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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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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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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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!
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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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!

Support our show when starting your own podcast!
By signing up to Buzzsprout with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=780379

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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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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!

Support our show when starting your own podcast!
By signing up to Buzzsprout with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=780379

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The Big Mates provide fun and cool audio commentary for R.E.M. Live, the live video release by R.E.M.

Adam, Steve, and Lucas discuss the live album and film as originally presented on CD and DVD and also dig into how it was made, how R.E.M. performed the songs from Around the Sun, and explore the whole 2005 World Tour.

Dig out those official DVDs to watch along...
Or don't - the episode works fine either way!

Our next episode comes out Monday January 27th!

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 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!

Support our show when starting your own podcast!
By signing up to Buzzsprout with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=780379

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Support the show

The Big Mates discuss death threats, protest songs, milk toast, and Around the Sun 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 thirteenth studio album, released in 2004. 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 why the record is often considered the band's weakest. They then sum up how they feel about Around the Sun, how it was received at the time of release, and how that perception may have changed in the intervening years.

What do we think of Around the Sun? Why is it different to Everybody Hurts? Is it a melodica? Find out on this episode of What Is Music?

Our next episode is out on Monday January 20th!

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 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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The Big Mates discuss Coldplay, Maroon 5, Robbie Williams, and Around the Sun 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 thirteenth studio album, released in 2004. 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 pace of the band had slowed down (and the frustrations that resulted), the fragmented recording sessions, and the state of the world the album was released into. 

They explore the overarching themes of the album, question whether this could be the most experimental R.E.M. album, and also get to chat about the 2004 Vote for Change Tour. They then get started on their track-by-track analysis of the album!

How many bands has Peter Buck actually been in? What is a dome phone? What is slam dancing? Find out on this episode of What Is Music?

Our next episode is out on Monday January 13th and will continue our analysis of Around the Sun.

Join the conversation on:
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Threads: https://www.threads.net/@whatismusicpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatismusicpod
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!

Support our show when starting your own podcast!
By signing up to Buzzsprout with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=780379

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Support the show

The Big Mates present one of their Patreon shows on the main feed... The Ultimate Playlist.

Join us as we continue to explore a broader range of music from many genres and numerous artists, with each month focusing on 8 songs centred around a different theme. Each host picks 2 songs, and 2 songs come from our subscribers!

The theme is picked randomly from a pool of subscriber suggestions, but for these episodes (Part 1 came out last week!) we focussed on the appropriately festive theme of Xmas!

To hear more episodes of this show, head to patreon.com/whatismusicpod and subscribe to the Biggest Mates tier! Episodes are released on the second and third Thursdays of every month!  

The tier also comes with access to ad-free episodes of the main feed, our monthly Album Club show, additonal bonus episodes every month, and a very fun Discord community!

Support the show