I Own That CD! - R.E.M.

Following up an album like Out of Time, R.E.M.’s massive release that turned them from college radio favorites to a massive rock band loved internationally, was no small task. They could have gone so mainstream rock that we’d be hearing track after track on classic rock stations. Instead, the delivered Automatic for the People.

The intention was indeed to create a mainstream-friendly rock record. But the band first decided not to tour for Out of Time, instead focusing on writing and producing the follow-up. When the band presented initial demos to lead singer Michael Stipe, he called them “pretty fucking weird”. By the time the band had wrapped up work on Automatic for the People over a year later, they’d recorded in six different cities, delivering a majestic, affecting but often somber portrait of the United States, with lyrics that delve deep into heartbreak, mortality and a fracturing society.

For so many reasons, it’s my feature today on I Own That CD!

The first single released was “Drive”, a somewhat typical R.E.M. song, filled with acoustic guitars and deep lyrics. It wouldn’t have been my first choice for the lead single, but lots of radio airplay and an MTV-pushed video helped launch R.E.M. back into the spotlight. The song is a song telling kids to take charge of their lives. Stipe also said it an “obvious” homage to the song “Rock On” by David Essex.

I won’t go track by track but the second song “Try Not to Breathe” is one of my favorite R.E.M. songs of all time (easily Top 10). It’s a gorgeous song with spectacular backing vocals by the underrated Mike Mills. While a dark tone is heard overall, it’s truly beautiful and is a song I can come back to time and time again, getting chills each time I listen.

While there is really only one “hit you over the head” political song (“Ignoreland”), the album was released a month before Bill Clinton won his first presidency, and it bears the weight and scars of what came before it: namely, 12 years of Republican neglect concerning AIDS, poverty, and the environment.

Here’s where my controversial stand comes into play - I’m not a huge fan of “Everybody Hurts”. There, I said it. I get the feelings around it and the ending (“Hold on…”) gives us glimmers of hope that even a band as big as R.E.M. cares for us. It never really grabbed me.

What grabbed me? So many other songs!

“The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight” is a charming, playful song that catches Stipe laughing on mic. Peter Buck commented that they included the song to break the prevailing mood of the album.

The three songs that end the release: “Man on the Moon”, “Nightswimming” and “Find the River” is a perfect trifecta to close out any album.

“Man on the Moon” was the second single and lyrically told of comedian Andy Kaufman through a collection of cultural references and images of Kaufman’s life and career.

“Nightswimming” is a perfect song. It’s a beautifully told song through the words and music. Unlike so many songs, Stipe wrote the lyrics before the music was written. It’s basically a duet with Stipe and Mike Mills on piano. The strings were arranged by former Led Zeppelin bass player John Paul Jones.

“Find the River” is a bittersweet song with a positive sense of closure. It’s a meaning-of-existence song that one reviewer said is the closest R.E.M. has ever gotten to “Once In A Lifetime”. It’s a gorgeous finish to a gorgeous release.

It’s not what anyone expected from R.E.M. - They could have/should have gone a much more pop route. More “Shiny Happy People” and “Near Wild Heaven”. Instead, R.E.M. quickly produced one of the greatest albums of the 1990s. And I own it on CD - You can borrow it if you’d like.