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."
Dallas
R.E.M. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Me importa una mierda todo lo que decían
Le pregunte cosas y los bobos se hacían
Aprendi a tratarlos con hipocresía
Yo nunca me rindo'o
Me miran feo pero soy sincero,
Yo me siento lindo
Fluye mi ki yo lo hago por instinto
En mi mano en contrato de dallas
Mi mami me dice que esta vida es mala
Yo sigo luchando hasta en oro bañala
Prometí que no iba fallala
Destina'o me toca afrontala
Yo soy Luka Dončić partiendo en los dallas
Ella me dijo que no pero inhala
Ah´
Se dejan llevar por mi cara
Y mi cara no dice lo que tengo en el corazón
Lo que digan a mi me resbala
No quiero injusticia, menor las cosas como son
En otra frecuencia le pongo sazón
Un niño percusio y tu eres un chocon
Parace princesa le falta el tacón
Tu no eres azucar tu eres papelon
Y si no quieres lío no me nombre
Puede ser que mi combo te asombre
Una envidia boleta y la esconde
Gafo, eh'
La calle, los cheles, dinero en gandola
Tu baby quiere chuparse mis bolas
Estoy haciendo el sonido de ahora
La meto en mi cuarto, la prendo y se ahoga
Hay muchos que me están criticando
Y yo solamente los veo mintiendo
Quieren mi flow pero nadie lo vende
Soy inmune al veneno de serpiente
No me intimidan si sacan los dientes
Ellos ven la calle diferente
Yo veo el dinero y no miro a la gente
Tu mentira es bruta, la mía es demente
Yo mismo lo hago tenemos la gente
Los mios están ready siempre pa' ganar
Como goku me suelo transformar
Y to'o estos gafos lo quieren mamar
La musa se enciende y les saltamos el rango
Cxxxx venimos del fango
Pero lo vamos a poner a bailar tango
Junte una planta y me comí unos hongos
Y después de eso yo me creía rambo
Yo me creia rambo
Jampa
Chico ando volando y lo hago sin alas
En mi mano el contrato de dallas
Mi mami me dice que esta vida es mala
Yo sigo luchando hasta en oro bañala
Prometi que no iba fallala
Destina'o me toca afrontala
Yo soy Luka Dončić partiendo en los dallas
Ella me dijo que no pero inhala
La movie en play ya no hay tiempo pal el break
Tumbandole el ego tu identidad es fake
Me corte los rulos y me hice el de drake
Si estuviera en usa comiera hotcakes
Leyendo en el libro escrituras precisas
Si quiere opacarme primero lo alisa
Ahora les comento solo guarden risas
Ya quiero pegar pa' viajar para ibiza
Me gusta como te borre la sonrisa
Mi letra casi no suaviza
The song "Dallas" by MDB and C.R.O features lyrics that are predominantly rapped in Spanish with occasional phrases in English. The song delves into themes of drug use, underage prostitution, and the desire for wealth and fame. The use of vulgar lyrics is prominent as the song talks about sexual encounters, drug trade, and violence. It is a gloomy portrayal of the city of Dallas as depicted through the eyes of young rappers. The opening lines, "Malos Cantore', hijo de puta; Tengo cuatro putas, todas matan por mí,” sets the tone for the rest of the song. It talks about the singer having four prostitutes at his disposal who would kill for him. The phrase "Malos Cantore'" roughly translates to "Bad cops" or "Dirty cops," where the references suggest the involvement of the singer with the underworld of crime.
The song exposes the harsh realities of life in poor neighborhoods, where drug abuse and prostitution are rampant. The lines "La puta de tu novio se cree Ricky Ricón; Que le vamo' a robar sin necesitar gun," talk about robbing the singer's client's girlfriend, who believes she is rich and has possessions worth stealing. The phrase "sin necesitar gun" means "without needing a gun," which further suggests the effortless nature of the robbery. The song's title, "Dallas," serves as a metaphor for the harsh and bleak lifestyle in poor urban neighborhoods, as the city is already infamously associated with the assassination of John F. Kennedy, which was a grim event in American history.
