UAWIL #294: R.E.M. - Life's Rich Pageant

The Ugly American Werewolf in London Rock Podcast · Jul 16, 2026 · 1h 30m

By 1986, REM were veterans of the college rock scene, had recorded in London and gotten songs into the charts. For their 4th album, Life's Rich Pageant, they took a step forward in stretching not only what they could do musically but voicing social, political and environmental concerns through their lyrics. We don't find it to be totally in your face (as opposed to say, U2) but more subliminal as their lyrics can sometimes be nebulous or at least not straight forward and not about rock cliches like hot rods and chicks (not that there's anything wrong with hot rods and chicks if you know what…