Warner Bros. 45740
Producers: Scott Litt and R.E.M.
Track listing: What’s the Frequency, Kenneth? / Crush with Eyeliner / King of Comedy / I Don’t Sleep, I Dream / Star 69 / Strange Currencies / Tongue / Bang and Blame / I Took Your Name / Let Me In / Circus Envy / You
October 15, 1994
2 weeks
For Monster, R.E.M. packed the acoustic instruments away and plugged in to record the hardest-rocking album of their career. As a result, the band, which managed to increase in popularity despite a hiatus from touring, hit the road for the first time in five years. “To go on the road with three albums of slow, quiet material would be kind of a snore,” says vocalist Michael Stipe, “so we made a loud record.”
Automatic for the People, R.E.M.’s largely acoustic follow-up to the chart-topping Out of Time, debuted and peaked at number two on October 24, 1992. R.E.M. started writing material for Monster about a year later, in September 1993. The album was recorded between March and July 1994 at studios in New Orleans, Miami, Atlanta, and Los Angeles “and a couple of parking lots,” Stipe says.
Both Stipe and bassist/keyboardist Mike Mills say the album was difficult to record. “It took about one-eighth of my life,” quips Stipe. “There were a lot of life things happening around us. It was a very intense record.” During the recording process, guitarist Peter Buck became the father of twins, and Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, who Stipe had befriended, committed suicide. Following Cobain’s death, Stipe released a statement saying the two had planned to collaborate on a project. “I knew basically what was going on, so I was trying to offer a diversion to where he was at,” Stipe says.
Monster includes “Let Me In,” a haunting track that pits Stipe’s vocals against a wall of guitar reverb, organ, and tambourine, but no drums. “I wrote that to Kurt, for Kurt, and about him,” Stipe says. “I had just written an entire album [Automatic for the People] about death, mortality, and passage and really didn’t want to repeat myself on this record, but his death profoundly affected me. I couldn’t really ignore it much longer.”
Yet taken in its entirety, Monster isn’t a downer, but generally rather upbeat, loud, and raucous. “We set out to do that with Automatic for the People,” Stipe says. “It was going to be kind of a loud punk rock record, but then it went the other way.”
Musically, Monster runs the gamut. Fuzzed-out, guitar-heavy rockers “Crush with Eyeliner,” “Star 69,” and “Circus Envy” recall the obscure R.E.M. oldie “Wind Out,” T. Rex, and Iggy Pop. In fact, in “I Took Your Name,” Stipe wryly states, “I wanna be Iggy Pop.” “If it would have been left to my devices, the record would sound like Fugazi on 45,” says Stipe, referring to the Washington, D.C., punk band. “I’m kind of like the punk rocker of the four of us. I would make the loudest, fastest, most fucked-up record in the world.” Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore contributes backing vocals on “Crush with Eyeliner,” while Stipe’s sister, Lynda, is one of the backing vocalists on “Bang and Blame.”
Lyrically, Stipe takes on the media “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?” The track was inspired by an incident involving Dan Rather, in which the CBS network news anchor was accosted by a man on the streets of New York. Yet Stipe says the song isn’t aimed just at Rather “It’s so far beyond him,” he says.
Monster, R.E.M.’s ninth full studio album, came as the band’s 15th anniversary approached. Throughout the years, R.E.M. found success, while retaining its artistic integrity and original lineup. Says Stipe, “We have a great deal of respect and love for each other and we like working together. There has yet to be a real turd in the punch bowl in terms of records, so it seems whatever we are doing, we’re doing it right.”
THE TOP FIVE
Week of October 15, 1994
1. Monster, R.E.M.
2. II, Boyz II Men
3. From the Cradle, Eric Clapton
4. Rhythm of Love, Anita Baker
5. Songs, Luther Vandross