The Big Mates discuss small waveforms, portmanteaus, Muse, and Murmur by R.E.M.Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by starting their track-by-track analysis on the band's debut album, released in 1983. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opinions, and thoughts from three differing perspectives on music, from being deeply into analysis and music, to not caring for art or critique, and everything in between.They touch on how the band found their producers in Mitch Easter and Don Dixon, their decision to sound like a different band, how the band write their songs, and the legacy of Radio Free Europe.They do this whilst also giving their thoughts and opinions on the album as a whole, the first couple of tracks, and how they see this fitting into the band's discography going forward.How did the band evolve from their EP? How far into the album will we get? Can anyone make out the lyrics? Find out on this episode of What Is Music?Our next episode is out on Monday December 4th and will continue our track-by-track analysis of Murmur.Join the conversation on:Twitter: https://twitter.com/whatismusicpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatismusicpodE-mail: whatismusicpod@gmail.comGet access to more shows, exclusive bonus content, ad-free episodes of this show, and more music discussion by subscribing to our Patreon!Head to patreon.com/whatismusicpod and receive up to two new episodes of our various shows every week (including shows about Manic Street Preachers and monthly themed playlists!), ad-free archives of What Is Music?, and access to our Patron-only Discord server for even more music (and non-music) discussion!Support our show when starting your own podcast!By signing up to Buzzsprout with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=780379Our Sponsor this week is Unfold. Find out more at www.cristinabonnet.comCheck out our merch!https://whatismusicpod.redbubble.comDonate to our podcast!https://ko-fi.com/whatismusichttp://whatismusic.buzzsprout.com/Support the show