I’m always fascinated by how music groups come together, make their own special brand of music, and handle the success and fame that comes with it. The Name of This Band is R.E.M.: A Biography (2024) presents the history of a band who stayed together for 30+ years. Peter Ames Carlin interviews many key figures around R.E.M. and shares the stories of the band’s successes…and mistakes.
Four college friends – Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry – banded together in the Spring of 1980 to play their very first performance at a college party in Athens, Georgia. That led to a record contract with a small record company, I.R.S. Records, and five albums later, R.E.M. was one of the top bands in the U.S. In 1988, R.E.M. then signed with Warner Records and their album sales soared!
Although the 1990s was a transition period for the band, R.E.M. managed to continue to build their audience, to tour internationally, and to increase sales. Are you a fan of R.E.M.? Do you have a favorite R.E.M. song? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction: The Things They Wouldn’t Do — 1
Part I The Music of Dissent
1 Super Fucking Famous — 13
2 Birdland — 16
3 Bad Habits — 27
4 An Oasis for Artists and Misfits — 33
5 Dance This Mess Around — 39
6 Let’s Make a Band — 44
7 Don’t Rock ‘n’ Roll, No! — 49
8 A Party in the Church — 60
Part II “We’re Still Laughing. It’s a Real Shock.”
9 Picture James Brown Fronting the Dave Clark Five — 69
10 We Weren’t Really Close in a Lot of Ways — 77
11 Hey, He Really Knows His Shit! — 87
12 A Certain Amount of Chaos — 93
13 Sit and Try for the Big Kill — 101
14 Lots of Impressive First-Time Songs — 108
15 Wolves Out the Door — 115
16 Chronic Town, Poster Torn — 124
17 Murmuring — 129
18 R.E.M. Submits — 136
19 A Collective Fist — 144
Part III This One Goes Out
20 Here We Are — 155
21 My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord — 162
22 Shadowfax — 167
23 So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star — 172
24 Gravity Pulling Me Around — 178
25 A Magic Kingdom, Open-Armed — 187
26 What If We Give It Away? — 196
27 Life’s Rich Demand — 206
28 Things We Never Thought Would Happen Have Happened — 212
29 Conquest — 222
Part IV The Monster
30 Hi, Hi, Hi, Hi — 235
31 Are You Ready to Rock ‘n’ Roll? — 241
32 The Fever — 251
33 A Breath, This Song — 257
34 Near Wild Heaven — 262
35 Shiny Happy — 270
36 The Most Improbably Successful Group in Music Today — 277
37 These Are Days — 284
38 Does Everyone Still Want to Do This? — 295
39 Enter the Monster — 308
40 Did Someone Put a Curse on Us? — 319
Part V The Name of This Band Is R.E.M. and This Is What We Do
41 How the West Was Won…– 333
42 …And Where It Got Us — 342
43 I’m Outta Here — 350
44 Airportmen — 359
45 The Name of This Band Is R.E.M — 368
46 The Murmurers — 375
47 This Is Going to Be Loud — 384
48 It Was What It Was — 392
49 Let’s All Get On with It — 401
Acknowledgments — 411
Notes — 415
Bibliography — 427
Index — 429
GRADE: A
TRACK LIST:
| Man On The Moon | 5:14 | ||
| The Great Beyond | 5:07 | ||
| Bad Day | 4:08 | ||
| What’s The Frequency Kenneth? | 4:01 | ||
| All The Way To Reno | 4:46 | ||
| Losing My Religion | 4:29 | ||
| E-Bow The Letter | 5:26 | ||
| Orange Crush | 3:53 | ||
| Imitation Of Life | 3:58 | ||
| Daysleeper | 3:40 | ||
| Animal | 4:03 | ||
| The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite | 4:08 | ||
| Stand | 3:12 | ||
| Electrolite | 4:07 | ||
| All The Right Friends | 2:48 | ||
| Everybody Hurts | 5:19 | ||
| At My Most Beautiful | 3:36 | ||
| Nightswimming | 4:18 | ||
| Rarities And B-Sides | |||
| Pop Song ’89 (Acoustic) | 2:59 | ||
| Turn You Inside Out | 4:18 | ||
| Fretless | 4:51 | ||
| Chance (Dub) | 2:35 | ||
| It’s A Free World Baby | 5:14 | ||
| Drive (Live) | 4:01 | ||
| Star Me Kitten | 3:31 | ||
| Revolution | 3:05 | ||
| Leave (Alt. Version) | 4:43 | ||
| Why Not Smile (Alt. Version) | 3:02 | ||
| The Lifting (Demo) | 5:22 | ||
| Beat A Drum (Demo) | 4:29 | ||
| 2JN | 3:28 | ||
| The One I Love (Live) | 3:26 | ||
| Country Feedback (Live) | 6:17 | ||
| Bad Day |
The Eighties! Not in my wheelhouse! I can’t name one of their songs!
