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R.E.M.

May 16, 2023

This article is about the band. For other uses, see Rem (disambiguation).

R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternative rock bands, R.E.M. was noted for Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style; Stipe's distinctive vocal quality, unique stage presence, and obscure lyrics; Mills's melodic bass lines and backing vocals; and Berry's tight, economical drumming style. In the early 1990s, other alternative rock acts such as Nirvana and Pavement viewed R.E.M. as a pioneer of the genre. After Berry left the band in 1997, the band continued its career in the 2000s with mixed critical and commercial success. The band broke up amicably in 2011 with members devoting time to solo projects after having sold more than 90 million albums worldwide and becoming one of the world's best-selling music acts.

R.E.M.
R.E.M. in concert in Padua, Italy, in 2003. From left to right: Mike Mills (partially cropped), Michael Stipe, touring drummer Bill Rieflin, and Peter Buck
Background information
Also known as
OriginAthens, Georgia, U.S.
Genres
Years active1980–2011
Labels
Past members
Websiteremhq.com

R.E.M. released its first single, "Radio Free Europe", in 1981 on the independent record label Hib-Tone. It was followed by the Chronic Town EP in 1982, the band's first release on I.R.S. Records. In 1983, the group released its critically acclaimed debut album, Murmur, and built its reputation over the next few years with similarly acclaimed releases every year from 1984 to 1988: Reckoning, Fables of the Reconstruction, Lifes Rich Pageant, Document and Green, including an intermittent b-side compilation Dead Letter Office. Don Dixon and Mitch Easter produced their first two albums, Joe Boyd handled production on Fables of the Reconstruction and Don Gehman produced Lifes Rich Pageant. Thereafter, R.E.M. settled on Scott Litt as producer for the next 10 years during the band's most successful period of their career. They also started co-producing their material and playing other instruments in the studio. With constant touring, and the support of college radio following years of underground success, R.E.M. achieved a mainstream hit with the 1987 single "The One I Love". The group signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1988, and began to espouse political and environmental concerns while playing large arenas worldwide.

R.E.M.'s most commercially successful albums, Out of Time (1991) and Automatic for the People (1992), put them in the vanguard of alternative rock just as it was becoming mainstream. Out of Time received seven nominations at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards, and lead single "Losing My Religion", was R.E.M.'s highest-charting and best-selling hit. Monster (1994) continued its run of success. The band began its first tour in six years to support the album; the tour was marred by medical emergencies suffered by three of the band members. In 1996, R.E.M. re-signed with Warner Bros. for a reported US$80 million, at the time the most expensive recording contract ever. The tour was productive and the band recorded the following album mostly during soundchecks. The resulting record, New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996), is hailed as the band's last great album and the members' favorite, growing in cult status over the years. Berry left the band the following year, and Stipe, Buck, and Mills continued as a musical trio, supplemented by studio and live musicians, such as multi-instrumentalists Scott McCaughey and Ken Stringfellow and drummers Joey Waronker and Bill Rieflin. They also parted ways with their longtime manager Jefferson Holt and band's attorney Bertis Downs assumed managerial duties. Seeking to also renovate their sound, the band stopped working with Scott Litt, co-producer and contributor to six of their studio albums and hired Pat McCarthy as co-producer, who had participated before that as mixer and engineer on their last two albums.

After the electronic experimental direction of Up (1998) that was commercially unsuccessful, Reveal (2001) was referred to as "a conscious return to their classic sound"[4] which received general acclaim. In 2007, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in its first year of eligibility and Berry reunited with the band for the ceremony and to record a cover of John Lennon's "#9 Dream" for the compilation album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur to benefit Amnesty International's campaign to alleviate the Darfur conflict. Looking for a change of sound after lukewarm reception for Around the Sun (2004), the band collaborated with co-producer Jacknife Lee on their last two studio albums—the well-received Accelerate (2008) and Collapse into Now (2011)—as well as their first live albums after decades of touring. R.E.M. disbanded amicably in September 2011, with former members having continued with various musical projects, and several live and archival albums have since been released. They have since stated, in several interviews, that the band is unlikely to reunite.

History

1980–1982: Formation and first releases

 
The church steeple of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in 2015; this is all that remains of where members of R.E.M. lived briefly and performed their first concert on April 5, 1980

In January 1980, Peter Buck met Michael Stipe in Wuxtry Records, the Athens record store where Buck worked. The pair discovered that they shared similar tastes in music, particularly in punk rock and proto-punk artists like Patti Smith, Television, and the Velvet Underground. Stipe said, "It turns out that I was buying all the records that [Buck] was saving for himself."[5] Through mutual friend Kathleen O'Brien,[6] Stipe and Buck then met fellow University of Georgia students Bill Berry and Mike Mills,[7] who had played music together since high school[8] and lived together in Georgia.[9] The quartet agreed to collaborate on several songs; Stipe later commented that "there was never any grand plan behind any of it".[5] Their still-unnamed band spent a few months rehearsing in the deconsecrated St. Mary's Episcopal Church on Oconee Street in Athens, and played its first show on April 5, 1980, supporting the Side Effects at O'Brien's birthday party held in the same church, performing a mix of originals and 1960s and 1970s covers.[6] After considering names such as Cans of Piss, Negro Eyes, and Twisted Kites,[6] the band settled on "R.E.M.", which Stipe selected at random from a dictionary.[10] R.E.M. is well known as an abbreviation for rapid eye movement, the dream stage of sleep; however, sleep researcher Dr. Rafael Pelayo reports that when his colleague Dr. William Dement, the sleep scientist who coined the term REM, reached out to the band, Dr. Dement was told that the band was named "not after REM sleep".[11]

 
Mitch Easter (near left) was R.E.M.'s producer until 1984, helping to define the band's early sound.

The band members eventually dropped out of school to focus on their developing group.[12] They found a manager in Jefferson Holt, a record store clerk who was so impressed by an R.E.M. performance in his hometown of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, that he moved to Athens.[13] R.E.M.'s success was almost immediate in Athens and surrounding areas; the band drew progressively larger crowds for shows, which caused some resentment in the Athens music scene.[14] Over the next year and a half, R.E.M. toured throughout the Southern United States. Touring was arduous because a touring circuit for alternative rock bands did not then exist. The group toured in an old blue van driven by Holt, and lived on a food allowance of $2 each per day.[15]

During April 1981, R.E.M. recorded its first single, "Radio Free Europe", at producer Mitch Easter's Drive-In Studio in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Initially distributing it as a four-track demo tape to clubs, record labels and magazines, the single was released in July 1981 on the local independent record label Hib-Tone with an initial pressing of 1,000 copies—600 of which were sent out as promotional copies. The single quickly sold out, and another 6,000 copies were pressed due to popular demand, despite the original pressing leaving off the record label's contact details.[16][6] Despite its limited pressing, the single garnered critical acclaim, and was listed as one of the ten best singles of the year by The New York Times.[17]

 
"Radio Free Europe"
The band's debut single "Radio Free Europe" was released on Hib-Tone in 1981 and re-recorded for the debut album Murmur in 1983. Stipe's "mumbling" singing style helped establish interest in his lyrics as enigmatic and obscure.[18]
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R.E.M. recorded the Chronic Town EP with Mitch Easter in October 1981, and planned to release it on a new indie label named Dasht Hopes.[19] However, I.R.S. Records acquired a demo of the band's first recording session with Easter that had been circulating for months.[20] The band turned down the advances of major label RCA Records in favor of I.R.S., with whom it signed a contract in May 1982. I.R.S. released Chronic Town that August as its first American release.[21] A positive review of the EP by NME praised the songs' auras of mystery, and concluded, "R.E.M. ring true, and it's great to hear something as unforced and cunning as this."[22]

1982–1988: I.R.S. Records and cult success

I.R.S. first paired R.E.M. with producer Stephen Hague to record its debut album. Hague's emphasis on technical perfection left the band unsatisfied, and the band members asked the label to let them record with Easter.[23] I.R.S. agreed to a "tryout" session, allowing the band to return to North Carolina and record the song "Pilgrimage" with Easter and producing partner Don Dixon. After hearing the track, I.R.S. permitted the group to record the album with Dixon and Easter.[24] Because of its bad experience with Hague, the band recorded the album via a process of negation, refusing to incorporate rock music clichés such as guitar solos or then-popular synthesizers, in order to give its music a timeless feel.[25] The completed album, Murmur, was greeted with critical acclaim upon its release in 1983, with Rolling Stone listing the album as its record of the year.[26] The album reached number 36 on the Billboard album chart.[27] A re-recorded version of "Radio Free Europe" was the album's lead single and reached number 78 on the Billboard singles chart in 1983.[28] Despite the acclaim awarded the album, Murmur sold only about 200,000 copies, which I.R.S.'s Jay Boberg felt was below expectations.[29]

R.E.M. made its first national television appearance on Late Night with David Letterman in October 1983,[30] during which the group performed a new, unnamed song.[31] The piece, eventually titled "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)", became the first single from the band's second album, Reckoning (1984), which was also recorded with Easter and Dixon. The album met with critical acclaim; NME's Mat Snow wrote that Reckoning "confirms R.E.M. as one of the most beautifully exciting groups on the planet".[32] While Reckoning peaked at number 27 on the US album charts—an unusually high chart placing for a college rock band at the time—scant airplay and poor distribution overseas resulted in it charting no higher than number 91 in Britain.[33]

 
Michael Stipe (left) and Peter Buck (right) on stage in Ghent, Belgium, during R.E.M.'s 1985 tour

The band's third album, Fables of the Reconstruction (1985), demonstrated a change in direction. Instead of Dixon and Easter, R.E.M. chose producer Joe Boyd, who had worked with Fairport Convention and Nick Drake, to record the album in England. The band members found the sessions unexpectedly difficult, and were miserable due to the cold winter weather and what they considered to be poor food;[34] the situation brought the band to the verge of break-up.[35] The gloominess surrounding the sessions worked its way into the context for the album's themes. Lyrically, Stipe began to create storylines in the mode of Southern mythology, noting in a 1985 interview that he was inspired by "the whole idea of the old men sitting around the fire, passing on ... legends and fables to the grandchildren".[36]

They toured Canada in July and August 1985, and Europe in October of that year, including the Netherlands, England (including one concert at London's Hammersmith Palais), Ireland, Scotland, France, Switzerland, Belgium and West Germany.[37] On October 2, 1985, the group played a concert in Bochum, West Germany, for the German TV show Rockpalast. Stipe had bleached his hair blond during this time.[38][39][40][41][42] R.E.M. invited California punk band Minutemen to open for them on part of the US tour, and organized a benefit for the family of Minutemen frontman D. Boon who died in a December 1985 car crash shortly after the tour's conclusion.[43] Fables of the Reconstruction performed poorly in Europe and its critical reception was mixed, with some critics regarding it as dreary and poorly recorded.[44] As with the previous records, the singles from Fables of the Reconstruction were mostly ignored by mainstream radio. Meanwhile, I.R.S. was becoming frustrated with the band's reluctance to achieve mainstream success.[45]

For its fourth album, R.E.M. enlisted John Mellencamp's producer Don Gehman. The result, Lifes Rich Pageant (1986), featured Stipe's vocals closer to the forefront of the music. In a 1986 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Peter Buck related, "Michael is getting better at what he's doing, and he's getting more confident at it. And I think that shows up in the projection of his voice."[46] The album improved markedly upon the sales of Fables of the Reconstruction and reached number 21 on the Billboard album chart. The single "Fall on Me" also picked up support on commercial radio.[47] The album was the band's first to be certified gold for selling 500,000 copies.[48] While American college radio remained R.E.M.'s core support, the band was beginning to chart hits on mainstream rock formats; however, the music still encountered resistance from Top 40 radio.[49]

Following the success of Lifes Rich Pageant, I.R.S. issued Dead Letter Office, a compilation of tracks recorded by the band during their album sessions, many of which had either been issued as B-sides or left unreleased altogether. Shortly thereafter, I.R.S. compiled R.E.M.'s music video catalog (except "Wolves, Lower") as the band's first video release, Succumbs.

 
Scott Litt produced a number of R.E.M.'s albums from the late 1980s to the early to mid-1990s.

