FABLES OF THE REPRODUCTION

When someone says that they don’t have a favorite record and “celebrate the entire catalog" of any artist, the bullshit meter blasts off with five alarms. Everyone has their favorite record that they go to, and as much as anyone may love all of an artist’s works, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a current favorite in rotation based on timing, seasonality, nostalgia, personal circumstances, or any other number of factors. So when CREEM asked two-time Oscar nominee Michael Shannon and veteran musician Jason Narducy (Verboten, Bob Mould Band, Superchunk, etc.) what their current favorite R.E.M. LP was and was given the ol’ “It's like choosing a favorite child” routine, at first we didn’t believe it. But as the conversation unfolded further and deeper, it became evident that the fandom of this pair goes much deeper than almost any other, across all the LPs and B-sides and into soundtrack appearances, covers, and more. (For the record, CREEM shook them down anyway and got Fables of the Reconstruction and Life’s Rich Pageant, respectively. Don’t say we aren’t persistent.)

Though Shannon’s list of film credits includes Man of Steel, Nocturnal Animals, The Shape of Water, Knives Out, 8 Mile, and about a zillion others that you’ve seen, his love for the Athens team is just as broad and intimidating. After speaking with the pair about R.E.M. records, CREEM felt emboldened to do everything permitted under the Geneva Conventions to find out just how deep was that love. And to the darkest reaches of the cavernous depths it goes, truly further than virtually anyone without the last name Stipe.