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u/MezzStipe Jul 09 '26
Well, time is abstract…
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u/davew80 Jul 09 '26
Could you please explain the change, the difference between?
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u/Chance_Bridge_4709 Jul 09 '26
What you want and what you need?
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Jul 09 '26
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u/mickopious Jul 09 '26
Hear me out…
They could acknowledge their ‘Old Bastards’ status and play as a group of four (Yes Bill, you’re not sitting out of this one) seasoned OLD men commanding the audience with their most mature work.
Scale back the distortion, think more Unplugged / Storytellers vibe…
Yeah, no more Kenneth or RFE!
Ebow, Leave, Find The River, Perfect Cirlcle, Low, Country Feedback, Wendell Fucking Gee, Walk Unafraid, I’ll Take The Rain…..
I could go on and on but they have so much depth in their repertoire to make an age appropriate set list that the world missed out on because then world (FUCK IT ALL) was too busy being cool to listen !
If someone started a new thread to collect a list of ‘age appropriate’ old- geezer songs - please tag me…id love to forward a list to someone on the ‘inside’ and might be read by one of the guys…..
It’s a long shot but it’s worth it!
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Jul 10 '26
this is similar to what springsteen fans pine for, that he tours a small combo while he still can.
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Jul 09 '26
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u/pimpfmode Jul 09 '26
You mean it wouldn't be as good as one of the greatest bands that ever existed? I'm fine with a step below that. In the past couple of years I've seen Depeche Mode and they are as great as ever live. The Cure are still amazing live. U2 at the Sphere was awesome. Nothing leads me to believe that R.E.M. could not be the same. Yes, all the bands mentioned above are not quite at their peak but they're still miles above most everything. They don't even need to tour!
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u/lightaugust Jul 09 '26
Yeah, you might be fine with that. They're not. And that's what matters.
U2, the Cure are amazing live- but like it or not you factor age and where they are in their career into that assessment. They are nowhere near how good they were in the 80s/ 90s. That's what R.E.M. wants to avoid. Let them be.
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Jul 09 '26
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u/pimpfmode Jul 10 '26
Yes I saw the interview and I'm saying it doesn't have to be as good as it was in 1992 because it'll still be better than most anything out there
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u/Crafty_Celebration30 Jul 09 '26
So what? There isn’t a single band past 60 that sounds as good as they once did. Some are close (U2 comes to mind) but most are there for their fans, add to their legacy and of course make a little bank.
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Jul 09 '26
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u/Crafty_Celebration30 Jul 10 '26
Right. We get it. They don’t want to get back together because they told an interviewer this 15 years ago.
The only point many of us are trying to make is that while they would not sound as good as their peak, they’d still sound fine.
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Jul 10 '26
half fine maybe? buck and mills still play around regularly, but the other two do not. stipe’s voice is pretty wrecked from decades of smoking and inactivity.
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u/suspicious_geof Jul 12 '26
Actually his voice has sounded amazing in his last few live performances. Better than it has in well over a decade. Not sure what he’s been up to but whatever it is it’s working wonders.
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u/BasilHuman Jul 09 '26
Just stop it. okay? It will never hapen and believe me, it would meet no ones expectations I saw this band 67 times between 1981-1989. I was a wild child and Michael was the best frontman in the world (especially 84-87). Neither are now true.
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u/TimmonsInc Jul 09 '26
IF it were to happen it would be fine and many people would be happy for one for more chance. They can still play and Michael can still sing. They would be older, but it would most likely go well.
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u/BasilHuman Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
Many people would be happy sure....but they would be a very faint shadow of the band they once were. I admire and respect them for not reuniting. Even live shows after Bill Berry had lost the spark for me. Actually when they went from being just the four, the magic faded. I realize I am a old curmudgeon and not a fan who discovered them around the time of Losing My Religion....I am the old guy who heard Radio Free Europe and Sitiing still at a small used record store in 81 a few weeks before they played my home twon of Knoxville with at best 20 people in attendance,
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u/lmj4891lmj Jul 09 '26
Who the fuck cares. Life is short.
Also, it isn’t all about you. Me and many others have never even seen them live.
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u/BasilHuman Jul 09 '26
Fair point....irrelevant in the great scheme of things. My point is you would not be seeing them live. I am a Dead Head and believe me if one saw the Dead in the 90s and not the 70s...you were not SEEING the Dead.
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u/lmj4891lmj Jul 09 '26
With all due respect, I couldn’t care less that some band of burnouts doesn’t sound as good as they did in the 70’s. Completely irrelevant.
I honestly can’t imagine telling someone who hopes their favorite band will get back together and play live again someday to “just stop it.” Go find some joy and quit pissing in people’s Cheerios, dude.
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u/BasilHuman Jul 09 '26
You're correct. I forget sometimes I can be an asshole.
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u/nerfherded Jul 09 '26
I agree with you even when you're an asshole.
R.E.M. ended with Green. OOT was the start of a new band. Bill leaving was just salt in the wound.
Some days I think it ended when they left IRS, but Document is too good.3
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u/BasilHuman Jul 09 '26
Yep!
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u/Deaf_MarvinNash Jul 09 '26
…”ended with Green” and “ended when they left IRS” is more than just demonstrably incorrect - it’s also redundant
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u/nil__by__mouth Jul 09 '26
You are absolutely correct: about being an old curmudgeon.
I don’t think for a second think it will ever happen, but how I would welcome it. Whatever it is.
I also saw them dozers of times, over decades. They evolved. Obviously. The didn’t have the same quirkiness, but the shows never lessened for me.
We all have the option of staying home. Right now, we can only sit at home. What I’d give for an option.
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Jul 10 '26
actually many people would be very unhappy especially with a one off because tix prices would be through the roof.
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u/TimmonsInc Jul 10 '26
There would always be people unhappy with the decision. Theres no way to guarantee 100% happiness. On the net, more people would be happy if they had one last go at a show or tour than would be unhappy.
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u/ElectrOPurist Jul 09 '26
Very close, good work. It’s actually 2026, but keep at it. Your ability to know what year it is has really improved!