Don Gehman was unable to produce R.E.M.'s fifth album, so he suggested the group work with Scott Litt.[50] Litt would be the producer for the band's next five albums. Document (1987) featured some of Stipe's most openly political lyrics, particularly on "Welcome to the Occupation" and "Exhuming McCarthy", which were reactions to the conservative political environment of the 1980s under American president Ronald Reagan.[51] Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote in his review of the album, "'Document' is both confident and defiant; if R.E.M. is about to move from cult-band status to mass popularity, the album decrees that the band will get there on its own terms."[52] Document was R.E.M.'s breakthrough album, and the first single "The One I Love" charted in the Top 20 in the US, UK, and Canada.[27] By January 1988, Document had become the group's first album to sell a million copies.[53] In light of the band's breakthrough, the December 1987 cover of Rolling Stone declared R.E.M. "America's Best Rock & Roll Band".[54]

1988–1997: International breakout and alternative rock stardom

Frustrated that its records did not see satisfactory overseas distribution, R.E.M. left I.R.S. when its contract expired and signed with the major label Warner Bros. Records.[55] Though other labels offered more money, R.E.M. ultimately signed with Warner Bros.—reportedly for an amount between $6 million and $12 million—due to the company's assurance of total creative freedom. (Jay Boberg claimed that R.E.M.'s deal with Warner Bros. was for $22 million, which Peter Buck disputed as "definitely wrong".)[56] In the aftermath of the group's departure, I.R.S. released the 1988 "best of" compilation Eponymous (assembled with input from the band members) to capitalize on assets the company still possessed.[57] The band's 1988 Warner Bros. debut, Green, was recorded in Memphis, Tennessee, and showcased the group experimenting with its sound.[58] The record's tracks ranged from the upbeat first single "Stand" (a hit in the United States),[59] to more political material, like the rock-oriented "Orange Crush" and "World Leader Pretend", which address the Vietnam War and the Cold War, respectively.[60] Green has gone on to sell four million copies worldwide.[61] The band supported the album with its biggest and most visually developed tour to date, featuring back-projections and art films playing on the stage.[62] After the Green tour, the band members unofficially decided to take the following year off, the first extended break in the band's career.[63] In 1990 Warner Bros. issued the music video compilation Pop Screen to collect clips from the Document and Green albums, followed a few months later by the video album Tourfilm featuring live performances filmed during the Green World Tour.[64]

 
"Losing My Religion"
Sample of "Losing My Religion" from Out of Time (1991). The mandolin-driven song became R.E.M.'s biggest American hit, peaking at number four on the Billboard charts.
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R.E.M. reconvened in mid-1990 to record its seventh album, Out of Time. In a departure from Green, the band members often wrote the music with non-traditional rock instrumentation including mandolin, organ, and acoustic guitar instead of adding them as overdubs later in the creative process.[65][66] Released in March 1991, Out of Time was the band's first album to top both the US and UK charts.[27] The record eventually sold 4.2 million copies in the US alone,[67] and about 12 million copies worldwide by 1996.[61] The album's lead single "Losing My Religion" was a worldwide hit that received heavy rotation on radio, as did the music video on MTV and VH1.[68] "Losing My Religion" was R.E.M.'s highest-charting single in the US, reaching number four on the Billboard charts.[27] "There've been very few life-changing events in our career because our career has been so gradual," Mills said years later. "If you want to talk about life changing, I think 'Losing My Religion' is the closest it gets".[69] The album's second single, "Shiny Happy People" (one of three songs on the record to feature vocals from Kate Pierson of fellow Athens band the B-52's), was also a major hit, reaching number 10 in the US and number six in the UK.[27] Out of Time garnered R.E.M. seven nominations at the 1992 Grammy Awards, the most nominations of any artist that year. The band won three awards: one for Best Alternative Music Album and two for "Losing My Religion", Best Short Form Music Video and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.[70] R.E.M. did not tour to promote Out of Time; instead the group played a series of one-off shows, including an appearance taped for an episode of MTV Unplugged[71] and released music videos for each song on the video album This Film Is On. The band also performed "Losing My Religion" with members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in Madison, Georgia, at Madison-Morgan Cultural Center as part of MTV's 10th anniversary special.[72]

After spending some months off, R.E.M. returned to the studio in 1991 to record its next album. Late in 1992, the band released Automatic for the People. Though the group had intended to make a harder-rocking album after the softer textures of Out of Time,[73] the somber Automatic for the People "[seemed] to move at an even more agonized crawl", according to Melody Maker.[74] The album dealt with themes of loss and mourning inspired by "that sense of ... turning thirty", according to Buck.[75] Several songs featured string arrangements by former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones. Considered by a number of critics (as well as by Buck and Mills) to be the band's best album,[76] Automatic for the People reached numbers one and two on UK and US charts, respectively, and generated the American Top 40 hit singles "Drive", "Man on the Moon", and "Everybody Hurts".[27] The album would sell over fifteen million copies worldwide.[61] As with Out of Time, there was no tour in support of the album. The decision to forgo a tour, in conjunction with Stipe's physical appearance, generated rumors that the singer was dying or HIV-positive, which were vehemently denied by the band.[74]

 
"What's the Frequency, Kenneth?"
Sample of "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" from Monster (1994). The song's loud, distorted guitars were an intentional departure from the sound of R.E.M.'s previous two albums.
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After the band released two slow-paced albums in a row, R.E.M.'s 1994 album Monster was, as Buck said, "a 'rock' record, with the rock in quotation marks." In contrast to the sound of its predecessors, the music of Monster consisted of distorted guitar tones, minimal overdubs, and touches of 1970s glam rock.[77] Like Out of Time, Monster topped the charts in both the US and UK.[27] The record sold about nine million copies worldwide.[61] The singles "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" and "Bang and Blame" were the band's last American Top 40 hits, although all the singles from Monster reached the Top 30 on the British charts.[27] Warner Bros. assembled the music videos from the album as well as those from Automatic for the People for release as Parallel in 1995.[78]

In January 1995, R.E.M. set out on its first tour in six years. The tour was a huge commercial success, but the period was difficult for the group.[79] On March 1, Berry collapsed on stage during a performance in Lausanne, Switzerland, having suffered a brain aneurysm. He had surgery immediately and recovered fully within a month. Berry's aneurysm was only the beginning of a series of health problems that plagued the Monster tour. Mills had to undergo abdominal surgery to remove an intestinal adhesion in July; a month later, Stipe had to have an emergency surgery to repair a hernia.[80] Despite all the problems, the group had recorded the bulk of a new album while on the road. The band brought along eight-track recorders to capture its shows, and used the recordings as the base elements for the album.[81] The final three performances of the tour were filmed at the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta, Georgia and released in home video form as Road Movie.[82]

R.E.M. re-signed with Warner Bros. Records in 1996 for a reported $80 million (a figure the band constantly asserted originated with the media), rumored to be the largest recording contract in history at that point.[83] The group's 1996 album New Adventures in Hi-Fi debuted at number two in the US and number one in the UK.[27] The five million copies of the album sold were a reversal of the group's commercial fortunes of the previous five years.[84] Critical reaction to the album was mostly favorable. In a 2017 retrospective on the band, Consequence of Sound ranked it third out of R.E.M.'s 15 full-length studio albums.[85] The album is Stipe's favorite from R.E.M. and he considers it the band at their peak.[86] Mills says "It usually takes a good few years for me to decide where an album stands in the pantheon of recorded work we've done. This one may be third behind Murmur and Automatic for the People.[87] According to DiscoverMusic: "Arguably less immediate and less accessible[...]New Adventures in Hi-Fi is a sprawling, "White Album"-esque affair clocking in at 65 minutes. However, while it required some time and commitment from the listener, the record's contents were rich, compelling and frequently stunning. Accordingly, the album has continued to lobby for recognition and has long since earned its reputation as R.E.M.'s most unsung LP."[88] While sales were impressive they were below their previous major label records. Time's writer Christopher John Farley argued that the lesser sales of the album were due to the declining commercial power of alternative rock as a whole.[89] That same year, R.E.M. parted ways with manager Jefferson Holt, allegedly due to sexual harassment charges levied against him by a member of the band's home office in Athens.[90] The group's lawyer Bertis Downs assumed managerial duties.[91]

1997–2006: Continuing as three-piece with mixed success

In April 1997, the band convened at Buck's Kauai vacation home to record demos of material intended for the next album. The band sought to reinvent its sound and intended to incorporate drum loops and percussion experiments.[92] Just as the sessions were due to begin in October, Berry decided, after months of contemplation and discussions with Downs and Mills, to tell the rest of the band that he was quitting.[93] Berry told his bandmates that he would not quit if they would break up as a result, so Stipe, Buck, and Mills agreed to carry on as a three-piece with his blessing.[94] Berry publicly announced his departure three weeks later in October 1997. Berry told the press, "I'm just not as enthusiastic as I have been in the past about doing this anymore . . . I have the best job in the world. But I'm kind of ready to sit back and reflect and maybe not be a pop star anymore."[92] Stipe admitted that the band would be different without a major contributor: "For me, Mike, and Peter, as R.E.M., are we still R.E.M.? I guess a three-legged dog is still a dog. It just has to learn to run differently."[94]

 
After drummer Bill Berry quit in 1997, R.E.M. continued as a trio.

The band cancelled its scheduled recording sessions as a result of Berry's departure. "Without Bill it was different, confusing", Mills later said. "We didn't know exactly what to do. We couldn't rehearse without a drummer."[95] The remaining members of R.E.M. resumed work on the album in February 1998 at Toast Studios in San Francisco.[96] The band ended its decade-long collaboration with Scott Litt and hired Pat McCarthy to produce the record. Nigel Godrich was taken on as assistant producer, and drafted in Screaming Trees member Barrett Martin and Beck's touring drummer Joey Waronker. The recording process was tense, and the group came close to disbanding. Bertis Downs called an emergency meeting in which the band members resolved their problems and agreed to continue as a group.[97] Led by the single "Daysleeper", Up (1998) debuted in the top ten in the US and UK. However, the album was a relative failure, selling 900,000 copies in the US by mid-1999 and eventually selling just over two million copies worldwide.[67] While R.E.M.'s American sales were declining, the group's commercial base was shifting to the UK, where more R.E.M. records were sold per capita than any other country and the band's singles regularly entered the Top 20.[98]

A year after Up's release, R.E.M. wrote the instrumental score to the Andy Kaufman biographical film Man on the Moon, a first for the group. The film took its title from the Automatic for the People song of the same name.[99] The song "The Great Beyond" was released as a single from the Man on the Moon soundtrack album. "The Great Beyond" only reached number 57 on the American pop charts, but was the band's highest-charting single ever in the UK, reaching number three in 2000.[27]

 
R.E.M. on tour in 2008, with long-time collaborator Scott McCaughey

R.E.M. recorded the majority of its twelfth album Reveal (2001) in Canada and Ireland from May to October 2000.[100] Reveal shared the "lugubrious pace" of Up,[101] and featured drumming by Joey Waronker, as well as contributions by Scott McCaughey (a co-founder of the band the Minus 5 with Buck), and Ken Stringfellow (founder of the Posies). Global sales of the album were over four million, but in the United States Reveal sold about the same number of copies as Up.[102] The album was led by the single "Imitation of Life", which reached number six in the UK.[103] Writing for Rock's Backpages, The Rev. Al Friston described the album as "loaded with golden loveliness at every twist and turn", in comparison to the group's "essentially unconvincing work on New Adventures in Hi-Fi and Up".[104] Similarly, Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone called Reveal "a spiritual renewal rooted in a musical one" and praised its "ceaselessly astonishing beauty".[105]

In 2003, Warner Bros. released the compilation album and DVD In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003 and In View: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003, which featured two new songs, "Bad Day" and "Animal". At a 2003 concert in Raleigh, North Carolina, Berry made a surprise appearance, performing backing vocals on "Radio Free Europe". He then sat behind the drum kit for a performance of the early R.E.M. song "Permanent Vacation", marking his first performance with the band since his retirement.[106]

R.E.M. released Around the Sun in 2004. During production of the album in 2002, Stipe said, "[The album] sounds like it's taking off from the last couple of records into unchartered R.E.M. territory. Kind of primitive and howling".[107] After the album's release, Mills said, "I think, honestly, it turned out a little slower than we intended for it to, just in terms of the overall speed of songs."[108] Around the Sun received a mixed critical reception, and peaked at number 13 on the Billboard charts.[109] The first single from the album, "Leaving New York", was a Top 5 hit in the UK.[110] For the record and subsequent tour, the band hired a new full-time touring drummer, Bill Rieflin, who had previously been a member of several industrial music acts such as Ministry and Pigface, and remained in that role for the duration of the band's active years.[111] The video album Perfect Square was released that same year.

2006–2011: Last albums, recognition and breakup

 
R.E.M. at the Royal Albert Hall in 2008

EMI released a compilation album covering R.E.M.'s work during its tenure on I.R.S. in 2006 called And I Feel Fine... The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982–1987 along with the video album When the Light Is Mine: The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982–1987—the label had previously released the compilations The Best of R.E.M. (1991), R.E.M.: Singles Collected (1994), and R.E.M.: In the Attic – Alternative Recordings 1985–1989 (1997). That same month, all four original band members performed during the ceremony for their induction into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.[112] While rehearsing for the ceremony, the band recorded a cover of John Lennon's "#9 Dream" for Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur, a tribute album benefiting Amnesty International.[113] The song—released as a single for the album and the campaign—featured Bill Berry's first studio recording with the band since his departure almost a decade earlier.[114]

In October 2006, R.E.M. was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in its first year of eligibility.[115] The band was one of five nominees accepted into the Hall that year, and the induction ceremony took place in March 2007 at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The group—which was inducted by Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder—performed three songs with Bill Berry; "Gardening at Night", "Man on the Moon" and "Begin the Begin" as well as a cover of "I Wanna Be Your Dog".[116]

 
Bassist Mike Mills performing in concert in 2008

Work on the group's fourteenth album commenced in early 2007. The band recorded with producer Jacknife Lee in Vancouver and Dublin, where it played five nights in the Olympia Theatre between June 30 and July 5 as part of a "working rehearsal".[117] R.E.M. Live, the band's first live album (featuring songs from a 2005 Dublin show), was released in October 2007.[118] The group followed this with the 2009 live album Live at The Olympia, which features performances from its 2007 residency. R.E.M. released Accelerate in early 2008. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard charts,[119] and became the band's eighth album to top the British album charts.[120] Rolling Stone reviewer David Fricke considered Accelerate an improvement over the band's previous post-Berry albums, calling it "one of the best records R.E.M. have ever made".[121]

