R.   E.  M.

during the Monster era (R.E.M. looking their coolest)

place of origin:

Athens, GA. U.S.A.

styles:

highly original haunting, insrospective alternative jangle-pop which is one minute bright and shimmering and the next dark and moody

influences:

The Bealtes, The Beach Boys, The Byrds, Velvet Underground, Patti Smith

records:

Chronic Town (1982)

Murmer (1983)

Reckoning (1984)

Fables of The Reconstruction (1985)

Life's Rich Pageant (1986)

Document (1987)

Eponymous (1988)

Green (1988)

Out of Time (1991)

Automatic for The People (1992)

Monster (1994)

New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996)

Up (1998)

personal quotes:

"I probably embody that whole cynicism/idealism conundrum that my generation and people younger than me carry".

-Michael Stipe

R.E.M. was a pioneer among pioneers, a becon of innovation shining brightly in the world of post-punk D.I.Y. who's followers were varied and incalcuablely vast. Although they switched from prestigious indie label I.R.S. to major Warners in 1988, R.E.M. never favoured comercial interests over inventiveness and creativity in the least. They, arguably, may not have been the best of their generation, yet certainly proved to be the most unifying, giving alternative music a direction and raising a flag which all future underground acts could proudly wave. The band's sound, while often testing even their own boundaries, is typically defined by Peter Buck's brightly shimmering broken-chord guitar style, Michael Stipe's cryptic, brooding vocals, and Mike Mills melodic basslines and airy harmonies. All four of the members having been active writers, R.E.M.'s repetoire flaunts a fluent variation. Often times they are presented as politically outspoken, and although they may have been so at times, Michael Stipes' points of view are no doubt sold-out neo-liberalistic cliches, proclaiming a political correctness which is enough to make anyone under the guidance of rational thought rupture into merciless fits of vomiting. But more importantly, R.E.M. is a great band, and their presence in not only the enlightened realm but the more-than-often stagnant mainstream has been nothing but a blessing on the music world.

R.E.M.'s beginnings were as humble as would become their tremendous future. Michael Stipe was born to a military family constantly on the move, spending most of his time alone, listening to music and watching Andy Kaufmen on television. He met record store employee Peter Buck in Athens, Georgia while shopping. Both attended college, sharing a rabid interest in pop music. Deciding to form a band, they met up with fellow students Mike Mills (bass) and Bill Berry (drums), a solid rhythm section who'd performed in a number of local southern rock groups. Rehearsing in an abandoned Episcopal church and taking their name following Stipe's random thumbings through a dictionary, R.E.M. debuted as a college party band in 1980. Gradually developing a personal style and obvious originality, they became one of Athens' most popular bands and by 1981 they'd signed to tiny label Hip-Tone. The debut single "Radio Free Europe", showcased the strange, cryptic vocals/lyrics and shimmering guitar, a peculiar cross between darkness and light, which would come to define them.

Signing to I.R.S. R.E.M., released their debut ep Chronic Town in 1982. Critics were baffled at the band's ability to sound simultaneously traditional and progressive. The five-track record was quickly followed by the full-length Murmer (1983), to this day one of their greatest accomplishments. With its wonderfully simple melodies, care-free, yet haunting feel and breezy arrangements, Murmer has become one of the most heralded albums of the 80's and a defining point in post-punk underground music. A second lp, Reckoning, followed in 1984 and showcased a similar feel. R.E.M. had become the alternative world's hottest young guns with an already strong American following. The band's blatant attacks on mainstream pop and the comercially-minded MTV culture, constant touring and enigmatic album artwork became the admiration of every band in the American underground. R.E.M. even welcomed their immitators with open arms, inviting bands like Miracle Legion and Rain Parade on tour and mentioning them in interviews.

R.E.M.'s third album, Fables of the Reconstruction (1985), although selling on a far greater basis than its predecessors, was less of an artistic achievement. As always with R.E.M., the album received rave reviews from the press, yet it lacked Murmer's and Reckoning's strong melodic sense. The tunes were muttered by Stipe, with moods so dark they were almost unlistenable. The acception was the single "Driver 8", the moody, ringing guitar undercurrents and superb melody of which made the record worth it. Much of the blandness of Fables was corrected on the 1986 album Life's Rich Pageant, a delightful folkish collection that, again, outsold anything which preceeded it. Yet it still failed to match the brilliance of the band's first two albums. That same year a compilation of b-sides and rarities surfaced as Dead Letter Office. R.E.M. remained a relentless touring act and Stipe was now entering into his most bizarre of stage antics, sporting multi-layered clothing, thick, black eye makeup and dyed hair.

