The Big Mates take a brief pause to discuss ratings, rankings, audience demands, and the career of R.E.M. from 1997 - 2011.

Adam, Steve, and Lucas talk about their feelings so far on the band, having now covered the five records that encompass the second half of their career at Warner Bros. They place each album previously covered into the context of this era, they return to each album with more experienced ears, and they talk about how they feel about them now.

They chat context, albums, preconceptions, expectations, and much more before offering up their individual Top 10 R.E.M. (1997 - 2011) songs. These have been compiled into our second "Best Of R.E.M." compilation, available (alongside previous Best Ofs) here: https://bit.ly/3xVZAVf

What makes it into the Top 10s? What's our favourite album so far? Find out on this episode of What Is Music?  

Our next episode is out next Monday March 31st!

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On this week's show we mentioned Speak!
Learn more at www.speaklanguageacademy.com and Use code TRAVEL10 to save 10% on your first  traveler’s prep course.

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The Big Mates discuss addictive games, compilations, goodbyes, and the last few months of R.E.M.

Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by looking at how the band ended their long and storied career.

Starting with a quick commentary, they watch the final full-band performance from R.E.M. in Hansa Studios, Berlin and then discuss how the band announced that they would be calling it a day. 

They then examine the band's career-spanning compilation, Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage and the 3 new songs that accompanied it, before taking a look at what each band member has been up to since the disbandment, and then THAT performance in 2024.

How did the band leave things? What did they go on to do? Will they every reform for a residency at the Las Vegas Sphere? Find out on this episode of What Is Music?

Our next episode is out on Monday March 24th!

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Get access to more shows, exclusive bonus content, ad-free episodes of this show, and more music discussion by subscribing to our Patreon!
Head to patreon.com/whatismusicpod and receive up to two new episodes of our various shows every week (including our album club and monthly themed playlists!), ad-free archives of What Is Music?, and access to our Patron-only Discord server for even more music (and non-music) discussion!

On this week's show we mentioned Speak!
Learn more at www.speaklanguageacademy.com and Use code TRAVEL10 to save 10% on your first  traveler’s prep course.

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Adam and Steve chat with Scott McCaughey to discuss the 17 years he spent playing in R.E.M. as an additional musican.

They talk to Scott about his long and productive relationship with Peter Buck, how he joined the band at the height of their fame, and what it was like to jump in on a staidum tour.

They also talk about the process of recording albums like New Adventures in Hi-Fi and Accelerate, the experiemtnal sessions for Up and Reveal, and how it felt recording Around the Sun.

Scott also speaks on The Minus 5 and their upcoming record and tour, the recent R.E.M. tribute shows with Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy, how to keep multiple projects moving, and how it felt to be told he may never play music again.

Our next episode is out on Monday March 17th and will explore how R.E.M. ended their career.

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Get access to more shows, exclusive bonus content, ad-free episodes of this show, and more music discussion by subscribing to our Patreon!
Head to patreon.com/whatismusicpod and receive up to two new episodes of our various shows every week (including our album club and monthly themed playlists!), ad-free archives of What Is Music?, and access to our Patron-only Discord server for even more music (and non-music) discussion!

On this week's show we mentioned Speak!
Learn more at www.speaklanguageacademy.com and Use code TRAVEL10 to save 10% on your first  traveler’s prep course.

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By signing up to Buzzsprout with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=780379

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The Big Mates discuss reality television, etymology, Austin Powers, and Collapse Into Now by R.E.M.

Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by concluding their analysis of the band's fifteenth and final studio album, released in 2008. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opinions, and thoughts from three differing perspectives on music, from being deeply into analysis and music, to not caring for art or critique, and everything in between.

They continue with their track-by-track analysis of the album and explore their feelings on each song and how they contribute to the whole record. They then look at how Collapse Into Now was received by critics and fans at the time of release and how those views may have changed now that we know it was the band's final album.

What will we make of the album? Did the band stick the landing of their career? How much do the band love unlikely animals going up forms of stairs? Find out on this episode of What Is Music?

Our next episode is out on Monday March 10th!

Join the conversation on:
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Get access to more shows, exclusive bonus content, ad-free episodes of this show, and more music discussion by subscribing to our Patreon!
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The Big Mates discuss endings, the 20th century, Moose Juice, and Collapse Into Now by R.E.M.

Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by starting their analysis of the band's fifteenth and final studio album, released in 2011. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opinions, and thoughts from three differing perspectives on music, from being deeply into analysis and music, to not caring for art or critique, and everything in between.

They discuss how the band reacted to a renewed sense of purpose following Accelerate, their goals for the album, and how early in to the process it was decided that this would be their final record.

They also explore the overarching themes of the album and hunt for clues that it was the end.

When did the band know the end was near? How did that affect the album? Is Michael Stipe waving goodbye? Find out on this episode of What Is Music?

Our next episode is out on Monday March 3rd and will continue our analysis of Collapse Into Now!

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Get access to more shows, exclusive bonus content, ad-free episodes of this show, and more music discussion by subscribing to our Patreon!
Head to patreon.com/whatismusicpod and receive up to two new episodes of our various shows every week (including our Album Club show, and our themed playlist show!), ad-free archives of What Is Music?, and access to our Patron-only Discord server for even more music (and non-music) discussion!