 
R.E.M. onstage in 2008

In 2010, R.E.M. released the video album R.E.M. Live from Austin, TX—a concert recorded for Austin City Limits in 2008. The group recorded its fifteenth album, Collapse into Now (2011), with Jacknife Lee in locales including Berlin, Nashville, and New Orleans. For the album, the band aimed for a more expansive sound than the intentionally short and speedy approach implemented on Accelerate.[122] The album debuted at number five on the Billboard 200, becoming the group's tenth album to reach the top ten of the chart.[123] This release fulfilled R.E.M.'s contractual obligations to Warner Bros., and the band began recording material without a contract a few months later with the possible intention of self-releasing the work.[124]

On September 21, 2011, R.E.M. announced via its website that it was "calling it a day as a band". Stipe said that he hoped fans realized it "wasn't an easy decision": "All things must end, and we wanted to do it right, to do it our way."[125] Long-time associate and former Warner Bros. Senior Vice President of Emerging Technology Ethan Kaplan has speculated that shake-ups at the record label influenced the group's decision to disband.[126] The group discussed breaking up for several years, but was encouraged to continue after the lackluster critical and commercial performance of Around the Sun; according to Mills, "We needed to prove, not only to our fans and critics but to ourselves, that we could still make great records."[127] They were also uninterested in the business end of recording as R.E.M.[128] The band members finished their collaboration by assembling the compilation album Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011, which was released in November 2011. The album is the first to collect songs from R.E.M.'s I.R.S. and Warner Bros. tenures, as well as three songs from the group's final studio recordings from post-Collapse into Now sessions.[129] In November, Mills and Stipe did a brief span of promotional appearances in British media, ruling out the option of the group ever reuniting.[130]

2011–present: Post-breakup releases and events

In 2014, Unplugged: The Complete 1991 and 2001 Sessions was released for Record Store Day.[131] Digital download collections of I.R.S. and Warner Bros. rarities followed. Later in the year, the band compiled the video album box set REMTV, which collected their two Unplugged performances along with several other documentaries and live shows, while their record label released the box set 7IN—83–88, made up of 7-inch vinyl singles.[132] In December 2015, the band members agreed to a distribution deal with Concord Bicycle Music to re-release their Warner Bros. albums.[133] Continuing to maintain their copyright and intellectual property legacies, in March 2016, the band signed a new music publishing administration deal with Universal Music Publishing Group,[134] and a year later, the band members left Broadcast Music, Inc., who had represented their performance rights for their entire career, and joined SESAC.[135] The first release after their new publishing status was the 2018 box set R.E.M. at the BBC. Live at the Borderline 1991 followed for 2019's Record Store Day.

On March 24, 2020, session and touring drummer Bill Rieflin, who contributed on the band's last three records, died of cancer after years of battling the disease.[136]

In September 2021, a full decade after disbanding, Stipe reiterated that the band had no intention of regrouping: "We decided when we split up that that would just be really tacky and probably money-grabbing, which might be the impetus for a lot of bands to get back together."[137]

The group was nominated for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2023.[138]

Musical style

 
"Fall on Me"
Sample of "Fall on Me" from Lifes Rich Pageant (1986), which showcases Peter Buck's jangly, arpeggiated guitar style and features Michael Stipe and Mike Mills harmonizing in the chorus.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

R.E.M. has been described as alternative rock,[139] college rock,[140] folk rock,[141] jangle pop,[142] and post-punk.[143] In a 1988 interview, Peter Buck described R.E.M. songs as typically, "Minor key, mid-tempo, enigmatic, semi-folk-rock-balladish things. That's what everyone thinks and to a certain degree, that's true."[144] All songwriting is credited to the entire band, even though individual members are sometimes responsible for writing the majority of a particular song.[145] Each member is given an equal vote in the songwriting process; however, Buck has conceded that Stipe, as the band's lyricist, can rarely be persuaded to follow an idea he does not favor.[74] Among the original line-up, there were divisions of labor in the songwriting process: Stipe would write lyrics and devise melodies, Buck would edge the band in new musical directions, and Mills and Berry would fine-tune the compositions due to their greater musical experience.[146]

Michael Stipe sings in what R.E.M. biographer David Buckley described as "wailing, keening, arching vocal figures".[147] Stipe often harmonizes with Mills in songs; in the chorus for "Stand", Mills and Stipe alternate singing lyrics, creating a dialogue.[148] Early articles about the band focused on Stipe's singing style (described as "mumbling" by The Washington Post), which often rendered his lyrics indecipherable.[18] Creem writer John Morthland wrote in his review of Murmur, "I still have no idea what these songs are about, because neither me nor anyone else I know has ever been able to discern R.E.M.'s lyrics."[149] Stipe commented in 1984, "It's just the way I sing. If I tried to control it, it would be pretty false."[150] Producer Joe Boyd convinced Stipe to begin singing more clearly during the recording of Fables of the Reconstruction.[151]

Stipe later called chorus lyrics of "Sitting Still" from R.E.M. debut album, Murmur, "nonsense", saying in a 1994 online chat, "You all know there aren't words, per se, to a lot of the early stuff. I can't even remember them." In truth, Stipe carefully crafted the lyrics to many early R.E.M. songs.[152] Stipe explained in 1984 that when he started writing lyrics they were like "simple pictures", but after a year he grew tired of the approach and "started experimenting with lyrics that didn't make exact linear sense, and it's just gone from there."[150] In the mid-1980s, as Stipe's pronunciation while singing became clearer, the band decided that its lyrics should convey ideas on a more literal level.[153] Mills explained, "After you've made three records and you've written several songs and they've gotten better and better lyrically the next step would be to have somebody question you and say, are you saying anything? And Michael had the confidence at that point to say yes . . ."[154] Songs like "Cuyahoga" and "Fall on Me" on Lifes Rich Pageant dealt with such concerns as pollution.[155] Stipe incorporated more politically oriented concerns into his lyrics on Document and Green. "Our political activism and the content of the songs was just a reaction to where we were, and what we were surrounded by, which was just abject horror," Stipe said later. "In 1987 and '88 there was nothing to do but be active."[156] Stipe has since explored other lyrical topics. Automatic for the People dealt with "mortality and dying. Pretty turgid stuff", according to Stipe,[157] while Monster critiqued love and mass culture.[156] Musically, Stipe stated that bands like T. Rex and Mott the Hoople "really impacted me".[158]

 
Peter Buck's guitar-playing style has defined R.E.M.'s sound.

Peter Buck's style of playing guitar has been singled out by many as the most distinctive aspect of R.E.M.'s music. During the 1980s, Buck's "economical, arpeggiated, poetic" style reminded British music journalists of 1960s American folk rock band the Byrds.[159] Buck has stated "[Byrds guitarist] Roger McGuinn was a big influence on me as a guitar player",[160] but said it was Byrds-influenced bands, including Big Star and the Soft Boys, that inspired him more.[161] Comparisons were also made with the guitar playing of Johnny Marr of alternative rock contemporaries the Smiths. While Buck professed being a fan of the group, he admitted he initially criticized the band simply because he was tired of fans asking him if he was influenced by Marr,[145] whose band had in fact made their debut after R.E.M.[161] Buck generally eschews guitar solos; he explained in 2002, "I know that when guitarists rip into this hot solo, people go nuts, but I don't write songs that suit that, and I am not interested in that. I can do it if I have to, but I don't like it."[162] Mike Mills' melodic approach to bass playing is inspired by Paul McCartney of the Beatles and Chris Squire of Yes; Mills has said, "I always played a melodic bass, like a piano bass in some ways . . . I never wanted to play the traditional locked into the kick drum, root note bass work."[163] Mills has more musical training than his bandmates, which he has said "made it easier to turn abstract musical ideas into reality."[160]

Legacy

 
Pavement, one of several bands to name R.E.M. as an influence, wrote the song "Unseen Power of the Picket Fence" in honor of them.

R.E.M. was pivotal in the creation and development of the alternative rock genre. AllMusic stated, "R.E.M. mark the point when post-punk turned into alternative rock."[12] In the early 1980s, the musical style of R.E.M. stood in contrast to the post-punk and new wave genres that had preceded it. Music journalist Simon Reynolds noted that the post-punk movement of the late 1970s and early 1980s "had taken whole swaths of music off the menu", particularly that of the 1960s, and that "After postpunk's demystification and New Pop's schematics, it felt liberating to listen to music rooted in mystical awe and blissed-out surrender." Reynolds declared R.E.M., a band that recalled the music of the 1960s with its "plangent guitar chimes and folk-styled vocals" and who "wistfully and abstractly conjured visions and new frontiers for America", one of "the two most important alt-rock bands of the day."[164] With the release of Murmur, R.E.M. had the most impact musically and commercially of the developing alternative genre's early groups, leaving in its wake a number of jangle pop followers.[165]

R.E.M.'s early breakthrough success served as an inspiration for other alternative bands. Spin referred to the "R.E.M. model"—career decisions that R.E.M. made that set guidelines for other underground artists to follow in their own careers. Spin's Charles Aaron wrote that by 1985, "They'd shown how far an underground, punk-inspired rock band could go within the industry without whoring out its artistic integrity in any obvious way. They'd figured out how to buy in, not sellout-in other words, they'd achieved the American Bohemian Dream."[166] Steve Wynn of Dream Syndicate said, "They invented a whole new ballgame for all of the other bands to follow whether it was Sonic Youth or the Replacements or Nirvana or Butthole Surfers. R.E.M. staked the claim. Musically, the bands did different things, but R.E.M. was first to show us you can be big and still be cool."[167] Biographer David Buckley stated that between 1991 and 1994, a period that saw the band sell an estimated 30 million albums, R.E.M. "asserted themselves as rivals to U2 for the title of biggest rock band in the world."[168] Over the course of its career, the band has sold over 85 million records worldwide.[169] Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums stated that "Their catalogue is destined to endure as critics reluctantly accept their considerable importance in the history of rock".[170]

Alternative bands such as Nirvana, Pavement, Radiohead,[171] Coldplay,[172] Pearl Jam (the band's vocalist Eddie Vedder inducted R.E.M. into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame),[173] Live,[174] Stone Temple Pilots,[173] Collective Soul,[173] Alice in Chains,[173] Hootie and the Blowfish[173] and Pwr Bttm[175] have drawn inspiration from R.E.M.'s music. "When I was 15 years old in Richmond, Virginia, they were a very important part of my life," Pavement's Bob Nastanovich said, "as they were for all the members of our band."[176] Pavement's contribution to the No Alternative compilation (1993) was "Unseen Power of the Picket Fence", a song about R.E.M.'s early days.[177] Local H, according to the band's Twitter account, created their name by combining two R.E.M. songs: "Oddfellows Local 151" and "Swan Swan H".[178] Black Francis of the Pixies has described Murmur as "hugely influential" on his songwriting.[179] Kurt Cobain of Nirvana was a fan of R.E.M., and had unfulfilled plans to collaborate on a musical project with Stipe.[180] Cobain told Rolling Stone in an interview earlier that year, "I don’t know how that band does what they do. God, they’re the greatest. They've dealt with their success like saints, and they keep delivering great music."[181]

During his show at the 40 Watt Club in October 2018, Johnny Marr said: "As a British musician coming out of the indie scene in the early '80s, which I definitely am and am proud to have been, I can't miss this opportunity to acknowledge and pay my respects and honor the guys who put this town on the map for us in England. I'm talking about my comrades in guitar music, R.E.M. The Smiths really respected R.E.M. We had to keep an eye on what those guys were up to. It's an interesting thing for me, as a British musician, and all those guys as British musicians, to come to this place and play for you guys, knowing that it's the roots of Mike Mills and Bill Berry and Michael Stipe and my good friend Peter Buck."[182]

Cliff Burton, from Metallica, mentioned them as one of his favorite bands in the mid-1980's: "I have been listening to a lot of REM. I really like them for some reason. They are really good I think."[183]

Awards

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by R.E.M.

Campaigning and activism

 
Michael Stipe has used his celebrity status to support political and humanitarian causes; he is seen here at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival, which was created to renew that neighborhood of New York City after the September 11 attacks

Throughout R.E.M.'s career, its members sought to highlight social and political issues. According to the Los Angeles Times, R.E.M. was considered to be one of the United States' "most liberal and politically correct rock groups."[184] The band's members were "on the same page" politically, sharing a liberal and progressive outlook.[185] Mills admitted that there was occasionally dissension between band members on what causes they might support, but acknowledged "Out of respect for the people who disagree, those discussions tend to stay in-house, just because we'd rather not let people know where the divisions lie, so people can't exploit them for their own purposes." An example is that in 1990 Buck noted that Stipe was involved with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, but the rest of the band were not.[186]

R.E.M. helped raise funds for environmental, feminist and human rights causes, and were involved in campaigns to encourage voter registration.[66] During the Green tour, Stipe spoke on stage to the audiences about a variety of socio-political issues.[187] Through the late 1980s and 1990s, the band (particularly Stipe) increasingly used its media coverage on national television to mention a variety of causes it felt were important. One example is during the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards, Stipe wore a half-dozen white shirts emblazoned with slogans including "rainforest", "love knows no colors", and "handgun control now".[188]

R.E.M. helped raise awareness of Aung San Suu Kyi and human rights violations in Myanmar, when they worked with the Freedom Campaign and the US Campaign for Burma.[189] Stipe himself ran ads for the 1988 election, supporting Democratic presidential candidate and Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis over then-Vice President George H. W. Bush.[190] In 2004, the band participated in the Vote for Change tour that sought to mobilize American voters to support Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.[191] R.E.M.'s political stance, particularly coming from a wealthy rock band under contract to a label owned by a multinational corporation, received criticism from former Q editor Paul Du Noyer, who criticized the band's "celebrity liberalism", saying, "It's an entirely pain-free form of rebellion that they're adopting. There's no risk involved in it whatsoever, but quite a bit of shoring up of customer loyalty."[192]

From the late 1980s, R.E.M. was involved in the local politics of its hometown of Athens, Georgia.[193] Buck explained to Sounds in 1987, "Michael always says think local and act local—we have been doing a lot of stuff in our town to try and make it a better place."[194] The band often donated funds to local charities and helped renovate and preserve historic buildings in the town.[195][66] R.E.M.'s political clout was credited with the narrow election of Athens mayor Gwen O'Looney twice in the 1990s.[196][66] The band is a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism.[197]

Members

 
R.E.M. on their final tour (from left to right): guitarist Peter Buck (on keyboard), touring musician Scott McCaughey, vocalist Michael Stipe (back to camera), touring drummer Bill Rieflin, and bassist Mike Mills
 
Scott McCaughey was a touring member of R.E.M. from 1994 till their disbandment.

