R.E.M.'s Murmur

I really didn't expect much when a friend guided me to this book. All he mentioned was the track by track analysis of instrumentation and arrangement. But the amazing part of this book is the latter section dealing with language and the effectiveness of non-linear, yet familiar lyrics in evoking feelings beyond logic and language. I became consciously aware of an intuitive process through the shared experience of the record and the author's thoughtful considerations. Quite a bargain for the price!

There are so many things that I like about MURMUR, J. Niimi's recent book on R.E.M.'s legendary 1983 album of the same name, that I scarcely know where to begin. On one hand, there's the crisp organization. This compact book is broken into four chapters that provide in efficient succession (1) crucial background information on the band and the album, especially the technical aspects of the latter's production; (2) a song-by-song and line-by-line perspective on an album whose expressionistic and often absurdist lyrics are famously difficult to understand and/or to ascertain; (3) a reading of (and, perhaps more importantly, "a listening to") the album that emphasizes ideas of the sublime and positions this work of musical art as an instance of the Southern Gothic impulse as filtered through the ephemera of the 1980s; and (4) a second reading of the album that accents the semiotic and the linguistic, examining MURMUR and its lyrics through, among other things, the lens of Walker Percy's essay "Metaphor as Mistake." There is also a very useful appendix in which Mr. Niimi supplies and in some cases reconstructs the album's lyrics. If you like the album, this appendix is worth the cost of the book. I have little patience for baggy monsters and loose piles of crud prefaced by a title page and, less often, a preface. Mr. Niimi's organization is, happily, nothing if not tight and craftmanlike--no bags, no monsters, no crud. But what is most admirable about Mr. Niimi's structure is that it acts as a control on the very best aspect of the author's book, i.e., its free-flowing and always highly accessible intellectual manner, which combines personal reminiscence with a variable prose style and with cultural allusions that are at once wide-ranging and intensely specific to the world about which Mr. Niimi writes. (The author has a great deal of first- and second-hand knowledge of said world as a musician, engineer, and critic.) What I am trying to say, and taking much too long to do it, is that gee whiz, Mr. Niimi can really write. A uniquely satisfying (and often quite droll) combination of the readerly and the writerly is what is most immediately appealing about MURMUR, yet it is the book's structure that finally moves the reader along and disciplines the author's ideas, restricting any flight into the ether of fundamentally idiosyncratic intellectual reference and cultural critique. If you need further convincing, just leaf through the start of the third chapter, which is one of my favorite parts of the book. Before moving smoothly into an impressive examination of the album's cover art, this chapter begins with a glib and accurate passage that contemplates the abject history of the cassette tape, which Mr. Niimi describes as the "the worst existing way" of listening to music-not to mention a musical mode that has colored his memory as well as that of an entire era. Being of the same "passing generation" as the author, I know exactly what Mr. Niimi

This book on Murmur is a great read. I am glad i stumbled on it at the check out counter of my favorite record store. Mr. Niimi captured the record's weird and intangible magic, not an easy feat. He did a particularly good job examining Bill Berry's unusual playing style and incalculable contribution to not only R.E.M.'s sound but compositions. Even though Niimi himself is a drummer, he explains things in a manner any non-musician will appreciate. He also got some great quotes out of producers Don Dixon and Mitch Easter as he delved into the details of the making of the record. Along the way he tells the terrific story of R.E.M.s rapid rise from Athens bar band to architects of the college rock, indie rock explosion of the '80s. I followed R.E.M. very closely in this time frame and the author captures the feeling and emotional impact that R.E.M. had on its fans quite well. The book brought back many good memories. I highly recommend it to both the casual and serious R.E.M. fan.

This is one of the best books on contemporary music I've ever read. Murmur 33 1/3 explores the band [REM] and most impressively, the historical and cultural context in which the music was recorded. Niimi deconstructs Murmur with surgical precision while leaving ample room for your subjective interpretation. If you like REM, you will absolutely love this book. Highly recommended!

I'm a big fan of the 33 1/3 Series from Continuum Books and J Niimi's MURMUR is a fine addition. One problem I have with books of this ilk is the tendency to emphasize studio craft and the technical aspect of the making of a record over the content and emotional effect of the music. Mr Niimi avoids this nicely- although all the studio tricks are exposed in their entirety! Its also a great look back at the times and trends that produced this fine record. After reading the book I put the record on and, after wading through the inevitable waves of nostalgia, rediscovered a great band and record that I haven't listened to for far too long.