R.E.M. | Fiction: An Alternative Biography
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Product Description
Record Collector
Buckley has created a straightforward and enjoyable document . . . this is as good as it gets
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Rolling Stone (US)
Reconstructs their fables with an insider’s sense of authority
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I have been an REM fan for as long as I can remember and I came away from this book feeling like I had got so much closer to the band . I have been going back listening to the cds and interpreting them differently knowing what was going on in the band at the time . There is some fascinating information including talk of an REM and Nirvana colloboration (unfortunately kurt put a stop to that ever taking place:() . The only reason im not giving it 5 stars is there are no new contributions from michael stipe , he's not that keen on interviews but it would have been nice to have some non archive words from him seeing he is the sole figure on the books cover.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Of all the rock giants that have dominated the airwaves over the past 15 years, its is REM that have remained the most aloof and mysterious. I always found this refusal to play the celebrity game refreshing and was sceptical when I heard of Fiction's release. It was out of respect for David Buckley - author of the excellent Strange Facination (a David Bowie autobiography) - that I bought the book and I've loved every page. Buckley cuts through the myth and gets close to the real REM (if such a thing exists) and its a really refreshing take on the tired rock biog formula. You can read as a serious muso or as someone with an intererst in the bizarre world of rock and roll - either way its a winner.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Being of a prior generation, and with a somewhat cynical view of galactic sized rock bands, it was with some prejudice that I approached 'R.E.M. - Fiction' ...but I just fell in at the deep end and I loved it. This is a hugely accessible book, readable and gripping while, hooray!, avoiding all the commonplace, big band biog pitfalls of minutely detailed facts or off-the-planet opinions. Instead David Buckley slips you into the complete world of R.E.M., starting with the wonderfully evocative early years, delivering you into the middle of the quietly budding music and youth culture of Athens, Georgia, USA in the 80s, then sliding you along the bumpy but always fascinating road to rock iconism, across more than 22 years.
David Buckley is plainly a big R.E.M. fan, witness the careful research, but it doesn't stop him being critically analytical. He dives into battle on the impacts of rags to riches, of experimental to mainstream rock, of political involvement and private lives and on R.E.M.'s musical ambitions. Yet the writing is seamless, comfortably herding the action along without a blink. Every album is considered in context, exploring the tracks, the atmosphere and the direction, crafted with pithy insights from all involved. The big issues which have progressed and blighted the band are also chewed around; the integrity of their move from indie to major label, the ethics of their political tinkering, the 'did he jump or was he pushed' questions, even interrogating the quality of their belief in themselves and their music.
Given the importance place of R.E.M. in the history and credibility of superstar rock music I expected a heavy, serious, learned tome. This would have been acceptable fare but instead David Buckley has served up a book which satisfies a wider appetite; yes informative, enveloping, sympathetic and incisive but also entertaining and even out-loud funny.
The lasting feel of 'R.E.M.- Fiction' for me is one of the essence of time and place, dropping you into the moment, putting the taste in your mouth; the mood of the American South, the miserable cold of London, the buzz of the studio and the exhaustion of the tour. It must have been like this. If you want to be there as it happened then this is the book for you.
David Buckley is plainly a big R.E.M. fan, witness the careful research, but it doesn't stop him being critically analytical. He dives into battle on the impacts of rags to riches, of experimental to mainstream rock, of political involvement and private lives and on R.E.M.'s musical ambitions. Yet the writing is seamless, comfortably herding the action along without a blink. Every album is considered in context, exploring the tracks, the atmosphere and the direction, crafted with pithy insights from all involved. The big issues which have progressed and blighted the band are also chewed around; the integrity of their move from indie to major label, the ethics of their political tinkering, the 'did he jump or was he pushed' questions, even interrogating the quality of their belief in themselves and their music.
Given the importance place of R.E.M. in the history and credibility of superstar rock music I expected a heavy, serious, learned tome. This would have been acceptable fare but instead David Buckley has served up a book which satisfies a wider appetite; yes informative, enveloping, sympathetic and incisive but also entertaining and even out-loud funny.
The lasting feel of 'R.E.M.- Fiction' for me is one of the essence of time and place, dropping you into the moment, putting the taste in your mouth; the mood of the American South, the miserable cold of London, the buzz of the studio and the exhaustion of the tour. It must have been like this. If you want to be there as it happened then this is the book for you.
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