With the many changes to the music industry, it doesn't seem possible for a band to rise to success after their first studio album like R.E.M. did with Murmur. We look at what made this artsy, floppy, jangle rock band tick and how The Police and MTV supported their rise to popularity.

Additional Resources:

• Bennett, L. (2013). Discourses of order and rationality: drooling R.E.M. fans as ‘matter out of place’. Continuum: Journal Of Media & Cultural Studies, 27(2), 214. 
• Parker, J. (2012). America's Rock Band. Atlantic, 309(1), 44-46.
• Roberts, J. (2004). Athens act on track for gold. (cover story). Music Week, (34), 9-10.
• Maus, F. (2006). Intimacy and Distance: On Stipe's Queerness. Journal Of Popular Music Studies, 18(2), 191. 
• R.E.M. Announce Murmur Deluxe Edition
• Murmur Trestle Information and Donations
• 100 Best Albums of the Eighties