murmur

He arrived on scene at 09:30 GMT but it was a further five hours before a hushed murmur rippled through the crowd, signalling the bird had become visible.

Maria Stewart, for example, exhorted her listeners by claiming, “Do not let your hearts be any longer discouraged; it is no use to murmur nor to repine; but let us promote ourselves and improve our own talents.”

“I understand why someone who discovered the band early on saw them in little bars, and heard ‘Murmur,’ and internalized those early albums as the apex of their sound,” says Carlin.

The band followed their debut EP with “Murmur,” a 1983 album of melancholy mystery that had no precedent, and became a template for the generation of guitar bands that followed.

R.E.M. was now a critics’ darling; “Murmur” was embraced by college radio, becoming the most played album on stations left of the radio dial and winning virtually every critics poll for best album of the year.