Line by Line Meaning
Malos Cantore', hijo de puta
Introducing oneself as 'Malos Cantore' and claiming that one is a terrible person.
Tengo cuatro putas, todas matan por mí (Ah)
Self-boasting of having four prostitutes who are willing to do anything for the singer.
Una rola la weed la otra me corta el KI
One woman provides marijuana while another does cocaine for the singer.
Otra va a buscarme la tengo de chófer (Ah)
The artist has another prostitute who acts as their driver.
Tengo otra en el cel, no le quiero atender
The artist has another prostitute who is trying to reach out to them but they do not want to talk to her.
Mami, estás drogada, que ya no sé qué te pasa (Blah)
The singer tries to point out to one of their prostitutes that she seems to be high on drugs and not in a proper state of mind.
Pero nos fugamo' y nos fuimo' para mi casa
Despite the apparent state of the prostitute, they still leave the place and head to the singer's house.
Yo tengo una puta que le acabo en la face
The artist has another prostitute whom they ejaculate on her face during sexual activity.
Cuando se lo hago, baby, say my name
As the artist climaxes, they want the prostitute to shout their name out loud.
Sé que tengo flow, por eso es que soy tu rey (Ah)
The artist is confident in their skills and style and that's why they think that their prostitutes see them as the 'king.'
Sabes que te parto, que soy tu Christian Grey (Mami)
The singer believes that they have the dominance and control just like Christian Grey in 'Fifty Shades of Grey.'
Dicen que tu papi la levanta en pala
The artist heard a rumor that the father of one of their prostitutes is a millionaire.
Le voy a meter una bala, todo sea por los dollars, ah
The singer is willing to shoot the father just to get his money.
Es una nena mala, ah, va desnuda en la sala
The singer describes one of their prostitutes as bad and mentions that she walks around naked in the living room.
La puta de tu novio se cree Ricky Ricón
The singer insults the boyfriend of one of their prostitutes claiming that he acts as if he is rich and a big shot.
Que le vamo' a robar sin necesitar gun
The artist and their crew plan to rob the boyfriend without needing any weapons.
Porque es un cobarde y encima es un bocón
The artist thinks that the boyfriend is weak and talks too much.
Está fumando slime y yo fumando blunt (Smoke)
The singer claims that the boyfriend is smoking an illegal drug called slime while they themselves smoke marijuana.
Yo tengo el plug, sabe', mami, cuando quieras (Baby)
The singer is confident that they can get any drug the prostitute wants from their supplier.
Pero ella siempre guarda pastilla' en la cartera (Bitch)
The artist accuses one of their prostitutes of carrying and hiding drugs in her purse.
Nos fuimo' de party, borracho en la carretera
The artist and their prostitutes are driving drunk on the road from a party.
Y después hicimo' poses, mami, de to'a las manera' (HT made the wave)
After the party, the artist and their prostitutes took different pictures in different positions, a special reference to their leader, HT.
Mira a esa felina, ya la tengo en la mira, uh, yeah
The singer sees a new prostitute and thinks about recruiting her.
Siempre por la noche en mi cama transpira, uh, yeah
The artist imagines that the new prostitute will always be in their bed and will always be sweating.
Lento voy cayendo, entre miedo de las ruinas, ¿será porque
Caminamo' en la calle y nos criamo' en la esquina? Yo no lo sé
The singer is descending slowly with fear, wondering if it is because of how they grew up on the streets and in the corners.
Putas mala' quieren ver billete'
Other prostitutes want to see the money that the singer has.
Fajos gordos cerca de las siete
The singer has thick bundles of cash all around him at seven in the evening.
C.R.O 'tá brillando, vos correte
C.R.O (Argentina-based artist) is shining, and the artist suggests that others stay away and let them do their work.
En el barrio ustedes no se meten
The artist and their prostitutes are from the neighborhood and others shouldn't interfere or get involved in their business.
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: Jonaiker Perez
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
BourbonBlog
love this version, i had the audio bootleg as a kid - so glad to see it where we can watch it thanks
monk1965
Deni Bonet on fiddle.