Losing My Religion
Encyclopedia
"Losing My Religion" is a song by the American alternative rock
band R.E.M.
The song was released as the first single from the group's 1991 album Out of Time
. Based around a mandolin
riff, "Losing My Religion" was an unlikely hit for the group, garnering heavy airplay on radio as well as on MTV
due to its critically acclaimed music video
. The song became R.E.M.'s highest-charting hit in the United States, reaching number four on the Billboard
Hot 100
and expanding the group's popularity beyond its original fanbase. It was nominated for several Grammy Award
s, and won two for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
and Best Short Form Music Video
. "Weird Al" Yankovic
included the chorus in his polka medley "Polka Your Eyes Out" from his 1992 album Off the Deep End
.
wrote the main riff and chorus to the song on a mandolin while watching television one day. Buck had just bought the instrument and was attempting to learn how to play it, recording the music as he practiced. Buck said, "When I listened back to it the next day, there was a bunch of stuff that was really just me learning how to play mandolin, and then there's what became 'Losing My Religion', and then a whole bunch more of me learning to play the mandolin."
Recording of the song started in September 1990 at Bearsville Studio A
in Woodstock, New York
. The song was arranged in the studio with mandolin, electric bass, and drums. Bassist Mike Mills
came up with a bassline inspired by the work of Fleetwood Mac
bassist John McVie
; by his own admission he could not come up with one for the song that was not derivative. Buck said the arrangement of the song "had a hollow feel to it. There's absolutely no midrange on it, just low end and high end, because Mike usually stayed pretty low on the bass." The band decided to have touring guitarist Peter Holsapple
play acoustic guitar
on the recording. Buck reflected, "It was really cool: Peter and I would be in our little booth, sweating away, and Bill and Mike would be out there in the other room going at it. It just had a really magical feel." Singer Michael Stipe
's vocal was recorded in a single take. Orchestral strings, arranged by Mark Bingham, were added to the song by members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
at Soundscape Studios in Atlanta, Georgia
in October 1990.
' chords. You can't really say anything bad about E minor, A minor, D, and G – I mean, they're just good chords." Buck noted that "Losing My Religion" was "probably the most typical R.E.M.-sounding song on the record. We are trying to get away from those kind of songs, but like I said before, those are some good chords." Orchestral strings play through parts of the song.
In the song, Michael Stipe sings the lines "That's me in the corner/That's me in the spotlight/Losing my religion". The phrase "losing my religion" is an expression from the southern region of the United States that means losing one's temper
or civility, or "being at the end of one's rope." Stipe told The New York Times
the song was about romantic expression. He told Q that "Losing My Religion" is about "someone who pines for someone else. It's unrequited love, what have you." Stipe compared the song's theme to "Every Breath You Take
" by The Police
, saying, "It's just a classic obsession pop song. I've always felt the best kinds of songs are the ones where anybody can listen to it, put themselves in it and say, 'Yeah, that's me.'"
to promote the record. Meanwhile Warner Bros. worked to establish the single at campus
, modern rock
, and album-oriented rock
radio stations before promoting it to American Top 40 stations, where it became a success. "The record crosses the boundaries of being just an alternative record", one Top 40 radio station program director said; he admitted that "Losing My Religion" was "a hard record to program; you can't play L.L. Cool J behind it. But it's a real pop record—you can dance to it."
"Losing My Religion" became R.E.M.'s biggest hit in the United States, peaking at number four on the Billboard
Hot 100
. The single stayed on the chart for 21 weeks. It charted at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart
, and peaked at number 16 and number 11 in Canada and Australia, respectively. Mills said years later, "Without 'Losing My Religion', Out of Time would have sold two or three million [copies], instead of the ten [million copies] or so it did. But the phenomenon that is a worldwide hit is an odd thing to behold. Basically that record was a hit in almost every civilised country in the world." The success of "Losing My Religion" and Out of Time broadened R.E.M.'s audience beyond its original college radio-based fanbase. When asked at the time if he was worried that the song's success might alienate older fans, Buck told Rolling Stone, "The people that changed their minds because of 'Losing My Religion' can just kiss my ass."
The song received a number of critical plaudits. The single placed second in the Village Voice Pazz & Jop
annual critics' poll, behind Nirvana
's "Smells Like Teen Spirit
". R.E.M. was nominated for seven awards at the 1992 Grammy Awards
. "Losing My Religion" alone earned several nominations, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. The song won two awards, for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals
and Best Short Form Music Video
. In 2004, Rolling Stone
listed the song at number 169 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time
". In 2007, the song was listed as #9 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s. In 2009, Blender
ranked it at number 79 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born".
