John Michael Stipe is an American singer, songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M.
Reckoning is the second studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on April 9, 1984, by I.R.S. Records. Produced by Mitch Easter and Don Dixon, the album was recorded at Reflection Sound Studio in Charlotte, North Carolina, over 16 days in December 1983 and January 1984. Dixon and Easter intended to capture the sound of R.E.M.'s live performances, and used binaural recording on several tracks. Lead singer Michael Stipe dealt with darker subject matter in his lyrics, with water-related imagery being a recurring theme on the album.
Fables of the Reconstruction, also known as Reconstruction of the Fables, is the third studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on I.R.S. Records on June 10, 1985. The Joe Boyd-produced album was the first recorded by the group outside the United States. Many of the album's lyrics take inspiration from Southern Gothic themes and characters.
Lifes Rich Pageant is the fourth studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on July 28, 1986. R.E.M. chose Don Gehman to produce the album, which was recorded at John Mellencamp's Belmont Mall Studio in Belmont, Indiana. This was the only album the band recorded with Gehman, who moved them from the more obscure and dense sound of their earlier albums to an accessible, hard rock-influenced quality. The album was well-received critically.
Dead Letter Office is a rarities and B-sides collection by R.E.M., released in April 1987. The album is essentially a collection of many additional recordings R.E.M. made from before Murmur to Lifes Rich Pageant that were outtakes or released as B-sides to their singles internationally. Many of the tracks are favorite cover versions indicating the band's disparate influences and musical tastes, including three Velvet Underground covers, and songs by Aerosmith, Roger Miller, and fellow Athenians Pylon ("Crazy").
Around the Sun is the 13th studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on October 5, 2004 on Warner Bros. Records.
Eponymous is the first greatest hits album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1988. It was their last authorized release on I.R.S. Records, to whom they had been contracted since 1982, having just signed with Warner Bros. Records.
"Leaving New York" is a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was released as the lead single from the band's 13th studio album, Around the Sun (2004). Although it was not as heavily promoted as earlier singles, it reached number five on the UK Singles Chart, becoming their 11th and final top-10 hit there. However, the song failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the only lead US single from an R.E.M. studio album not to chart on the US Hot 100 besides "Cant Get There from Here" from Fables of the Reconstruction in 1985.
The Best of R.E.M. is a greatest hits album by R.E.M. released in 1991, shortly after the success of the band's seventh studio album, Out of Time, released by Warner Bros. The Best of R.E.M., however, was released by the band's previous record label, I.R.S. Records, and only includes tracks from their first five albums while the group was with that label. As such, it covers their output from 1982 to 1987.
American alternative rock band R.E.M. has released fifteen studio albums, five live albums, fourteen compilation albums, one remix album, one soundtrack album, twelve video albums, seven extended plays, sixty-three singles, and seventy-seven music videos. Formed in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and drummer Bill Berry, the band was pivotal in the development of the alternative rock genre. Their musical style inspired many other alternative rock bands and musicians, and the band became one of the first alternative rock acts to experience breakthrough commercial success. R.E.M. have sold more than ninety million albums worldwide, making them one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
"Driver 8" is the second single from American musical group R.E.M.'s third album, Fables of the Reconstruction, released in September 1985. The song peaked at number 22 on the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
R.E.M. In the Attic – Alternative Recordings 1985–1989 was the fourth R.E.M. compilation released by I.R.S. Records. EMI-Capitol, which acquired the entire I.R.S. Records catalogue upon the label's failure in 1996, released In the Attic in 1997 without the permission of R.E.M. The album failed to chart in the UK, and only reached #185 in the U.S. in its sole week on the chart. Most of the songs had appeared on the European reissues of the band's IRS albums, but this was their first official release in the US. There are two exceptions; these are "Gardening at Night", which was on Eponymous, and "Cant Get There From Here" which was on Singles Collected, both compilations having been released in the U.S.. Although they were also I.R.S. Years bonus tracks, "Crazy" and "Toys in the Attic" had also appeared on the band's b-sides compilation album Dead Letter Office.
"Wendell Gee" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released as the third and final single from the group's third studio album Fables of the Reconstruction in 1985. It was released in Europe only, in two 7" and two 12" formats.
R.E.M. Singles Collected is a compilation album from R.E.M. released in Europe by I.R.S. Records in 1994. The album includes the A-side and B-sides of singles spanning from their debut LP Murmur in 1983, right through to Document in 1987.
And I Feel Fine... The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982–1987 is a compilation album by American band R.E.M. It features songs from the band's years at I.R.S. Records. All tracks have been remastered, and the set was released 12 September 2006. A companion DVD, titled When the Light Is Mine, was released the same day.
When the Light Is Mine: The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982–1987 is a DVD featuring videos by the rock band R.E.M. during its tenure with I.R.S. Records from 1982 to 1987. It was released in the United States on September 12, 2006, to coincide with the release of And I Feel Fine: The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987, a compilation album featuring selections from the band's I.R.S. back catalogue.
R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternative rock bands, R.E.M. was noted for Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style; Stipe's distinctive vocal quality, unique stage presence, and obscure lyrics; Mills's melodic bass lines and backing vocals; and Berry's tight, economical drumming style. In the early 1990s, other alternative rock acts such as Nirvana and Pavement viewed R.E.M. as a pioneer of the genre. After Berry left the band in 1997, the band continued its career in the 2000s with mixed critical and commercial success. The band broke up amicably in 2011 with members devoting time to solo projects after having sold more than 90 million albums worldwide and becoming one of the world's best-selling music acts.
Surprise Your Pig: A Tribute to R.E.M. is a tribute album of the songs of R.E.M. released in 1992. The title comes from a misunderstood exchange between Jefferson Holt and Mike Mills.
Live at The Olympia is a live album by American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was recorded during the band's five-night residency at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin, between June 30 and July 5, 2007, and released on October 27, 2009. In this series of "working rehearsals" the songs on Accelerate were debuted, with many still works in progress. Every song from "Accelerate" appear on the album with the exception of "Hollow Man" and "Sing for the Submarine". The album is a two-CD release, and contains a total of 39 songs. In addition, a DVD with a documentary entitled This Is Not a Show directed by Vincent Moon is included. A special edition box set containing the album on four LPs as well as the two CDs and the DVD is also available.
Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011 is a 2011 greatest hits album from alternative rock band R.E.M. Intended as a coda on their career, this is the first compilation album that features both their early work on independent record label I.R.S. Records in addition to their 10 studio releases through Warner Bros. Records. The double-disc retrospective was released through Warner Bros. on November 11, 2011, and was compiled by the band members; the existence of the compilation was revealed simultaneously with the group's announcement that they were disbanding on September 21, 2011.
