Was REM the DMB before DMB?

[duketaylor]

Seems to me this is plausible. REM had more commercial success as far as air-play on tradition radio, and still do. DMB is huge here as they're based in C'ville (or just outside). I've never been a huge DMB fan, but still like their music. I had a friend recently go to the Yucatan peninsula with his wife for a 3-day DMB concert. I might only do that for The Who, Stones, Eagles, McCartney/Beatles. Thoughts?

[ClemmonsDevil]

Seems to me this is plausible. REM had more commercial success as far as air-play on tradition radio, and still do. DMB is huge here as they're based in C'ville (or just outside). I've never been a huge DMB fan, but still like their music. I had a friend recently go to the Yucatan peninsula with his wife for a 3-day DMB concert. I might only do that for The Who, Stones, Eagles, McCartney/Beatles. Thoughts?

Big fan of both. I would say REM was an absolute pantheon level band. And Dave is a very fun and good band. And I have paud $ to see both. But REM was the greater band by a large margin.

[bundabergdevil]

This thread sounds like the result of a discussion that escalated out of control with a friend over 4 beers.

[ClemmonsDevil]

This thread sounds like the result of a discussion that escalated out of control with a friend over 4 beers.

It is.

[fidel]

Interesting to compare the two. Their first albums were ten years apart, REM being post-New Wave and DMB being same era as grunge. Completely different sounds, both made it big on the college circuit, DMB associated with Charlottesville and REM with Athens.

I don’t understand the REM being the DMB of their time. I don’t see their acts as similar, sound as similar, or longevity as similar.

I love both bands tho!

[ClemmonsDevil]

Interesting to compare the two. Their first albums were ten years apart, REM being post-New Wave and DMB being same era as grunge. Completely different sounds, both made it big on the college circuit, DMB associated with Charlottesville and REM with Athens.

I don’t understand the REM being the DMB of their time. I don’t see their acts as similar, sound as similar, or longevity as similar.

I love both bands tho!

This is where I am. I don't see them as comps. I don't think the original poster is saying they were similar, as much as suggesting they occupied the same space. I think you could argue that they sprang from the same place when they hit it big (college circuit). But I would argue that Dave has basically continued to occupy that same space (nostalgia college rock for people my age), while REM transitioed to a much deeper and more nuanced sound. And I'm definitely qualified to comment on this because of the lack of musical talent, musical education and the fact that I work in medicine and science. I actually assumed this was addressed specifically to me hoping I would answer. You're welcome.

[fidel]

This is where I am. I don't see them as comps. I don't think the original poster is saying they were similar, as much as suggesting they occupied the same space. I think you could argue that they sprang from the same place when they hit it big (college circuit). But I would argue that Dave has basically continued to occupy that same space (nostalgia college rock for people my age), while REM transitioed to a much deeper and more nuanced sound. And I'm definitely qualified to comment on this because of the lack of musical talent, musical education and the fact that I work in medicine and science. I actually assumed this was addressed specifically to me hoping I would answer. You're welcome.

I only commented because I have no musical talent whatsoever and scream out of tune along with both these bands while driving in my car with the kids rolling their eyes in the back seat. You’ve seen me.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

I think they are comparable as they are college bands that went national that defined people of a certain age's lives during an important period. I like REM - very talented. Great music and they were part of the MTV generation.

However, I am the DMB generation - saw them at a small outdoor quad event at Duke my freshman year, and a year later was at two of the release shows for Under the Table and Dreaming at The Ritz in Raleigh and Wait Chapel, and I watched them evolve. I came home from Duke after my freshmen year and was listening to them non-stop and my friends liked them but didn't get it. By the following summer, they all wanted copies of the bootlegs I had accumulated - the band just took off. After seeing them in a number of smaller venues I could not bring myself to see them at a large stadium. With the violin and the horns their instrumentation really stood out.

Someone above said that DMB was the same era as grunge but I think of them as being more a part of the evolution away from grunge to a more upbeat, positive sound, along with Hootie, Blues Traveler, and some others. Other than Pearl Jam I wasn't a big grunge fan (though I did wear a lot of flannel), so I thought this was great.

[cato]

This thread sounds like the result of a discussion that escalated out of control with a friend over 4 beers.

And maybe a Jimi Thing. Just the thing to keep the conversation swinging.

[ClemmonsDevil]

And maybe a Jimi Thing. Just the thing to keep the conversation swinging.

My favorite Dave song. Along with Tripping Billies. I saw REM once and it was unbelievable. I am a huge Dave fan and have seen them probably 10 times. I first saw them and Ziggy's in Winston-Salem with about 300 people for the Under the table and dreaming release tour. They were amazing. Along with Pearl Jam, my favorite band of the 90s. But I would still say REM is the greater band.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

As someone who was enthusiastic about both bands for a time period - I see them very differently. REM was a great late 80s Athens band that hit the big time in a surprising way and continued to crank out radio friendly rock songs with some interesting and surprising musicality from time to time.
Dave is more "jam bandy" to me - excellent musical artistry, great instrumental breaks, amazing musicians, creative collaborations. The fact that they some how broke into the "frat boy" appeal in the mid to late 90s is REALLY surprising to me. They seemed more likely to take the Bela Fleck route of Jazz Fests and Bonaroo as opposed to making their way to arenas and big venues.

I guess I understand the comparison to a degree, but as someone who owned several albums of each I'd put them in very different buckets in my mind.

