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."
Electrolite
R.E.M. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm gasoline
I'm burnin' clean
Twentieth century, go to sleep
You're Pleistocene
That is obscene
That is obscene
You are the star tonight
Your sun electric, outta sight
Your light eclipsed the moon tonight
Electrolite
You're outta sight
If I ever want to fly
Mulholland Drive
I am alive
Hollywood is under me
I'm Martin Sheen
I'm Steve McQueen
I'm Jimmy Dean
You are the star tonight
Your sun electric, outta sight
Your light eclipsed the moon tonight
Electrolite
You're outta sight
If you ever want to fly
Mulholland Drive
Up in the sky
Stand on a cliff and look down there
Don't be scared, you are alive
You are alive
You are the star tonight
Your sun electric, outta sight
Your light eclipsed the moon tonight
Electrolite
You're outta sight
Twentieth century, go to sleep
Really deep
We won't blink
Your eyes are burning holes through me
I'm not scared
I'm outta here
I'm not scared
I'm outta here
The lyrics to R.E.M.'s Electrolite are not easy to dissect in a factual sense, but they are evocative and illustrate the surrealistic themes of the song. The first lines of the song have a romantic notion to them as the singer likens himself to gasoline, burning cleanly, with his lover's eyes piercing through him. However, the subsequent lines take on a different metaphorical angle as they describe the world around them as a "Twentieth century," trying to sleep while being "Pleistocene," or ancient, which in turn is labeled "obscene."
The refrain of the song is where the singer's lover is the "star tonight," with an "electric" quality that even "eclipses" the moon. The lyrics imagine Hollywood as a place for a grand adventure, where even going for a drive can be electrifying. The verses continue to use Hollywood tropes and compare their persona to famed actors of the past. The melody itself is mellow and ambient, allowing the lyrics to take center stage.
Line by Line Meaning
Your eyes are burning holes through me
You are intensely staring at me
I'm gasoline
I am highly combustible
I'm burnin' clean
I am burning without producing pollutants
Twentieth century, go to sleep
The past is over, it's time to move on
You're Pleistocene
You are ancient and outdated
That is obscene
It is offensive and inappropriate
You are the star tonight
You are the center of attention
Your sun electric, outta sight
Your energy and brilliance are remarkable
Your light eclipsed the moon tonight
You shine so bright that the moon is no longer visible
Electrolite
A term that represents a type of electric light
You're outta sight
You are amazing
If I ever want to fly
If I want to escape from reality
Mulholland Drive
A scenic road in Los Angeles that represents a dreamlike state
I am alive
I am alive and well
Hollywood is under me
I have power and control over a famous place
I'm Martin Sheen
I am like the actor Martin Sheen
I'm Steve McQueen
I am like the actor Steve McQueen
I'm Jimmy Dean
I am like the actor James Dean
Up in the sky
In a state of imagination or transcendence
Stand on a cliff and look down there
Take a risk and face the unknown
Don't be scared, you are alive
Feel confident and embrace life
Twentieth century, go to sleep
The past is over, it's time to move on
Really deep
Completely and thoroughly asleep
We won't blink
We won't miss a thing
I'm not scared
I am not afraid
I'm outta here
I am leaving
I'm not scared
I am not afraid
I'm outta here
I am leaving
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: William Thomas Berry, Peter Lawrence Buck, Michael E. Mills, John Michael Stipe
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sedeinfinita
Electrolite"
Your eyes are burnin' holes through me
I'm gasoline
I'm burnin' clean
20th century, go to sleep
You're plasticine
That is obscene
That is obscene
You are the star tonight
You shine electric outta sight
Your light eclipsed the moon tonight
Electrolite
You're outta sight
If I ever want to fly
Mulholland Drive
I am alive
Hollywood is under me
I'm Martin Sheen
I'm Steve McQueen
I'm Jimmy Dean
You are the star tonight
You shine electric outta sight
Your light eclipsed the moon tonight
Electrolite
You're outta sight
If you ever want to fly
Mulholland Drive
Up in the sky
Stand on a cliff and look down there
Don't be scared
You are alive
You are alive
You are the star tonight
You shine electric outta sight
Your light eclipsed the moon tonight
Electrolite
You're outta sight
20th century, go to sleep
Really deep
We won't blink
Your eyes are burnin' holes through me
I'm not scared
I'm outta here
I'm not scared
I'm outta here
@mommagee1
What is so awesome about REM, is that every time you havent heard one of their songs for a while, when you do hear it, you realise all over again, just how wonderful it is.
@rc9006
Yes!!!!! Exactly how I feel right now. It takes me to a place that’s really just pure awe like I’m hearing or watching this vid for the first time
@jacobfloyd6975
Well said. That is exactly true.
@krzysztofzakrocki2210
Exactly!!!!!!!!
@froggary
I completely agree! I could listen to REM for the rest of my life and never get bored because their songs are all so varied! I was born in the early 2000s but this is my kind of music.
@phandemicpaddy2458
This one was indeed a truly great pop song.
@luci-ana
I am so grateful to my dad for playing R.E.M songs in the car when i was little. All their songs are very important to me, particularly this one.
@jasonbarbush4991
there is always that transition into REM sleep in order to dream. sometimes we get stuck in something interesting and wake too late. like the transition into daylight getting up at 4AM playing "Daysleeper"
@rushokim
Love this gem too. Always seems to play in my head when am in the shower.
@richardbutler5312
And now I play them to my kids in the car... Brings a smile to my face when they sing along to shining happy people, my work is done❤️