MAN ON
THE MOON
R.E.M.
Songwriters: BUCK PETER LAWRENCE & BERRY WILLIAM
THOMAS
Country:
u. s. a.
Album: authomatic for the people
Label: warner bros
Genre: rock
Year: 1992
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 85 million albums worldwide and becoming one of the
world's
best-selling music acts.
R.E.M. released its first single, "Radio Free
Europe", in 1981 on the independent record
label Hib-Tone. It was
followed by the Chronic Town EP in 1982, the
band's first release on I.R.S. Records.
In 1983, the group released its critically acclaimed debut album, Murmur, and
built its reputation over the next few years with similarly acclaimed releases
every year from 1984 to 1988: Reckoning,
Fables of the
Reconstruction, Lifes Rich Pageant,
Document and Green,
including an intermittent b-side compilation Dead Letter
Office. Don Dixon and Mitch Easter produced
their first two albums, Joe Boyd handled
production on Fables of the Reconstruction and Don Gehman produced
Lifes Rich Pageant. Thereafter, R.E.M. settled on Scott Litt as
producer for the next 10 years during the band's most successful period of
their career. They
also started co-producing their material and playing other instruments in the
studio apart from the main ones they play. With
constant touring, and the support of college radio following years of underground success, R.E.M. achieved a mainstream
hit with the 1987 single "The One I
Love". The group signed to Warner Bros.
Records in 1988, and began to espouse
political and environmental concerns while playing large arenas worldwide.
Automatic for the People is the eighth studio
album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released by Warner Bros.
Records on October 5, 1992 in the United
Kingdom and Europe, and on the following day in the United States. R.E.M. began
production on the album while their previous album, Out of Time(1991),
was still ascending top albums charts and achieving global success. Aided by
string arrangements from John Paul
Jones, Automatic for the People features
ruminations on mortality, loss, mourning and nostalgia.
Upon release, it received widespread acclaim
from critics, reached number two on the US Billboard 200,
and yielded six singles. Rolling Stone reviewer Paul Evans concluded of the album, "This is the
members of R.E.M. delving deeper than ever; grown sadder and wiser, the Athens
subversives reveal a darker vision that shimmers with new, complex
beauty." Automatic for the People has sold more than 18 million copies
worldwide.
Mott the Hoople and
the Game of Life
Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah
Andy Kaufman in the wrestling match
Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah
Monopoly, 21 checkers, and chess
Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah
Mister Fred Blassie in a breakfast mess
Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah
Let's play Twister,
let's play Risk
Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah
I'll see you in Heaven if you make the list
Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah
So Andy, did you hear
about this one?
Tell me, are you locked in the punch?
Hey Andy, are you goofing on Elvis? "Hey, baby"
Are you having fun?
If you believed they put a man on the moon
(Man on the moon)
If you believed there's nothing up his sleeve
Then nothing is cool
Moses went walking
with the staff of wood
Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah
Newton got beaned by the apple good
Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah
Egypt was troubled by
the horrible asp
Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah
Mister Charles Darwin had the balls to ask
Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah
So Andy, did you hear
about this one?
Tell me, are you locked in the punch?
Hey Andy, are you goofing on Elvis? "Hey, baby"
Are you losing touch?
If you believed they
put a man on the moon
(Man on the moon)
If you believe there's nothing up his sleeve
Then nothing is cool
Come on
Here's a little agit
for the never-believer
Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah
Here's a little ghost for the offering
Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah
Here's a truck stop
instead of Saint Peter's
Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah
Mister Andy Kaufman's gone wrestling
Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah
So Andy, did you hear
about this one?
Tell me, are you locked in the punch?
Hey Andy, are you goofing on Elvis? "Hey, baby"
Are you having fun?
If you believed they
put a man on the moon
(Man on the moon)
If you believe there's nothing up his sleeve
Then nothing is cool (nothing)
Come on
If you believed they
put a man on the moon
(Man on the moon)
If you believe there's nothing up his sleeve
Then nothing is cool (nothing)
If you believed they
put a man on the moon
(Man on the moon)
If you believe there's nothing up my sleeve
Then nothing is cool (yeah)
If you believe there's
nothing up my sleeve
Then nothing is cool
Come on
A toast
To the fair of city
To a beautiful monument
To a beautiful people
The end.