[RunDownHouse]

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R.E.M. was basically the first college rock / indie rock band and their success paved the way for others to do the same.

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Really? I'm pretty much completely ignorant on this subject. It just seems to me like if REM hadn't done it, some other band would have. When you say they "paved the way," are you talking about inspiring others to start bands, labels/producers/A&R/whoever being forced to accept that that kind of band can be profitable, or what?

I'm just having trouble putting REM on the same level as, say, The Beach Boys, or Hendrix. To me they're not in the same stadium, but it seems like tons of people think they're perfectly even and maybe even better than those types of bands. Just typing that is weird; REM is, in every sense, better than Hendrix? Really?