I stormed the porch today with a favourite album in hand, Life's Rich Pageant. Now, I'd been fan of REM for years when this album came out, and I religiously nabbed it as I had the others. This one, at least for me, was a clear turning point in the career of the band, as they took a much more alternative approach to this album, joining the ranks of other bands such as Joy Division, Talking Heads, Depeche Mode, and many others. The first track, "Begin the Begin", is one of the most poignant protest songs ever written. Honestly, it's not so much a protest anthem as a call to arms for people to THINK. I even forgive them for name-dropping two rather well known Protestant's in the lyrics! -p.
Thirty-five years later, and it's still a masterpiece. Full frigging stop.