R.E.M. fans, perhaps even more so than the each-successful Green and Document. The sound is light and wistful in places, enough so that some of these songs might seem to be covers. It's widely known that for years, hipster testing was administered by restraining an individual and forcing them to listen to this album. (Displeasure would indicate hipster status.)

'Abberation' might be too strong a word, but Out of Time represents a clear departure from the days of Fables and Reckoning. The lyrics and sound are still strong here, but the soundscape is so occupied that individual elements lose their weight. The strings which were so prevalent here would be used to better effect in the future, but this album sounds a little like R.E.M. wasn't quite sure how to handle its increased resources.

Still, there are some good songs here. "Country Feedback" and "Me in Honey" are strong individually, but bookended they are especially powerful. "Losing My Religion" is a fine tune, though overplayed in the years since its release. "Half a World" has a nice vibe as well.

Overall, I might recommend this album to someone who needs to ease into R.E.M. and hasn't quite been weaned off popular radio yet, but it's hard to put it above many of their other works (even the much-reviled Monster), at least those not from the post-Berry albums, which shall have no presence here save for Up and possibly Accelerate, if I ever get my hands on it.

In Other News:

I hope I have spring fever and not swine flu. (Note: I am not actually ill.)

Saturday is Roller Derby! Friday is Capoeira open house! Sunday is Advil!