R.E.M.

R.E.M. returned with their guitars...

The legendary music band R.E.M. is once again ready to speed up our musical journey with their 14th album “Accelerate”. They are returning with their guitars, which they have not used very frequently during their recent albums, and, as the title of the album suggests, they intend to rock and roll at high speed.

R.E.M., one of the most respected rock bands of the world of music, is getting prepared to honour their loyal fans with the release of their 14th studio album “Accelerate”. The band which has gained popularity on a worldwide basis due to its hit singles such as “Loosing My Religion”, “The One I Love”, “Man On The Moon”, “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?” released their latest album “Around The Sun”, which was a bit of a disappointment considering their older albums, in 2004.
After a three year interval, R.E.M. seems to be returning to its roots and original style. It is told that the album is guitar-dominated and that “Accelerate” will be like “Monster”, even better.

The best of America...
The new album consisting of 11 songs will be released on March 31. The first single “Supernatural Superserious" was released last February. The new song can be listened on R.E.M.’s official website. All the songs of “Accelerate” were rehearsed in Dublin and “Supernatural Superserious” clearly shows that R.E.M. returned with the bitterness of its high-volume guitars. With the band’s more experimental musical adventures which started with the album “New Adventures in Hi-Fi" (1996) and continued with “Up” (1998), “Reveal” (2001), and “Around the Sun” (2004), the guitar-oriented rock music was replaced with a softer, low tempo, improvisational songs. Despite the fact that the loyal fans of R.E.M. found something admirable in these experimental attempts, commercially speaking the albums were not successful. “New Adventures In Hi-Fi” sold 994,000, “Up” sold 664,000, “Reveal” sold 415,000 and “Around the Sun” sold only 232,000. The declining figures were disappointing (disappointing, of course, most notably for the record company, since it is a great injustice to measure the achievement of such an album as “Up” in solely commerical terms). No doubt R.E.M.’s true accomplishment was its skillful blend of basic rock instruments like bass guitar, guitar and drums with the poetic lyrics accompanied by a definitive mix of punk, folk and rock music. An exemplary album in this regard was “Out of Time” (1991) which sold 4 million copies. It was no surprise that the famous music magazine “Rolling Stone” simply named R.E.M. as “the best rock and roll band in America”. Similarly omfortable with the grungy guitars of punk, the blues of modern times, and the folk music of a cold city of skyscrapers, the musicianship of R.E.M. was characterized by its radical openness to novelty. Furthermore, their fame did not eradicate their modesty. If R.E.M. can be said to play "alternative" music, then R.E.M. gave the word “alternative” its fullest meaning, depicting it not only with their music but also with their lifestyle. They voiced their concerns regarding a variety of social issues ranging from environmental crisis and animal rights to anti-Bush politics.

The “Golden Age” begins...
Founded in Georgia, USA in 1980 by Michael Stipe (vocals), Peter Buck (guitar), Mike Mills (bass guitar) and Bill Berry (drums), R.E.M. quickly became one of the first popular representatives of alternative rock music.
The unique guitar technique of Peter Buck and the gloomy voice of Michael Stipe influenced an audience with the first R.E.M. album "Murmur” (1983). Rolling Stone Magazine announced "Murmur" as the "album of the year" the success of which was to be followed by equally popular albums like "Reckoning" (1984), "Fables of the Reconstruction" (1985) and "Life's Rich Pageant" (1986). With the 1986 album, Stipe's vocals became more and more prominent and original. "Life’s Rich Pageant” was the first R.E.M. gold record which also stimulated a renewed interest in the band’s previous albums. In 1987, the fifth studio album "Document" was released and quickly became the most popular R.E.M. album ever. The album contained the hit singles "The One I Love" which rose to number two position in American charts and "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" which introduced R.E.M. to MTV.
The 1988 release “Green” epitomized the beginning of the golden age of R.E.M. The first two singles from the album, “Stand” and “Orange Crush”, occupied number one positions in the music charts. The 1991 album “Out of Time” was equally successful in both the UK and the USA.The first single from “Out of Time”, “Losing My Religion” was to become the best known R.E.M. song. Another single from the same album, “Shiny Happy People”, was a popular R.E.M. song as well. In the USA, "Out of Time” sold more than four million copies and became the most successful album of R.E.M. The 1992 album “Automatic For The People” with the hit singles “Everybody Hurts” and “Man On The Moon” was just another major R.E.M. achievement. Then came the 1994 album “Monster”, a true rock album which reached the peak position both in the UK and the USA.

The R.E.M. stance...
In 1997 R.E.M. signed a contract with Warner Bros for 80 million dollars; this was the most expensive contract the music industry has ever known. The same year the drummer Billy Berry left the band and the rest of the members decided to carry on as a trio.
R.E.M. was founded at a time when the 1970s’ post-punk trend left its place to alternative rock. R.E.M. managed to become a mainstream band without ever compromising its always "alternative" stance. R.E.M.'s invasion of the mainstream music scene meant that an alternative interpretation of the period's musical taste was quite possible. R.E.M. is the only band (with U2, of course) that can claim to be the best rock band. R.E.M. was included in the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" in 2007.
The band took its name after the abbreviated form of “Rapid Eye Movement”, which signifies the stage of sleep during which you dream. The magnificent 28 year old career involved 13 great albums with memorable singles. Now their 14th album is getting ready to make music lovers much happier.

Burçin Tuncer