“…Murmur is a lovingly rendered, well-researched look at R.E.M’s album of the same name, a gothic-tinged anomaly that seemed to come out of nowhere amid the New Wave avalanche of the early ’80s…illuminating.” ―Cincinnati City Beat
“I’ll leave the in-depth analysis of the record to Niimi, but trust me, this is a title worth reading more about…even if you still hate R.E.M. for unleashing that debacle called “Shiny Happy People.”” ―Radio Free Chicago, May 2005
“…the book does a good job of bringing the reader into the world of R.E.M. and the circumstances surrounding their official full-length debut album which changed the music world. A must-read for fans.” –” ―Mish Mash Music Reviews
“…the book goes a considerable distance towards explaining how this enduringly astonishing album happened.” ―Uncut
“33 1/3 is a fabulous series written with passion by an equally fabulous cross-secton of today’s best music journalists. This series is a must for every serious record nerd out there! And I know the nerds agree with me cause I’m having trouble keeping them on the shelves.” ―Edmund LeStrange, Book Buyer for Waterloo Records
“Writing about an album like R.E.M.’s debut can be treacherous. More than 30 years after its release signaled the rise of alternative music, Murmur somehow retains its playful sense of evasion, as though purposefully obscuring its meaning in an attempt to make you listen more closely. Explaining each lyric and riff risks deflating its mystery, yet J. Niimi proceeds with caution. Perhaps his greatest accomplishment is finding the right distance from his subject, so that he can explain how the music works without telling us what it’s about. That is, after all, the whole point.” ―Stephen M. Deusner, Pitchfork
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
In the course of an interview that took place some twenty years ago, Michael Stipe made passing reference to an essay that had a deep impact on him. It s what came to his mind when, after having been harangued by fans and journalists alike about Murmur s lyrics, already grown weary from having to continually entertain their broad speculations, he finally threw up his hands. “Anyone who really wants to figure out the words to our songs should probably read this essay, then go back and listen,” Stipe told the interviewer. “It talks about how people misinterpret something that s being said, and come up with a little phrase or word that actually defines the essence of what the original was better than the original did.” What Stipe was trying to say is that if you want answers to R.E.M., you re not only looking in the wrong place, you re also asking the wrong questions.
Wow! eBook
