It's easy to underestimate the impact R.E.M. ultimately has had on the evolution of rock music. Originally an underground cult band, little known beyond college radio, they built their audience the old fashioned way; a little at a time, album by album. By the end of the 1980's they were experiencing their first taste of mainstream success; by the early 1990's they had become the biggest rock group on the planet. Their star has receded since their halcyon years, but they remain respected elder statesmen; still active 25 years after their initial formation, they are also one of the longest-lived bands of the post-punk era.
Beyond their hard-won chart successes they also deserve recognition for their music itself. A mixture of roots rock, Byrds-derived psychedelia, a little Velvet Underground, murky country/folk, garage rock, and Americana, they became staples of college rock during the 1980's college rock heyday, get credit for being the flagship jangle pop band (a title that diminishes them, actually), were among the first bands to be dubbed "alternative rock" at the turn of the 90's, and ultimately one of the most successful adult alternative pop/rock bands.
For those fans who discovered the group at the beginning, via the Chronic Town EP or Murmer album, R.E.M. has always remained a particularly special band; their underground appeal in the 1980's gave them the patina of unsung heroes, which made being among their limited fans something special. Their eventual commercial success was validation of these fans' belief that they were onto something very special.
Their career can be divided into roughly three stages; their 1981-1988 indie period, spent primarily with I.R.S. records, their 1989-1996 hitmaking years for Warner Brothers, and their erratic, experimental august years as a trio, following drummer Bill Berry's departure in 1997. While the core elements have always remained the same, Michael Stipe's often unintelligible singing, Peter Buck's ornate guitar textures, and Mike Mills' melodic basslines, each era represents a different sound and approach by the band, making their overall body of work a particularly interesting one.
![R.E.M. [Concert Poster] (1981)/](http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/140/remposter19818nk.jpg)
R.E.M. was formed in the college town of Athens, GA in 1980, a fertile breeding ground for bands; one of the most famous Athens bands at that time was the B-52's. R.E.M. has often been called a "Southern" band, although only bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry were actually from the South. Both were born in 1958 and attended high school together in Macon, GA; they were members of a variety of informal bands in their teens. Michael Stipe, two years their junior, had lived around the country as the child of military parents before majoring in art at the University of Georgia in Athens. Peter Buck, born in California in 1956, worked as a record store clerk in the area; it was via the record shop he encountered Stipe.
Stipe had been into the punk music of the day, particularly Patti Smith, Television, and Wire; Buck was a fanatical record collector, specializing in 60's rock but also a fan of punk and free jazz. When he and Stipe met, he was still just learning guitar. The two discovered an overlap in their musical tastes and became friends; a mutual friend introduced them to Mills and Berry. The four decided to form a band, originally called Twisted Kites, and played their first gig, at a friend's party on April 19, 1980. Their setlist relied heavily on garage band and punk covers; often including obscurites only a vinyl junkie like Buck would be likely to recognize.
Article comments
1 - Rob
Great overview. The Reconstruction album is still my personal favourite, with Murmer and Reckoning close behind. I did lose interest after Monster and haven't really followed them much since. They are still one of my bigger influences and have turned me on to other great bands (Indigo Girls, 10,000 Maniacs to name a few).
2 - Aaman
Humongous work - my vote for pick-of-the-week.
Why do you say that lyrically, the myths are gone?
3 - radio gnome
great write up, and nice pick for the concert poster with the Dream Syndicate. The second REM gig I attended had the Dream Syndicate opening, and I got to interview the Syndicate after the gig for my college radio station.
Those two bands appearing together were great. Fun times.
cheers.gnome
http://www.radiohidebound.com
if you liked listening to college radio in the 80's, you might just like radio hidebound
4 - Eric Berlin
Wow -- epic tour through the history of one of my favorite bands. It's a great piece, though I disagree in parts. For instance, I recently placed Life's Rich Pageant as my #3 album of my Top 100 (1985-2005). I also place New Adventures in my Top 25. Both albums just do it for me, I suppose -- brilliant and moving records.
5 - Tan The Man
A lot of people didn't like the Up! album, but I thought it was really good.
6 - Triniman
Excellent piece. I had the pleasure of seeing them in my city last year, for their first-ever performance here, in a 2300-seat theatre that sold out in a few minutes.