[cato]

My favorite Dave song. Along with Tripping Billies. I saw REM once and it was unbelievable. I am a huge Dave fan and have seen them probably 10 times. I first saw them and Ziggy's in Winston-Salem with about 300 people for the Under the table and dreaming release tour. They were amazing. Along with Pearl Jam, my favorite band of the 90s. But I would still say REM is the greater band.

Both great songs. I still see Dave every time he comes through town. Like CNC, I saw them at the Ritz in Raleigh fall of 94, I believe. One of the best shows I’ve ever been to.

The weird part is that even though it’s coming up on 30 years since I went to that first show, both me and the band are still quite young.

[aimo]

I prefer old REM, as in Don't Go Back to Rockville and South Central Rain.

Not a big Dave Matthews fan.

[DukieInKansas]

I interpreted DMB as Duke Marching Band so that was an interesting start to reading this thread. I reinterpreted quickly.

Yes, I know it is DUMB but brains are weird.

[bundabergdevil]

I wonder if duketaylor really just dropped this bomb thread and ran?

[luvdahops]

As someone who was enthusiastic about both bands for a time period - I see them very differently. REM was a great late 80s Athens band that hit the big time in a surprising way and continued to crank out radio friendly rock songs with some interesting and surprising musicality from time to time.
Dave is more "jam bandy" to me - excellent musical artistry, great instrumental breaks, amazing musicians, creative collaborations. The fact that they some how broke into the "frat boy" appeal in the mid to late 90s is REALLY surprising to me. They seemed more likely to take the Bela Fleck route of Jazz Fests and Bonaroo as opposed to making their way to arenas and big venues.

I guess I understand the comparison to a degree, but as someone who owned several albums of each I'd put them in very different buckets in my mind.

With their "jangly" guitar-driven sound and inscrutable lyrics and vocals, REM was an incredibly influential band, especially in college rock and alternative circles, well before they began to see broad commercial success in the late 80s. They and U2 are seen as the touchstone bands of 80s rock by many.

Dave Matthews is a talented musician and very good guy, but DMB is simply not on the same plane. They are more of jam band-lite outfit that carved out a niche straddling the Dead/Phish crowd and the more (by that time) traditional college rock audience. But I've never really seen them as being really championed by either, or considered particularly influential. Just consistently good and fun, which is nothing to sneeze at.

[ClemmonsDevil]

Dave Matthews is a talented musician and very good guy, but DMB is simply not on the same plane. They are more of jam band-lite outfit that carved out a niche straddling the Dead/Phish crowd and the more (by that time) traditional college rock audience. But I've never really seen them as being really championed by either, or considered particularly influential. Just consistently good and fun, which is nothing to sneeze at.

I agree that REM is a Pantheon and borderline Mount Rushmore level band. I would argue that your take on Dave is a little bit reductive, while still agreeing that in essence they are a jam band. I would argue they are a top-tier jam band with songs that were so good that they inexplicably roped in the frat boy crowd and that colors how people feel about them. Somehow finding commercial success as a jam band has the tendency to make people discount your abilities. Whereas it should be the other way around. Being such an exceptional jam-band pulled in people who would not otherwise be smitten with that style of music and playing. My hot take isn't that they were a knockoff of Phish and the Grateful Dead, it's that Dave was the evolutionary and either equal or more advanced version. Having songs that are appealing shouldn't be viewed as a bug. But music fans have the tendency to do that.

[rsvman]

Musically speaking they are worlds apart.

I was an REM fan way back at the very beginning, when their first EP "Chronic Town" was released. They kind of hit it pretty big on the college circuit when "Murmur" came out.


As far as musicality and musical talent are concerned, the Dave Matthews band, in general, is a lot more talented/skilled. Heck, the members of REM were learning their instruments on the fly. Peter Buck was essentially self-taught, and was still learning in the early days. Some people think that was a key to their success. The sounds he was producing in the early REM days were not typical of what most trained guitarists did. That, and Michael Stipe's unusual voice, gave REM a sound that stood out on the radio at that time.

By way of contrast, Dave Matthews Band has mostly traditionally trained, virtuoso instrumentalists. The style of music is also, obviously completely different.


I much prefer REM, although I have to say I still have a soft spot for the very early stuff. They lost me a little bit when they smoothed the corners and went for some mainstream recognition and sales. I can take the DMB in short spurts, and like some of their stuff, but there is no way I would listen to it for any extended period of time.

[CDu]

Full disclosure, REM might be my fave band of all time. So I am biased. I do also really like DMB, to be fair. But I agree that they aren’t very similar.

I think the extent to which DMB and REM are similar is not entirely different than how the two bands are similar to, say, Hootie and the Blowfish (on a lower level): all college bands with a distinct sounding and charismatic frontman which managed to hit it big nationally. Beyond that, I don’t see much similarity.

But in terms of bands, I think of DMB more like I think of Widespread Panic: an absolutely amazing jam band that throws great jam concerts and has an incredible, fiercely loyal, following.

REM was a generational rock band, ushering in a new sound in rock. Totally different.

I agree with rsvman that DMB are more musically talented. Musical skill is not what made REM great, but it to a large degree IS what makes DMB great.

[jimmymax]

I much prefer REM, although I have to say I still have a soft spot for the very early stuff. They lost me a little bit when they smoothed the corners and went for some mainstream recognition and sales. I can take the DMB in short spurts, and like some of their stuff, but there is no way I would listen to it for any extended period of time.

I'm in this camp.