Bob, I’m sure you’ve heard “Losing My Religion.”
Care to make a bet?
Bob, you’re the gambler…not me.
I’d say my favorite songs of theirs left off your compilation are “(Don’t Go Back to) Rockville” and “Pretty Persuasion” from the second album, RECKONING…the only one I’ve owned (though people I lived with have had others, at various pints). Their releases on IRS sold pretty damned well, as well. I’d actually bought it to send to a friend named Deb Fox, who since has had a career in music, who was at college in Switzerland, but who had enough wherewithal to actually pick up a “gold”-selling album without too much trouble.
“(Don’t Go Back to) Rockville”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fXCjSgItgw
“Pretty Persuasion”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvlMCJv77V0
It might be for me at that time that these were among their most kinda Byrdsish songs, though the attitude expressed in both spoke to me in 1984, as I’d just moved to Northern VA,not far from Rockville. I sent along a tape of the Bangles’ first album to Deb, instead…she was more impressed than she expected to be. It is a good album, the best they would record till after the first breakup.
Todd, I need to listen to more early R.E.M. music.
Todd, IRS also brought out a GREATEST HITS CD of R.E.M. songs but I don’t have a copy.
The Bangles: “Dover Beach”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g2SgjAeUEI
And that whole first album: ALL OVER THE PLACE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbTXlcxZPFY
One of Deb Fox’s more unconventional recordings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND2Y4vPPryM
https://www.discogs.com/artist/540643-Debbie-Fox
“Fall on Me”—which sounds a bit like Johnny Rivers, imho. I’ve loved REM since I first heard “Radio Free Europe” and “South Central Rain” on L.A.’s KROQ in the early 1980s. Other favorites include “Me in Honey”, “Superman” (a cover), “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight”, “Shiny Happy People” (which Stipe now claims to hate), “Driver 8” (which was covered—beautifully—by Hootie & the Blowfish), “Man in the Moon”, and “The Great Beyond”. And, truthfully, so many others because REM is one of my all-time favorite bands.
I only saw them in concert once. It was after Bill Berry had his brain tumor removed but before he left the band (the “Monster” tour, maybe?). Luscious Jackson (who had a big hit around that time with “Naked Eye”) were the opening act. And Lindsey Buckingham joined REM on stage to play guitar on several songs.
Deb, “Shiny Happy People” was on Heavy Rotation on our local radio stations. Like you, I really like Hootie & The Blowfish cover of “Driver 8.” I was impressed with Lindsey Buckingham’s performance when Fleetwood Mac performed in Buffalo in 2019.
I’ve heard of them and Michael Stipe, but that’s the end of my knowledge. I am sure if I looked them up I would probably recognize something, but…
Jeff, Western NY is getting hit with another round of snow. Last year, I used Big Orange THREE times! Today, I’ll snowblow for the 14th time!
OK, after reading Deb’s post I will amend mine: no, I know nothing.
Jeff, yet Deb knows EVERYTHING!
You guys are too kind! 😊
Deb, your vast knowledge adds so much to this blog! You are a wonder!
I was in college when their first album, “Murmur” came out. It was the beginning of the College Rock scene (later called Alternative, then Indie) and they were THE band of the moment and I confess I was bitten by the bug. I caught them in a small theater just outside of Detroit that first year, then a larger theater two years later when “Reckoning” came out. Stipe was still in his mumble phase of vocals and the band had its then signature murky Velvet Undergroundesque sound. They were great shows.
I lost most of my interest after “Fables-” came out with it’s crisp production and clear vocals and did not care for the Warner Brothers’ albums but I was of course very much in the minority. I was managing a record store by that point and took a date to one of their first big arena concerts. Stipe lectured the audience endlessly and the set feeled stagey and lifeless. We had backstage passes and hung out around the band afterward. Mike Mills and Bill Berry were wonderfully down to earth and friendly. Stipe was a miserable, pompous ass lecturing to the throng surrounding him. Peter Buck was off alone with a 5th of whiskey getting plastered.
I still love their first two albums and highly recommend them. While you’re at it, track down a copy of Rhino’s “Left of the Dial” eighties “underground ” music box set. That in itself is a great snapshot of a wonderful bygone era.
Byron, remarkably, I recently found a copy of LEFT OF THE DIAL and listened to the CDs in the set. Great music!
Because my kids listened to them round the clock, I do know a lot of their songs. And I still put them on you tube every now and again.
Patti, R.E.M. got a lot of airplay on the radio in our car as I was driving Patrick to his violin lessons and Katie to her flute lessons.