Main members

  • Bill Berry – drums, percussion, backing vocals, occasional bass and keyboards (1980–1997; occasional concert appearances with the band 2003–2007)
  • Peter Buck – lead guitar, mandolin, banjo, occasional bass, keyboards and drums (1980–2011)
  • Mike Mills – bass, keyboards, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals and guitar (1980–2011)
  • Michael Stipe – lead vocals, occasional harmonica, percussion and guitar (1980–2011)

Managers

  • Several publications made by the band, such as album liner notes and fan club mailers, list attorney Bertis Downs and manager Jefferson Holt alongside the four founding band members; the two started working with R.E.M. in the early 1980s and Holt left in 1996.[198][90]

Touring and session musicians

Timeline

Discography

Main articles: R.E.M. discography and List of songs recorded by R.E.M.

Studio albums

Concert tours

Main article: List of R.E.M. concert tours
  • 1981: Rapid.Eye.Movement.Tour[199]
  • 1982: Chronic Town Tour
  • 1983: Murmur Tour
  • 1984: Little America Tour
  • 1985: Reconstruction Tour
  • 1986: Pageantry Tour
  • 1987: Work Tour
  • 1989: Green World Tour
  • 1995: Monster World Tour
  • 1998/99: Up World Tour
  • 2001: Reveal World Tour
  • 2003: In Time World Tour
  • 2004/05: Around the Sun World Tour
  • 2008: Accelerate World Tour

See also

References

  1. ^ Marcus Gray (1997). It Crawled from the South: An R.E.M. Companion. Da Capo. p. 68. ISBN 0-306-80751-3.
  2. ^ Marcus Gray (1997). It Crawled from the South: An R.E.M. Companion. Da Capo. p. 47. ISBN 0-306-80751-3.
  3. ^ Marcus Gray (1997). It Crawled from the South: An R.E.M. Companion. Da Capo. p. 194. ISBN 0-306-80751-3.
  4. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Reveal – R.E.M." AllMusic. from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Blake Gumprecht (Winter 1983). "Interview with R.E.M.". Alternative America (Fanzine).
  6. ^ a b c d Niimi, J (April 28, 2018). "R.E.M.'s first ever show: Opening band at a birthday party in a church". Salon. from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  7. ^ Bill Holdship (September 1985). "R.E.M.: Rock Reconstruction Getting There". Creem.
  8. ^ David Buckley (2002). R.E.M.: Fiction: An Alternative Biography. Virgin. p. 30. ISBN 1-85227-927-3.
  9. ^ Phil W. Hudson (April 20, 2016). "Q&A: The Progressive Global Agency President Buck Williams talks Widespread Panic, R.E.M., Chuck Leavell". Atlanta Business Chronicle. from the original on February 3, 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
  10. ^ David Buckley (2002). R.E.M.: Fiction: An Alternative Biography. Virgin. p. 39. ISBN 1-85227-927-3.
  11. ^ "'The Father Of Sleep Science' Dr. William Dement Dies At 91". NPR. Event occurs at 1:38. from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  12. ^ a b Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "R.E.M > Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
  13. ^ David Buckley (2002). R.E.M.: Fiction: An Alternative Biography. Virgin. p. 41. ISBN 1-85227-927-3.
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  16. ^ Denise Sullivan (1994). Talk About the Passion: R.E.M.: An Oral Biography. Underwood-Miller. p. 27. ISBN 0-88733-184-X.
  17. ^ Marcus Gray (1997). It Crawled from the South: An R.E.M. Companion. Da Capo. p. 497. ISBN 0-306-80751-3.
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  32. ^ Mat Snow (1984). "American Paradise Regained: R.E.M.'s Reckoning". NME.
  33. ^ David Buckley (2002). R.E.M.: Fiction: An Alternative Biography. Virgin. p. 115. ISBN 1-85227-927-3.
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  37. ^ Darryl White. . R.E.M. Timeline. Archived from the original on January 1, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
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  39. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Artist Biography". AllMusic. from the original on December 28, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2015. Stipe, whose on-stage behavior was always slightly strange, entered his most bizarre phase, as he put on weight, dyed his hair bleached blonde, and wore countless layers of clothing.
  40. ^ Darryl White. . R.E.M. Timeline. Archived from the original on January 1, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2015. This show was recorded for the German TV show Rockpalast WDR-TV and it's well worth finding a copy of it to see Stipe's blonde hair, some great cover songs and the hilarious moment when Stipe goes out into the crowd during 'We Walk' and pats a big bearded guy on the head.
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Sources

  • Black, Johnny. Reveal: The Story of R.E.M. Backbeat, 2004. ISBN 0-87930-776-5
  • Buckley, David. R.E.M.: Fiction: An Alternative Biography. Virgin, 2002. ISBN 1-85227-927-3
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  • Platt, John (editor). The R.E.M. Companion: Two Decades of Commentary. Schirmer, 1998. ISBN 0-02-864935-4
  • Sullivan, Denise. Talk About the Passion: R.E.M.: An Oral Biography. Underwood-Miller, 1994. ISBN 0-88733-184-X

