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."
Low Desert
R.E.M. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A little dust and the engine kicks
Did your hands drift down off the wheel?
Roll out, hit your windshield
An eyelash or a little bit of sleep? Time stands still
Just call it now and you're on your way
Hey
Hey
All the ashtrays, cities and the freeway drives
Broken casino and water-slides
Eighteen-wheeler, payback dice
Gravity flows on the power line
Jet stream cuts the desert sky
This is a land could eat a man alive
Say you'll leave it all behind
Hey
Hey hey
Hey
There's a radio tower that's egging you on
Back to the place where you never belong
Where people thrive on their own contempt
Whatever meaning is long gone, spent
If you had to guess or make a bet
Would you place yourself inside of it?
The mountains yawn, the clouds let out a sigh
"Tricked again," let go, okay
Hey
Hey hey
Hey
Hey hey
Hey
The lyrics to R.E.M.'s song 'Low Desert' capture the feeling of being on the open road, with the imagery of the dust and the engine kicking evoking a sense of freedom and adventure. However, this sense of freedom is quickly interrupted by the question of whether the driver's hands drifted off the wheel and a possible accident. The line "time stands still" builds a sense of tension, as the consequences of the possible accident remain unknown. The chorus of "Hey" reinforces the sense of urgency and the need to keep moving forward.
As the song continues, the imagery shifts to a landscape of ashtrays, broken casinos, and water-slides. The use of concrete images creates a sense of a post-apocalyptic world that is at the same time both familiar and surreal. The image of an eighteen-wheeler and payback dice adds to this sense of a rough and dangerous world. The line "this is a land could eat a man alive" reinforces this sense of danger and the need to move on.
In the final verse, the song takes a darker turn as it speaks of a radio tower egging the driver on to return to a place where they never belonged. The people who live there are described as thriving on their own contempt, with whatever meaning long gone and spent. The image of the mountains and clouds sighing creates a sense of resignation and acceptance. The repeated "Hey" in the chorus serves as a call to action, urging the driver to keep moving forward and leave it all behind.
Line by Line Meaning
It happened fast, it's over quick
The event occurred rapidly and came to an end quickly
A little dust and the engine kicks
The vehicle starts after a few struggles due to dust
Did your hands drift down off the wheel?
Did you lose focus and loosen your grip on the steering wheel?
Roll out, hit your windshield
Embark the journey and hit the windscreen
An eyelash or a little bit of sleep? Time stands still
Unclear if it's a blink of an eye or just a small nap, but time seems to stop
Just call it now and you're on your way
Make a decision and start moving quickly
All the ashtrays, cities and the freeway drives
Recalling the memories of urban and highway experiences
Broken casino and water-slides
Visualizing the damaged gambling place and amusement park
Eighteen-wheeler, payback dice
A big truck loaded with revengeful intentions
Gravity flows on the power line
Electricity flows as a result of gravitational force
Jet stream cuts the desert sky
A fast-moving air current in the atmosphere cuts through the horizon
This is a land could eat a man alive
The harsh environment could pose a threat to human survival
Say you'll leave it all behind
Confirm that you are willing to abandon everything and depart
There's a radio tower that's egging you on
The radio transmitter is encouraging you to move forward
Back to the place where you never belong
Going back to somewhere that doesn't feel like home
Where people thrive on their own contempt
The area is populated by those who sustain themselves on their own hostility
Whatever meaning is long gone, spent
The purpose for existence has faded away and doesn't matter anymore
If you had to guess or make a bet
Assuming you were forced to guess or take a gamble
Would you place yourself inside of it?
Would you put yourself in that situation?
The mountains yawn, the clouds let out a sigh
The landscape seems to be breathing deeply in a tranquil manner
"Tricked again," let go, okay
Admitting that they've been deceived and moving on with acceptance
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Michael Mills, Michael Stipe
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Creative Flow Guitar
A band with so many masterpieces you forget em then find em again.
toyfrisbee
I totally forgot about this song. And after several renewed listens, I'm LOVING the funky groove! I had no idea from way back when. Awesome!
Willie Fistergash
same with me
Idk how.old you are I listened to this album when I was like 15 because of Ebow the letter and I never realized till being older now with better taste in music how many great songs are on this album
Luis q
wHEN i LISTEN TO THIS SONG, THE IMAGE OF THE COVER OF new adventures in hi-fi ALWAYS COMES TO MY MIND.
alan reid
Is it rock? Is it country ? Is it blues ? No its just REM painting pictures with music and vocals like no one else can, one of so many unrecognised masterpieces tucked away In their pantheon.
I miss them so much
Benny Malone
Masterpiece
Felipe Bacana 👍🏻
Great song! Greetings from Brazil! 🇧🇷
Denise Freitas
Amazing song!
Omar Vicente García Sánchez
Far from his very popular "Losing my Religion", but similar to it in skepticism and disenchantment, this time they propose a harder sound and continuation of their album "Monster". Although the lyrics describe an exterior, it insinuates another desert: The human heart in extreme adversity.
Patricia
Really good