I don’t think there is any band or solo artist whose music can instantly put me in a specific emotional and mental zone the way R.E.M. can.
To be more specific, this is true for any R.E.M. album release between 1983 and 1996 (in other words, the Michael Mills years). Once Mills left, either because of his absence or by coincidence, the band lost that special alchemy for me.
A few months back there was a brief moment where popular songs in the opposite key were all the rage. Minor key version of major key songs and major key versions of minor key songs hit YouTube in a wave.
The first one I heard was this major key rendition of R.E.M.’s ‘Losing My Religion.’
R.E.M. is best known as one of the forefathers of the alternative music genre, but in terms of sound I place them squarely in the folk rock tradition. Particularly on their early albums, you can trace Peter Buck’s guitar work straight back to The Byrds.
The band evolved into more of a rock sound — even grunge on 1994’s Monster and parts of subsequent albums — and also found success with the pop style (particularly on Green and Out of Time).
Four artists in my 80s list also showed up on my 90s list — Lucinda Williams, Lyle Lovett, U2 and R.E.M.
R.E.M. is the only one to place in the top five of both lists. It’s easy to forget, given their long slow fade, how dominant this band was for a very long time.
Meet Me In Montauk 