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."
Eight Miles Eight
R.E.M. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's been a long long winter and they're sick of being down south
The birds can't wait to get back to Minnesota
It's been a long long winter and they're sick of being down south
If you're lost
If you're lost you can't wait to get back to where you can find yourself again
Find yourself again
Find yourself again
It's getting harder and harder to get back what I had
It's getting harder and harder to just let it go
It's getting harder and harder to get to where I need to be
It's getting farther and farther away from me
It's easy to be complacent as life gets by
like a freight train without a conductor on auto pilot eight miles high
The lyrics to R.E.M.'s song "Eight Miles High" are reflective of the theme of longing to return to a place of comfort, both literally and figuratively. The first two lines speak of birds eagerly awaiting their return to Minnesota after a long winter spent in the south. This idea of wanting to return to a place of familiarity is echoed in the chorus, where it is suggested that if someone is lost, they instinctively yearn to go back to a place where they can rediscover their sense of self.
The second half of the song turns towards a more introspective perspective, with the singer confessing that they are struggling to find the same sense of contentment that they once had. The lines "It's getting harder and harder to get back what I had / It's getting harder and harder to just let it go" suggest a frustrating struggle with the past and the present, while "It's getting harder and harder to get to where I need to be / It's getting farther and farther away from me" convey a sense of weariness and distance from one's goals.
The final lines of the song introduce a new metaphor, comparing life to a train without a conductor, careening recklessly forward without any direction. This metaphor highlights the need for intentionality and purpose in order to find fulfillment in life, rather than simply coasting through on autopilot.
Overall, "Eight Miles High" is a song that touches on themes of nostalgia, self-discovery, and the search for meaning in life.
Line by Line Meaning
The birds can't wait to get back to Minnesota
The singer is using birds as a metaphor for those who are longing to return to a familiar or comfortable place.
It's been a long long winter and they're sick of being down south
The birds have been away for a while, and just like people, they can grow tired of being in unfamiliar or uncomfortable environments.
If you're lost
The song shifts focus to the listeners, acknowledging that some may feel lost or disconnected from themselves.
If you're lost you can't wait to get back to where you can find yourself again
When someone feels lost, they yearn to return to a time or place where they had a better sense of who they are.
Find yourself again
The song repeats its message of self-discovery, driving home the idea that it is important to search for and reconnect with one's true self.
The birds can't wait to get it on
The metaphorical birds are anxious to start anew and get back to enjoying life.
It's getting harder and harder to get back what I had
The singer is struggling to reclaim something that was once important to them, but has slipped away with time or distance.
It's getting harder and harder to just let it go
The artist is finding it difficult to move on from whatever they have lost or left behind.
It's getting harder and harder to get to where I need to be
The artist is encountering obstacles on their journey towards their desired destination or state of mind.
It's getting farther and farther away from me
Whatever the artist is striving for, it feels like it is slipping further out of their grasp.
It's easy to be complacent as life gets by
It can be tempting to settle into a routine, even if it means sacrificing one's passions or aspirations.
like a freight train without a conductor on auto pilot eight miles high
Without purpose or direction, life can feel like a runaway train hurtling towards an uncertain destination - a daunting and lonely prospect.
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: Mark Hasbrouck
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@SpheTheChosenOneDlungwane
When your day is long
And the night, the night is yours alone
When you're sure you've had enough
Of this life, well hang on
Don't let yourself go
'Cause everybody cries
Everybody hurts sometimes
Sometimes everything is wrong
Now it's time to sing along
When your day is night alone (hold on, hold on)
If you feel like letting go (hold on)
If you think you've had too much
Of this life, well hang on
'Cause everybody hurts
Take comfort in your friends
Everybody hurts
Don't throw your hand, oh no
Don't throw your hand
If you feel like you're alone
No, no, no, you are not alone
If you're on your own in this life
The days and nights are long
When you think you've had too much
Of this life to hang on
Well, everybody hurts sometimes
Everybody cries
Everybody hurts, sometimes
And everybody hurts sometimes
So hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on, hold on
Everybody hurts
@foutus
When your day is long
And the night, the night is yours alone
When you're sure you've had enough
Of this life, well hang on
Don't let yourself go
'Cause everybody cries
And everybody hurts sometimes
Sometimes everything is wrong
Now it's time to sing along
When your day is night alone
If you feel like letting go
If you think you've had too much
Of this life, well hang on
Cause everybody hurts
Take comfort in your friends
Everybody hurts sometimes
Sometimes
@carrotsdad3475
One of the most powerful songs ever written
@azardkhan9312
Very tru
@bobolade8652
😮 Richtig
@renjaevil2023
estoy de acuerdo con eso.
@KittyGrizGriz
The views of the crowd from the band’s perspective are fabulous, love seeing their facial expressions-waving ~hugging each other~holding signs. Music is a universal,,,♥️,,,language
@danieldon2594
Powerful and inspirational song. What a performance by one of the greatest bands ever.
@odethmerk
NOS tienen callados en Guatemala, voletas de los candidatos marcadas , en basureros 😢😢😢
@Faaitu
@@odethmerkGod is a lot bigger!
@aparecidaramos1955
@@odethmerk😢
@artyanez7734
I dont care what others may say...this is one of the most beautiful song ever written and sang with a powerful meaning..