Twenty-five years ago, R.E.M was practically the biggest band on the planet. “What could they possibly do next?” was the question on everyone’s minds after the Athens, Georgia quartet’s career-defining double-shot of Out Of Time and Automatic For The People, and the answer, for many, was perplexing. Throwing glam-rock, psychedelia, punk, avant-garde, and a dash of pop sensibility into a blender, the band hit “crush” and the result was Monster, the most polarizing album of their careers.

It was also one of their best.

Let’s discuss.

Musician. Educator. Podcast Host. Cat dad.

Casey Rae is a man of many talents, and with William Burroughs and the Cult of Rock ‘n’ Roll he adds “author” to that list. Equal parts history of and on-ramp to all things Burroughs, Cult tells the tales of the long strange trips that artists throughout rock ‘n’ roll history took to worship before their pope of dope,” how the words of one man influenced our modern world in ways we can hardly imagine, and much more!