R.E.M. released its first single—"Radio Free Europe"—in 1981 on the independent record label Hib-Tone. The single was followed by the Chronic Town EP in 1982, the band's first release on I.R.S. Records. In 1983, the group released its critically acclaimed debut album, Murmur, and built its reputation over the next few years through subsequent releases, constant touring, and the support of college radio. Following years of underground success, R.E.M. achieved a mainstream hit in 1987 with the single "The One I Love". The group signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1988, and began to espouse political and environmental concerns while playing large arenas worldwide.
By the early 1990s, when alternative rock began to enter the mainstream, R.E.M. was viewed by subsequent acts such as Nirvana and Pavement as a pioneer of the genre. The band released its two most commercially successful albums, Out of Time (1991) and Automatic for the People (1992), which veered from the band's established sound and catapulted it to international fame. R.E.M.'s 1994 release, Monster, was a return to a more rock-oriented sound, but still continued its run of success. The band began its first tour in six years to support the album; the tour was marred by medical emergencies suffered by three of the band members.
In 1996, R.E.M. re-signed with Warner Bros. for a reported US$80 million, at the time the most expensive recording contract in history. Its 1996 release, New Adventures in Hi-Fi, though critically acclaimed, fared worse commercially than its predecessors. The following year, Bill Berry left the band, while Stipe, Buck, and Mills continued the group as a trio. Through some changes in musical style, the band continued its career into the next decade with mixed critical and commercial success, despite having sold more than 85 million records worldwide and becoming one of the world's best-selling music artists. In 2007, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in their first year of eligibility. R.E.M. disbanded amicably in September 2011, announcing the split on its website.
In January 1980, Michael Stipe met Peter Buck in Wuxtry Records, the Athens record store where Buck worked. The pair discovered that they shared similar tastes in music, particularly in punk rock and protopunk artists like Patti Smith, Television, and the Velvet Underground. Stipe said, "It turns out that I was buying all the records that [Buck] was saving for himself." Through mutual friend Kathleen O'Brien, Stipe and Buck then met fellow University of Georgia students Mike Mills and Bill Berry, who had played music together since high school and lived together in Georgia. The quartet agreed to collaborate on several songs; Stipe later commented that "there was never any grand plan behind any of it". Their still-unnamed band spent a few months rehearsing in a deconsecrated Episcopal church in Athens, and played its first show on April 5, 1980, supporting the Side Effects at O'Brien's birthday party held in the same church, performing a mix of originals and 1960s and 1970s covers. After considering Twisted Kites, Cans of Piss, and Negro Eyes, the band settled on "R.E.M." (which is an initialism for rapid eye movement, the dream stage of sleep), which Stipe selected at random from a dictionary.
The band members eventually dropped out of school to focus on their developing group. They found a manager in Jefferson Holt, a record store clerk who was so impressed by an R.E.M. performance in his hometown of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, that he moved to Athens. R.E.M.'s success was almost immediate in Athens and surrounding areas; the band drew progressively larger crowds for shows, which caused some resentment in the Athens music scene. Over the next year and a half, R.E.M. toured throughout the Southern United States. Touring was arduous because a touring circuit for alternative rock bands did not then exist. The group toured in an old blue van driven by Holt, and lived on a food allowance of $2 each per day.
R.E.M. was pivotal in the creation and development of the alternative rock genre. AllMusic stated, "R.E.M. mark the point when post-punk turned into alternative rock." In the early 1980s, the musical style of R.E.M. stood in contrast to the post-punk and new wave genres that had preceded it. Music journalist Simon Reynolds noted that the post-punk movement of the late 1970s and early 1980s "had taken whole swaths of music off the menu", particularly that of the 1960s, and that "After postpunk's demystification and New Pop's schematics, it felt liberating to listen to music rooted in mystical awe and blissed-out surrender." Reynolds declared R.E.M., a band that recalled the music of the 1960s with its "plangent guitar chimes and folk-styled vocals" and who "wistfully and abstractly conjured visions and new frontiers for America", one of "the two most important alt-rock bands of the day." With the release of Murmur, R.E.M. had the most impact musically and commercially of the developing alternative genre's early groups, leaving in its wake a number of jangle pop followers.
R.E.M.'s early breakthrough success served as an inspiration for other alternative bands. Spin referred to the "R.E.M. model"—career decisions that R.E.M. made which set guidelines for other underground artists to follow in their own careers. Spin's Charles Aaron wrote that by 1985, "They'd shown how far an underground, punk-inspired rock band could go within the industry without whoring out its artistic integrity in any obvious way. They'd figured out how to buy in, not sellout-in other words, they'd achieved the American Bohemian Dream." Steve Wynn of Dream Syndicate said, "They invented a whole new ballgame for all of the other bands to follow whether it was Sonic Youth or the Replacements or Nirvana or Butthole Surfers. R.E.M. staked the claim. Musically, the bands did different things, but R.E.M. was first to show us you can be big and still be cool." Biographer David Buckley stated that between 1991 and 1994, a period that saw the band sell an estimated 30 million albums, R.E.M. "asserted themselves as rivals to U2 for the title of biggest rock band in the world." Over the course of its career, the band has sold over 85 million records worldwide.
Alternative bands such as Nirvana, Pavement, Radiohead, Coldplay, Pearl Jam (the band's vocalist Eddie Vedder inducted R.E.M. into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), and Live, have drawn inspiration from R.E.M.'s music. "When I was 15 years old in Richmond, Virginia, they were a very important part of my life," Pavement's Bob Nastanovich said, "as they were for all the members of our band." Pavement's contribution to the No Alternative compilation (1993) was "Unseen Power of the Picket Fence", a song about R.E.M.'s early days. Local H, according to the band's Twitter account, created their name by combining two R.E.M. songs: "Oddfellows Local 151" and "Swan Swan H". Kurt Cobain of Nirvana was a fan of R.E.M., and had unfulfilled plans to collaborate on a musical project with Stipe. Cobain told Rolling Stone in an interview earlier that year, "I don’t know how that band does what they do. God, they’re the greatest. They've dealt with their success like saints, and they keep delivering great music."
