Forum Album Club #5 REM - "UP"

[sweatboard]

I feel like this album plays like a novel, which as an English Lit major I think appeals to me.  There are themes (growing up, giving up, getting up, waking up, going up) there are characters (airport man, sad professor, day sleeper) there are moments of amazing poetry (where mean cats chew on licorice and can not climb the trees) and the whole experience just seems to flow together and make an interesting statement.  This record becomes more rewarding as more time is spent with it (as most albums I really love tend to do).  I continue to go back to this album again and again and it never ceases to blow me away, it seems like I also always seem to find little nuances to enjoy.  The music is lush and intricate at the same time.  I LOVE Peter Buck on this record his playing is really subtle and unique, he seems to find the perfect tones and little riffs to lift each song UP!   Hope you guys enjoy this record as much as I have. 

[sweatboard]

GO!!!!!!

So, the cover art reminds me of Ikea – Ikea reminds me of Fight Club – Fight Club reminds me of OK Computer – OK Computer reminds me of airport man.
The cover art and airport man on the surface are pretty stale but the rest of the album supplies the blood and guts which I think was an intentional contrast on the part of the band. 

[wolof7]

This album definitely makes me want to take qualudes and listen to more REM....I mean that in a good way....I really like the opening track!

[ManNamedTruth]

I looked up track order on amazon, so i'll just have to go back to spotify after every song to play it in correct order.

[ManNamedTruth]

I like Airportman, sounds like their response to OK Computer.

[sweatboard]

This album definitely makes me want to take qualudes and listen to more REM....I mean that in a good way....I really like the opening track!

Ha, immerse yourself in the glory!!!

I always think that airport man is the guy that ate the lotus, it's just that the weekend has hit.  Suspicion makes me think of the same character at an airport or hotel bar. 

[ManNamedTruth]

Lotus is really annoying, the "hey hey"'s are unbearable.

[sweatboard]

I looked up track order on amazon, so i'll just have to go back to spotify after every song to play it in correct order.

Dedication, I love it!!!  Thanks!!

I think airport man is defiantly a nod to ok computer, without a doubt.  Some say this record influenced Kid A.  I think that's bunk.  Ok Computer influenced this record BIG TIME!!  In the themes alone. 

[ManNamedTruth]

Lotus is really annoying, the "hey hey"'s are unbearable.

the music isn't bad, but not feeling Stipe here.

[wolof7]

I feel like Suspicion is one of those REM songs they've written a million of that I will never get tired of.

[sweatboard]

Lotus is really annoying, the "hey hey"'s are unbearable.

haha, I think it comes off like he's super arrogant, which is probably the point.  Love Bucks Riff. 

[sweatboard]

I feel like Suspicion is one of those REM songs they've written a million of that I will never get tired of.

LOVE Bucks guitar tone and riff on this one.  Love the lyrics and the keys. 

[ManNamedTruth]

Suspicion is a big upgrade from the last track.

[sweatboard]

I feel like Suspicion is one of those REM songs they've written a million of that I will never get tired of.

Suspicion is one of the songs on this record that really gets better and better every time.  It goes from a sleeper to one of the reasons I listen to this record as much as I do. 

[Ruckus]

Oi, Robert Smith and now Stipe.  Must overcome my disdain for Stipe.  I listened to this album in the car once today.  Admittedly, I am not a lyrics guy at all so maybe much of this album is lost on me.

That said, I enjoy Airportman and Suspicion.

[sweatboard]

Hope is a lyrical masterpiece.  might be the centerpiece of the record.


Hog-tied
The term may also apply figuratively to an instance where a person has said or done something which has unpleasant consequences, and from which they are unable to escape

Alligators
Alligators are raised commercially for their meat and skin, which is used for bags and shoes.

Allegory
Allegory is a figurative mode of representation conveying meaning other than the verbal. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation. Allegory is generally treated as a figure of rhetoric, but an allegory does not have to be expressed in language: briefly, an allegory is a device used to present an idea, principle or meaning, which can be presented in literary form, such as a poem or novel, or in visual form, such as in painting or drawing.
As a literary device, an allegory in its most general sense is an extended metaphor. As an artistic device, an allegory is a visual symbolic representation. An example of a simple visual allegory is the image of the grim reaper. Viewers understand that the image of the grim reaper is a symbolic representation of death.
Not every fiction with general application is an allegory.
Rhetoric
Rhetoric includes the study and the use of language with persuasive effect

Schism
Schism (religion), a division or a split, usually between people belonging to an organization or movement, most frequently applied to a break of communion between two sections of Christianity that were previously a single body
Salvation
In Christianity, salvation is the belief that, as part of divine providence, God saves people from some or all of the following:
1.   from biological death, by providing for them an eternal life or long-lasting afterlife (cf. afterlife).[1]
2.   from spiritual death, by providing divine law, illumination, and judgment.[1]
3.   from divine punishment, particularly from Hell, by granting them acceptance into Heaven.[citation needed]
4.   from having sinful character and conduct, through a process of positive moral change.[2]
5.   
Hope
One psychologist argues that hope "...comes into play when our circumstances are dire", when "things are not going well or at least there's considerable uncertainty about how things will turn out". She states that "[h]ope literally opens us up...[and] removes the blinders of fear and despair and allows us to see the big picture [, thus allowing us to] become creative" and have "elief in [a] better future". [5]
Deliverance
The act of delivering someone or something : the state of being delivered; especially : LIBERATION, RESCUE
Go Out Friday
On one hand it's the day Jesus died and on another it's the last day of the work week.
Ladder 
Jacob's Ladder or Corporate Ladder

[wolof7]

Always found At My Most Beautiful to be quite boring but I'm liking it now

[Ruckus]

sounds like an omnichord on Airportman ;D

[Ruckus]

Hope is such a slow burn killer track!  it's the rock slut in me that wants an all out fuzz, drum, bass explosion for at the end more than it gives.

[wolof7]

Hope is such a slow burn killer track!  it's the rock slut in me that wants an all out fuzz, drum, bass explosion for at the end more than it gives.

I was not a fan of that song until the last 45 seconds