Moving into a second decade is hard for any band. Normally all the youthful energy that made them exciting in the first place has disappeared. They can continue doing what they were doing, usually with diminishing returns. Or they can break up like the Beatles did. But the key is to try something new, to evolve, to grow up. And so, entering the 90s, R.E.M. were all about change. Bored of being just kings of College Radio they set their sights further afield. No more loud electric guitars, no more mumbling, now creating songs about love and nostalgia and shiny happiness. And there was a whole lot more mandolin. The formerly cryptic Michael Stipe was now baring his soul; maybe he said too much, maybe he didn’t say enough. This is the story of R.E.M. breaking the mainstream and reshaping the 90s in their own image.
#90salternative #alternativerock #musicdocumentary
00:00 Introduction
00:54 Green: The Healing Balm
07:54 Out Of Time: Love Songs Stipe-Style
15:25 Losing My Religion
22:27 Automatic For The People: Jaded Unhappy People
33:15 How R.E.M. Made The 90s Theirs
Soundtrack
Luar - Citrine (
https://soundcloud.com/luarbeats)
Luar - Anchor (
https://soundcloud.com/luarbeats)
You can also follow me here:
Bluesky:
https://bsky.app/profile/trashtheory.bsky.social
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/TrashTheoryYT
Or support me on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/TrashTheory
Birmingham Rock and Metal Tour: voicemap.me/brumrocktour
Sources
R.E.M. inside out : the stories behind every song by Craig Rosen, 1997, Thunder’s Mouth Press
In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003 Liner Notes by Peter Buck, 2003, Warner Bros Records
Part Lies Part Heart Part Truth Part Garbage 1982 - 2011 Liner Notes by REM, 2011, Warner Bros Records
“We’re Not Known as A Fun Band” Steve Sutherland, Melody Maker, Oct 1988
“R.E.M.’s Brave New World” Anthony DeCurtis, Rolling Stone, Apr 1989
“R.E.M.: Post-Yuppie Pop” Jon Savage, The Observer, May 1989
“Q&A: R.E.M.” David Fricke, Rolling Stone, Nov 1990
“Reconstruction Time Again” Gavin Martin, NME, Mar 1991
“Going for Baroque” Mark Blackwell and Jim Greer, Spin Magazine, Mar 1991
“R.E.M.: Politicos play Cupid” Tony Fletcher, The Observer, Mar 1991
“The Pop Life” Stephen Holden, The New York Times, Mar 1991
“REM: The Home Guard” Andy Gill, Q Magazine, Apr 1991
“R.E.M.: Number One With an Attitude” Jeff Giles, Rolling Stone, Jun 1991
“R.E.M.: Radio Songs” Mike Mettler, Guitar School, Sep 1991
“Artist Of The Year: Runner-Ups R.E.M.” Jim Greer, Spin Magazine, Dec 1991
“R.E.M.: Touched! Chuffed! Etc!” Mat Snow, Q, Jan 1992
“Michael Stipe: The Rolling Stone Interview” David Fricke, Rolling Stone, Mar 1992
“R.E.M.: Plink! Plink? Plink!” Mat Snow, Q Magazine, Oct 1992
“R.E.M. - Feature” Ira Robbins, Pulse!, Oct 1992
“Present Tense” Jim Greer, Spin Magazine, Nov 1992
“R.E.M.: Lyrically Dark, Musically Oddball” Mat Snow, Q, Nov 1992
“I Have a Life. I’m Happy” Mat Smith, Melody Maker, Nov 1993
“Remember Us?” Tom Doyle, Q Magazine, Nov 1996
“We Didn’t Really Know What We Had Done” David Stubbs, Uncut Magazine, Nov 2003
“Story of the Song: 'Losing My Religion', REM (1991)” Robert Webb, The Independent, Aug 2008
“Michael Stipe: 'I often find myself at a loss for words'” Sean O’Hagan, The Guardian, Mar 2011
“REM: The band that defined, then eclipsed college rock” Mark Savage, BBC News, Sep 2011
“REM: the band that taught alternative rock how to grow old with dignity” Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, Sep 2011
“10 of the best: REM” Jude Rogers, The Guardian, Feb 2014
“The Making of R.E.M.’s Iconic ‘Losing My Religion’ Video” Eric Ducker, Rolling Stone, Mar 2016
“REM on Out of Time at 25: ‘Being the voice of a generation is not a pretty place to be’” Michael Hann, The Guardian, Nov 2016
“R.E.M. Reflect on ‘Radical’ ‘Out of Time’ LP” Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, Nov 2016
“R.E.M.’s Peter Buck Talks ‘Automatic for the People’ Before 25th Anniversary Reissue: ‘I Didn’t Expect It to Be a Huge Hit’” Craig Rosen, Billboard, Sep 2017
“R.E.M.’s ‘Automatic for the People’: 10 Things You Didn’t Know” Jordan Runtagh, Rolling Stone, Oct 2017
“The Enduring Empathy & Beauty of R.E.M.’s ‘Automatic for the People’” William Goodman, Billboard, Oct 2017
“'I'm a pretty good pop star': Michael Stipe on his favourite REM songs” Michael Hann, The Guardian, Jan 2018
“How R.E.M. Invented the Nineties With ‘Out of Time’” Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, Mar 2021
“Michael Stipe Reveals the Lyric Switch on R.E.M.’s ‘Losing My Religion’ That Changed Everything” Rani Aniftos, Billboard, Apr 2022
“The story of the anti-war commentary disguised as a four-minute pop song that set R.E.M. on the path to global success and stardom” Rob Hughes, Louder, Feb 2026
Comments (0)