Rock and Roll Midlife Crises

Growing up I never knew that rock and rollers got midlife crises. I thought they simply became oldies acts or they just quietly retired. Now it's different. Not only are the bands from our youth staying together, their busting their asses to stay "relevant" I'm not talking about niche artists like the Cowboy Junkies who quietly do what they do with their consistent followings, and I'm not talking either about old dudes like Neil Young or Neil Diamond who do what they do and don't care what anyone thinks.

I'm talking about the U2's of the world, the REMs of the world. Add The Cure and the Stone Temple Pilots, among others. to the list These bands still feel a need to be at the top, whether creatively or commercially. First, we must look at the motives, why these earnest indie and punk influenced bands feel a need to make well-publicized "comebacks", second we we look at the creative success of these endeavors, third, does anyone care anymore? Since REM is the latest to go on the comeback trail, that's who we'll talk about.

For most of the 1980's, REM ruled to college rock world. They had an indie soul but never played too loud to be called punk or never so self-consciously "indie" to be nazis about it. Records like "Murmur" and "Fables of the Reconstruction" featured four-minute rock songs that were never ignorant of their blues, country and folk roots, and fit well on alternative playlists without compromising themselves. Even when they got big in the 1990's, they never tried too hard to be commercial, and were still able to put out some of their best work. "Automatic for the People" is a beautiful sounding record, and "Monster" was a slyly subversive take on big rock. They had it all- financial success while compromising little.

Then it all came down. "Monster"'s big world tour nearly tore the band apart, literally and figuritavely. Drummer Bill Berry left, and they became much more a musical project than a band. The resulting had their moments, but were ultimately not up to par with their pre-Monster work. They were missing the rock and roll spirit that ultimately permeated all their records. One could say that the band had retired from the rock stardom thing, giving up the big rock for the whimsical "Up" and the idyllic "Reveal" which saw guitars all but disappear from their sound, in many cases replaced by cheap synthesizers and drum machines. Although they did make it out for a tour or two, they seemed content to be a studio band. Then came "Accelerate"

The new record finds Peter Buck picking up his guitar, it finds Michael Stipe barking out his words and the band actually playing with a full-time drummer. The result is "Monster" without the irony, a straight rock record, at least as straight as REM is capable. It first it seems a little generic for them, especially a band famed for it's nuance. It slowly grows on you, with the catchy melody of "Supernatural Superserious" and the angry "Mr Richards" drawing you in. Peter Buck is certainly on fire, and Michael Stipe seems to have abandoned his love songs for more political fare. The end result is a strong rock album which is the most consistent thing since "Monster"- but is it an REM record?.

The charm of REM was always their inability to be pidgeonholed. When other young indie bands were singing slightlly more literate versions of punk, REM played a little slower than most, Stipe mumbled his lyrics, and Buck's guitar was quite understated. While they would have a few rockers, much of their stuff was mid-tempo or even ballad-like. Their 90's work had more rock-like trappings, but it always had a twist, i.e, the neo-glam poses of "Monster." While REM has certainly earned the right to make the music they feel like making, turning themselves into a garage band might succeed in showing the world that they still rock, and have a very active social consciousness, but it also makes one long for the more subtle charms REM posesses.

They're too old for the indie kids to get into, not to mention the other kids who don't listen to rock, while many of us fortysomethings don't buy as much music anymore. Yes, there are still people out there that will get into this record, some of the indie kids who wonder where their favorite band got their influences, or middle aged white guys like me who have followed them for the last quarter of a century, but it's not going to win many new fans, which may be the reason they came out with this record in the first place.