Item — HN Reader

I think you're underestimating the influence of R.E.M. on their peers and those that follow. The first 3 that come to mind:

Nirvana - Cobain famously said "If I could write just a couple of songs as good as what they’ve written".

The National - Toured with, worked with, still bring Michael Stipe onstage every once in a while.

Radiohead - Thom Yorke: "I’ve ripped them off left, right and centre for years and years and years and years."

1 comments

I concede Radiohead (though, of course, not Nirvana). First time I saw Radiohead was at an REM show (Patti Smith made a surprise appearance). I'd still go to bat for the argument that REM's influences are more influential than REM itself is.

Is being "your favorite band's favorite band" not the most insanely high praise though? I can't think of anything cooler.

Some other bands that list them as an influence are Pavement, Pearl Jam, Live, Collective Soul, Alice in Chains, Better Than Ezra, Liz Phair, The Decemberists, Wilco.

You hear Pearl Jam in that list the way you hear Nirvana, but I think that has more to do with the chronology and with REM's unofficial role as the bellwether/popularizer of alt radio (which I think is overblown) than any actual artistic influence. Whatever Liz Phair wants to say about Exile, her real influences (besides the Stones) are simply REM's influences.

I concede The Decemberists. Basically a band that blended the Athens Elephant 6 sound with 80s college rock. Sure: the Decemberists were more influenced by REM than by Patti Smith or the Velvets or Television.

Wilco is a weird one. I have a suspicion that Wilco, or at least Jay Bennett-era Wilco, is more influenced by mainstream early-90s alt rock than anybody is comfortable admitting. Heavy Metal Band is basically 1979 off Mellon Collie, which: what Chicago band is going to admit that influence?

Collective Soul, Better Than Ezra, Live: these are bands that kind of prove my point. The lead guy from Live once wrote Stipe a letter asking for advice on how to become a rock star.

> Wilco is a weird one.

Tweedy is from the Illinois side of metro St Louis and was touring colleges in southern IL, MO, KY, GA, etc as a member of Uncle Tupelo when he met and became friends with Buck. They collaborated on some projects, and Buck even produced an Uncle Tupelo album.

It’s probably better to think of it as “Tweedy influenced by REM” rather than “Wilco influenced by REM”.

I'm an unabashed Tupelo fan and I don't get as much alt-rock in No Depression or Anodyne (another top 5 album for me) as I do in Summerteeth and, especially, YHF.

But then Jay Bennett leaves and they're a krautrock band.

Wilco is almost totally based off of pub and roots rock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAunCCRtPjM

Wait what does that even mean, "REM's influences are more influential than REM itself is"?

That Patti Smith and Big Star are more influential to bands today than REM.