Wednesday, February 26, 2025
ElectricGuitar

R.E.M.’s Peter Buck Defined Alt-Rock Guitar | 100 Guitarists Podcast


In the ’80s, Peter Buck’s clean, chime-y arpeggios defined the sound of alt-rock to come. From the band’s start, his post-Roger McGuinn 12-string style served as the foundation for the band’s simple, plain-spoken approach, offering a fresh take on what an independent band could be and inspiring generations of artists to come. Buck not only found his sound quickly, he evolved throughout the band’s career. By the ’90s, R.E.M.’s sound had evolved to incorporate organic, acoustic textures, and eventually leaning into a glam- and grunge-inspired, distorted-guitar-focused sound on 1994’s Monster.

Brought to you by Voodoo Lab: https://voodoolab.com/the-power-of-perfect-tone/

Follow Nick: https://www.instagram.com/nickmillevoi

Follow Jason: https://www.instagram.com/jasonshadrick

Get at us: 100guitarists@premierguitar.com

Call/Text: 319-423-9734

Podcast powered by Sweetwater. Get your podcast set up here! – https://sweetwater.sjv.io/75rE0d

Subscribe to the podcast:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0aXdYIDOmS8KtZaZGNazVb?si=c63d98737a6146af

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/100-guitarists/id1746527331

#R.E.M.s #Peter #Buck #Defined #AltRock #Guitar #Guitarists #Podcast

Originally posted by UC5J-hZ4wNf7OlkzIn49LHoQ at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOB8eK9GyfA

19 thoughts on “R.E.M.’s Peter Buck Defined Alt-Rock Guitar | 100 Guitarists Podcast

  • I love the way he played on R.E.M. records. He used extremely thick strings and had a high action. Can't be soloing on that.

    Reply
  • Life and How to Live it kinda rests Peter Buck's case. One of the best indie rock riffs of the '80s. The '90s arpeggiated D chords got a little boring and that's what most people know but he was kind of bored himself then, that's why he picked up mandolins and things.

    Reply
  • I was luke warm about REM until I saw them live. Peter is great but I feel the band is the sum of it's parts.

    Reply
  • Will have to disagree with starting with Monster. While I love that album, I feel that Chronic Town, Murmur, and Reckoning are the starting point because of how distinctive Buck's jangly guitar tone was in the early 80s.

    Reply
  • Peter is probably my biggest influence, mostly the IRS albums, but I love it all.

    Reply
  • Hardly a mention of anything Fables of the Reconstruction or the records prior to it. This was more of a representation of what you heard growing up. To ignore the work of Buck earlier is poor form

    Reply
  • There's absolutely zero correlation between REM playing up, and Jonny Marr doing his thing.

    They were era contemporaries, and Jonny was listening not listening to modern American music.

    Reply
  • I brought Peter a pre mass production Godin Acousticaster in sea foam green, as a gift from the company, who were unknown to most at the time. It was amazing for the time, as no one else had done this yet. Anyway he didn’t even take it out of the case, no interest to check it out. That was 1989 and have not been able to take him seriously as a guitarist since.

    Reply
  • 220 views after an hour is BS.

    REM were up there with Orange Juice in the UK for delivering fresh indie/rock/pop on to the scene.

    Reply
  • I’ve always liked R.E.M., but didn’t know a whole lot about them beyond their music. Last year a book came out about them called the name of this band is REM and I just finished reading it from the library and if you are interested in the band or band biographies in general, it is a really great read.

    Reply
  • I feel the same way as Jason about REM, definitely a band I liked but never followed them REM like a fan would! Also, has anyone else noticed that Nick looks like Eric Clapton when he turns his head…just his profile looks like Clapton's…very odd! lol

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *