Unfortunately never got to see them live. I'm actually surprised that they stopped so long ago. I think this is because they still regularly spin on the turntable at De Platenbar. That's how R.E.M. stays alive!
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in 1980 in Athens, Georgia. The abbreviation R.E.M. stands for Rapid Eye Movement. In their early years, the band already built a considerable reputation, but the breakthrough to the mainstream came with the album Out Of Time. Very well-known hits include Losing My Religion and Shiny Happy People, and Everybody Hurts from Automatic for the People. After the release of Monster, which became a hit in the United States, Great Britain and the Netherlands, record label Warner Bros offered the most lucrative record deal signed up to that point: 80 million dollars for five albums. Singer Michael Stipe regularly expressed his social engagement and made no secret of it during performances. The distinctive compositions were a combination of folk and rock. In the 1980s, the band was seen as a prime example of alternative music. In 2006, R.E.M. was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.
On 21 September 2011, the band's website announced that R.E.M. was stopping, adding that the group looked back with much amazement but also gratitude on what had been achieved in 31 years of musical life.
"As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and conspirators, we have decided to call it a day. We step away with a great feeling of gratitude and amazement at all we have achieved. To everyone who has ever been touched by our music, our sincere thanks for listening."
Top 2000
In the 23rd edition of the Top 2000, R.E.M. featured with the following rankings:
Sunday Morning Classics: Out Of Time
A band like R.E.M. of course must not be missing from our Sunday Morning Classics. The album "Out of Time" was on the turntable with us on 2 August 2020.
It is almost impossible to discuss the rise of R.E.M. from enigmatic alternative rockers to stadium-filling pop stars without mentioning the band's seventh album, Out Of Time, and the brooding anthem "Losing My Religion". By 1991, the band had already conquered the college rock scene, but thanks to the universal embrace of the unconventional single on the radio, R.E.M. was finally able to cross over into pop culture consciousness.
While the aptly titled album opener "Radio Song" begins with a vintage piece of melancholic R.E.M., the mood of the track quickly shifts as the band confidently launches a funk-infused backbeat.
Although a novel could be written about the importance and impact of the album's next track, the transcendent ode to lost innocence that "Losing My Religion" is suffices to say that the song's enduring popularity is no accident. With its foundation of sombre mandolin chords and introspective lyrics, the song is one of those cornerstone gems that defined an entire generation.
In fact, the strength of Out Of Time lies in the way R.E.M. balances country-tinged tracks like the moody "Low" and the sorrowful "Country Feedback" with the familiar upbeat pop ("Near Wild Heaven", "Belong", "Texarkana") that characterised the I.R.S. years (I.R.S. Record Company).
Although the band has tried to distance itself from "Shiny Happy People", a track that actually offers a touch of self-deprecating humour in what is otherwise an extremely serious collection of melodies, meanwhile the enchanting "Me In Honey" showcases one of Stipe's best vocal performances to date.
Looking back on the band's career, Out Of Time might best be seen as the perfect bridge between the arena rock of its predecessor (Green) and the brooding focus of the band's magnum opus, Automatic For The People. For some, Out Of Time was the final nail in the coffin of their favourite rock band.
For others, it was the first time they heard the band on the radio. But whether seen as a new beginning or merely the start of the end, it is hard to dispute the impact of Out Of Time, a record that was above all a crucial turning point for R.E.M.
Source: Jan Liebregts and Wikipedia Photo: Flickr user Stark (Stefano Andreoli) and CityFeedback
