Artist bio

In the '80s and '90s, when underground rock music on independent labels exploded with word-of-mouth popularity and critical acclaim and the opposing audience for mainstream pop also surged ahead to new levels of commercial enormity, a four-piece rock and roll band from Athens, Ga. forged an unforgettable career out of walking the line between the two.

R.E.M. was the acceptable edge of the unacceptable stuff; the hard-working college-rock band loved by critics from the start, and recommended by those in the know, until its gradually growing fanbase eventually made it one of the biggest rock bands in the world.

Throughout its career parabola -- from the raw, Southern art-rock of the early '80s to the singles-driven widescreen pop monoliths of its middle age, and down the slope of commercial success to the post-Bill Berry years -- R.E.M. has made engaging, self-respecting pop-rock songs and albums, staking out its claim as not the best rock band of its day, but one of the most consistent, and well-aging of its peer group.

R.E.M. also helped bring the concept of college-rock, or alternative rock, to the public consciousness. During its formative years, despite such accolades as its full-length debut Murmur being named top album of 1983 by Rolling Stone magazine, the band was largely ignored by commercial radio. But the R.E.M. bandwagon kept rolling and picking up new acolytes, largely due to the group's tireless touring schedule, and the embrace of college radio stations, which gave the band heavy airplay throughout the '80s. They were the visible face of this expansion of the music industry, in which bands that weren't incredibly popular by major-label standards could succeed by appealing to an "alternative" fanbase.

Ironically, as much as the band exemplified alternative rock, their subsequent crossover into mainstream pop stardom helped render that concept nearly obsolete. One could hardly call such latter-day R.E.M. albums like Out Of Time and Automatic For The People (each quadruple platinum) "alternatives," as would be the case with bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam, dubbed with similar tags in the early '90s even as they topped the Billboard charts.

But name-calling aside, R.E.M.'s catalog, now some 13 albums strong, is one of the more accomplished of the modern rock era. And the apparent key to the group's success is that over two decades and counting, its members have always made the music that they wanted to make; what kept them interested and excited about rock. That in itself should be a fitting legacy.

Albums by this artist

Reveal (2001)

Up (1998)

New Adventures In Hi-Fi (1996)

Monster (1994)

Automatic For The People (Recommended) (1992)

Out Of Time (1991)

Fables Of The Reconstruction (1985)

Reckoning (1984)

Murmur (Recommended) (1983)

Chronic Town (Recommended) (1982)

Concerts

August 31, 1999
Chastain Park Amphitheater, Atlanta

August 20, 1999
New World Music Theatre, Tinley Park, Ill.

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New World Music Theatre, Tinley Park, Ill. (August 20, 1999)

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» TROY CARPENTER | CO-DIRECTOR

R.E.M. New World Music Theatre, Tinley Park, Ill. August 20, 1999

We're R.E.M., and this is what we do," Michael Stipe says, by way of introduction.

And they do it so well. Try to name another modern rock and roll band whose record of consistent quality has lasted this long -- 20 years -- and aged this well. Sure, Bill Berry's 1998 departure has changed things -- in performances and in the studio -- but it partly just makes one marvel at the continued fervency and devotion of Messrs. Buck, Mills, and Stipe.

Onstage at the New World Music Theatre Friday night August 20, the three (augmented by drummer Joey Waronker and multi-instrumentalists Scott McCaughey and Ken Stringfellow) showed more spunk than their audience in playing probably the coolest set of pop tunes to grace Tinley Park in quite some time. Under an elaborate system of Christmas light-objects, Stipe postured, preened, and paraded while Buck and Mills diligently stroked their instruments.

R.E.M.'s last two world tours have come on the heels of Green and Monster, both arena-friendly, guitar-heavy records strikingly different from last year's inward-seeking Up. But supporting a record like Up with large-scale shows is the kind of challenge R.E.M. has relished during its career and the band is rising to the occasion, mixing the new material with well-chosen chestnuts and a couple oddities in a two-hour show.

They kicked out an inspired version of "Pilgrimage," from 1982's Murmur, early in the set, sandwiching the classic between two Up tracks -- "Suspicion" and "Daysleeper." This was followed by '87's "The One I Love" and "Low Desert" from New Adventures In Hi-Fi, which Stipe introduced as being "one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite albums". This kind of unpredictability was the order of the evening.

As an encore, Stipe attempted to play solo, his stuttery guitar work luckily balanced by the beautiful melodies of "Falls To Climb" and "Hope". Then Mills came to the rescue with a fingerpicked version of "Why Not Smile." Three songs later, as the full band tore into a raucous version of "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)," R.E.M.'s versatility was still intact, and the energy two hours after the opening notes was stronger than ever.

TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.