Episodes 296 and 297 - The Unsung History of R.E.M. (Side C) and New Adventures in Hi-Fi (Side D)

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Our R.E.M. mini-series concludes this week as parts three and four together.

R.E.M. never really chased superstardom, and yet they found themselves thrust into it in the mid-90s. Last week we ended by talking about Green and Out of Time. In part three we chat about Automatic for the People and Monster, before diving into the records they made after drummer and founding member Bill Berry left: Up, Reveal, Around the Sun, Accelerate and Collapse Into Now. This episode's the longest of all four parts precisely because we cover so much ground. We try to give each album a fair hearing and there's a ton of samples of this. Towards the 00s, it soon becomes clear that without Berry and dimming commercial appeal, that they were starting to become a little bit listless. Hope you enjoy getting stuck into it!

In part four/Side D Chris explains to us why he thinks New Adventures in Hi-Fi is an unsung classic, and grapples with the possibility that his choice may not have been the right one. And as ever, we drop the nexus too.