External links

May 16, 2023
this, article, about, band, other, uses, disambiguation, american, rock, band, from, athens, georgia, formed, 1980, drummer, bill, berry, guitarist, peter, buck, bassist, mike, mills, lead, vocalist, michael, stipe, were, students, university, georgia, first, . This article is about the band For other uses see Rem disambiguation R E M was an American rock band from Athens Georgia formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry guitarist Peter Buck bassist Mike Mills and lead vocalist Michael Stipe who were students at the University of Georgia One of the first alternative rock bands R E M was noted for Buck s ringing arpeggiated guitar style Stipe s distinctive vocal quality unique stage presence and obscure lyrics Mills s melodic bass lines and backing vocals and Berry s tight economical drumming style In the early 1990s other alternative rock acts such as Nirvana and Pavement viewed R E M as a pioneer of the genre After Berry left the band in 1997 the band continued its career in the 2000s with mixed critical and commercial success The band broke up amicably in 2011 with members devoting time to solo projects after having sold more than 90 million albums worldwide and becoming one of the world s best selling music acts R E M R E M in concert in Padua Italy in 2003 From left to right Mike Mills partially cropped Michael Stipe touring drummer Bill Rieflin and Peter BuckBackground informationAlso known asHornets Attack Victor Mature 1 Bingo Hand Job 2 It Crawled from the South 3 Twisted KitesOriginAthens Georgia U S GenresAlternative rock folk rock college rock jangle pop post punkYears active1980 2011LabelsHib Tone I R S Warner Bros Capitol New West Rhino Concord Bicycle CraftPast membersBill Berry Peter Buck Mike Mills Michael StipeWebsiteremhq wbr comR E M released its first single Radio Free Europe in 1981 on the independent record label Hib Tone It was followed by the Chronic Town EP in 1982 the band s first release on I R S Records In 1983 the group released its critically acclaimed debut album Murmur and built its reputation over the next few years with similarly acclaimed releases every year from 1984 to 1988 Reckoning Fables of the Reconstruction Lifes Rich Pageant Document and Green including an intermittent b side compilation Dead Letter Office Don Dixon and Mitch Easter produced their first two albums Joe Boyd handled production on Fables of the Reconstruction and Don Gehman produced Lifes Rich Pageant Thereafter R E M settled on Scott Litt as producer for the next 10 years during the band s most successful period of their career They also started co producing their material and playing other instruments in the studio With constant touring and the support of college radio following years of underground success R E M achieved a mainstream hit with the 1987 single The One I Love The group signed to Warner Bros Records in 1988 and began to espouse political and environmental concerns while playing large arenas worldwide R E M s most commercially successful albums Out of Time 1991 and Automatic for the People 1992 put them in the vanguard of alternative rock just as it was becoming mainstream Out of Time received seven nominations at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards and lead single Losing My Religion was R E M s highest charting and best selling hit Monster 1994 continued its run of success The band began its first tour in six years to support the album the tour was marred by medical emergencies suffered by three of the band members In 1996 R E M re signed with Warner Bros for a reported US 80 million at the time the most expensive recording contract ever The tour was productive and the band recorded the following album mostly during soundchecks The resulting record New Adventures in Hi Fi 1996 is hailed as the band s last great album and the members favorite growing in cult status over the years Berry left the band the following year and Stipe Buck and Mills continued as a musical trio supplemented by studio and live musicians such as multi instrumentalists Scott McCaughey and Ken Stringfellow and drummers Joey Waronker and Bill Rieflin They also parted ways with their longtime manager Jefferson Holt and band s attorney Bertis Downs assumed managerial duties Seeking to also renovate their sound the band stopped working with Scott Litt co producer and contributor to six of their studio albums and hired Pat McCarthy as co producer who had participated before that as mixer and engineer on their last two albums After the electronic experimental direction of Up 1998 that was commercially unsuccessful Reveal 2001 was referred to as a conscious return to their classic sound 4 which received general acclaim In 2007 the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in its first year of eligibility and Berry reunited with the band for the ceremony and to record a cover of John Lennon s 9 Dream for the compilation album Instant Karma The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur to benefit Amnesty International s campaign to alleviate the Darfur conflict Looking for a change of sound after lukewarm reception for Around the Sun 2004 the band collaborated with co producer Jacknife Lee on their last two studio albums the well received Accelerate 2008 and Collapse into Now 2011 as well as their first live albums after decades of touring R E M disbanded amicably in September 2011 with former members having continued with various musical projects and several live and archival albums have since been released They have since stated in several interviews that the band is unlikely to reunite Contents 1 History 1 1 1980 1982 Formation and first releases 1 2 1982 1988 I R S Records and cult success 1 3 1988 1997 International breakout and alternative rock stardom 1 4 1997 2006 Continuing as three piece with mixed success 1 5 2006 2011 Last albums recognition and breakup 1 6 2011 present Post breakup releases and events 2 Musical style 3 Legacy 4 Awards 5 Campaigning and activism 6 Members 6 1 Main members 6 2 Managers 6 3 Touring and session musicians 6 3 1 Timeline 7 Discography 8 Concert tours 9 See also 10 References 10 1 Sources 11 External linksHistory Edit1980 1982 Formation and first releases Edit The church steeple of St Mary s Episcopal Church in 2015 this is all that remains of where members of R E M lived briefly and performed their first concert on April 5 1980 In January 1980 Peter Buck met Michael Stipe in Wuxtry Records the Athens record store where Buck worked The pair discovered that they shared similar tastes in music particularly in punk rock and proto punk artists like Patti Smith Television and the Velvet Underground Stipe said It turns out that I was buying all the records that Buck was saving for himself 5 Through mutual friend Kathleen O Brien 6 Stipe and Buck then met fellow University of Georgia students Bill Berry and Mike Mills 7 who had played music together since high school 8 and lived together in Georgia 9 The quartet agreed to collaborate on several songs Stipe later commented that there was never any grand plan behind any of it 5 Their still unnamed band spent a few months rehearsing in the deconsecrated St Mary s Episcopal Church on Oconee Street in Athens and played its first show on April 5 1980 supporting the Side Effects at O Brien s birthday party held in the same church performing a mix of originals and 1960s and 1970s covers 6 After considering names such as Cans of Piss Negro Eyes and Twisted Kites 6 the band settled on R E M which Stipe selected at random from a dictionary 10 R E M is well known as an abbreviation for rapid eye movement the dream stage of sleep however sleep researcher Dr Rafael Pelayo reports that when his colleague Dr William Dement the sleep scientist who coined the term REM reached out to the band Dr Dement was told that the band was named not after REM sleep 11 Mitch Easter near left was R E M s producer until 1984 helping to define the band s early sound The band members eventually dropped out of school to focus on their developing group 12 They found a manager in Jefferson Holt a record store clerk who was so impressed by an R E M performance in his hometown of Chapel Hill North Carolina that he moved to Athens 13 R E M s success was almost immediate in Athens and surrounding areas the band drew progressively larger crowds for shows which caused some resentment in the Athens music scene 14 Over the next year and a half R E M toured throughout the Southern United States Touring was arduous because a touring circuit for alternative rock bands did not then exist The group toured in an old blue van driven by Holt and lived on a food allowance of 2 each per day 15 During April 1981 R E M recorded its first single Radio Free Europe at producer Mitch Easter s Drive In Studio in Winston Salem North Carolina Initially distributing it as a four track demo tape to clubs record labels and magazines the single was released in July 1981 on the local independent record label Hib Tone with an initial pressing of 1 000 copies 600 of which were sent out as promotional copies The single quickly sold out and another 6 000 copies were pressed due to popular demand despite the original pressing leaving off the record label s contact details 16 6 Despite its limited pressing the single garnered critical acclaim and was listed as one of the ten best singles of the year by The New York Times 17 Radio Free Europe source source track The band s debut single Radio Free Europe was released on Hib Tone in 1981 and re recorded for the debut album Murmur in 1983 Stipe s mumbling singing style helped establish interest in his lyrics as enigmatic and obscure 18 Problems playing this file See media help R E M recorded the Chronic Town EP with Mitch Easter in October 1981 and planned to release it on a new indie label named Dasht Hopes 19 However I R S Records acquired a demo of the band s first recording session with Easter that had been circulating for months 20 The band turned down the advances of major label RCA Records in favor of I R S with whom it signed a contract in May 1982 I R S released Chronic Town that August as its first American release 21 A positive review of the EP by NME praised the songs auras of mystery and concluded R E M ring true and it s great to hear something as unforced and cunning as this 22 1982 1988 I R S Records and cult success Edit I R S first paired R E M with producer Stephen Hague to record its debut album Hague s emphasis on technical perfection left the band unsatisfied and the band members asked the label to let them record with Easter 23 I R S agreed to a tryout session allowing the band to return to North Carolina and record the song Pilgrimage with Easter and producing partner Don Dixon After hearing the track I R S permitted the group to record the album with Dixon and Easter 24 Because of its bad experience with Hague the band recorded the album via a process of negation refusing to incorporate rock music cliches such as guitar solos or then popular synthesizers in order to give its music a timeless feel 25 The completed album Murmur was greeted with critical acclaim upon its release in 1983 with Rolling Stone listing the album as its record of the year 26 The album reached number 36 on the Billboard album chart 27 A re recorded version of Radio Free Europe was the album s lead single and reached number 78 on the Billboard singles chart in 1983 28 Despite the acclaim awarded the album Murmur sold only about 200 000 copies which I R S s Jay Boberg felt was below expectations 29 R E M made its first national television appearance on Late Night with David Letterman in October 1983 30 during which the group performed a new unnamed song 31 The piece eventually titled So Central Rain I m Sorry became the first single from the band s second album Reckoning 1984 which was also recorded with Easter and Dixon The album met with critical acclaim NME s Mat Snow wrote that Reckoning confirms R E M as one of the most beautifully exciting groups on the planet 32 While Reckoning peaked at number 27 on the US album charts an unusually high chart placing for a college rock band at the time scant airplay and poor distribution overseas resulted in it charting no higher than number 91 in Britain 33 Michael Stipe left and Peter Buck right on stage in Ghent Belgium during R E M s 1985 tour The band s third album Fables of the Reconstruction 1985 demonstrated a change in direction Instead of Dixon and Easter R E M chose producer Joe Boyd who had worked with Fairport Convention and Nick Drake to record the album in England The band members found the sessions unexpectedly difficult and were miserable due to the cold winter weather and what they considered to be poor food 34 the situation brought the band to the verge of break up 35 The gloominess surrounding the sessions worked its way into the context for the album s themes Lyrically Stipe began to create storylines in the mode of Southern mythology noting in a 1985 interview that he was inspired by the whole idea of the old men sitting around the fire passing on legends and fables to the grandchildren 36 They toured Canada in July and August 1985 and Europe in October of that year including the Netherlands England including one concert at London s Hammersmith Palais Ireland Scotland France Switzerland Belgium and West Germany 37 On October 2 1985 the group played a concert in Bochum West Germany for the German TV show Rockpalast Stipe had bleached his hair blond during this time 38 39 40 41 42 R E M invited California punk band Minutemen to open for them on part of the US tour and organized a benefit for the family of Minutemen frontman D Boon who died in a December 1985 car crash shortly after the tour s conclusion 43 Fables of the Reconstruction performed poorly in Europe and its critical reception was mixed with some critics regarding it as dreary and poorly recorded 44 As with the previous records the singles from Fables of the Reconstruction were mostly ignored by mainstream radio Meanwhile I R S was becoming frustrated with the band s reluctance to achieve mainstream success 45 For its fourth album R E M enlisted John Mellencamp s producer Don Gehman The result Lifes Rich Pageant 1986 featured Stipe s vocals closer to the forefront of the music In a 1986 interview with the Chicago Tribune Peter Buck related Michael is getting better at what he s doing and he s getting more confident at it And I think that shows up in the projection of his voice 46 The album improved markedly upon the sales of Fables of the Reconstruction and reached number 21 on the Billboard album chart The single Fall on Me also picked up support on commercial radio 47 The album was the band s first to be certified gold for selling 500 000 copies 48 While American college radio remained R E M s core support the band was beginning to chart hits on mainstream rock formats however the music still encountered resistance from Top 40 radio 49 Following the success of Lifes Rich Pageant I R S issued Dead Letter Office a compilation of tracks recorded by the band during their album sessions many of which had either been issued as B sides or left unreleased altogether Shortly thereafter I R S compiled R E M s music video catalog except Wolves Lower as the band s first video release Succumbs Scott Litt produced a number of R E M s albums from the late 1980s to the early to mid 1990s Don Gehman was unable to produce R E M s fifth album so he suggested the group work with Scott Litt 50 Litt would be the producer for the band s next five albums Document 1987 featured some of Stipe s most openly political lyrics particularly on Welcome to the Occupation and Exhuming McCarthy which were reactions to the conservative political environment of the 1980s under American president Ronald Reagan 51 Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote in his review of the album Document is both confident and defiant if R E M is about to move from cult band status to mass popularity the album decrees that the band will get there on its own terms 52 Document was R E M s breakthrough album and the first single The One I Love charted in the Top 20 in the US UK and Canada 27 By January 1988 Document had become the group s first album to sell a million copies 53 In light of the band s breakthrough the December 1987 cover of Rolling Stone declared R E M America s Best Rock amp Roll Band 54 1988 1997 International breakout and alternative rock stardom Edit Frustrated that its records did not see satisfactory overseas distribution R E M left I R S when its contract expired and signed with the major label Warner Bros Records 55 Though other labels offered more money R E M ultimately signed with Warner Bros reportedly for an amount between 6 million and 12 million due to the company s assurance of total creative freedom Jay Boberg claimed that R E M s deal with Warner Bros was for 22 million which Peter Buck disputed as definitely wrong 56 In the aftermath of the group s departure I R S released the 1988 best of compilation Eponymous assembled with input from the band members to capitalize on assets the company still possessed 57 The band s 1988 Warner Bros debut Green was recorded in Memphis Tennessee and showcased the group experimenting with its sound 58 The record s tracks ranged from the upbeat first single Stand a hit in the United States 59 to more political material like the rock oriented Orange Crush and World Leader Pretend which address the Vietnam War and the Cold War respectively 60 Green has gone on to sell four million copies worldwide 61 The band supported the album with its biggest and most visually developed tour to date featuring back projections and art films playing on the stage 62 After the Green tour the band members unofficially decided to take the following year off the first extended break in the band s career 63 In 1990 Warner Bros issued the music video compilation Pop Screen to collect clips from the Document and Green albums followed a few months later by the video album Tourfilm featuring live performances filmed during the Green World Tour 64 Losing My Religion source source track Sample of Losing My Religion from Out of Time 1991 The mandolin driven song became R E M s biggest American hit peaking at number four on the Billboard charts Problems playing this file See media help R E M reconvened in mid 1990 to record its seventh album Out of Time In a departure from Green the band members often wrote the music with non traditional rock instrumentation including mandolin organ and acoustic guitar instead of adding them as overdubs later in the creative process 65 66 Released in March 1991 Out of Time was the band s first album to top both the US and UK charts 27 The record eventually sold 4 2 million copies in the US alone 67 and about 12 million copies worldwide by 1996 61 The album s lead single Losing My Religion was a worldwide hit that received heavy rotation