February 01, 2021

1993 - February: R.E.M. ”Automatic for the People”

37 minutes

By the time that R.E.M. put out their eighth studio album, the band had been a major factor in alternative rock for a decade. Automatic for the People takes a step back from the faster paced music of earlier albums and creates a more pensive, mellow feel with themes of loss and nostalgia for times gone by. Guitarist Peter Buck, bass and keyboardist Mike Mills, drummer Bill Berry, and front man Michael Stipe present a more acoustic landscape with this critically and commercially successful album.

Many of the songs on this album originated during sessions for the previous album, “Out of Time,” recorded at Prince's Paisley Park Studios. The recording was done in multiple locations including Seattle, New Orleans, Miami, Atlanta, and of course R.E.M.'s home town of Athens, Georgia. The band formed from UGA students in 1980 and was one of the earliest alternative rock groups on the scene. R.E.M. lead the charge of the Athens-based music scene.

The album name is a motto originated at Weaver D's Delicious Fine Foods in Athens, Georgia. At one point the album was going to be called "Star." The album cover sports a photograph of a star-shaped sign from the Sinbad hotel in Miami, not far from the studio where some of the tracks were recorded. This album would produce six singles, and reached number 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200 Album charts.

While originally released in October 1992, we're featuring it in May 1993 when "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" single was released in February 1993, the third single from the album. We hope you like this trip back to college rock in the early 90's.

Ignoreland

Although this track was not released as a single, it still made it into the charts. The high energy song finds Michael Stipe throwing out crazy lyrics and phrases about politics, mostly raging against Republicans Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

Try Not to Breathe

Michael Stipe was writing about his grandmother as she was dying in this folksy track in 3/4 time. The title originated from a session where Peter Buck had the guitar mic near his mouth. The engineer said he was making too much noise, and Buck replied, "OK, take two. I'll try not to breathe." Stipe thought it made a nice title!

Monty Got a Raw Deal

Another folk oriented track, this one is about the actor Montgomery Clift, who starred in The Misfits, From Here to Eternity, and A Place in the Sun. The lyrics were meant as a contemplation on movies versus reality. Guitarist Peter Buck plays a Greek stringed instrument called a bouzouki on this song.

Night Swimming

This soft ballad is almost a chant with its repeating, circular melody. John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin fame is credited with the string arrangement. If the piano sounds familiar, it might be because Mike Mills recorded the piano using the same instrument that Derek and the Dominos used to record "Layla" many years prior to this. "Every streetlight reveals a picture in reverse..."

ENTERTAINMENT TRACK:

“Pennsylvania Polka” by Frankie Yankovic & His Yanks

The film "Groundhog Day" debuted in February 1993, starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. The film "Groundhog Day" debuted in February 1993, starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. The film "Groundhog Day" debuted in February 1993, starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. ;-)

STAFF PICKS:

Walk On the Ocean by Toad the Wet Sprocket

Brian's staff pick starts us off with the group named from a Monty Python skit. Lead singer Glen Phillips wrote the lyrics in about 5 minutes as a “stream of consciousness” without any real meaning. He had images of water on his mind after a trip to the ocean in Washington state, but nothing beyond that.

Mr. Wendal by Arrested Development

Bruce brings us a little southern hip hop from Atlanta's own Arrested Development. The song tells about an encounter with the homeless Mr. Wendal and about what the rapper learns from a non-materialistic person versus what society says.

I Am the Bullgod by Kid Rock

Wayne's staff pick brings up the energy with a rocking song from Detroit's Robert James Ritchie, aka Kid Rock. This is off his second independent album, and would be re-released on a major label years later. It is a good example of the blend between rap and heavy metal that was making its appearance at the time.

Courage (for Hugh MacLennan) by The Tragically Hip

Rob's closes out the staff picks with a hit from Canadian band The Tragically Hip - off their third studio album. The reference to Hugh MacLennan is a shout-out to the author of a 1959 novel entitled "The Watch that Ends the Night." Lines from that novel are paraphrased in the last verse of the song.

INSTRUMENTAL TRACK:

New Orleans Instrumental No. 1 by R.E.M.

Rob does a little double dipping this week to finish off the episode with an instrumental track from this week's album pick. R.E.M. recorded this in New Orleans in a place that was supposedly haunted.

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By Rob Marbury, Wayne Rowan, Bruce Fricks, John Lynch

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