Maps and Legends: The Story of R.E.M., by John Hunter

Expand

Maps and Legends: The Story of R.E.M. by John Hunter

Despite protestations to the contrary, Michael Stipe was determined to become a rock star years before Twisted Kites, soon renamed R.E.M., debuted at a birthday party in an abandoned Athens, Georgia church in 1980. Within three years, R.E.M. were college radio darlings; by the late ‘80s they were one of rock’s biggest acts.

Their story is told in detail by John Hunter, who read through reams of rock journalism and watched miles of documentary footage, augmenting his research by interviewing eyewitnesses, band buddies and fellow Athens musicians, dispelling old legends along the way.

Hunter looks closely at the background of each R.E.M., especially guitarist Peter Buck and vocalist Michael Stipe. Both rejected the Southern rock that prevailed through their region in the late ‘70s. Buck was steeped in the Beatles and the Byrds before discovering a Velvet Underground album at a yard sale, “like a radio from another world,” he described it. Stipe, an Army brat, grew up hearing country music and some critics discern a hint of Nashville in his voice. Patti Smith’s Horses (1975) was Stipes’ epiphany, “an incandescent revelatory moment” he said.

Buck worked at an Athens record store where he met Stipe. In the late ‘70s the college town’s derelict downtown enabled students, many from the art school, to live cheaply. Others rented crumbling Victorian homes that became band houses. The B-52s’ success spurred the formation of punk and new wave bands including Pylon, Love Tractor and the Brains. Buck and Stipe followed suit with bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry (who hedged his bets for many months by continuing in Love Tractor). Early shows included the Troggs’ “Wild Thing” and songs gathered from Lenny Kaye’s seminal compilation of ‘60s garage bands, Nuggets (1972).

By R.E.M.’s debut, an indie single release of “Radio Free Europe” (1981), Stipe worked out the “shy, awkward, moody persona that would reach its apotheosis in the video for ‘So. Central Rain’” and his lyrics assumed their dreamy trademark. Buck was already a distinctive guitarist for arpeggiating nearly every note. The tonality of their early song “Gardening at Night” jumps between keys, only partially voicing certain chords, allowing for the suggestion of drone and the enduring influence of the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn. Their songs became group compositions.

“Radio Free Europe” earned R.E.M. critical accolades and led to their contract with the hip but corporately connected IRS Records. Their major label debut, the five-song Chronic Town (1982), included “Gardening at Night.” Producer Mitch Easter was a fan of Kraftwerk, and although R.E.M. sounded nothing like the German electronic group, Easter was inspired by their sonic experimentation and drenched the recording with the mood of a lucid dream. Next step was stardom, prodded along the way by IRS.

Maps and Legends is a revelatory look into one of the most popular bands of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, their personalities as well as the development of their unique sound.

Stream or download Maps and Legends: The Story of R.E.M. here.