on radio as did the music video on MTV and VH1 68 Losing My Religion was R E M s highest charting single in the US reaching number four on the Billboard charts 27 There ve been very few life changing events in our career because our career has been so gradual Mills said years later If you want to talk about life changing I think Losing My Religion is the closest it gets 69 The album s second single Shiny Happy People one of three songs on the record to feature vocals from Kate Pierson of fellow Athens band the B 52 s was also a major hit reaching number 10 in the US and number six in the UK 27 Out of Time garnered R E M seven nominations at the 1992 Grammy Awards the most nominations of any artist that year The band won three awards one for Best Alternative Music Album and two for Losing My Religion Best Short Form Music Video and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal 70 R E M did not tour to promote Out of Time instead the group played a series of one off shows including an appearance taped for an episode of MTV Unplugged 71 and released music videos for each song on the video album This Film Is On The band also performed Losing My Religion with members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in Madison Georgia at Madison Morgan Cultural Center as part of MTV s 10th anniversary special 72 After spending some months off R E M returned to the studio in 1991 to record its next album Late in 1992 the band released Automatic for the People Though the group had intended to make a harder rocking album after the softer textures of Out of Time 73 the somber Automatic for the People seemed to move at an even more agonized crawl according to Melody Maker 74 The album dealt with themes of loss and mourning inspired by that sense of turning thirty according to Buck 75 Several songs featured string arrangements by former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones Considered by a number of critics as well as by Buck and Mills to be the band s best album 76 Automatic for the People reached numbers one and two on UK and US charts respectively and generated the American Top 40 hit singles Drive Man on the Moon and Everybody Hurts 27 The album would sell over fifteen million copies worldwide 61 As with Out of Time there was no tour in support of the album The decision to forgo a tour in conjunction with Stipe s physical appearance generated rumors that the singer was dying or HIV positive which were vehemently denied by the band 74 What s the Frequency Kenneth source source track Sample of What s the Frequency Kenneth from Monster 1994 The song s loud distorted guitars were an intentional departure from the sound of R E M s previous two albums Problems playing this file See media help After the band released two slow paced albums in a row R E M s 1994 album Monster was as Buck said a rock record with the rock in quotation marks In contrast to the sound of its predecessors the music of Monster consisted of distorted guitar tones minimal overdubs and touches of 1970s glam rock 77 Like Out of Time Monster topped the charts in both the US and UK 27 The record sold about nine million copies worldwide 61 The singles What s the Frequency Kenneth and Bang and Blame were the band s last American Top 40 hits although all the singles from Monster reached the Top 30 on the British charts 27 Warner Bros assembled the music videos from the album as well as those from Automatic for the People for release as Parallel in 1995 78 In January 1995 R E M set out on its first tour in six years The tour was a huge commercial success but the period was difficult for the group 79 On March 1 Berry collapsed on stage during a performance in Lausanne Switzerland having suffered a brain aneurysm He had surgery immediately and recovered fully within a month Berry s aneurysm was only the beginning of a series of health problems that plagued the Monster tour Mills had to undergo abdominal surgery to remove an intestinal adhesion in July a month later Stipe had to have an emergency surgery to repair a hernia 80 Despite all the problems the group had recorded the bulk of a new album while on the road The band brought along eight track recorders to capture its shows and used the recordings as the base elements for the album 81 The final three performances of the tour were filmed at the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta Georgia and released in home video form as Road Movie 82 R E M re signed with Warner Bros Records in 1996 for a reported 80 million a figure the band constantly asserted originated with the media rumored to be the largest recording contract in history at that point 83 The group s 1996 album New Adventures in Hi Fi debuted at number two in the US and number one in the UK 27 The five million copies of the album sold were a reversal of the group s commercial fortunes of the previous five years 84 Critical reaction to the album was mostly favorable In a 2017 retrospective on the band Consequence of Sound ranked it third out of R E M s 15 full length studio albums 85 The album is Stipe s favorite from R E M and he considers it the band at their peak 86 Mills says It usually takes a good few years for me to decide where an album stands in the pantheon of recorded work we ve done This one may be third behind Murmur and Automatic for the People 87 According to DiscoverMusic Arguably less immediate and less accessible New Adventures in Hi Fi is a sprawling White Album esque affair clocking in at 65 minutes However while it required some time and commitment from the listener the record s contents were rich compelling and frequently stunning Accordingly the album has continued to lobby for recognition and has long since earned its reputation as R E M s most unsung LP 88 While sales were impressive they were below their previous major label records Time s writer Christopher John Farley argued that the lesser sales of the album were due to the declining commercial power of alternative rock as a whole 89 That same year R E M parted ways with manager Jefferson Holt allegedly due to sexual harassment charges levied against him by a member of the band s home office in Athens 90 The group s lawyer Bertis Downs assumed managerial duties 91 1997 2006 Continuing as three piece with mixed success Edit In April 1997 the band convened at Buck s Kauai vacation home to record demos of material intended for the next album The band sought to reinvent its sound and intended to incorporate drum loops and percussion experiments 92 Just as the sessions were due to begin in October Berry decided after months of contemplation and discussions with Downs and Mills to tell the rest of the band that he was quitting 93 Berry told his bandmates that he would not quit if they would break up as a result so Stipe Buck and Mills agreed to carry on as a three piece with his blessing 94 Berry publicly announced his departure three weeks later in October 1997 Berry told the press I m just not as enthusiastic as I have been in the past about doing this anymore I have the best job in the world But I m kind of ready to sit back and reflect and maybe not be a pop star anymore 92 Stipe admitted that the band would be different without a major contributor For me Mike and Peter as R E M are we still R E M I guess a three legged dog is still a dog It just has to learn to run differently 94 After drummer Bill Berry quit in 1997 R E M continued as a trio The band cancelled its scheduled recording sessions as a result of Berry s departure Without Bill it was different confusing Mills later said We didn t know exactly what to do We couldn t rehearse without a drummer 95 The remaining members of R E M resumed work on the album in February 1998 at Toast Studios in San Francisco 96 The band ended its decade long collaboration with Scott Litt and hired Pat McCarthy to produce the record Nigel Godrich was taken on as assistant producer and drafted in Screaming Trees member Barrett Martin and Beck s touring drummer Joey Waronker The recording process was tense and the group came close to disbanding Bertis Downs called an emergency meeting in which the band members resolved their problems and agreed to continue as a group 97 Led by the single Daysleeper Up 1998 debuted in the top ten in the US and UK However the album was a relative failure selling 900 000 copies in the US by mid 1999 and eventually selling just over two million copies worldwide 67 While R E M s American sales were declining the group s commercial base was shifting to the UK where more R E M records were sold per capita than any other country and the band s singles regularly entered the Top 20 98 A year after Up s release R E M wrote the instrumental score to the Andy Kaufman biographical film Man on the Moon a first for the group The film took its title from the Automatic for the People song of the same name 99 The song The Great Beyond was released as a single from the Man on the Moon soundtrack album The Great Beyond only reached number 57 on the American pop charts but was the band s highest charting single ever in the UK reaching number three in 2000 27 R E M on tour in 2008 with long time collaborator Scott McCaughey R E M recorded the majority of its twelfth album Reveal 2001 in Canada and Ireland from May to October 2000 100 Reveal shared the lugubrious pace of Up 101 and featured drumming by Joey Waronker as well as contributions by Scott McCaughey a co founder of the band the Minus 5 with Buck and Ken Stringfellow founder of the Posies Global sales of the album were over four million but in the United States Reveal sold about the same number of copies as Up 102 The album was led by the single Imitation of Life which reached number six in the UK 103 Writing for Rock s Backpages The Rev Al Friston described the album as loaded with golden loveliness at every twist and turn in comparison to the group s essentially unconvincing work on New Adventures in Hi Fi and Up 104 Similarly Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone called Reveal a spiritual renewal rooted in a musical one and praised its ceaselessly astonishing beauty 105 In 2003 Warner Bros released the compilation album and DVD In Time The Best of R E M 1988 2003 and In View The Best of R E M 1988 2003 which featured two new songs Bad Day and Animal At a 2003 concert in Raleigh North Carolina Berry made a surprise appearance performing backing vocals on Radio Free Europe He then sat behind the drum kit for a performance of the early R E M song Permanent Vacation marking his first performance with the band since his retirement 106 R E M released Around the Sun in 2004 During production of the album in 2002 Stipe said The album sounds like it s taking off from the last couple of records into unchartered R E M territory Kind of primitive and howling 107 After the album s release Mills said I think honestly it turned out a little slower than we intended for it to just in terms of the overall speed of songs 108 Around the Sun received a mixed critical reception and peaked at number 13 on the Billboard charts 109 The first single from the album Leaving New York was a Top 5 hit in the UK 110 For the record and subsequent tour the band hired a new full time touring drummer Bill Rieflin who had previously been a member of several industrial music acts such as Ministry and Pigface and remained in that role for the duration of the band s active years 111 The video album Perfect Square was released that same year 2006 2011 Last albums recognition and breakup Edit R E M at the Royal Albert Hall in 2008 EMI released a compilation album covering R E M s work during its tenure on I R S in 2006 called And I Feel Fine The Best of the I R S Years 1982 1987 along with the video album When the Light Is Mine The Best of the I R S Years 1982 1987 the label had previously released the compilations The Best of R E M 1991 R E M Singles Collected 1994 and R E M In the Attic Alternative Recordings 1985 1989 1997 That same month all four original band members performed during the ceremony for their induction into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame 112 While rehearsing for the ceremony the band recorded a cover of John Lennon s 9 Dream for Instant Karma The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur a tribute album benefiting Amnesty International 113 The song released as a single for the album and the campaign featured Bill Berry s first studio recording with the band since his departure almost a decade earlier 114 In October 2006 R E M was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in its first year of eligibility 115 The band was one of five nominees accepted into the Hall that year and the induction ceremony took place in March 2007 at New York s Waldorf Astoria Hotel The group which was inducted by Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder performed three songs with Bill Berry Gardening at Night Man on the Moon and Begin the Begin as well as a cover of I Wanna Be Your Dog 116 Bassist Mike Mills performing in concert in 2008 Work on the group s fourteenth album commenced in early 2007 The band recorded with producer Jacknife Lee in Vancouver and Dublin where it played five nights in the Olympia Theatre between June 30 and July 5 as part of a working rehearsal 117 R E M Live the band s first live album featuring songs from a 2005 Dublin show was released in October 2007 118 The group followed this with the 2009 live album Live at The Olympia which features performances from its 2007 residency R E M released Accelerate in early 2008 The album debuted at number two on the Billboard charts 119 and became the band s eighth album to top the British album charts 120 Rolling Stone reviewer David Fricke considered Accelerate an improvement over the band s previous post Berry albums calling it one of the best records R E M have ever made 121 R E M onstage in 2008 In 2010 R E M released the video album R E M Live from Austin TX a concert recorded for Austin City Limits in 2008 The group recorded its fifteenth album Collapse into Now 2011 with Jacknife Lee in locales including Berlin Nashville and New Orleans For the album the band aimed for a more expansive sound than the intentionally short and speedy approach implemented on Accelerate 122 The album debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 becoming the group s tenth album to reach the top ten of the chart 123 This release fulfilled R E M s contractual obligations to Warner Bros and the band began recording material without a contract a few months later with the possible intention of self releasing the work 124 On September 21 2011 R E M announced via its website that it was calling it a day as a band Stipe said that he hoped fans realized it wasn t an easy decision All things must end and we wanted to do it right to do it our way 125 Long time associate and former Warner Bros Senior Vice President of Emerging Technology Ethan Kaplan has speculated that shake ups at the record label influenced the group s decision to disband 126 The group discussed breaking up for several years but was encouraged to continue after the lackluster critical and commercial performance of Around the Sun according to Mills We needed to prove not only to our fans and critics but to ourselves that we could still make great records 127 They were also uninterested in the business end of recording as R E M 128 The band members finished their collaboration by assembling the compilation album Part Lies Part Heart Part Truth Part Garbage 1982 2011 which was released in November 2011 The album is the first to collect songs from R E M s I R S and Warner Bros tenures as well as three songs from the group s final studio recordings from post Collapse into Now sessions 129 In November Mills and Stipe did a brief span of promotional appearances in British media ruling out the option of the group ever reuniting 130 2011 present Post breakup releases and events Edit In 2014 Unplugged The Complete 1991 and 2001 Sessions was released for Record Store Day 131 Digital download collections of I R S and Warner Bros rarities followed Later in the year the band compiled the video album box set REMTV which collected their two Unplugged performances along with several other documentaries and live shows while their record label released the box set 7IN 83 88 made up of 7 inch vinyl singles 132 In December 2015 the band members agreed to a distribution deal with Concord Bicycle Music to re release their Warner Bros albums 133 Continuing to maintain their copyright and intellectual property legacies in March 2016 the band signed a new music publishing administration deal with Universal Music Publishing Group 134 and a year later the band members left Broadcast Music Inc who had represented their performance rights for their entire career and joined SESAC 135 The first release after their new publishing status was the 2018 box set R E M at the BBC Live at the Borderline 1991 followed for 2019 s Record Store Day On March 24 2020 session and touring drummer Bill Rieflin who contributed on the band s last three records died of cancer after years of battling the disease 136 In September 2021 a full decade after disbanding Stipe reiterated that the band had no intention of regrouping We decided when we split up that that would just be really tacky and probably money grabbing which might be the impetus for a lot of bands to get back together 137 The group was nominated for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2023 138 Musical style Edit Fall on Me source source track Sample of Fall on Me from Lifes Rich Pageant 1986 which showcases Peter Buck s jangly arpeggiated guitar style and features Michael Stipe and Mike Mills harmonizing in the chorus Problems playing this file See media help R E M has been described as alternative rock 139 college rock 140 folk rock 141 jangle pop 142 and post punk 143 In a 1988 interview Peter Buck described R E M songs as typically Minor key mid tempo enigmatic semi folk rock balladish things That s what everyone thinks and to a certain degree that s true 144 All songwriting is credited to the entire band even though individual members are sometimes responsible for writing the majority of a particular song 145 Each member is given an equal vote in the songwriting process however Buck has conceded that Stipe as the band s lyricist can rarely be persuaded to follow an idea he does not favor 74 Among the original line up there were divisions of labor in the songwriting process Stipe would write lyrics and devise melodies Buck would edge the band in new musical directions and Mills and Berry would fine tune the compositions due to their greater musical experience 146 Michael Stipe sings in what R E M biographer David Buckley described as wailing keening arching vocal figures 147 Stipe often harmonizes with Mills in songs in the chorus for Stand Mills and Stipe alternate singing lyrics creating a dialogue 148 Early articles about the band