REM: The band I love

It was Christmas break of 1987 and I was driving home to the farm from Coaldale. Life had been eventful so far. I had just finished my first term at the University of Alberta, and was still surprised the semester was over, unlike high school where it went to the end of January. I had developed a crush on a girl who I thought might like me too, and had really enjoyed living in res.

Now, I had just arrived home on the Greyhound for Christmas break, and tried to re-connect with my high school friends to catch up on the last four months,

My best friend and roommate Chris Vining rode the Greyhound with me. He lived in Coaldale, and I often ventured into town to see him.

I was going back to the farm on this day, when I heard this song for the first time.

It had a deep bass line to start, followed by, “This one goes out to the one I love…”

I thought “The One I Love” by REM was a love song, and hearing it that first time made me think of the girl I had a crush on.

I was wrong about the song – and the girl – but not about the band.

REM would become one of my favourites.

In the beginning
REM was formed in 1980 and released their first single in 1981. Their first album, “Murmur”, came out in 1983 followed by “Reckoning” in 1984.

I first heard about REM in 1985 when I was listening to LA-107 FM, an album-oriented rock station that focused more on albums than singles. That year they released an album called “Fables of the Reconstruction”, which is a very memorable title.

It did not have any top 20 singles, but yielded the songs “Can’t Get There from Here”; “Driver 8”; and “Wendell Gee”.

In 1986 they released their fourth album, “Life’s Rich Pageant’, which yielded the single “Fall on Me”, which peaked at number 94 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. It was only after they hit it really big that “Fall on Me” received more substantial air play. A single, “Superman”, was also released but failed to chart.

Things would change with their next album.

Lucky number five
“Document” was REM’s fifth album. It was released in 1987, and would be their break through. The aforementioned “The One I Love” was a great song. It was not really about love, but about using people over and over again. It went all the way to number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band’s first top 10 hit.

There was a second single, “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”. It may have only peaked at number 69 on the Billboard Hot 100, but got a lot of air play where I was at. There would be a third single, “Finest Worksong”, but it didn’t chart.

End of the decade
REM would build on the success of “Document” with their final album of the ‘80s.

They released “Green”, their sixth album, in 1988. The first single in North America was “Stand”, another ear worm that peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100.

The video had the band dancing in a line, kind of jumping forward to the music. I was in my second year of university at the time, living on the Fifth Floor of Kelsey Hall. One day, the video came on TV and, in my own clumsy way, tried to mimic REM dancing by jumping forward shouting the words to “Stand”.

The joys of youth.

There would be two more singles from “Green”, but neither “Pop Song 89” or “Get Up” charted.

Yet, as the ‘90s dawned, REM had momentum and would ride that through the decade.

The years after
REM would have a string of commercial hits starting with “Losing My Religion”, which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart; “Shiny Happy People”, peaking at number 10, and number three on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart; “Man on the Moon”, peaking at number 30, and number two on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart; “Evetybody Hurts”, peaking at number 29; and “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?”, peaking at number 21, and number one on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart.

Their songs “Drive” and “Bang amd Blame” peaked at number one on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart.

REM has won three Grammys and been nominated for 15 in total.

They was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007, their first year of eligibility.

REM called it a day in 2011 – their own words.

Parting thoughts
REM really had their break through in the ‘80s with “Document”. In fact, in December of 1987, I recall reading that Rolling Stone magazine referred to REM as America’s best rock and roll band.

They would go on to achieve near cult status as the top alternative band of their time. They also signed a $80 million recording contract, the richest in history, in 1996, although the band disputed that number.

All that success began in the ‘80s with that love song, that really wasn’t a love song, that I heard for the first time driving down a country road in 1987.