So why is R.E.M.’s Collapse Into Now on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
R.E.M. is one of my favorite bands, and their final album, released in 2011, saw thR.E.M. is one of my favorite bands and their final album, released in 2011, saw them in absolute top form.
Collapse Into Now earned its place just on the cusp of the Top 100 of the best 1,000 albums ever with a tight 12 song set that ranges from loose and rocking to warm and delicate, with a confidence throughout from a band that spent 30 years playing together while creating a galaxy of timeless music along route.
It’s an album that feels of a piece with Accelerate (#306), R.E.M.’s penultimate album, and as great as that one is, Collapse Into Now feels subtly better here and a smidge better there.
It kicks off with the soaring, rocking “Discoverer” before revving up another notch on “All the Best.”
The third track, “Überlin” is an exquisite number, R.E.M. at its yearning and gorgeous best.
“Gorgeous” is again a word I use over and over in my mind when I listen to the delicate “Every Day Is Yours to Win” and the sweet and aching “Oh My Heart” (which feels tied to the post-Hurricane Katrina ode, “Houston” off of Accelerate).
What’s also truly wonderful is that R.E.M. also finds the time to have fun on their way out. In fact, “Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter” – featuring the dynamite vocals of the artist known as Peaches along with Michael Stipe – is an absolute blast and might be the most fun you’ll have listening to R.E.M. this side of “Stand.”
And then “Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I” is R.E.M. at its most whimsical and contemplative.
Collapse Into Now is a full musical meal, and one that I enjoy all the more as I get older.
Pop culture stuff that has something to do with R.E.M.’s Collapse Into Now
Since Collapse Into Now is R.E.M.’s final album release (at least as of this writing!), it’s as good a time as any to share this incredible video of Michael Stipe singing “No Time for Love Like Now” in what looks like the back porch of a house.
It came out during the early, frightening weeks of COVID striking in early 2020 and was a lovely little respite, a moment of pure beauty.
It still is, and Michael Stipe sounds as great as ever.
Some stats & info about R.E.M. – Collapse Into Now
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, College Rock, Alternative Pop, Indie Rock
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 3.5 out of 5 stars
- When was Collapse Into Now released? 2011
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #106 out of 1,000
R.E.M.’s Collapse Into Now on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from R.E.M.’s Collapse Into Now that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Yes I will rhyme that, after, after all I’ve done today, I have earned my wings.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.