Automatic For The People is truly one of the greatest albums of all time. Its use of compelling imagery makes it one of the most passionate and emotional albums that this or any other band has ever released. Automatic is fully worthy of every one of the fifty-million-plus people worldwide who have bought it. I say without hesitation that I belive it surely will go down in history as one of the greatest albums of all time.
Drive is a great album opener. Its moody, somber strains and downbeat, dark riffs give it a serious and powerful feel. It reflects the entire feel of the album.
Try Not To Breathe is a passionate and serious look at life and its dilemmas.
The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight is a catchy but serious expression of Michael Stipes opinion of American pop culture. It is lyrically and musically a great pop song that has decptively real undertones.
Everybody Hurts is without question the most heartfelt, sincere and emotional song to ever hit the airwaves of American radio. It is a passionate and soulful plea to teenagers thinking life isnt worth living. It is inspiring, uplifting, and thoroughly beautiful. Asong of true hope and inspiration for the lost.
New Orleans Instrumental No. 2 is a great follow-up to Everybody Hurts, allowing the listener to take a deep breath and reflect on what they just heard. As sadly beautiful as anything.
Sweetness Follows is a direct contrast to Everybody Hurts. It is a song about death and depression. Dramatic both lyrically and musically.
Monty Got a Raw Deal is a strange mix of contrasts: the fast-paced beat below Stipes slowly balladeering voice, the catchy guitar riff under his monotonous and serious tone. An effective way to open the Ride side of this album.
Ignoreland is the most viciously political song ever recorded. Severe and harsh both musically and lyrically, Stipe paints an apocalyptic picture of Americas future. Kudos to Stipe on the incredible https://lyrics. This song was an inkling of things to come on Monster.
Star Me Kitten is a beautiful, passionate song of lost love that lazily floats its way through the middle of Ride. It is a stark contrast, the polar opposite, of Ignoreland.
Man On the Moon is a deceptively serious, sad song about Stipes hero, comedian Andy Kaufmann. Its about a great journey, one we must all take, Stipe is known to say when introducing it in concert.
Nightswimming is a starkly beautiful, melodiously passionate song about lost innocence of past days of youth. Its lyrics are simple in appearance, but it may be a criticism of societys infatuation with faster, higher, farther, in the pursuit of which gets lost small pleasures, like nightswimming.
Find the River is a soft, sad, emotional album closer, one of the most insistently beautiful songs on the album. This, more than any other song, sums up the soft moodiness of the entire album.
These things considered, the darkly beautiful Automatic For The People, with its serious and dramtically emotional overtones, is one of the most stunningly compelling collection of songs ever put on the market. R.E.M. proved their collective intellect with this album is as high as any other persons. Thank you for giving us this work, R.E.M. May it be one of the few that endure history.This isnt just another album this is the album.