Back in college, we used to have house parties when my mom would go out of town. A bunch of friends from different walks of life would come over and hang out, drink beer, and do all the normal things that happen at parties. A couple of people (myself included) were big fans of REM. This was around the time that REM were nearly at the height of their popularity, being crowned THE BEST BAND IN AMERICA. Most hardcore REM fans I knew (myself included) tended to be self important, pretentious, and unbearable. Anyhow, my REM buddies would gather around my pool and sing off key.
Now, there are pretentious douchebags who celebrate nearly every form of entertainment from music to film, art to erotica. The J League is no different. Until this month (with the breakup of REM coinciding with Nabisco Cup matches), it didn't occur to me that there could possibly be any similarity to one of my favorite bands and a team that wells up more negative feelings in me than I care to bring up......I hate the fucking Reds but even I can see qualities in them that are admirable. I guess I should explain.
The first connection I saw was negative. As I stated before, hardcore REM fans back in the 90's were really kind of assholes. A lot like your average Urawa fan, fresh off the plane from Heathrow and dying to tell you how great the Urawa Boyz are and how their fanbase "Owns you" in your own house. When you get past this and dig deeper, there is some real connection.
1. Both started out with "Cult" followings- REM burst onto the scene in 1981 with the classic song "Radio Free Europe", a rough sounding tune that you could barely make out the words to. It was catchy though and the people who liked it, really liked it and stuck with the new band. Urawa for their part fielded alot of bad teams but did things right in other ways, foremost by building a strong base in their hometown. The people who liked the REDS, really liked them and created an atmosphere that brought in more people.
2. Both gradually built themselves into powerhouses through grassroots efforts- REM honed and created a southern sound. They toiled for years playing the colleges of the American South and developed a real following amongst a relatively young and loyal audience. Urawa did a similar thing by developing alot of young talent through their youth system setup and good signings from high school powerhouses. The early days of REM produced some of their best work (including a song called So.Central Rain, a beautiful and melodic tune whose only real flaw is that it is criminally short.). The Reds produced Shinji Ono, a brilliant player whose only real flaw was that he couldn't seem to stay healthy for an extended period of time.
3. Both had relatively short stints at the top of their profession. REM (1987-1993) and Urawa (2003-2007) both had about a five year period in which they were hailed as the best in their respective fields. REM broke through with Document, an album featuring the song (This one goes out to) The One I Love, their first mainstream hit. The band built on their success with subsequent efforts Green and Out of Time, albums which brought in guest performers like KRS One and B-52s Diva Kate Piersen to add to very different types of albums. Out of Time was highlighted by the song "Losing My Religion". Religion highlighted the talent and technical efficiency of the band, however it also was slightly whiny. Urawa started their run of success with a Nabisco Cup victory in 2003 and the last stage win in J League history in 2004 (the league would move to single table in 2005). Two Import players from Germany, Tomislav Maric and Brazilian Robson Ponte would blend in with a young core to help push the squad over the top. 2006 would see the team win their first J League Championship behind a big Japanese Brazilian defender by the name of Marcus Tulio Tanaka, a very talented and technically proficient player who has a penchant for whining. Both teams would hit their peaks with highly successful and arguably overrated performances. REM put out the highly popular and virtually unlistenable effort "Automatic for the People", best known for the Andy Kaufmann inspired "Man on the Moon". Urawa went on to claim the Asian Champions League behind the goalscoring and frequent tantrums of Washington and Tulio. Urawa would lead the table up to the last day of the season. They would fall short after dropping a shock 1-0 decision to historically bad Yokohama FC.
4. Personnel problems- 1995 marked a transition for REM when drummer and rhythmic motor Bill Berry collapsed in Switzerland. Eventually he would find out that his collapse was caused by a brain aneurism. Berry would continue on for a couple of years but eventually retire due to the dual fatigue of recovering from a serious illness and the grind of touring. Arguably the band was never the same after Berry's departure. Urawa suffered a crisis of their own when talented duo Ono and Makoto Hasebe decided to leave the club. The squad has never been the same and has seen more talent leave, especially in the center midfield positions.
5. Rudderless performances with few bright spots- After the success in 1997, REM tried to admirably expand its musical horizons by creating albums that sounded completely different from their previous successes. Starting with Monster, the band put out a string of albums that were critically panned and not well received by their fans. There were a few real gems like Imitation of Life and the beautiful It Happened Today, however the efforts were inconsisent and ultimately unsatisfying. Urawa for their part brought in highly touted foreign coaches to blend together a mishmash of talent. Flagging results and a sense of self entitlement built by syrupy praise from the media saw the fan base become more edgy and less likeable. The fanbase fall from grace was marked by an ugly incident against Gamba Osaka, fueled by a thrown pet bottle and Tulio egging on an irritated base with his actions at the center of the field. The team has had a few bright spots over the years, most notably the development of brilliant wing player Genki Haraguchi, however the team has been a disaster.
On September 21,2011, REM made an announcement that they would stop existing as a band after a 30 plus year run. Urawa is not in the same position, but a draw at Kashima a mere 4 days later saw the squad drop to 15th, a mere two points out of relegation territory. For the past 14 years, I've been pretty upset at the efforts coming out of REM. However, I always assumed they would be together as a band and I'll truly miss the anticipation (and ultimate disappointment) of a new album from the group. I'm not sure I'd miss Urawa if they ultimately drop to J2......however I'm more than willing to find out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLHOZpuMI4Q
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