It’s the first week of December 1987, and R.E.M. has just finished a tour of Europe and North America, playing to the largest crowds of
Category: History
Ronnie James Dio steered Black Sabbath away from the brink of self-destruction when he replaced the ousted Ozzy Osbourne in 1979. But just three years and two
As R.E.M. sprinted toward a long-developing commercial breakthrough in 1987, they came to more fully understand their powers as a band – both musically and
“Listen to me.” There’s a moment at the end of “Welcome to the Occupation,” where Michael Stipe repeats this phrase over and over, sounding more
In the back half of the ’80s, as R.E.M. was crafting their fourth and fifth albums, the band’s music was becoming more direct. The sounds
R.E.M. loved to cover their musical heroes – in concert, on tribute albums, for b-sides. YouTube and rarities compilations are rife with them paying tribute
How R.E.M. Mixed Dreams, TV and Politics on ‘End of the World’
If Document was the turning point for R.E.M., then “The One I Love” served as the hinge. Released as the lead single of their fifth
Billy Joel was about halfway through his eighth studio album, The Nylon Curtain, and sensing the creative strain. He turned that feeling into the album’s
R.E.M.’s second album, 1984’s Reckoning, carried a curious phrase on the LP’s spine: “File Under Water.” It was a designation, an in-joke or even an alternate