Finally R.E.M. would unleash an album that matched Murmer, the edgy Document. With Buck's guitar riffs becoming increasingly bold and confident, and Stipe's lyrics becoming increasingly discernable, the band was again blazing brand new trails. This album brought R.E.M., for the first time, before a mainstream audience, climbing into the top ten on the strength of the single "The One I Love", a gutsy-guitar cut draped by wandering, focusless lyrical observation. R.E.M. had become a comercial force without even trying. The album also reached the U.K. top 40 and wielded two more hit singles, "Finest Worksong" and the ironic "The End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)".

1988 saw the end of R.E.M.'s indie contract with I.R.S., as the band signed over to Warner Brothers for a small fortune. Perhaps the band was seen as sell-outs, yet it became apparent that they were far from compromise as they unleashed their hardest record yet, the distortion-laden Green (1988). The first single, however, was somewhat of a poor relfection on the entire album as "Stand" was one of R.E.M.'s poppiest songs to date. Upon commencing the 'Green' tour the group found themselves to have become a stadium-filling attraction. Certainly they'd come a long way since their college party gigs, and they'd brought alternative music as a whole with them. Yet they still remained a club act in the U.K.

Drained from years of endless touring, the members of R.E.M. took a much needed vacation for all of 1989. This would mark the first time since 1981 that a year went by without an R.E.M. album to accompany it. 1991 finally saw the release of Out of Time, and indeed R.E.M. had changed since days of old, evolving from a tight, four-person unit into a loose, slicker studio band, incorporating strings, horns and other artists into the arrangements. It was, without question, one of their most excellent albums, and arguably the best they'd ever release (this is my personal perspective). The shimmering guitar jangle of "Shiny Happy People", "Belong" and "Near Wild Heaven" revealed a return to the brightness of old while the funky feel of "Radio Song" saw R.E.M. once again, treading new waters. Without question the band was once again taking on a folkier guise, with Buck experimenting with mandolin and slide guitar on pieces such as "Losing My Religion" and "Country Feedback". The album went platinum several times, yet due to weariness of on-the-road-life no tour would follow. The former became a massive hit. R.E.M. had conquered the mainstream without compromise.

I realize I am in the extreme minority on this matter, but from this point on I see a decline in R.E.M.'s work. Perhaps this went hand in hand with the comercial success, but I see it more as a result of an artist having already reached its peak. The next album, Automatic for The People (1992) is typically seen as R.E.M.'s finest moment (the band themselves share this view). No doubt there were many excellent moments, from the gorgeously heartbreaking ballads "Everybody Hurts", "Find the River" and "Nightswimming" to the utterly perfect single "Man on the Moon" (a tribute to Stipe's hero Andy Kaufman), but too often the record is over-produced, even if the songs are well written. It is overall one of the band's best album, but they have outdone it many times with records like Murmer, Reckoning, Document and Out of Time.

Two years later the 1994 album Monster displayed a return to the guitar heavy rock of Green, only this time with a somewhat grungy feel. With a fresh, guitar-heavy sound the album rocked excellently, some of the finer cuts being the two singles "Strange Currencies" and "Crush With Eyeliner" (the later even depicting Stipe obsessing over a woman). It was a huge success, and a unanimous critical smash. With such support the band finally returned to the road for the first time in five years. Two-months later Bill Berry suffered a brain aneurysm and had to be hospitalized. He underwent surgery and was in playing condition two months later when the tour resumed. Yet this was only the beginning of the 'Monster' tour's interuptions. Mills would undergro surgery to remove an intestinal tumor and Stipe would visit the hospital to cure a hernia emergency. Despite the problems the tour was a massive financial success.

1996 would see the release of New Adventures in Hi-Fi, a stronger record than Monster which, strangely, failed to accumulate the massive sales R.E.M. had become so known for in recent times. The irony of this situation was added to by the fact that the band had just resigned to Warners for a reported eighty million dollars. Yet far more shocking events were to come. In 1997 Bill Berry announced he was leaving R.E.M. to retire to a quite life on his own personal farm. Perhaps the most unexpected departure in rock history, the band announced no plans to replace him. The group's first album as a trio, Up, features a drum machine, tambourines, shakers and everything else capable of replacing a drummer. It was, in fact, R.E.M.'s poorest album to date, defined by languid melancholia and out of place experimentation. For the first time in their entire career, R.E.M. received mixed reviews rather than the unanimous wave of praise writers so eagerly had showered them with in the past. Perhaps R.E.M. trully was a four-person unit, incapable of soaring without one of these pieces, or perhaps they'd simply given all they'd had to give. Yet they ended on an excellent note, with the superb single "The Great Beyond" released on the soundtrack for the film 'Man on the Moon', a biographical movie on Andy Kaufmen.

There are several really nice R.E.M. websites, but beware, there are lots of little pointless duds as well. The best of them is The Official R.E.M. Site, Be A Monster, File Under R.E.M., Stipey.Com, the discuccion center Murmers.Com and The R.E.M. Internet Resource Guide.

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