focused on Stipe s singing style described as mumbling by The Washington Post which often rendered his lyrics indecipherable 18 Creem writer John Morthland wrote in his review of Murmur I still have no idea what these songs are about because neither me nor anyone else I know has ever been able to discern R E M s lyrics 149 Stipe commented in 1984 It s just the way I sing If I tried to control it it would be pretty false 150 Producer Joe Boyd convinced Stipe to begin singing more clearly during the recording of Fables of the Reconstruction 151 Stipe later called chorus lyrics of Sitting Still from R E M debut album Murmur nonsense saying in a 1994 online chat You all know there aren t words per se to a lot of the early stuff I can t even remember them In truth Stipe carefully crafted the lyrics to many early R E M songs 152 Stipe explained in 1984 that when he started writing lyrics they were like simple pictures but after a year he grew tired of the approach and started experimenting with lyrics that didn t make exact linear sense and it s just gone from there 150 In the mid 1980s as Stipe s pronunciation while singing became clearer the band decided that its lyrics should convey ideas on a more literal level 153 Mills explained After you ve made three records and you ve written several songs and they ve gotten better and better lyrically the next step would be to have somebody question you and say are you saying anything And Michael had the confidence at that point to say yes 154 Songs like Cuyahoga and Fall on Me on Lifes Rich Pageant dealt with such concerns as pollution 155 Stipe incorporated more politically oriented concerns into his lyrics on Document and Green Our political activism and the content of the songs was just a reaction to where we were and what we were surrounded by which was just abject horror Stipe said later In 1987 and 88 there was nothing to do but be active 156 Stipe has since explored other lyrical topics Automatic for the People dealt with mortality and dying Pretty turgid stuff according to Stipe 157 while Monster critiqued love and mass culture 156 Musically Stipe stated that bands like T Rex and Mott the Hoople really impacted me 158 Peter Buck s guitar playing style has defined R E M s sound Peter Buck s style of playing guitar has been singled out by many as the most distinctive aspect of R E M s music During the 1980s Buck s economical arpeggiated poetic style reminded British music journalists of 1960s American folk rock band the Byrds 159 Buck has stated Byrds guitarist Roger McGuinn was a big influence on me as a guitar player 160 but said it was Byrds influenced bands including Big Star and the Soft Boys that inspired him more 161 Comparisons were also made with the guitar playing of Johnny Marr of alternative rock contemporaries the Smiths While Buck professed being a fan of the group he admitted he initially criticized the band simply because he was tired of fans asking him if he was influenced by Marr 145 whose band had in fact made their debut after R E M 161 Buck generally eschews guitar solos he explained in 2002 I know that when guitarists rip into this hot solo people go nuts but I don t write songs that suit that and I am not interested in that I can do it if I have to but I don t like it 162 Mike Mills melodic approach to bass playing is inspired by Paul McCartney of the Beatles and Chris Squire of Yes Mills has said I always played a melodic bass like a piano bass in some ways I never wanted to play the traditional locked into the kick drum root note bass work 163 Mills has more musical training than his bandmates which he has said made it easier to turn abstract musical ideas into reality 160 Legacy Edit Pavement one of several bands to name R E M as an influence wrote the song Unseen Power of the Picket Fence in honor of them R E M was pivotal in the creation and development of the alternative rock genre AllMusic stated R E M mark the point when post punk turned into alternative rock 12 In the early 1980s the musical style of R E M stood in contrast to the post punk and new wave genres that had preceded it Music journalist Simon Reynolds noted that the post punk movement of the late 1970s and early 1980s had taken whole swaths of music off the menu particularly that of the 1960s and that After postpunk s demystification and New Pop s schematics it felt liberating to listen to music rooted in mystical awe and blissed out surrender Reynolds declared R E M a band that recalled the music of the 1960s with its plangent guitar chimes and folk styled vocals and who wistfully and abstractly conjured visions and new frontiers for America one of the two most important alt rock bands of the day 164 With the release of Murmur R E M had the most impact musically and commercially of the developing alternative genre s early groups leaving in its wake a number of jangle pop followers 165 R E M s early breakthrough success served as an inspiration for other alternative bands Spin referred to the R E M model career decisions that R E M made that set guidelines for other underground artists to follow in their own careers Spin s Charles Aaron wrote that by 1985 They d shown how far an underground punk inspired rock band could go within the industry without whoring out its artistic integrity in any obvious way They d figured out how to buy in not sellout in other words they d achieved the American Bohemian Dream 166 Steve Wynn of Dream Syndicate said They invented a whole new ballgame for all of the other bands to follow whether it was Sonic Youth or the Replacements or Nirvana or Butthole Surfers R E M staked the claim Musically the bands did different things but R E M was first to show us you can be big and still be cool 167 Biographer David Buckley stated that between 1991 and 1994 a period that saw the band sell an estimated 30 million albums R E M asserted themselves as rivals to U2 for the title of biggest rock band in the world 168 Over the course of its career the band has sold over 85 million records worldwide 169 Colin Larkin s All Time Top 1000 Albums stated that Their catalogue is destined to endure as critics reluctantly accept their considerable importance in the history of rock 170 Alternative bands such as Nirvana Pavement Radiohead 171 Coldplay 172 Pearl Jam the band s vocalist Eddie Vedder inducted R E M into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 173 Live 174 Stone Temple Pilots 173 Collective Soul 173 Alice in Chains 173 Hootie and the Blowfish 173 and Pwr Bttm 175 have drawn inspiration from R E M s music When I was 15 years old in Richmond Virginia they were a very important part of my life Pavement s Bob Nastanovich said as they were for all the members of our band 176 Pavement s contribution to the No Alternative compilation 1993 was Unseen Power of the Picket Fence a song about R E M s early days 177 Local H according to the band s Twitter account created their name by combining two R E M songs Oddfellows Local 151 and Swan Swan H 178 Black Francis of the Pixies has described Murmur as hugely influential on his songwriting 179 Kurt Cobain of Nirvana was a fan of R E M and had unfulfilled plans to collaborate on a musical project with Stipe 180 Cobain told Rolling Stone in an interview earlier that year I don t know how that band does what they do God they re the greatest They ve dealt with their success like saints and they keep delivering great music 181 During his show at the 40 Watt Club in October 2018 Johnny Marr said As a British musician coming out of the indie scene in the early 80s which I definitely am and am proud to have been I can t miss this opportunity to acknowledge and pay my respects and honor the guys who put this town on the map for us in England I m talking about my comrades in guitar music R E M The Smiths really respected R E M We had to keep an eye on what those guys were up to It s an interesting thing for me as a British musician and all those guys as British musicians to come to this place and play for you guys knowing that it s the roots of Mike Mills and Bill Berry and Michael Stipe and my good friend Peter Buck 182 Cliff Burton from Metallica mentioned them as one of his favorite bands in the mid 1980 s I have been listening to a lot of REM I really like them for some reason They are really good I think 183 Awards EditMain article List of awards and nominations received by R E M Campaigning and activism Edit Michael Stipe has used his celebrity status to support political and humanitarian causes he is seen here at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival which was created to renew that neighborhood of New York City after the September 11 attacks Throughout R E M s career its members sought to highlight social and political issues According to the Los Angeles Times R E M was considered to be one of the United States most liberal and politically correct rock groups 184 The band s members were on the same page politically sharing a liberal and progressive outlook 185 Mills admitted that there was occasionally dissension between band members on what causes they might support but acknowledged Out of respect for the people who disagree those discussions tend to stay in house just because we d rather not let people know where the divisions lie so people can t exploit them for their own purposes An example is that in 1990 Buck noted that Stipe was involved with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals but the rest of the band were not 186 R E M helped raise funds for environmental feminist and human rights causes and were involved in campaigns to encourage voter registration 66 During the Green tour Stipe spoke on stage to the audiences about a variety of socio political issues 187 Through the late 1980s and 1990s the band particularly Stipe increasingly used its media coverage on national television to mention a variety of causes it felt were important One example is during the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards Stipe wore a half dozen white shirts emblazoned with slogans including rainforest love knows no colors and handgun control now 188 R E M helped raise awareness of Aung San Suu Kyi and human rights violations in Myanmar when they worked with the Freedom Campaign and the US Campaign for Burma 189 Stipe himself ran ads for the 1988 election supporting Democratic presidential candidate and Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis over then Vice President George H W Bush 190 In 2004 the band participated in the Vote for Change tour that sought to mobilize American voters to support Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry 191 R E M s political stance particularly coming from a wealthy rock band under contract to a label owned by a multinational corporation received criticism from former Q editor Paul Du Noyer who criticized the band s celebrity liberalism saying It s an entirely pain free form of rebellion that they re adopting There s no risk involved in it whatsoever but quite a bit of shoring up of customer loyalty 192 From the late 1980s R E M was involved in the local politics of its hometown of Athens Georgia 193 Buck explained to Sounds in 1987 Michael always says think local and act local we have been doing a lot of stuff in our town to try and make it a better place 194 The band often donated funds to local charities and helped renovate and preserve historic buildings in the town 195 66 R E M s political clout was credited with the narrow election of Athens mayor Gwen O Looney twice in the 1990s 196 66 The band is a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism 197 Members Edit R E M on their final tour from left to right guitarist Peter Buck on keyboard touring musician Scott McCaughey vocalist Michael Stipe back to camera touring drummer Bill Rieflin and bassist Mike Mills Scott McCaughey was a touring member of R E M from 1994 till their disbandment Main members Edit Bill Berry drums percussion backing vocals occasional bass and keyboards 1980 1997 occasional concert appearances with the band 2003 2007 Peter Buck lead guitar mandolin banjo occasional bass keyboards and drums 1980 2011 Mike Mills bass keyboards backing vocals occasional lead vocals and guitar 1980 2011 Michael Stipe lead vocals occasional harmonica percussion and guitar 1980 2011 Managers Edit Several publications made by the band such as album liner notes and fan club mailers list attorney Bertis Downs and manager Jefferson Holt alongside the four founding band members the two started working with R E M in the early 1980s and Holt left in 1996 198 90 Touring and session musicians Edit Buren Fowler rhythm guitar 1986 1987 Peter Holsapple rhythm guitar bass keyboards 1989 1991 Scott McCaughey rhythm guitar keyboards backing vocals occasional lead guitar and bass 1994 2011 Nathan December rhythm and lead guitar percussion 1994 1995 Joey Waronker drums percussion 1998 2002 Barrett Martin percussion 1998 Ken Stringfellow keyboards bass backing vocals occasional rhythm guitar 1998 2005 Bill Rieflin drums percussion occasional keyboards and guitar 2003 2011 Timeline EditDiscography EditMain articles R E M discography and List of songs recorded by R E M Studio albums Murmur 1983 Reckoning 1984 Fables of the Reconstruction 1985 Lifes Rich Pageant 1986 Document 1987 Green 1988 Out of Time 1991 Automatic for the People 1992 Monster 1994 New Adventures in Hi Fi 1996 Up 1998 Reveal 2001 Around the Sun 2004 Accelerate 2008 Collapse into Now 2011 Concert tours EditMain article List of R E M concert tours 1981 Rapid Eye Movement Tour 199 1982 Chronic Town Tour 1983 Murmur Tour 1984 Little America Tour 1985 Reconstruction Tour 1986 Pageantry Tour 1987 Work Tour 1989 Green World Tour 1995 Monster World Tour 1998 99 Up World Tour 2001 Reveal World Tour 2003 In Time World Tour 2004 05 Around the Sun World Tour 2008 Accelerate World TourSee also Edit Rock music portal Georgia U S state portalList of alternative rock artistsReferences Edit Marcus Gray 1997 It Crawled from the South An R E M Companion Da Capo p 68 ISBN 0 306 80751 3 Marcus Gray 1997 It Crawled from the South An R E M Companion Da Capo p 47 ISBN 0 306 80751 3 Marcus Gray 1997 It Crawled from the South An R E M Companion Da Capo p 194 ISBN 0 306 80751 3 Erlewine Stephen Thomas Reveal R E M AllMusic Archived from the original on October 20 2020 Retrieved August 31 2020 a b Blake Gumprecht Winter 1983 Interview with R E M Alternative America Fanzine a b c d Niimi J April 28 2018 R E M s first ever show Opening band at a birthday party in a church Salon Archived from the original on April 29 2018 Retrieved April 29 2018 Bill Holdship September 1985 R E M Rock Reconstruction Getting There Creem David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 30 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 Phil W Hudson April 20 2016 Q amp A The Progressive Global Agency President Buck Williams talks Widespread Panic R E M Chuck Leavell Atlanta Business Chronicle Archived from the original on February 3 2017 Retrieved February 2 2017 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 39 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 The Father Of Sleep Science Dr William Dement Dies At 91 NPR Event occurs at 1 38 Archived from the original on June 25 2020 Retrieved June 24 2020 a b Stephen Thomas Erlewine R E M gt Biography AllMusic Retrieved December 3 2010 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 41 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 46 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin pp 53 54 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 Denise Sullivan 1994 Talk About the Passion R E M An Oral Biography Underwood Miller p 27 ISBN 0 88733 184 X Marcus Gray 1997 It Crawled from the South An R E M Companion Da Capo p 497 ISBN 0 306 80751 3 a b Joe Sasfy May 10 1984 Reckoning with R E M The Washington Post David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 59 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin pp 61 63 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin pp 66 67 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 Richard Grabel December 11 1982 Nightmare Town NME David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 72 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 78 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin pp 78 82 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 73 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 a b c d e f g h i j David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin pp 357 58 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 Radio Free Europe Archived July 12 2012 at the Wayback Machine Rolling Stone December 9 2004 Retrieved on September 21 2011 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 95 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 Marcus Gray 1997 It Crawled from the South An R E M Companion Da Capo p 432 ISBN 0 306 80751 3 Marcus Gray 1997 It Crawled from the South An R E M Companion Da Capo p 434 ISBN 0 306 80751 3 Mat Snow 1984 American Paradise Regained R E M s Reckoning NME David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 115 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin pp 131 132 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 135 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 Interview with R E M Melody Maker June 15 1985 Darryl White 1985 Concert Chronology R E M Timeline Archived from the original on January 1 2015 Retrieved January 1 2015 slicing up eyeballs July 29 2011 Vintage Video Full R E M concert from 1985 s Fables tour filmed for Rockpalast Slicing Up Eyeballs Archived from the original on January 1 2015 Retrieved January 1 2015 Stephen Thomas Erlewine Artist Biography AllMusic Archived from the original on December 28 2014 Retrieved January 1 2015 Stipe whose on stage behavior was always slightly strange entered his most bizarre phase as he put on weight dyed his hair bleached blonde and wore countless layers of clothing Darryl White 1985 Concert Chronology R E M Timeline Archived from the original on January 1 2015 Retrieved January 1 2015 This show was recorded for the German TV show Rockpalast WDR TV and it s well worth finding a copy of it to see Stipe s blonde hair some great cover songs and the hilarious moment when Stipe goes out into the crowd during We Walk and pats a big bearded guy on the head Tim Thompkins August 29 2007 Michael Stipe R E M Interview 1985 Murmurs com YouTube Archived from the original on December 21 2021 Retrieved January 1 2015 Michael Hann November 15 2012 Old music REM Feeling Gravity s Pull The Guardian London Guardian News and Media Archived from the original on January 1 2015 Retrieved January 1 2015 I bought tickets for the first of REM s shows at Hammersmith Palais in October 1985 The star of course was Michael Stipe His hair was cropped and dyed blond Robert Dean Lurie 2019 Begin the Begin R E M s Early Years Verse Chorus Press