Customer Reviews

R.E.M. - Parallel

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This DVD showcases R.E.M. during their prime. It covers the videos from the albums Automatic For The People and Monster. In addition to having the original videos, it also has interesting transition scenes between the videos which add to the experience and a little bit of additional footage. It contains the videos for Drive, Man on the Moon, The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite, Everybody Hurts, Nightswimming, Find The River, What's The Frequency Kenneth, Bang and Blame, Star 69, Strange Currencies, and Crush With Eyeliner. This video does come with a Parental Warning since it does have some nudity in it, so if this is a problem for you, don't purchase it. Otherwise, rush out and buy this excellent DVD with hard-to-find videos!

This is a fantastic compilation of REM's videos from a great musical period for the band. Unlike their previous DVD, this is 70 minutes long, with 11 videos from "Automatic For the People", and "Monster". It also has short surreal film footage in between each video. I love having the videos available to watch anytime, the digital sound quality and the chapter selections of DVD. There is even an option to turn on the lyrics. If you enjoy having your favorite band's music on DVD, this is a necessary addition for the collection.

As a huge R.E.M. fan and attender of one incredible concert in St. Louis in August of 1999, I was astounded at how mysterious and illuminating this video was. From the desert walk through of Michael while singing Man on the Moon, to the witty banter of Mike Mills backstage before a 90's concert, "It won't be perfect. Be prepared for anything," we get to see rare personal behavior of the stars. Stipe's dancing on What's the Frequency Kenneth is so engrossing. He sways with the microphone. Also the weird side and diagonal shots on the live performance with Michael jumping up and than stepping back down on the speakers is very cool. I liked the Nightswimming part simply because they cut back and forth between the submerged girls. The naked people at the campfire seemed very atavistic and raw just like R.E.M's music throughout the early and mid 90's. Michael jumps onto the truck driven by Bill Berry in Man on the Moon. But the most poignant part of this video is during Everybody Hurts, where people are sitting in their cars in traffic, and the subtitles go through their head on the misery of life. And then as R.E.M. weaves their way through the traffic with Buck playing guitar on top of a vehicle, the people suddenly get out and began marching. Strange Currencies is done really well and the last song Crushed with Eyeliner with the Japanese students singing the words while psychidelically orange hula hoopers and neon women give the video a sexy tone. All the directors from Peter Care to Jem Cohen do the vidoes completely different. This makes for a varied and enigmatic look into the legend that is R.E.M. I'm already ordering another Amazon. All R.E.M. disciples will go Bucky over Peter's silence in answering a question on the letter Q during the alphabet backstage part of the video (the last part). As Michael opens up the piano and lyrical notations of Automatic for the People we get a sense of him opening his mind and the beauty and genius that lies within this band. Only one thing could have helped this video and that was Bill Berry saying something. But rocking on drums is his contribution and congratulations is well deserved to Amazon for having this wonderful video and giving customers a forum to discuss their opinions of the products. It not only helps the customer decide, it lets people hone their descriptive prose, and engage dialogue about consumerism. We even talk about Amazon in all our business classes at Graceland College, Lamoni, IA.

I have IN VIEW and THE IRS YEARS -- R.E.M.'s most recent video compilation DVDs. Here's what's on Parallel that isn't on either of those:

"Find The River"
"Bang And Blame"
"Star 69"
"Strange Currencies"
"Crush With Eyeliner"

There are some weird images between each video but they don't mean anything. The videos are awesome: Drive, Man On The Moon, Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight, What's The Frequency Kenneth, Crush With Eyeliner, Nightswimming, and Strange Currencies. It's fun to watch just to try to understand what the videos are about. There are no other features besides the videos.

Aside from Succumbs (which is definitely my favorite REM video compilation), Parallel is definitely the DVD to get from this outfit. Their most popular songs from the 90's are included within, from "What's the Frequency Kenneth" to "Man On the Moon", and unlike many other video compilations, Parallel is constructed in an artistic, almost organic nature. Being specific, several short, surrealistic films accompany the videos, allowing one to transist into another with the upmost beauty.

Perhaps my biggest disappointment is that lack of a suitable track listing. For instance, "Bang and Blame" is listed ninth on the back, yet in all actuality you have to skip to chapter 14 or 15 to check out the song. Still, this is the DVD that every REM fan should own.

Parallel is fantastic. As usual, R.E.M. deliver on their music videos offering everything from the moving "Everybody Hurts" to the rocking 'Star 69". In between the videos are short clips and films including the R.E.M. ABC's which, alone, makes the whole movie worth it. Diehards will love the random weirdness and casual fans will love the clips. Great video!

As there is a fairly comprehensive review of the videos included on this disk, I will limit my comments to the added features of the DVD that have been overlooked. I am a huge fan of the R.E.M. DVD collection. I like loading the DVD changer with all the DVDs and letting them play during gathering/parties as the range of emotions and conversation pieces that come up through the videos is enormous. This DVD is one of my favorites because of the vinnettes that play between the songs. These are short and what some of my friends refer to as "artsy" video takes with a variety of social comments. These shots are intelligently done and are a sure fire way to get people talking.

Perhaps the best part of the DVD comes at the end credits where we get the R.E.M. ABC's with funny clips going through the alphabet (A is for Autograph, S is for Stipe). This shows the personality of the band in a humorous way and closes with the end credits playing over the band playing "Star Me, Kitten."

This is a great piece to add to your DVD collection and would be a great way to jump start any gathering. For R.E.M. fans, there is no doubt this is a must for your collection, even if you own other R.E.M. DVD's and feel as though the overlap in videos detracts from the value. The added material and videos not offered on other disks makes this well worth the cost, which is reasonable.

This is a terrific assortment of recognizable songs interspersed with abstract amateur video clips. The whole tape has a real college feel to it, something I think REM has never lost. If the clips in the "Nightswimming" video don't make you feel weird nothing will. Notice how they look much like a sonagram--very surreal. And notice how Michael Stipe stays true to his wishes in "Star Me Kitten" at the end of the song--he reveals his original title of the song...

These are some of R.E.M.'s best videos to date. "Everybody Hurts" won several MTV awards, while "Man on the Moon" received as many nominations. The videos range from simple black & white scenes, as in "Find the River," to wild flashing color shots, as in "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite." Between videos are scenes the band showed behind themselves on the Monster tour, as well as other random footage. Some of these videos, like Spike Jonze's, are very clever. END