R.E.M.’s Top 10

R.E.M. got together in the spring of ’80. Peter Buck (guitar), Mike Mills (bass), Bill Berry (drums) and Michael Stipe (vocals) were students at the University of Georgia but weren’t real interested in their education. Their first gig was in a rundown church that had been converted into apartments. Shortly thereafter, they were playing clubs, halls and parties.

After some low-key independent efforts R.E.M. signed with I.R.S. in ’82. The “Chronic Town” EP was followed by albums “Murmur” with “(Don’t Go To) Rockville,” “Reckoning” and “Fables Of The Reconstruction.” They were dispatched to an ever-growing legion of faithful. In ’87 “Document” came out with “The One I Love” and “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine).” They were on top of the indie world.

R.E.M. then left I.R.S. and signed with Warner Records, for a tidy sum.

R.E,M.’s Top 10:

#10. Bang And Blame

From R.E.M.’s ninth studio album, “Monster” (1994), the song was the band’s last to reach the Billboard Hot 100′s Top 40 peaking at #19 and was also their last #1 single on the Billboard Modern Rock chart.  

#9. Everybody Hurts

“‘Everybody Hurts” is similar to “Man On The Moon’,” noted guitarist Peter Buck. “Bill (Berry) brought it in, and it was a one-minute-long song. It took us forever to figure out the arrangement and who was going to play what, and then Bill ended up not playing on the original track. It was me and Mike (Stipe) and a drum machine. And then we all overdubbed.

#8. Losing My Religion

The first single from their seventh album, “Out Of Time” (1991) it was developed from a mandolin riff improvised by Buck. It became R.E.M.’s highest-charting hit reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, 

#7. Fall On Me

Released in 1986, the song was one of the band’s early compositions about environmentalism referencing acid rain.

#6. So. Central Rain

Stipe refused to lip sync the song for the music video. “We played a recording of the track, and the rest of us faked it, but Michael insisted on singing a new vocal to make it more real for him, offered Buck.

#5. What’s The Frequency Kenneth?

The song’s title refers to an incident in New York City in 1986 where two then-unknown assailants attacked TV journalist Dan Rather while repeating “Kenneth, what’s the frequency?” 

#4. The One I Love

Released on the band’s fifth full-length studio album, “Document,” it was R.E.M.’s first hit single, peaking at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100.

#3. It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

“I’m extremely aware of everything around me, whether I am in a sleeping state, awake, dream-state or just in day-to-day life, so that ended up in the song along with a lot of stuff I’d seen when I was flipping TV channels,” explained Stipe. “It’s a collection of streams of consciousness.”

#2. Man On The Moon

The tribute to comedian Andy Kaufman, contains numerous references to the performer. The lyrics were written by Stipe, and the music by Berry and Buck. 

#1. Orange Crush

The song’s title refers to the chemical defoliant Agent Orange manufactured by Monsanto Corporation and Dow Chemical for the U.S. Defense Department and used in the Vietnam War. Stipe’s father served in that war.

R.E.M.

Michael Stipe – Vocals

Peter Buck – Guitar

Mike Mills – Bass

Bill Berry – Drums

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