Will they ever recapture the glory of their landmark albums or will they become a nostalgia act? All I can say is that most bands are at heir creative peak for usually ten years or less, so maybe their best material is past them. I'll still be at the store on the first day, whenever their new releases arrive.
7 - Mark Saleski
nice writeup.
i was lucky enough to see REM on the Murmur tour. this was at the gym at the university of maine. Stipe was so introverted that he barely looked at the audience.
they were great though...
8 - uao
Thanks for reading;
Some thoughts and replies:
Aaman: The "myth" comment meant that the Southern Gothic reconstructed fables of the 80's seem to have largely been displaced by vaguer, more domestic concerns on the last few albums. Not entirely; I probably need to re-phrase that. But for the most part.
radio gnome: Glad the poster had meaning for you. It was a random choice; I wanted an early block-letters type poster, and Dream Syndicate was my favorite supporting act of the several I found; wish I had seen that gig.
Eric: Honestly, I was kinda bummed when Life's Rich Pageant came out, but it has grown on me over the years. I was totally enraptured by Fables, so anything would've been a comedown. Pageant is a likable album (as are all of their discs, although I never could get past the second song on Monster) R.E.M. albums really do mean different things to different people, and everyone really does have different favorites.
Tan: Up! does have its fans, I know. Another good album that for me was simply overshadowed by their greater ones.
I first heard of R.E.M. when the Village Voice reviewed it in '83, and I snapped it and Chronic Town both up on the same day unheard; the write-up had convinced me it would be what I had dreamed of hearing. They turned out to surpass my dreams.
A favorite early appearance they did was the Letterman Show in 1984, between Murmer and Reckoning. They did "Radio free Europe" and then Letterman asked them what the next song was called. Stipe didn't do any talking that night; Mills told him "It's too new, it doesn't have a name" before launching into an early "So. Central Rain"
There are precious few albums I listened to in the 80's more often than R.E.M.'s EP and first three albums, especially Fables.
I know this was a long post; thank you for sticking it out and leaving your thoughts. I was getting kind of nostaligic when I wrote it.
9 - uao
Dang! Forgot to close my italics tag again! I'll be more careful.
10 - Eric Berlin
There's a live acoustic version of So. Central Rain that I own, and I'm not sure where it's from. Possibly an MTV Unplugged album? In any event, it's one of the best things I've ever heard -- and I actually like it a lot more than the original version.
11 - uao
It's hard to guess, but the live "So. Central Rain" could be from the Canadian 2-track CD single "Animal" + "So. Central Rain [live]", released in 2003.
There are probably other live versions circulating too.
12 - Phillip Winn
Fantastic article. I thought I knew a bit about REM, but it turns out I knew very lttle indeed.
Thanks.
13 - stephen j
I stumbled onto this review after daydreaming about the trips over to Athens in the Fall of 1987-1989 to visit friends who went to UGA. That was when the members of REM still lived in Athens. Every night you would see them hanging out at a local bar or club, and you could talk to them without feeling threatend or intimidated. They were all nice guys.
I fall into the fan base that gave up on them after Green. I bought the next two albums after Green, in hopes that they would go back to the "pre-Document" sound, but it never happened. My favorites were Murmur through Document. I also saw them at the Fox theater in Atlanta, GA during the Lifes Rich Pagent tour. Incredible! I heard that Michael Stipe colored his hair with mustard when performing during that phase?
They seemed to loose it a little when the "southern" dissapeared from their lyrics and "style."
They are still one of my favorite bands of all time for sure. If you want to see a very good show, get the DVD that shows footage of the Green tour. They took versions of songs performed on the final three dates here in Atlanta and Macon, Georgia. Great Stuff! Also, keep your eye out for any REM bootlegs that have a version of "Bad Day." It was an out-take of one of their earlier albums, and it blows the recent version away!
Anyway, I felt compelled to write.
Awesome piece here!
sj
14 - uao
Thank you steven j. (and a late thanks to Phillip.)
stephen, you add a lot of intersting anecdotes in your comments to the post; I appreciate it.
I didn't seetheir 1989 tour, but I've heard many recordings from it; it was a good one (I kind of like their '87 tour better, but both are good).