R.E.M. (music group)

R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band active from 1980 to 2011. The group originally consisted of lyricist and lead singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and drummer Bill Berry. R.E.M.'s signature sound was a blend of folk rock with jangle pop, a form of alternative rock that recalls the appealing melodic sounds of 1960s bands. Although R.E.M. began as a kind of underground garage rock band, it gradually built a fan base into the late 1980s and early 1990s. It became one of the most commercially successful rock bands in the world, producing hit songs such as "Radio Free Europe," "Losing My Religion," "Man on the Moon," and "Everybody Hurts." The members of R.E.M. split amicably in 2011, after earning positive reviews and selling millions of albums over three decades. Following the breakup, Stipe became involved in sculpting and the visual arts, while his former bandmates continued playing music.

Background

Michael Stipe was born in 1960 to a father in the US armed forces, and as such, he and his family moved around the United States frequently. In the mid-1970s, Stipe became interested in New York's punk-rock scene and had soon joined a punk cover band in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1978, he began studying photography and painting at the University of Georgia in Athens.

Stipe soon met Peter Buck, a California native who was managing a record store near the university. The two discovered their shared passion for music and agreed to form a band, just as Buck was learning to play the guitar. Over the next year, Stipe and Buck recruited musicians Mike Mills and Bill Berry, two of Stipe's fellow students at the University of Georgia. Mills and Berry were friends who had played together in various short-lived rock bands.

The four officially formed a band in Athens in 1980, with Stipe on vocals, Buck on guitar, Mills on bass, and Berry on drums. Their first performance was at a friend's party, for which they rehearsed various punk and psychedelic songs in a converted church. The band was known as the Twisted Kites for several months before selecting the name R.E.M., a scientific term referring to the rapid eye movement of a person in deep sleep. Stipe had chosen the name from a dictionary.

In the summer of 1980, R.E.M. played its first concert out of state, a show in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. There, the bandmates were approached by Jefferson Holt, who had seen them perform and offered to become their manager. Holt soon scheduled R.E.M. for a number of appearances at venues throughout the South, where the band played folk- and garage-rock covers and original songs. The members of the group were still honing their musical skills at the time, with Buck developing his jangling guitar sound and Stipe perfecting his songwriting.

In 1981, R.E.M. recorded a demo tape at producer Mitch Easter's studio in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. "Radio Free Europe," a song from these recordings, was issued as a single and began earning heavy play on college radio stations around the country. On the strength of this initial effort, the record label I.R.S. offered R.E.M. a record deal in 1982. That year, R.E.M. released the extended play (EP) Chronic Town, which earned positive reviews. The band then started recording its first full-length studio album.

Impact

R.E.M.'s debut album, Murmur, was released in 1983 to nearly unanimous critical praise. It featured all the elements that would come to define the group's signature sound: mysterious lyrics, a chiming guitar, and catchy pop hooks. The group's second album, Reckoning, was released in 1984 to more positive reviews, although its content varied little from its predecessor. On Fables of the Reconstruction, released in 1985, the band added a more psychedelic sound to its work.

The album Document, released in 1987, produced R.E.M.'s first major hit single, "The One I Love." The band signed a lucrative recording contract with Warner Bros. in 1988 and released its next album, Green, later that year. By this point, the band members had become exhausted by their rigorous touring schedule and took some years off from performing. They returned to the musical forefront in 1991 with the album Out of Time, which yielded the massive hit single "Losing My Religion." The next year, R.E.M. released Automatic for the People, featuring the successful singles "Man on the Moon" and "Everybody Hurts."

R.E.M. earned $80 million in 1996 for re-signing with Warner Bros. That year, the band released the album New Adventures in Hi-Fi, which generated lackluster sales. Berry left the band in 1997, leaving Stipe, Buck, and Mills to continue as a trio. The group released the album Up in 1998, with various drummers and drum machines replacing Berry. Critics acknowledged the album's new, experimental sound. They welcomed the band's return to form on Reveal in 2001.

R.E.M. was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. The next year, the band released the album Accelerate, which critics lauded for its rock-oriented sound. Stipe, Buck, and Mills quickly began recording the group's next album, but they each admitted to one another that they had grown weary of playing as R.E.M. They decided that the album they were making at the time would be their last. Collapse into Now, R.E.M.'s fifteenth studio album, was released in 2011 to favorable reviews. Later that year, the group announced that R.E.M. would permanently disband. A retrospective greatest hits compilation, Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage: 1982–2011, was released after the announcement. Stipe then devoted himself to sculpting, while Buck and Mills continued playing music. In 2021, Stipe restated that R.E.M. did not intend to reunite as a band. In 2024, the band was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Bibliography

Fletcher, Tony. "'Hooray, We're Done': The Inside Story behind R.E.M.'s Disbandment." Salon, 7 Apr. 2013, www.salon.com/2013/04/07/hooray‗were‗done‗the‗inside‗story‗behind‗r‗e‗m‗s‗disbandment/. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.

Harvey, Eric. "R.E.M.: America's Greatest Band." Atlantic, 22 Sept. 2011, www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/09/rem-americas-greatest-band/245525/. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.

Hogan, Marc. "R.E.M.'s Peter Buck Explains the Band's Breakup." Pitchfork, 14 Mar. 2016, pitchfork.com/news/64145-rems-peter-buck-explains-the-bands-breakup/. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.

Kreps, Daniel. "Michael Stipe to Perform on 'Tonight Show.'" Rolling Stone, 26 Mar. 2016, www.rollingstone.com/music/news/michael-stipe-to-perform-on-tonight-show-20160326. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.

Newman, Jason. "Michael Stipe: Bernie Sanders' Appeal and Honesty Are Perfect for Now." Rolling Stone, 25 Feb. 2016, www.rollingstone.com/music/news/michael-stipe-bernie-sanders-appeal-and-honesty-are-perfect-for-now-20160225. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.

"R.E.M." All Music, www.allmusic.com/artist/rem-mn0000325459. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.

"R.E.M. Bio." Rolling Stone, www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/r-e-m/biography. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.

Sherman, Maria. "R.E.M. Reunite at Songwriters Hall of Fame Ceremony Also Honoring Timbaland and Steely Dan." AP, 14 June 2024, apnews.com/article/songwriters-hall-fame-timbalad-rem-steely-dan-40a0909a1e8d403e3bcbe03a7bab738c. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.