Battle of the Century(ies) - REM or U2?

[LJ]

I have a theory that there are two kinds of people.  Well, more than two, but for the purpose of this topic, two.  Just like there are supposedly Beatles people and Elvis people and you're one or the other, I think there are REM people and U2 people. 

I am REM all the way.  Murmur and Life's Rich Pageant are some of the most stunningly beautiful pieces of pop ever to be written. I tried to get into U2 for years and finally gave up.  I find The Edge an adequate guitar player, the rhythm section is solid and Bono is, well, Bono. However, the music is what counts and it's never set me on (an unforgettable) fire. It has a pretentious affect that turns me off.  On the other hand, REM's first 5 or so albums were masterworks that bear repeated listening. 

Yes, the superlative bent to this post is intentional.

Thoughts? Have one or the other shaped how you approach music?

[Reeleyes]

I lean heavily toward REM but early U2 doesn't bother me.

[Dan B]

I'm a strong neither.

[not that clay]

If we could go back to 1990 I'd say REM by a mile, but 15 years of terrible records makes it impossible for me to hear what I liked about REM anymore. So U2 wins.

[herbsweal]

I think that early REM is good but I think that U2 is more consistent overall.

[nec13]

I'm a strong neither.

What he said.

[Dan in Chicago]

REM in a landslide. I can't even listen to any U2 songs back to back without feeling slightly agitated. REM is classic and when I saw them with Modest Mouse and The National, put on a fairly impressive live show given their age.

[buffcoat]

REM still does a great live show.  Their studio albums were solid for years and years.

I would argue that no band successfully puts out quality records for that long.  If Radiohead is still putting out albums 15 years from now, I imagine they won't be that great.

I wish REM would stop, actually, but that's selfish.


U2 was fun and did good work up till halfway through Achtung Baby, then they became insufferable.  I like a couple of songs on the one with New York and Beautiful Day, but I started to like Bono less than Sonny Bono at that point.  Sonny Bono was a Republican, but he didn't pal around with Jesse Helms.

[masterofsparks]

I really dislike both of them. I'm just a teeny bit too young to have been around for REM's "golden years" since Green was the first time I heard about them. I've tried going back to those early albums and though there are a few good tracks sprinkled throughout, there's just a fundamental disconnect with me.

The self-importance and pomposity of the U2 stuff has always bothered me. I never liked them, even when I was a teenager and The Joshua Tree was the biggest thing in the history of ever. While everyone around me was going crazy over it, I was going crazy over Back in Black and Are You Experienced?

[LJ]

I thought this would be more polarized.  They were both critical "college rock"darlings in their day who both became huge, U2 to a much larger extent.

"I would argue that no band successfully puts out quality records for that long.  If Radiohead is still putting out albums 15 years from now, I imagine they won't be that great."

I agree.  To that end, I'll risk being called an apostate and say that Radiohead has never put out a decent album.

[Kim Kelly]

Whatever, I like R.E.M. You know who else likes R.E.M.? The inventor of the mp3 blog. He is also a FOT.

[yesno]

REM is great, while U2 has only a few decent albums.  So REM wins.

Neither band is the best of anything.

[masterofsparks]

I agree.  To that end, I'll risk being called an apostate and say that Radiohead has never put out a decent album.

I'm with you.

[buffcoat]

It's one thing to say, "I haven't liked any Radiohead albums," or, more specifically, "I don't like Radiohead" - nobody is everybody's cup of tea, and I never try to convince anyone to like or appreciate anything they don't.

Still, a lot of forgettable - and instantly forgotten - hipster junk gets mentioned in these pages with nary a comment.  Do we have to start piling on Radiohead?



Everyone should really try out those rare Rumbretica 78s, and these new things I've discovered from Bernhardt Glückman called "Air Mixes."

[Steeley Chris]

I have a theory that there are two kinds of people.  Well, more than two, but for the purpose of this topic, two.  Just like there are supposedly Beatles people and Elvis people and you're one or the other...

WHUUUUUT? I having a hard time seeing the connection (I guess I see the U2 and REM early 80s college rock thing). Do you mean Beatles and Rolling Stones? Weird theory either way.

And anyway, you're either a Bob Dylan person or Bob Marley person.