Music: The Smiths vs. R.E.M.

In this corner from the USA we have R.E.M. and in the other corner we have the Smiths.

R.E.M. Formed in 1980 with singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and drummer Bill Berry. R.E.M. started as an alternative / college band in the early 80s but started hitting big in the late 80s.

The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of vocalist Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr, the band also included bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce. The were one of the most important alternative rock band from the UK in the 1980s.

I'll tally votes Friday. Please bold your votes. It makes it a lot easier for me to tally votes.

Vote: R.E.M. or The Smiths

Vote: The Smiths

Morrissey's vocals and lyrics are very direct and personal. There is some depth about trying to be real to oneself and others in a world that can make that very difficult. Great stuff on relationship/friendship stress/issues, loneliness, and money stress. There is some great humour in the lyrics, and some expressions of hurt/trauma that stop me in my tracks. I like how the lyrics are usually a bunch of memorable one-liners.

The band is fucking awesome. Johnny Marr has got a great unique style that creates such a variety of atmospheres with simple-sounding melodies and riffs. Andy Rourke is brilliant. His bass riffs are a perfect mix of groove and melody that interacts so well with Marr. Drummer's alright.

Vote: R.E.M.

Too many songs from them had different impacts on me in different parts of my life. I remember the first time I heard LOSING MY RELIGION on my friend's CD while we were playing 688 ATTACK SUB on his PC. I immediately joined Columbia Music Club and got that CD along with plenty of others.

Later near the end of high school, EVERYBODY HURTS certainly spelled out a few things for me.

Then I remember my 4th (or 5th) girlfriend was pretty fun and the whole MONSTER album really defined our relationship for a year and a half.

Finally in only recent years, I'M playing ROCK BAND with my wife and one of REM's songs comes on, ORANGE CRUSH, which I had never heard before but love now. My wife singing (or playing bass) and me on guitar. FUn, happy song.

Yeah, I have no such memories from anything at all from The Smiths. So vote R.E.M. for sure for me.

"You shut your mouth/How can you say/I go about things the wrong way//I am Human and I need to be loved/Just like everybody else does"

"And if a double-decker bus/Crashes into us/To die by your side/Is such a heavenly way to die//And if a ten ton truck/Kills the both of us/To die by your side/Well the pleasure, the privilege is mine"

"Burn down the disco/Hang the blessed dj/Because the music that they constantly play/It says nothing to me about my life"

Musically they are on about the same level, a lot of great songs on both sides, and a lot of mediocre ones, too, so, for me, it's about the lyrics. I like (mostly early) R.E.M., but they have nothing that comes even close to the awesomeness of the lyrics above.

The Smiths, hands down.

No contest.

The Smiths are the greatest musical act out of England since The Clash.

REM aren't even the best of their genre's generation (The Replacements, Husker Du, even Uncle Tupelo if we can consider them).

Vote: The Smiths

Vote: REM

I don't think any band of the 80s had quite the caliber of output that REM had in that decade. Murmur, Reckoning, and Document all belong on the list of the best alternative albums ever. Obviously that's the case for the Smiths too, so it's a wash there.

But then REM goes and puts out another 2-3 amazing albums in the 90s. Everyone talks about Out of Time and Automatic for the People, but New Adventures in Hi-Fi was terrific too. They were even able to find a way to work without Bill Berry by the time Accelerate and Collapse Into Now came out.

So yeah, a no-brainer for me.

Ahhh, very close. Two of my favorite bands. One mostly kept doing the same thing, one reinvented themselves several times with great success.

Today, I listen to more REM. I completely burned out the Smiths in my teens. But given their impact on me then, I'd have to go with The Smiths. I think their albums are more consistent as well.

Is this the thread where we can call you a dick? You fucked up the bolding.

Anyway, although I seem to remember rather a good shag to Losing my Religion, I think The Smiths definitely have the edge on lyrics and music. The start of This Charming Man is just sublime.

Smiths are one of the best British bands of all time.

REM are shit.

The end.

Decisions, decisions.

R.E.M. was around for a long time, and continued to expand and refine their sound over time. The lyrics were often useless, but there have been so many good songs. And I was blown away by the way they reinvented themselves in '91 with Out of Time. Most successful bands tend to stay in their comfort zone. My favorite songs: Radio Free Europe, Driver 8, Can't Get There From Here, Oddfellows Local 151, Fall on Me, The One I Love, It's the End of the World..., Losing My Religion, Me in Honey, Shiny Happy People, Drive, Man on the Moon.

The Smiths have had some outstanding singles. Morrissey is one of the best singers around, and their best songs had powerful pop hooks. Though I only loved a few of their songs, those favorites were close to my heart. Favorite songs of mine: This Charming Man, How Soon is Now?, Panic, I Started Something I Couldn't Finish, and Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me.

If I had to choose between listening to a Smiths album or an R.E.M. album, I would choose R.E.M., but if I had to choose between listening to a favorite single by either group, it would be The Smiths. Ultimately, The Smiths were only around for about five years, while R.E.M. had a solid decade of good albums, plus another decade of lesser quality work. Vote: R.E.M.

Michael Barnes wrote: Smiths are one of the best British bands of all time.

REM are shit.

This. Vote: The Smiths

I started listening to REM back in the mid eighties and came into the Smiths in the late eighties. I still listen to The Smiths to this very day. I can't remeber the last time I listened to an REM album.

(sidenote I'm currently teaching myself to play "Asleep", on the piano. Muthafuck Mr. Marr, you are brilliant.)

Michael Barnes wrote: Smiths are one of the best British bands of all time.

REM are shit.

The end.

you almost had it Michael.

If you don't say The Smiths, we're not friends. In fact, I'm rethinking how much I like Pete for even thinking this is a reasonable match up.

The End of the World as we Know It is a catchy jam, but pretty much fuck everything else REM has done. Totally shitty dad rock.

The Smiths are easily one of the best bands ever.

REM as shitty dad rock? What? I could see lots of criticism of REM, but to me it'd be hard to call "Murmur" shitty dad rock.

Had no idea about all this hate at REM.