REMtrospective 2: Murmur
Released on: April 11, 1983
Favorite tracks: “Pilgrimage,” “Radio Free Europe,” “Sitting Still,” “West of the Fields”
My thoughts about REM’s first full-length album Murmur, a beloved landmark album in rock music, center on this question: can you sing early REM songs in the shower?
By “early,” let’s say pre-Lifes Rich Pageant. By “shower,” I mean, as opposed to singing along to an R.E.M. recording in the car or on the iPod or whatnot. I can chime in with practically any R.E.M. song after a fashion, no matter how obscure the lyrics, but I can’t carry the early tunes on my own. []What strikes me about Murmur is how it’s a great album that goes so much against the grain of conventional rock songs.