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.

R.E.M.

Automatic For The People

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» TROY CARPENTER | CO-DIRECTOR

NATN Recommended R.E.M. Automatic For The People Warner Bros., 1992 RiYL: Elliott Smith, James' Laid, Love's Forever Changes

1992's Automatic For The People is arguably the finest album of R.E.M.'s extensive career. The rich fruit of the band's mid-career break from touring, Automatic achieves what most of the great albums in R.E.M.'s canon can't, which is to be timeless. It's a full and engaging listening experience that doesn't require context to enjoy.

Automatic is an eloquent, reflective set of songs in contrast with the sometimes bouncy Out Of Time, and the album's mature moods reflect small-town experiences far from 1989's stadium-sized Green.

Despite its relatively quick creation (released only 15 months after the band's previous record), it is clear that R.E.M. put great attention to detail in the production of Automatic. Having been off a regular touring schedule since the Green tour, R.E.M. knew these recordings were to be the only expression of their art, and the band members were by now recognizing their work as some of the most anticipated and listened-to pop music in the world.

Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones was enlisted to arrange orchestral parts for four of the album's songs, and the result adds just the right textures to R.E.M.'s somber, hopeful songs. Opener "Drive" and single "Everybody Hurts" are each brought to emphatic climaxes by Jones' arrangements, and "Nightswimming" is refined by an elegant string accompaniment.

The band members themselves turn in restrained, intelligent performances. Guitarist Peter Buck, having famously scorned his regular instrument for a year at the beginning of the '90s to become a more proficient mandolin player, here plays only what he needs to in the context of the song, utilizing electrics, acoustics, mandolins, basses, and more. The other members follow this lead, drummer Bill Berry (the composer of "Everybody Hurts," among others) playing bass and guitar on some tunes and bassist Mike Mills turning in stellar performances on organ (the smoky "New Orleans Instrumental No. 1") and piano ("Nightswimming").

Vocalist Michael Stipe also offers some of his most lucid, varied work on Automatic. He explores topics of death and its human effect in a few songs, singing about suicide (the uplifting "Everybody Hurts"), euthanasia (the stately "Try Not To Breathe"), and bereavement ("Sweetness Follows"). But he also turns in humorous and raw commentary on the celebrity of late comic Andy Kaufman ("Man On The Moon") and actor Montgomery Clift ("Monty Got A Raw Deal"), a vitriolic rant against the Reagan era ("Ignoreland"), musing on a steamy, illicit love affair ("Fuck Me Kitten"), and reflections of a youthful night, skinny dipping by the light of a low September moon ("Nightswimming").

The mature music on Automatic may not have the energetic fervor of R.E.M.'s earlier work, but this is because the band themselves had matured by this point. When they entered the studio, they were four men going to work, not four college kids releasing tension in bursts of creativity. This particular band has shown prowess in each of those capacities, but on Automatic the former emerges as the driving force. Repeated listens reveal a depth and attention to detail in the songwriting that isn't quite matched by anything else in the band's canon.

While R.E.M.'s career has seen them indulge in an extensive variety of pop music, excelling in many different ways, the band's eighth full-length is where all aspects of their range align perfectly into a pristine collection of songs. This is an essential recording.

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.