R.E.M.

Four University of Georgia students who turned Athens, Georgia into a destination, took college rock from a 1981 indie single to the top of the world's charts, and called it a day in 2011 on their own terms.

Origin: Athens, Georgia, United States
Years active: 1980-2011
Genres: college rock, alternative rock, jangle pop, folk rock
Labels: Hib-Tone, I.R.S., Warner Bros.

Athens

R.E.M. formed in 1980 in Athens, Georgia, when four University of Georgia students started playing together. Peter Buck met Michael Stipe that January, and with Mike Mills on bass and Bill Berry on drums the band played its first show on April 5, 1980, at a party in St. Mary's Episcopal Church. Stipe chose the name by picking a word at random from a dictionary. There was no national circuit for a band like theirs, so they toured the South. Their sound is filed under college rock, folk rock, jangle pop and post-punk.

In April 1981 they recorded Radio Free Europe with Mitch Easter at Drive-In Studio in Winston-Salem, and the Hib-Tone label issued it that July. The Chronic Town EP was recorded in October, they signed to I.R.S. in May 1982, and the EP appeared that August. Every member shared songwriting credit equally, a stringent democracy that Pitchfork's Stephen M. Deusner later singled out when he reviewed the 2008 deluxe edition of Murmur, and the band was known first as a live act.

The I.R.S. years

Murmur came out on April 12, 1983, produced by Easter and Don Dixon. It reached No. 36 in the United States, and Rolling Stone named it the best album of 1983. The band made its first national television appearance on Late Night with David Letterman that October. Reckoning followed in 1984 with the same producers, reached No. 27 in the United States and went to No. 1 on college radio airplay charts, Fables of the Reconstruction was recorded in London with Joe Boyd in 1985, the first R.E.M. album made outside the United States. Lifes Rich Pageant, made in Indiana in 1986 with producer Don Gehman, became their first gold album.

Document (1987) was the first record with producer Scott Litt and the breakthrough. "The One I Love" reached the top 20 in the United States, Britain and Canada, and It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) became one of their most played songs.

Warner Bros.

In 1988 the band left I.R.S. for Warner Bros., citing creative freedom. Green arrived that November, and the single Stand reached No. 6 on the Hot 100. After a first extended break in 1989, Out of Time (March 1991) went to No. 1 in the United States and Britain. Losing My Religion reached No. 4 in the United States, and the band did not tour the record.

Automatic for the People (1992) was darker and more restrained, with string arrangements by John Paul Jones. It reached No. 1 in Britain and No. 2 in the United States, and it produced Everybody Hurts and Man on the Moon. Monster (1994) went back to loud guitars and topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic.

Three of them

The 1995 tour began in January, and on March 1 Berry suffered a brain aneurysm onstage in Lausanne. He recovered, and the band re-signed with Warner Bros. in 1996 for a reported $80 million. In October 1997 Berry announced his departure, and R.E.M. carried on as a trio with Up (1998), Reveal (2001), Around the Sun (2004), Accelerate (2008) and Collapse into Now (2011). Each of the trio's later records kept the band on the charts: Accelerate reached No. 2 in the United States and No. 1 in Britain, and Collapse into Now reached No. 5 in the United States.

The band entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, its first year of eligibility. On September 21, 2011, it announced it was calling it a day. In 2024 the Songwriters Hall of Fame inducted the group, and on June 13 all four founders appeared together in New York for the first time since 2007. They reunited again at the 40 Watt Club in Athens in February 2025. The Library of Congress added Radio Free Europe to the National Recording Registry, citing its part in opening college radio to indie rock.

Members

Michael Stipe lead vocals (1980-2011)
Peter Buck guitar (1980-2011)
Mike Mills bass, backing vocals (1980-2011)
Bill Berry drums (1980-1997)

Records

Murmur 1983 · I.R.S.
The debut album, recorded in seven weeks with Mitch Easter and Don Dixon, and named Rolling Stone's best album of 1983.
Reckoning 1984 · I.R.S.
The second album, made with the Murmur producers in six weeks, and NME's pick as the most fun record the band ever made.
Fables of the Reconstruction 1985 · I.R.S.
The third album, recorded in London in a cold winter, with Southern Gothic characters and a title that appears two ways on the sleeve.
Lifes Rich Pageant 1986 · I.R.S.
The fourth album, made in Indiana with Don Gehman, the band's first gold record and the one where Stipe's voice moved to the front.
Document 1987 · I.R.S.
The first record with Scott Litt, and the one that turned a cult band into a hit act.
Green 1988 · Warner Bros.
The first album for Warner Bros., with Stand and Orange Crush both at No. 1 on the US rock charts.
Out of Time 1991 · Warner Bros.
The worldwide breakthrough: No. 1 in the United States and Britain, with Losing My Religion at its center.
Automatic for the People 1992 · Warner Bros.
A somber, string-laced record that reached No. 1 in Britain and No. 2 in the United States, and scored 96 on Metacritic for its 25th anniversary edition.
Monster 1994 · Warner Bros.
The loud follow-up, No. 1 in the United States and Britain, with Thurston Moore on backing vocals.

Songs

Radio Free Europe Murmur · 1981
The first single, cut twice: once for Hib-Tone in 1981 and again for Murmur in 1983.
It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) Document · 1987
A breathless stream of names and images from Document, and one of the most played songs in the band's live history.
Losing My Religion Out of Time · 1991
A mandolin-led song about unrequited love, and the single that took the band to No. 4 in the United States.
Everybody Hurts Automatic for the People · 1992
A slow, string-laced song for teenagers, with a drum machine in place of Berry.
Man on the Moon Automatic for the People · 1992
A song about Andy Kaufman, written late in the Seattle sessions, with the lyrics finished on a walk.

Mitch Easter, Scott Litt, John Paul Jones, Sonic Youth

Where to go next

Official

R.E.M.HQ The band's fan-facing site, with news, history, photos, interviews and magazine covers.

Reference

Songfacts: Man on the Moon Recording story and band quotes.
UGA Hargrett Library: Muradi R.E.M. collection Fanzines, newsletters and live tapes from 1980 to 1996.
R.E.M. The main article, long and footnoted.
Murmur The fullest album article of the four.

Discography and data

R.E.M. discography Complete releases.

Writing and criticism

NME: every R.E.M. album ranked A ranked critical overview of the albums.
Slicing Up Eyeballs A news item on Radio Free Europe and the National Recording Registry.

Interviews

R.E.M.HQ: Peter Buck's Rolling Stone interview A 2016 post linking Buck's interview.
Far Out: Stipe on writing Man on the Moon The Seattle walk story.

Live performance archives

setlist.fm Roughly 1,460 shows with most-played statistics.
WNYC: R.E.M.'s Radio Free Europe Includes a 1981 cassette recording from Tyrone's O.C. in Athens.

Fan sites and communities

R.E.M. Timeline Concert documentation with setlists, an album timeline and a top 100 of live songs.
R.E.M. Stories A fan-run oral history of personal stories.

Sources

R.E.M., Wikipedia
R.E.M. discography, Wikipedia
Every R.E.M. album ranked, NME
R.E.M.HQ, R.E.M.HQ
R.E.M. setlists, setlist.fm
R.E.M.: Murmur [Deluxe Edition], Pitchfork
R.E.M.: Automatic for the People, Pitchfork