The Big Mates discuss the U.S. civil war, Foo Fighters, aliens, and Fables of the Reconstruction by R.E.M. Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by starting their track-by-track analysis on the band's third studio album, released in 1985. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opinions, and thoughts from three differing perspectives on music, from being deeply into analysis and music, to not caring for art or critique, and everything in between. They go track-by-track on the second side of the album, before wrapping up their thoughts on the record and discussing where it fits into the band's discography so far. They also discuss the concept of "normal music," and the difference between surface level analysis and critical depth. They then look at how the album was received at the time of release, and how that perception may have changed in the decades that have followed. What do we make of the album? What did R.E.M. make of the album? Is the album normal or weird? Find out on this episode of What Is Music? Our next episode is out on Monday February 19th and will feature important commentary for a show on the Reconstruction tour. Join the conversation on: Twitter: https://twitter.com/whatismusicpod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatismusicpod E-mail: [email protected] Get access to more shows, exclusive bonus content, ad-free episodes of this show, and more music discussion by subscribing to our Patreon! Head to patreon.com/whatismusicpod and receive up to two new episodes of our various shows every week (including shows about Manic Street Preachers and monthly themed playlists!), ad-free archives of What Is Music?, and access to our Patron-only Discord server for even more music (and non-music) discussion! Support our show when starting your own podcast! By signing up to Buzzsprout with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=780379 Check out our merch! https://whatismusicpod.redbubble.com Donate to our podcast! https://ko-fi.com/whatismusic http://whatismusic.buzzsprout.com/ What The Hell Is My Job? Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GGlApUDmrjVyD1vZ5EqgN?si=1_my1Y2MR-yNN2azkLjejA Support the show