During his show at the 40 Watt Club in October 2018, Johnny Marr said: "As a British musician coming out of the indie scene in the early '80s, which I definitely am and am proud to have been, I can't miss this opportunity to acknowledge and pay my respects and honor the guys who put this town on the map for us in England. I'm talking about my comrades in guitar music, R.E.M. The Smiths really respected R.E.M. We had to keep an eye on what those guys were up to. It's an interesting thing for me, as a British musician, and all those guys as British musicians, to come to this place and play for you guys, knowing that it's the roots of Mike Mills and Bill Berry and Michael Stipe and my good friend Peter Buck."
Academy Fight Song
R.E.M. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ask me jerky questions
Don't mean what you say
Immaculate Conception
Play by the rules
So close to the chest, chest
Show that all's not lost
Stay just as far from me as me from you.
Make sure that you are sure of everything I do.
'Cause I'm not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not
Your academy
The halls are like piss
The rooms are under lit
Still it must be nice
Such a perfect fit, fit
What's that I hear?
The sound of marching feet
It has a strange allure,
Has a strange allure
Stay just as far from me as me from you.
Make sure that you are sure of everything I do.
'Cause I'm not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not
Your academy
Your academy
Maybe you're right,
I shouldn't judge
What's wrong or right,
It's all too much
I'm not judging you,
I'm judging me.
My academy.
Your academy
My academy.
Your academy
The song "Academy Fight Song" by R.E.M. is a critique of conformity and the erosion of individuality in conventional institutions. The opening lines suggest an intruder has entered the singer's private space to ask intrusive questions, conveying the idea that our individuality is constantly under attack. The line "immaculate conception" stands as an ironic reference to the powerful institutions that have come into being by pretending to be pure, like the Virgin Mary - when, in reality, they are complicit in oppressing people.
The song urges its listeners to resist conformism and to stay true to themselves, even when they may feel lonely or ostracized. Lines like "Stay just as far from me as me from you" and "Make sure that you are sure of everything I do" emphasize the need for independence and self-determination, even if it means standing alone. Ultimately, the song encourages individuals to look beyond outdated social norms and follow their own path.
Overall, R.E.M.'s "Academy Fight Song" is a powerful anti-conformity message that encourages listeners to reject the stifling influence of institutions and to fight for individualism and personal freedom.
Line by Line Meaning
Walk into my room
Come invade my personal space without warning
Ask me jerky questions
Inquire with sarcasm or spitefulness
Don't mean what you say
Be insincere with your words
Immaculate Conception
Put on a façade of perfection or holiness
Play by the rules
Abide strictly by a set of guidelines
So close to the chest, chest
Keep information or emotions concealed
Show that all's not lost
Indicate that there's still hope or potential
This is not a test.
This is a serious matter, not a practice or drill
Stay just as far from me as me from you.
Maintain a necessary distance or separation between us
Make sure that you are sure of everything I do.
Be absolutely certain of my actions or decisions
'Cause I'm not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not
Express my lack of desire to conform to your standards
Your academy
Your social group, ideology or set of rules
The halls are like piss
The environment is unpleasant or unsanitary
The rooms are under lit
The lighting is dim or inadequate
Still it must be nice
Despite the negative aspects, it's preferable to something else
Such a perfect fit, fit
Ideal conformity to a particular mold or standard
What's that I hear?
I detect the sound of something ominous or threatening
The sound of marching feet
An impending danger or authoritarian force approaching
It has a strange allure,
It holds an intriguing or captivating fascination
Stay just as far from me as me from you.
Reiterating the necessity of separation
Make sure that you are sure of everything I do.
Reiterating the necessity of absolute certainty
'Cause I'm not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not
Reiterating my lack of willingness to submit to your expectations
Your academy
Reiterating the notion of a rigid social norm or expectation
Maybe you're right,
Perhaps you have a valid point
I shouldn't judge
I should refrain from passing opinions or evaluations of others
What's wrong or right,
Deciding between morality and immorality is difficult
It's all too much
It's overwhelming to deal with such issues
I'm not judging you,
Reiterating my lack of evaluation on other people
I'm judging me.
Analyzing my own character and behavior
My academy.
Reiterating the concept of a private social group or expectation
Your academy
Reiterating the concept of a rigid social norm or expectation
My academy.
Reiterating the notion of a relatively private subset of society
Your academy
Reiterating the notion of a narrow social expectation or mandate
Contributed by Julia S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
trfesok
They also played this live during the "Green" tour. The first time I heard it was on a recording of the Orlando show. Didn't know there was a studio version! Thanks for the upload!
trfesok
I put both versions in my R.E.M. playlist. Thanks a lot for the upload!
sexobscura
I saw an interview when Stipe said REM was chosen as a name because back then 'no bands had names with letters in them'
he was obviously not aware that ALL bands' names have letters in them
J.W. Comer
9353
Mick Cullen
Not 311. Or 999.
Peter W.
I still have this fan club single.
Paul Taylor
This is not a test. Test.
Gracie Frick
CollapseN2murmur - do you have No Matter What from 2002?
Matt Mala
Hi ! Where re you take this songs, i want To say SO THANK YOU SO MUCH, 😗😗
supremetaco
I like this better than Mission of Burma's original.