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."
Living Well Is the Best Revenge
R.E.M. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That suddenly you wake up in a shaking panic, now
You set me up like a lamb to slaughter
Garbo as a farmer's daughter
Unbelievable, the gospel according to who?
I lay right down
All your sad and lost apostles
Choking on the bones you toss to them
Well, I'm not one to sit and spin
'Cause living well's the best revenge
Baby, I am calling you on that
Don't turn your talking points on me
History will set me free
The future's ours and you don't even rate a footnote now
So who's chasing you? Where did you go?
You disappeared mid-sentence
In a judgment crisis I see my anecdote for it
You weakened shell
All your sad and lost apostles
Hum my name and flare their nostrils
Choking on the bones you toss to them
Well I'm not one to sit and spin
'Cause living well's the best revenge
Baby, I am calling you on that
You savor your dying breath
Well, I forgive but I don't forget
You work it out, let's hear that argument again
Camera three, go now!
All your sad and lost apostles
Hum my name and flare their nostrils
Choking on the bones you toss to them
Well I'm not one to sit and spin
'Cause living well's the best revenge
Baby, I am calling you on that
Baby, I am calling you on that
Baby, I am calling you on
R.E.M.'s song Living Well Is the Best Revenge is a powerful anthem about coming out on top despite the efforts of those who sought to bring you down. The lyrics describe the feeling of being betrayed by someone who meant to do you harm, and the subsequent realization that you've emerged victorious from the situation. The opening lines suggest that the singer has been poisoned by someone they trusted, and now they are shaking with panic. The imagery of setting someone up like a lamb to slaughter, and Garbo as a farmer's daughter, implies deception and manipulation.
The chorus, "All your sad and lost apostles, hum my name and flare their nostrils, choking on the bones you toss to them, well I'm not one to sit and spin, 'cause living well's the best revenge," is a defiant assertion of the singer's superiority over their enemies. The metaphor of apostles helps to emphasize the religious undertones of the song. The idea of living well being the best revenge is one that's been around for a long time, but R.E.M. puts a fresh spin on it by framing it in the context of betrayal.
The song ends with the singer forgiving but not forgetting, and urging their adversary to present their case one more time. Camera three, go now! The song is a powerful reminder that even in the face of adversity, it is possible to come out on top.
Line by Line Meaning
It's only when your poison spins into the life you hoped to live
Your negative actions will eventually catch up to you and ruin the life you envisioned for yourself.
That suddenly you wake up in a shaking panic, now
You'll find yourself in a state of fear and anxiety when you face the consequences of your actions.
You set me up like a lamb to slaughter
You betrayed me and put me in a vulnerable position to be taken advantage of.
Garbo as a farmer's daughter
Comparing yourself to someone who is not like you at all.
Unbelievable, the gospel according to who?
I can't believe the lies that you're spreading, who are you to preach?
I lay right down
I accept the situation for what it is and won't fight against it.
All your sad and lost apostles
The people who follow you blindly and have lost their way in life.
Hum my name and flare their nostrils
They speak my name with animosity and anger.
Choking on the bones you toss to them
You give them little to sustain themselves and leave them struggling and feeling lost.
Well, I'm not one to sit and spin
I won't remain stagnant and let you continue to hurt me and others.
'Cause living well's the best revenge
The best way to get back at you is to live a successful and fulfilling life without letting your actions hold me back.
Baby, I am calling you on that
I'm challenging you to see if you can do the same and live a positive life without causing harm to others.
Don't turn your talking points on me
Don't try to deflect from your own wrongdoings by pointing fingers at me.
History will set me free
My actions will speak for themselves and time will prove that I did nothing wrong.
The future's ours and you don't even rate a footnote now
The future belongs to those who make a positive impact and you will be forgotten and insignificant.
So who's chasing you? Where did you go?
Where did you disappear to and who is holding you accountable for your actions?
You disappeared mid-sentence
You suddenly became silent and stopped defending yourself once your wrongdoings were exposed.
In a judgment crisis I see my anecdote for it
In a time of chaos and judgment, I see my way of resolving the situation.
You weakened shell
You're not as strong as you appear to be and your actions have made you vulnerable.
You savor your dying breath
You're holding onto your own destruction and enjoying your downfall.
Well, I forgive but I don't forget
I can forgive you for what you've done, but I won't forget the harm you caused.
You work it out, let's hear that argument again
You need to figure out your own problems and I won't engage in your pointless arguments again.
Camera three, go now!
This is my moment to shine and prove myself while you fade into obscurity.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
비정한세상
It's only when your poison spins into the life you'd hoped to live
That suddenly you wake up in a shaking panic - wow!
You set me up like a lamb to slaughter
Garbo as a farmer's daughter
Unbelievable, the gospel according to who?
I lay right down.
All your sad and lost apostles hum my name and flare their nostrils
Choking on the bones you toss to them
Well I'm not one to sit and spin
'Cause living well's the best revenge
Baby, I am calling you on that
Don't turn your talking points on me, history will set me free
The future's ours and you don't even read the footnote now!
So who's chasing you? Where did you go?
You disappeared mid-sentence
In a judgement crisis I see my anecdote for it
You weakened shell.
You savour your dying breath
Well, I forgive but I don't forget
You work it out, let's hear that argument again
Camera three... GO NOW!
mimoocho dom
Rock at it's alternative finest. How good were these guys.
Mark Simpson
The best
Silky Wellman
What an amazing performance! Everyone is firing on all cylinders
Lee Indriks
Great Drums on all this album. Played along to it so many times. Rest in peace Bill, keep the beat buddy x
Eleanor Francis
Fuck! I forgot Bill had died. Too young. What a phenomenal player he was.
Jeroen Kleijn
Ouch. Totally missed that Bill has died. Way too young. Incredible drumming indeed, played along these tracks - and especially this one - many many times as well.
Matt Ritchey
Bill didn’t play on this album, though, did he? He left after HIFI.
David Lynch
@Matt Ritchey Different Bill. Bill Rieflin was R.E.M.'s drummer from 2003 until the band broke up (he's playing in this video). He sadly passed away earlier this year.
John G
Dude was solid.
Dry Scab
Michael walks on all relaxed, then delivers a blistering performance.