Automatic For The People
R.E.M. is an alternative rock band formed in Athens, United States in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist/keyboard player Mike Mills, and vocalist Michael Stipe.
Automatic For The people was released by Warner Bros on: 05 October 1992, I was four years old. I discovered the album much later in my life.
Also a neat little fact here; “The first record I wrote on computer was automatic for the people.” - Michael Stipe
I will now do a track-by-track review at one of my favourite albums, morbid and lugubrious in lyrics and tone, it appealed to me straight away.
1. Drive
Michael Stipe’s Homage to the David Essex song ‘Rock on’, also it contrasts with the youthful rebellion of say ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, ‘Drive’ is a far more jaded and cynical look at youth culture. I think that’s because Stipe + Co were in their thirties whilst recording this album.
2. Try Not To Breathe
Perhaps the most morbid song on the album where ‘Drive’ dealt with the cynicism of rebellion, ‘Try Not Breathe’ is rooted in the art of dying. The song is sung through the view point of somebody elderly, who is reassuring perhaps a family member or somebody close to them, that in their dying it’s the best decision. Yet, the song is greatly uplifting, it serves to rouse a feeling of calmness, and security.
3. The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite
Borrowing the melody from ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’, the song ‘The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite’ was born. Also John Paul Jones’ the bassist from Led Zeppelin, arranged the strings for this song. There is a sense of levity regarding the song noted by Stipe himself as he giggles after singing “a reading from Dr. Seuss”.
4. Everybody Hurts
The anti-suicide song, the song I recall played when Princess Diana passed away.
“Everybody cries. And everybody hurts sometimes” sings Michael Stipe, his rallying cry for you to hold on. and it’s the empathy the tenderness in his voice, in which, we the listener pick up on. Whilst often to it’s attributed to be a song about pain; it’s a song about overcoming it, not dwelling on it.
5. New Orleans Instrumental No. 1
The only instrumental featured on this album, its aptly placed between ‘Everybody Hurts’ and ‘Sweetness Follows’. Perhaps this is due to the contrasting nature of both songs, ‘Everybody Hurts’ is about overcoming hurt, whilst ‘Sweetness Follows’ deals with emotional detachment.
6. Sweetness Follows
If ‘Try Not To Breathe’ was about the act of dying with dignity, then ‘Sweetness Follows’ is perhaps dealing with the loss of the loved one. Now I don’t think the two characters in the songs are related. The lyrics read about a sense of detachment from seeing their parents buried. There is this overarching sense of numbness and emptiness, conveyed through the lyrics.
7. Monty Got a Raw Deal
Montgomery Clift was an actor was an actor in the 60s. He was a handsome man, who indulged in sexual relationships with both men and women. The world was his oyster, so to speak, until a car accident left him disfigured and impotent. Here we see a character questioning himself, but asking Monty why he feels this way. Its about coming to terms with sexual identity.
8. Ignoreland
Written at a time of the Reagan era, this is Michael Stipe’s attack on the state of US politics in 1992. Angry and bitter, he states ‘I’m just profoundly frustrated by all this. So, fuck you, man.’ It also highlights how the media has a part to play in not just reporting politics, but publishing propaganda as well. Which to my knowledge has been done, since World War one.
9. Star Me Kitten
A failed relationship, the end of a marriage, all of these things spring to mind regarding ‘Star Me Kitten’. The title is actually a reference to sex, as the last lyric is ‘Fuck me, Kitten’. It’s about two people who were once together in a long term relationship, are now dependent on each other for their physical needs, but not their emotional ones.
10. Man On The Moon
‘Man On The Moon’ is based on American comedian Andy Kaufman. The song makes references to his wrestling and his intentionally awful Elvis impersonation. the song based around the theory that the moon landings of 1969, were in fact faked. The lyrics are very abstract, referring to historical figures and/or events. In particular Moses and Darwin are mentioned, two people who went against the grain, a bit like Kaufman perhaps.
11. Nightswimming
This is a special tack if not just for the musical arrangement, Mike Mills on Piano, John Paul Jones’ string arrangement which really add to the sense of nostalgia, and oboe played by Deborah Workman. Just he instrumental at the beginning is enough to get your mind wandering. The song is about skinny dipping. Its about youth, and just treasuring time spent with people that you care about: your friends.
12. Find The River
This song is symbolic, it talks about finding your path, searching for your own way, instead of following. it’s about destiny, fulfillment, happiness.