David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 140 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 159 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 Tom Popson October 17 1986 Onward and Upward and Please Yourself Chicago Tribune David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 151 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 Tony Fletcher 2002 Remarks Remade The Story of R E M Omnibus p 142 ISBN 0 7119 9113 8 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 160 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 Tony Fletcher 2002 Remarks Remade The Story of R E M Omnibus p 146 ISBN 0 7119 9113 8 Harold De Muir July 10 1987 There s No Reason It Shouldn t Be A Hit East Coast Rocker Jon Pareles September 13 1987 R E M conjures dark times on Document The New York Times Archived from the original on January 11 2008 Retrieved December 30 2007 Tony Fletcher 2002 Remarks Remade The Story of R E M Omnibus p 157 ISBN 0 7119 9113 8 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 163 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 174 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 177 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 Tony Fletcher 2002 Remarks Remade The Story of R E M Omnibus pp 170 171 ISBN 0 7119 9113 8 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 179 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 180 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 183 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 a b c d Tony Fletcher 2002 Remarks Remade The Story of R E M Omnibus p 296 ISBN 0 7119 9113 8 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 184 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 198 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 Tony Fletcher 2002 Remarks Remade The Story of R E M Omnibus p 181 ISBN 0 7119 9113 8 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 209 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 a b c d Gill Andy March 5 1991 The Home Guard Q Magazine 55 56 61 a b David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 287 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 205 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 204 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 Jon Pareles February 26 1992 Cole s Unforgettable Sweeps the Grammys The New York Times Archived from the original on January 11 2008 Retrieved December 30 2007 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 213 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 Watch Losing My Religion Live From MTV s 10th Anniversary Celebration R E M Hq November 14 2014 Archived from the original on May 8 2017 Retrieved March 8 2016 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 216 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 a b c David Fricke October 3 1992 Living Up to Out of Time Remote Control Parts I and II Melody Maker David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 218 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 217 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 236 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 Tony Fletcher 2002 Remarks Remade The Story of R E M Omnibus p 270 ISBN 0 7119 9113 8 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 248 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin pp 251 255 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 256 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 Tony Fletcher 2002 Remarks Remade The Story of R E M Omnibus p 274 ISBN 0 7119 9113 8 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 258 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 269 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 Melis Matt Gerber Justin Weiss Dan November 6 2017 Ranking Every R E M Album from Worst to Best Consequence of Sound Archived from the original on February 20 2020 Retrieved February 20 2020 Howe Sean November 15 2016 After a Trip Back in Time Michael Stipe Is Ready to Return to Music The New York Times p C6 Archived from the original on April 7 2020 Retrieved April 8 2020 Mojo November 1996 Peacock Tim September 9 2019 New Adventures In Hi Fi How R E M Expanded In All Directions Archived from the original on September 27 2020 Retrieved April 8 2020 Christopher John Farley December 16 1996 Waiting for the Next Big Thing Time Archived from the original on January 11 2008 Retrieved December 30 2007 a b Jim DeRogatis Fall 1996 New Adventures in R E M Request Archived from the original on October 17 2006 Retrieved December 30 2006 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 259 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 a b Miriam Longino October 31 1997 R E M To a different beat the famed Athens band becomes a threesome as drummer Bill Berry leaves to sit back and reflect Atlanta Journal Constitution David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 276 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 a b David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 280 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 Johnny Black 2004 Reveal The Story of R E M Backbeat p 232 ISBN 0 87930 776 5 Johnny Black 2004 Reveal The Story of R E M Backbeat p 233 ISBN 0 87930 776 5 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 286 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 292 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 R E M To Score Man On The Moon VH1 March 1 1999 Archived from the original on June 5 2011 Retrieved December 30 2007 Johnny Black 2004 Reveal The Story of R E M Backbeat pp 248 249 ISBN 0 87930 776 5 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 303 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 310 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 305 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 The Rev Al Friston December 2001 REM Reveal Warner Bros rocksbackpages com Archived from the original on October 19 2013 Rob Sheffield May 1 2001 R E M Reveal Rolling Stone Archived from the original on November 4 2007 Retrieved October 2 2007 MTV News staff October 14 2003 For The Record Quick News On Hilary Duff JC Chasez And Corey Taylor Mary J Blige Deftones Marilyn Manson amp More MTV Archived from the original on June 7 2022 Retrieved July 1 2007 Colin Devenish September 6 2002 R E M Get Primitive Rolling Stone Archived from the original on January 11 2008 Retrieved December 24 2007 Gary Graff September 11 2006 R E M Bringing Back The Rock On New Album Billboard Archived from the original on January 11 2008 Retrieved December 24 2007 Jonathan Cohen September 5 2006 R E M Plots One Off Berry Reunion New Album Billboard Archived from the original on July 3 2007 Retrieved July 1 2007 It s a Prydz and Stone double top NME UK October 3 2004 Archived from the original on January 11 2008 Retrieved December 30 2007 Andrew J Nusca May 2008 Bill Rieflin Steering R E M Into Harder Waters DRUMMagazine com Archived from the original on March 14 2011 Retrieved May 5 2011 R E M inducted into Music Hall of Fame USA Today September 17 2006 Archived from the original on October 15 2011 Retrieved May 12 2012 Josh Grossberg March 14 2007 R E M Back in the Studio E Online Archived from the original on September 16 2009 Retrieved July 26 2010 Jonathan Cohen March 12 2007 Original R E M Quartet Covers Lennon For Charity Billboard Archived from the original on July 28 2013 Retrieved May 17 2008 Joal Ryan October 30 2006 R E M Van Halen Headed to Hall E Online Archived from the original on September 16 2009 Retrieved July 26 2010 Jonathan Cohen March 13 2007 R E M Van Halen Lead Rock Hall s 07 Class Billboard Archived from the original on July 28 2013 Retrieved July 1 2007 REM begin recording new album NME UK May 24 2007 Archived from the original on June 26 2007 Retrieved July 3 2007 Jonathan Cohen August 21 2007 R E M Preps First Concert CD DVD Set Billboard Archived from the original on July 28 2013 Retrieved October 2 2007 Katie Hasty April 9 2008 Strait Speeds Past R E M To Debut At No 1 Billboard Archived from the original on July 28 2013 Retrieved April 10 2008 Paul Sexton April 7 2008 R E M Earns Eighth U K No 1 Album Billboard Archived from the original on June 20 2013 Retrieved April 10 2008 David Fricke April 3 2008 Accelerate review Rolling Stone Archived from the original on April 23 2008 Retrieved April 10 2008 William Goodman November 3 2010 R E M Tap Eddie Vedder Patti Smith for Next Album Spin Archived from the original on May 8 2015 Retrieved March 7 2011 Keith Caulfield March 16 2011 Lupe Fiasco s Lasers Lands at No 1 on Billboard 200 Billboard Archived from the original on December 31 2016 Retrieved March 30 2011 Matt Perpetua July 8 2011 R E M Begin Work on New Album Rolling Stone Straight Arrow Publishers Company LP Archived from the original on September 17 2011 Retrieved September 21 2011 Robin Hilton September 21 2011 R E M Calls It A Day Announces Breakup NPR org Archived from the original on September 21 2011 Retrieved September 21 2011 Matthew Perpetua September 21 2011 R E M Breaks Up After Three Decades Rolling Stone Straight Arrow Publishers Company LP Archived from the original on September 22 2011 Retrieved September 21 2011 David Fricke September 26 2011 Exclusive Mike Mills on Why R E M Are Calling It Quits Rolling Stone Straight Arrow Publishers Company LP Archived from the original on September 27 2011 Retrieved September 26 2011 Phil W Hudson April 21 2016 Q amp A Mike Mills of R E M talks reunion Georgia business decisions Atlanta Business Chronicle Archived from the original on February 3 2017 Retrieved February 2 2017 James C McKinley Jr September 21 2011 The End of R E M and They Feel Fine The New York Times Archived from the original on September 24 2011 Retrieved September 21 2011 Mike Hogan November 3 2011 R E M Won t Reunite Michael Stipe Says on U K TV Spin Archived from the original on September 29 2015 Retrieved November 5 2011 Jason Newman March 17 2014 R E M to Release 2 Unplugged Concerts for Record Store Day Rolling Stone Wenner Media LLC Archived from the original on July 29 2017 Retrieved September 10 2017 Craig Rosen November 18 2014 Shiny Happy Records R E M s Peter Buck Talks 7IN 83 88 and REMTV Reissues Yahoo Music Archived from the original on March 19 2017 Retrieved November 21 2014 Melinda Newman December 15 2015 R E M Taps Concord Bicycle to Handle Group s Warner Bros Catalog Exclusive Billboard Prometheus Global Media Archived from the original on November 8 2020 Retrieved April 21 2020 Lars Brandle March 10 2016 R E M Signs Global Catalog Deal With Universal Music Publishing Group Billboard Prometheus Global Media Archived from the original on October 12 2019 Retrieved April 21 2020 Marc Schnieder March 7 2017 R E M Signs Performing Rights Deal With SESAC Billboard Prometheus Global Media Archived from the original on October 30 2020 Retrieved April 21 2020 Rietmulder Michael March 25 2020 Seattle Musician Bill Rieflin of King Crimson R E M Dies at 59 The Seattle Times Archived from the original on March 25 2020 Retrieved March 25 2020 Triscari Caleb September 22 2021 Michael Stipe confirms R E M will never reunite NME Archived from the original on September 24 2021 Retrieved September 27 2021 Benitez Eves Tina November 14 2022 Bryan Adams Patti Smith R E M Ann Wilson Doobie Brothers Among 2023 Songwriters Hall of Fame Nominees American Songwriter Retrieved November 16 2022 Baltin Steve April 5 2020 10 R E M Great Songs That Aren t It s The End Of The World Spin Archived from the original on April 9 2021 Retrieved April 20 2021 But for those first getting into the Georgia based alt rock quartet of Michael Stipe Mike Mills Peter Buck and Bill Berry the lineup from 1980 through 1997 until Berry s departure or those who haven t listened to R E M for some time here is a guide to 10 of the band s best tracks R E M Rolling Stone Wenner Media Archived from the original on September 6 2017 Retrieved September 10 2017 R E M were a group of arty Athens Georgia guys who invented college rock Stipe Carrey Duet On R E M MTV com Archived from the original on June 30 2016 Retrieved June 20 2016 Erlewine Stephen Thomas Reckoning R E M AllMusic Archived from the original on June 29 2018 Retrieved April 26 2018 Erlewine Stephen Thomas R E M Reckoning review Allmusic Archived from the original on April 5 2015 Retrieved March 25 2015 Elianna Halbersberg November 30 1988 Peter Buck of R E M East Coast Rocker a b The Notorious Stuart Brothers A Date With Peter Buck Bucketfull of Brains December 1987 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 85 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 87 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin pp 180 181 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 John Morthland July 1983 R E M Murmur Creem a b John Platt December 1984 R E M Bucketfull of Brains David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 133 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 88 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 143 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 150 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin pp 156 157 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 a b Michael Olliffe January 17 1995 R E M in Perth On the Street David Cavanagh October 1994 Tune in cheer up rock out Q Hann Michael January 19 2018 I m a pretty good pop star Michael Stipe on his favourite REM songs The Guardian Archived from the original on June 21 2020 Retrieved July 2 2018 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 77 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 a b David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 81 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 a b Tony Fletcher 2002 Remarks Remade The Story of R E M Omnibus p 115 ISBN 0 7119 9113 8 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 80 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 105 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 Reynolds Simon Rip It Up and Start Again Postpunk 1978 1984 Penguin 2005 ISBN 0 14 303672 6 p 392 Stephen Thomas Erlewine American Alternative Rock Post Punk AllMusic Retrieved December 3 2010 Charles Aaron 2005 The R E M method and other rites of passage Spin 20 Years of Alternative Music Three Rivers Press 18 ISBN 0 307 23662 5 Denise Sullivan 1994 Talk About the Passion R E M An Oral Biography Underwood Miller p 169 ISBN 0 88733 184 X David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 200 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 Fricke David September 26 2011 Exclusive Mike Mills on Why R E M Are Calling It Quits Rolling Stone Wenner Media Archived from the original on September 27 2011 Retrieved June 20 2020 All Time Top 1000 Albums 3rd ed Virgin Books 2000 p 58 ISBN 0 7535 0493 6 David Fricke October 24 2011 The One I Love Radiohead s Thom Yorke on the Mystery and Influence of R E M Rolling Stone Archived from the original on August 26 2014 Retrieved November 29 2017 10 Bands That Inspired Coldplay WXRT September 6 2013 Archived from the original on December 1 2017 a b c d e Sommer Tim May 29 2018 How R E M Changed American Rock Forever Inside Hook Archived from the original on November 9 2020 Retrieved April 24 2020 Kevin Catchpole October 30 2013 Ed Kowalczyk The Flood and the Mercy PopMatters Archived from the original on December 1 2017 Retrieved November 29 2017 Lindner Emilee May 3 2017 PWR BTTM Is America s Next Great Rock Band Vice Archived from the original on January 28 2020 Retrieved September 10 2019 Charles Aaron October 2005 Notes From The Under Ground SPIN p 122 Archived from the original on November 14 2021 Retrieved September 26 2020 Charles Aaron August 1995 R E M Comes Alive Spin Local H on Twitter Archived from the original on March 28 2016 Retrieved August 2 2016 Pelley Rich February 3 2022 Pixies frontman Black Francis Kim Deal We re always friends but nothing is for ever theguardian com Retrieved April 9 2022 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin pp 239 240 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Fricke January 27 1994 Kurt Cobain The Rolling Stone Interview Rolling Stone Johnny Marr There Is A Light That Never Goes Out 40 Watt Club Athens GA 10 13 18 Archived September 2 2019 at the Wayback Machine YouTube published on October 14 2018 Interview with Cliff Burton conducted by Scott Heller Metal Madness 8 May 1986 https thecorroseum org fanzines metal madness 08 php Chuck Philips June 21 1996 R E M s Former Manager Denies Allegations of Sex Harassment Los Angeles Times David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 155 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 197 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 186 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin pp 195 196 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 Bands back Burma activist Suu Kyi BBC Online September 22 2004 Archived from the original on September 22 2013 Retrieved June 30 2007 Craig McLean March 8 2008 REM reborn The Daily Telegraph Archived from the original on January 10 2022 Retrieved December 11 2009 Josh Tyrangiel October 3 2004 Born to Stump Time Archived from the original on November 3 2007 Retrieved July 1 2007 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 299 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 192 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 Roy Wilkinson September 12 1987 The Secret File of R E M Sounds David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 194 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 David Buckley 2002 R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin p 195 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 Artists Artists Against Racism artistsagainstracism org Archived from the original on October 7 2018 Retrieved June 19 2018 Cf e g the liner notes to Monster The R E M Timeline www remtimeline com a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Sources Edit Black Johnny Reveal The Story of R E M Backbeat 2004 ISBN 0 87930 776 5 Buckley David R E M Fiction An Alternative Biography Virgin 2002 ISBN 1 85227 927 3 Gray Marcus It Crawled from the South An R E M Companion Da Capo 1997 Second edition ISBN 0 306 80751 3 Fletcher Tony Remarks Remade The Story of R E M Omnibus 2002 ISBN 0 7119 9113 8 Platt John editor The R E M Companion Two Decades of Commentary Schirmer 1998 ISBN 0 02 864935 4 Sullivan Denise Talk About the Passion R E M An Oral Biography Underwood Miller 1994 ISBN 0 88733 184 XExternal links EditR E M at Wikipedia s sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons Quotations from Wikiquote Data from Wikidata Official website R E M on the Internet Archive R E M at Curlie R E M accolades at Acclaimed Music R E M at AllMusic R E M discography at Discogs R E M discography at MusicBrainz Dynamic Range DB entry for R E M 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