Today In Rock: May 18th, 1991 – R.E.M.’s “Out Of Time
On this day… R.E.M.’s seventh album, “Out Of Time” was #1 on the Billboard 200. The album had the songs “Losing My Religion” and “Shiny Happy People.”
The melodic idea for “Losing My Religion” originated when guitarist Peter Buck experimented with a mandolin while watching a baseball game. Singer Michael Stipe wrote the lyrics about what he called “a classic obsession song.”
“Shiny Happy People,” described by Buck as a “silly, stupid little song,” featured a collaboration with Kate Pierson of the B-52s. Stipe has said it’s “the happiest song” he had ever written. “
It’s R.E.M.’s highest-charting hit in the United States, reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The album has sold more than four and a half million copies in the United States and more than 18 million copies worldwide. “Out Of Time” won three Grammy Awards in 1992: Best Alternative Music Album and Best Pop Performance Duo or Group with Vocals and Short Form Music Video) for “Losing My Religion.”
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