R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by dr… Read Full Bio ↴R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist/backing vocalist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe. One of the first alternative rock bands, R.E.M. was noted for Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style, Stipe's distinctive vocal quality and obscure lyrics, Mills's melodic basslines and backing vocals, and Berry's tight, economical style of drumming.

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."

Tainted Obligation
R.E.M. Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I saw the shoals at night, with the moon above.
I felt an obligation, and heard your voice again.
If you were here once, you were here a hundred times.
If I reached out tonight, I found I couldn't fight it.
If you were here once, you were here a hundred times.

Ohh
Best as a wishing star, I saw you better far away,

And I felt obligation, and heard your voice again.
Hear the rush of water, passing over the shoals.
Hear my heartbeat rather, if I reached out tonight.

If I reach out tonight and find I can't fight it,
And look to the stars, and wander towards a
Heartfelt obligation, a place that you called home
And heard your voice again, but it's too late.
You left long ago, and now you're probably dead and gone,

And I'm left here with the water and the shoals and a tainted obligation.
Ohh

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of R.E.M.'s song Tainted Obligation are open to interpretation, much like many other songs of the alternative rock genre, but they hold a personal and emotional weight for the listener. The song speaks of a sense of loss and longing for someone, who has left the singer behind. The opening line "I saw the shoals at night, with the moon above" sets a melancholic and reflective tone for the song. The shoals can represent many things, but the fact that they are seen at night and under the moonlight emphasizes the darkness and the feeling of isolation.

The next line "I felt an obligation, and heard your voice again" seems to suggest that the singer feels he owes something to the person he is thinking of, who may have been an important part of his life in the past. The repetition of "If you were here once, you were here a hundred times" reinforces this idea that the person in question was significant.

The chorus emphasizes the singer's yearning for the past, with lines such as "Best as a wishing star, I saw you better far away" and "And heard your voice again, but it's too late". The singer seems to have come to terms with the fact that the person he is thinking of is no longer here, but still cherishes their memory and the significance they held in his life.

Overall, the lyrics of Tainted Obligation are emotive and reflective, prompting the listener to ruminate on their own experiences of loss and longing for people who have impacted their lives.

Line by Line Meaning

I saw the shoals at night, with the moon above.
The singer saw a specific location at night.

I felt an obligation, and heard your voice again.
The singer feels a sense of duty or responsibility, and is reminded of someone by a voice or memory.

If you were here once, you were here a hundred times.
The person the singer is reminded of has had a significant impact on their life, and has been present in many ways and at many times.

If I reached out tonight, I found I couldn't fight it.
The artist tried to resist a certain feeling or temptation, but ultimately could not.

Best as a wishing star, I saw you better far away,
The person the artist is reminded of is idealized and seemed better in their absence or from a distance.

Hear the rush of water, passing over the shoals.
The sound of water flowing over a rocky area is present in the singer's current location.

Hear my heartbeat rather, if I reached out tonight.
The singer's emotional state is intense and present, more noticeable than the external sounds around them.

If I reach out tonight and find I can't fight it,
The artist is again acknowledging their inability to resist a certain urge or feeling.

And look to the stars, and wander towards a
The artist is looking to celestial objects for guidance or direction.

Heartfelt obligation, a place that you called home
The artist feels a strong sense of duty or responsibility to a place that the person they are reminded of once called home.

And heard your voice again, but it's too late.
The singer experiences the voice or memory of the person they are reminded of again, but it is too late for things to be different or for action to be taken.

You left long ago, and now you're probably dead and gone,
The person the artist is reminded of is likely no longer alive or present.

And I'm left here with the water and the shoals and a tainted obligation.
The singer remains in their current surroundings with a sense of duty or responsibility that has been altered or damaged in some way, possibly due to the reminder of the person they are thinking of.

Ohh
An additional vocalization, possibly expressing emotion or closure to the song.

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