For Monster, R.E.M. put away the musical, and pulled out the grunge.
A long-time R.E.M. fan, I picked up Monster as soon as it hit the shelves in 1994. Initially, I wasn't very pleased.
At first, I found most of the album to be incoherent lyrically, and musically, it's as though they were trying to cash in on the whole "grunge movement". "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" and "Strange Currencies" were about the only two songs on the album I was able to listen to.
Sorely disappointed with this one, but yet willing to accept my favourite artists growth as musicians, I gave it another listen, and then another. Before I knew it, these songs began to grow on me.
Though not "typical" R.E.M., if there is such a thing, I grew to enjoy the album. I still have to skip through "Star 69" and "Bang and Blame", but I didn't end up relegating it to the back of my CD collection.
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