Adventures with Dr. Lady Cutie Troublemaker

Slate asked the question, “Who Was The Best Rock Band Of The ’80s?” Lots of interesting discussion on Stereogum, but I’ve gotta know the ages of some of these people. Here’s my response/walk down memory lane:

First of all, I wonder what Gary is thinking of when he said that U2 was “cringeworthy” in the 80s. How old is Gary? How old are most of the people in this thread? Boy and October were great albums. Unforgettable Fire was great, and even Joshua Tree had its moments.

All that aside, I’m from Atlanta, and I first saw R.E.M. when I was 12 at an all ages show at the Agora Ballroom in 1983. I’d first heard Chronic Town at my friend Molly’s house. Her sister was at UGA in Athens and had seen R.E.M. at a party. I knew all music had changed for me.

R.E.M. is stellar. I listened to each album 24/7 starting with the day it came out until there was a new one. I did this until about Green, seeing every concert tour they had through that time. They actually used to play 5 shows at the Fox instead of moving to the stadium sized venues (the Omni back in the day). I wouldn’t give that up for the world. I saw U2 twice in the 80s, and their shows were good, but they weren’t REM. Maybe because they were more local, more humble. I adored them.

I’m 36 now. I’m not judging retrospectively… not really. I’m judging from the perspective of someone who listened to both of these bands a LOT through the whole decade as they were evolving. Both were amazing and changed the face of music. Maybe because Bono’s ego was always in the way, and maybe because REM was local… I vote R.E.M.. How could I not? They shaped me.