History YMMV / AutomaticForThePeople

** "Nightswimming," when heard as a introspective ode to the passing of youthful indiscretion, can be hauntingly ''beautiful.''

* TrueArtIsAngsty: This album is the band's darkest, with a downbeat sound and overarching themes of loss and nostalgia; this is also the album regarded as the band's best by critics.

* MemeticMutation: [[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/everybodyspurts #EverybodySpurts"]], a trend during the days of Website/{{Vine}} when people would post videos of themselves donning a saddened facial expression before drooling dark liquid from their mouths in time to the chorus of "Everybody Hurts".

* MemeticMutation: [[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/everybodyspurts #EverybodySpurts"]], a trend during the days of WebOriginal/{{Vine}} when people would post videos of themselves donning a saddened facial expression before drooling dark liquid from their mouths in time to the chorus of "Everybody Hurts".

* ValuesResonance: Originally written in reaction to the UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan and UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush administrations, "Ignoreland" still remains relevant all the way into TheNewTwenties, especially in light of the high-profile voter apathy that punctuated the 2020 election cycle (at least before UsefulNotes/JoeBiden's victory that year). Similarly to Bush when the album released, incumbent president UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump was running for reelection in 2020 and was expected by a large number of people across the political spectrum to win despite his divisive reception among the American population.

* SignatureSong: Especially "Everybody Hurts", which is kind of a BlackSheepHit, but very likely to be R.E.M.'s most popular song behind "Losing My Religion". "Man on the Moon" and "Nightswimming" are also very well-remembered, especially the former, which was a live staple and remains very iconic.

* AlbumFiller: "New Orleans Instrumental No. 1" can be seen as this, being a two-minute-long {{instrumental|s}} that doesn't change much.

* {{Anvilicious}}: Michael Stipe intentionally made "Everybody Hurts" this so the message would be unmistakable to listeners, mainly the teen market he was trying to reach.
** SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The message in question is that YouAreNotAlone.

** The line "marched into the capital" in "Ignoreland", used to compare the rise of the UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan-led Conservative Revolution to a coup, became frighteningly more prescient after an ''actual'' coup attempt in 2021 that featured mobs of Trump supporters quite literally marching into the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. (the capital of the United States) to try and overturn the results of the 2020 election.

** The line "marched into the Capitol" in "Ignoreland", used to compare the rise of the UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan-led Conservative Revolution to a coup, became frighteningly more prescient after an ''actual'' coup attempt in 2021 that featured mobs of Trump supporters quite literally marching into the Capitol to try and overturn the results of the 2020 election.

** The line "marched into the Capitol" in "Ignoreland", used to compare the rise of the UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan administration to a coup, became frighteningly more prescient after an ''actual'' coup attempt in 2021 that featured mobs of Trump supporters quite literally marching into the Capitol to try and overturn the results of the 2020 election.

* HarsherInHindsight: "Everybody Hurts" was written to discourage suicide, but the album was the last thing Music/KurtCobain listened to before he killed himself in 1994.

* AlbumFiller: "New Orleans Instrumental No. 1" can be seen as this, being a two-minute-long {{instrumental}} that doesn't change much.

** "Man On The Moon" can be viewed as a touching tribute to comedian Andy Kaufman.

* ValuesResonance: Originally written in reaction to the UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan and UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush administrations, "Ignoreland" still remains relevant all the way into TheNewTwenties, especially in light of the high-profile voter apathy that punctuated the 2020 election cycle prior to UsefulNotes/JoeBiden's victory over incumbent president UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump. Similarly to Bush, Trump was expected by a large number of people across the political spectrum to win despite his divisive reception among the American population.

* ValuesResonance: Originally written in reaction to the UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan and UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush administrations, "Ignoreland" still remains relevant all the way into TheNewTens.

* MemeticMutation: [[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/everybodyspurts "Everybody Spurts"]], a trend during the days of WebOriginal/{{Vine}} when people would post videos of themselves donning a saddened facial expression before drooling dark liquid from their mouths in time to the chorus of "Everybody Hurts".

* BrokenBase: Along with most R.E.M.'s albums, this is either their one of their best or worst albums. Much of this seems to stem from its more acoustic direction, its status as R.E.M.'s most commercially successful albums, and it being released when the band were at their peak in terms of mainstream exposure.

* {{Anvilicious}}: Michael Stipe intentionally made "Everybody Hurts" this so the message would be unmistakeable to listeners, mainly the teen market he was trying to reach.

* BrokenBase: Along with most R.E.M.'s albums, this is either their one of their best or worst albums.

* ValuesResonance: Originally written in reaction to the UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan and UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush administrations, "Ignoreland" from 1992's ''Automatic For The People'' still remains relevant all the way into TheNewTens.

** Heck, "Everybody Hurts" performed ''anywhere''. The 1993 MTV Video Music Awards is another notable example.