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The Big Mates provide nice and good audio commentary for some footage from the 2008 R.E.M. World Tour.

Adam, Steve, and Lucas discuss a couple of videos from the final R.E.M. tour, and also talk about how the band undertook this tour, the kind of setlists they played, and Adam talks about seeing them for the last time!

Here are the two videos we watch, if you'd like to watch along:
Fan Club Footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGUNU7M5Eg4
R.E.M. Live in Mexico City 2008
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF5AxcGCkW4

Or don't watch along - the episode works fine either way!

Our next episode comes out Monday January 24th!

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Get access to more shows, exclusive bonus content, ad-free episodes of this show, and more music discussion by subscribing to our Patreon!
Head to patreon.com/whatismusicpod and receive up to two new episodes of our various shows every week (including shows about Manic Street Preachers and monthly themed playlists!), ad-free archives of What Is Music?, and access to our Patron-only Discord server for even more music (and non-music) discussion!

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BONG. In this bonus episode The Big Mates discuss the newly released album Critical Thinking by Manic Street Preachers - out today! They give their first impressions on the album and the individual tracks, compare it to previous works, and try and figure out some of the themes and subjects the band explore. 

Purchase or Stream Critical Thinking now - and come and let us know what you think...

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E-mail: [email protected]

Get access to more shows, exclusive bonus content, ad-free episodes of this show, and more music discussion by subscribing to our Patreon!
Head to patreon.com/whatismusicpod and receive up to two new episodes of our various shows every week (including our album club and monthly themed playlists!), ad-free archives of What Is Music?, and access to our Patron-only Discord server for even more music (and non-music) discussion!

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Support the show

The Big Mates discuss commercial pressure, word sandwiches, revenge fantasies, and Accelerate by R.E.M.

Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by concluding their analysis of the band's fourteenth studio album, released in 2008. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opinions, and thoughts from three differing perspectives on music, from being deeply into analysis and music, to not caring for art or critique, and everything in between.

They continue with their track-by-track analysis of the album and explore their feelings on each song and how they contribute to the whole record. They then look at how Accelerate was received by critics and fans at the time of release and how those views may have changed over time.  

What will make of the album? Is there a tension between creativity and expectation? Is this album by R.E.M.? Find out on this episode of What Is Music?

Our next episode is out on Monday February 17th!

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Get access to more shows, exclusive bonus content, ad-free episodes of this show, and more music discussion by subscribing to our Patreon!
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The Big Mates discuss modern rock music, digital promotion, tiny umbrellas, and Accelerate by R.E.M.

Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by starting their analysis of the band's fourteenth studio album, released in 2008. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opinions, and thoughts from three differing perspectives on music, from being deeply into analysis and music, to not caring for art or critique, and everything in between.

They discuss how the band reacted to the perceived failure of Around the Sun, the rules and restrictions put in place for recording their "back to basics" album, and how they changed their approach to the artistic process. 

They explore the overarching themes of the album, compare it to the rest of the musical landscape at the time, and dig in to some the novel ways that R.E.M. promoted the record.

How did the band react to Around the Sun? What's the coolest nickname? What is a man-sized wreath? Find out on this episode of What Is Music?

Our next episode is out on Monday February 10th and will continue our analysis of Accelerate!

Join the conversation on:
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Threads: https://www.threads.net/@whatismusicpod
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E-mail: [email protected]

Get access to more shows, exclusive bonus content, ad-free episodes of this show, and more music discussion by subscribing to our Patreon!
Head to patreon.com/whatismusicpod and receive up to two new episodes of our various shows every week (including our Album Club show, and our themed playlist show!), ad-free archives of What Is Music?, and access to our Patron-only Discord server for even more music (and non-music) discussion!

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The Big Mates discuss introductions, bullies, beef, and Live at the Olympia, a live album by R.E.M.

Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by deviating from the timeline and exploring the document of the band's "public rehearsals" in Dublin in 2007.

They talk about what R.E.M. did after Around the Sun, the time they spent apart, and how they went about preparing for their next recording sessions. They look at the 2006 Best Of Compilation And I Feel Fine..., the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the band's one-off recording session with Bill Berry, and their plan to rehearse in front of a live audience.
 
They explore that rehearsal process, talk about the songs they play and what they have in common, and then run through the tracklist of the Live at the Olympia album, stopping to give first impressions on the new material, and reminisce about the old material. 

What do we think of the new songs? What does the whole collection represent in terms of the new album? How will we get back to the sacred timeline? Find out on this episode of What Is Music?

Our next episode is out on Monday February 3rd!

Join the conversation on:
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E-mail: [email protected]

Get access to more shows, exclusive bonus content, ad-free episodes of this show, and more music discussion by subscribing to our Patreon!
Head to patreon.com/whatismusicpod and receive up to two new episodes of our various shows every week (including our Album Club show, and our themed playlist show!), ad-free archives of What Is Music?, and access to our Patron-only Discord server for even more music (and non-music) discussion!

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