Anyone who was born after 1983 and grew up listening to modern rock has his/her first R.E.M. record. For most, it seems to be 'Murmur,' 'Reckoning,' 'Document,' 'Green,' or 'Automatic For The People’; for me it was 'New Adventures In Hi-Fi.' The song which peaked my interest here was it's first single, "E-Bow The Letter." I got ‘New Adventures in Hi-Fi’ on my 15th birthday (along with Nirvana's 'Nevermind' from my brother), and I have to say that, initially, it was a tough listen for me. The album’s themes of distance, loneliness, and isolation which, given are things a teenager tend to gravitate toward, were told in far more mature ways and themes than conventional songs a teenager generally listens to (or at this point for me). However, as I continued to hear this album, the layers upon layers of this record started to reveal itself and would ultimately become of their final album as a quartet (drummer Bill Berry would leave shortly after the albums release due to medical issues). "Be Mine" is an amazing epic fueled by Peter Buck’s magnificent guitar work; "Bittersweet Me" and "The Wake Up Bomb" are easily peak R.E.M. rockers of this era of the band while "Electrolite," the closing track, is an eloquent, piano driven song (personally one of their best closing songs to any of their albums). But it's the dark, dense "E-Bow The Letter" which really is the centerpiece here. The song was conceived from an unsent letter Stipe wrote to friend/actor River Phoenix. After Phoenix’s shocking death the unsent letter for Stipe held more weight to him and would become the blueprint behind this haunting song. With Michael Stipe’s idol Patti Smith singing in the background to perfectly complement his tone, the song stuck with me. R.E.M. recorded this album during sound checks while touring for their '94 album, 'Monster,' and the opening act throughout much of this tour was Radiohead, who were touring behind their now classic, 'The Bends.' However, this tour developed a bond between Michael Stipe and Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, who credits Stipe to being an influence on the recording of what would become 'OK Computer.' I only mention this because 'OK Computer' and 'New Adventures In Hi-Fi' both deal with similar subject matters (distance, isolation, loneliness amidst a populated world) and the overall mood, feel, and tone of both albums come off very similar as well. Coincidence? Who knows, but interesting nevertheless. As this album has aged and the lore of R.E.M. has continued to age nicely, this album to me felt grossly overlooked at the time of it’s release among R.EM.’s best works; since then it has often been considered by many as their final “great” or “perfect” album, mostly from the previously mentioned departure from drummer Bill Berry after this album’s release. Whether that’s true is up to one’s opinion, I will say the style of R.E.M. was known for is on full display here and subsequent releases had the band trying different styles and ideas that were interesting and compelling to me (but that’s a conversation for a different day). Thanks for taking the time to stop by, reading and hopefully providing some thoughts on this magnificent album. Take care, be safe and have a great week!