R.E.M. by MTV

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Well, I never posted by thoughts on this documentary, and that's probably because my initial impression after my first viewing was very underwhelming.

I'm not used to a career-spanning documentary that doesn't have any new interviews at all, and yet that's exactly what this film is, a collection of older interviews and older performances that tell the R.E.M. story.

HOWEVER, I have watched it several more times this week on Qello, and I have grown to love it more and more with each viewing.

It's also now available as a standalone Blu-Ray disc, so you don't have to buy the more expensive 6-disc DVD box to enjoy this film.

With all that said, it now comes as recommended by me. :)
 
Another new update:

I just recently bought this documentary as a stand-alone Blu-Ray release away from the REMTV box set.
Some of the bonus features are worthless, like the bonus scenes cut from the documentary and the trailers for the documentary and the original box set, but I did enjoy the bonus performances that provide a taster for the big REMTV box set.
If you're expecting nice, discrete live mixes for these bonus performances, you might be let down however cause these are ambient surround mixes that were originally created for TV viewing.

I would still recommend checking out this documentary at some point if you have not done so already. :)
 
I love R.E.M. because Michael Stipe is one of the members of a small club known as People Who Dropped An F-Bomb On "Saturday Night Live" And Got Away With It.
 
I love R.E.M. because Michael Stipe is one of the members of a small club known as People Who Dropped An F-Bomb On "Saturday Night Live" And Got Away With It.

Was it during a segment or a song? Probably a song, but if so, which one?
 
Was it during a segment or a song? Probably a song, but if so, which one?

My guess would be during "What's the Frequency Kenneth?"
You can faintly hear it on the album and I've heard him drop it live too.
Instead of "I never understood the frequency" late in the song, it's "I never understood don't *#@! with me".
 
My guess would be during "What's the Frequency Kenneth?"
You can faintly hear it on the album and I've heard him drop it live too.
Instead of "I never understood the frequency" late in the song, it's "I never understood don't *#@! with me".

Yeah that's my guess too.
LOVE that song, and I LOVE the "Monster" 5.1 surround mix too.
So glad we got NINE of their studio albums mixed in surround by Elliot Scheiner! Those were some of the first DVDA titles I purchased, and they are still some of my favorites to play to this very day. :)
 
Yeah that's my guess too.
LOVE that song, and I LOVE the "Monster" 5.1 surround mix too.
So glad we got NINE of their studio albums mixed in surround by Elliot Scheiner! Those were some of the first DVDA titles I purchased, and they are still some of my favorites to play to this very day. :)

I have the best of and Automatic. Monster and Adventures in Hi-fi (assuming they did Hi-fi) are on my wishlist.
Other than those, not super-in-love with their material, but great mixes can help change one's mind!
 
Was it during a segment or a song? Probably a song, but if so, which one?

edisonbaggins called it. Stipe spun around at exactly that moment, making his lips unreadable, but it's pretty obvious if you know the song. I've always wondered if the show deliberately let him get away with it or if it really did just zoom right by everyone, despite being pretty much exactly what you hear on the studio version.

When the Rolling Stones played "Respectable" back in 1978, Jagger's final repetition "Get out of my life/Don't take my wife" substituted a different verb for "take". I didn't catch it until years later when playing back my tape, but once you know it's there it's pretty obvious. It's also clear on the DVD.

When the Beastie Boys played "Sabotage", the censors knew what kind of thorn he had in his side and dealt with it...but they managed to slip in another bomb later in the song.

A few months back NBC re-ran the episode where the B-52s played "Channel Z"...at one point Fred's lips were pixelated and his vocal dropped out. I went back to the recording I'd made when the show was new and realized he'd said "bullshit".

I know that it makes me mentally ten years old, but I love this stuff. :D
 
I have the best of and Automatic. Monster and Adventures in Hi-fi (assuming they did Hi-fi) are on my wishlist.
Other than those, not super-in-love with their material, but great mixes can always change one's mind!

Definitely get "Monster" and "New Adventures in Hi-Fi". I would also recommend "Green" too while I'm at it. :)
 
I would also recommend "Green" too while I'm at it. :)

Green is pretty good in stereo. Partly stinks in 5.1, IMHO. It shows how good the stereo mix was, whereas the 5.1 makes it sound under produced.
 
Green is pretty good in stereo. Partly stinks in 5.1, IMHO. It shows how good the stereo mix was, whereas the 5.1 makes it sound under produced.

That's always the danger when doing surround mixes (Quad or 5.1)
Sometimes when you begin to pull things apart, the glue begins to unravel, but I don't think anyone could have done a better surround mix for "Green" than what's out there. It's a simpler production than many of their other albums, so that's why it could sound underwhelming at times in surround.
 
That's always the danger when doing surround mixes (Quad or 5.1)
Sometimes when you begin to pull things apart, the glue begins to unravel, but I don't think anyone could have done a better surround mix for "Green" than what's out there. It's a simpler production than many of their other albums, so that's why it could sound underwhelming at times in surround.

I agree that a simple production could be exposed in ultra discrete 5.1. I know ES is quite revered around here, but many of the R.E.M.'s sound rushed, or like there was some kind of file processing error as important elements are missing or barely there like Mike Mills' backing vocals in places. Also the mixes are often really dry, so clearly some extra work was done on the stereo mixes that wasn't on some of the 5.1s or there was some kind of file error. Take the timing error on the intro of Try Not To Breathe, for example. Also comparing Stand in its stereo mix vs. 5.1 and there is more to the mix in the stereo version. The 5.1 is simpler, and even the first note is slightly strange in comparison.
 
different camera angles and/or a commentary version?
Try it in MakeMKV or a demo of DVD Audio Extractor and see how it looks; unless of course you like the results then just enjoy.
 
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