. As opposed to previous R.E.M. videos, Michael Stipe agreed to lip sync
the lyrics. The video originated as a combination of ideas envisioned by Stipe and Singh. Stipe wanted the promo to be a straightforward performance video, akin to Sinéad O'Connor
's "Nothing Compares 2 U
". Singh wanted to create a video in the style of a certain type of Indian filmmaking, where everything would be "melodramatic and very dreamlike", according to Stipe.
The video begins with a brief sequence inside a dark room where water drips from an open window. Buck, Berry, and Mills run across the room while Stipe remains seated. A pitcher of milk drops from the windowsill and shatters, and the song begins. Director Singh drew inspiration from the Italian painter Caravaggio
and Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky
. The video is laden with religious imagery such as angel wings, Saint Sebastian and Hindu
deities, portrayed in a series of tableaux
.
The music video was nominated in nine categories at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards
. The video won six awards, including Video of the Year
, Best Group Video
, Breakthrough Video
, Best Art Direction
, Best Direction
, and Best Editing
. "Losing My Religion" also ranked first in the music video category of the 1991 Pazz & Jop poll.
, Peter Buck
, Mike Mills
, and Michael Stipe
, except where noted
7"
12" and Compact Disc
UK "Collector's Edition" CD one
UK "Collector's Edition" CD two
1. Taken from the live performance video, Tourfilm
.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
The song was released as the first single from the group's 1991 album Out of Time
Out of Time (album)
Out of Time is the seventh album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on Warner Bros. Records in 1991. With Out of Time R.E.M.'s status grew from that of a cult band to a massive international act. The record topped the album sales charts in both the U.S...
. Based around a mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
riff, "Losing My Religion" was an unlikely hit for the group, garnering heavy airplay on radio as well as on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
due to its critically acclaimed music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
. The song became R.E.M.'s highest-charting hit in the United States, reaching number four on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and expanding the group's popularity beyond its original fanbase. It was nominated for several Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s, and won two for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
The Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals was awarded between 1966 and 2011...
and Best Short Form Music Video
Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video
The Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos...
. "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
included the chorus in his polka medley "Polka Your Eyes Out" from his 1992 album Off the Deep End
Off the Deep End
Off the Deep End is the seventh studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1992. This album was the first album self-produced by Yankovic, after six albums with Rick Derringer. Recorded between June 1990 and January 1992, the album was a follow-up to the unsuccessful soundtrack to Yankovic's...
.
Background
R.E.M. guitarist Peter BuckPeter Buck
Peter Lawrence Buck , is an American rock guitarist who is best known for playing in and co-founding alternative rock band R.E.M....
wrote the main riff and chorus to the song on a mandolin while watching television one day. Buck had just bought the instrument and was attempting to learn how to play it, recording the music as he practiced. Buck said, "When I listened back to it the next day, there was a bunch of stuff that was really just me learning how to play mandolin, and then there's what became 'Losing My Religion', and then a whole bunch more of me learning to play the mandolin."
Recording of the song started in September 1990 at Bearsville Studio A
Bearsville Studios
Bearsville Studios was a recording studio at Bearsville, New York just west of Woodstock, New York.The studio was opened in 1969 by Albert Grossman, manager of Bob Dylan, The Band, Janis Joplin and Todd Rundgren....
in Woodstock, New York
Woodstock, New York
Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 at the 2000 census.The Town of Woodstock is in the northern part of the county...
. The song was arranged in the studio with mandolin, electric bass, and drums. Bassist Mike Mills
Mike Mills
Michael Edward "Mike" Mills is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock group R.E.M.. Though known primarily as a bass guitarist, backing vocalist, and pianist, his musical repertoire includes also keyboards, guitar, and percussion instruments...
came up with a bassline inspired by the work of Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
bassist John McVie
John McVie
John Graham McVie is a British bass guitarist best known as a member of the rock group Fleetwood Mac. His surname, combined with that of Mick Fleetwood, was the inspiration for the band's name...
; by his own admission he could not come up with one for the song that was not derivative. Buck said the arrangement of the song "had a hollow feel to it. There's absolutely no midrange on it, just low end and high end, because Mike usually stayed pretty low on the bass." The band decided to have touring guitarist Peter Holsapple
Peter Holsapple
Peter Holsapple formed, along with Chris Stamey, the singing, songwriting, and guitar-playing core of the dB's, a jangle-pop band from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He became the band's principal songwriter and singer after Stamey's departure. The dB's were at the forefront of the guitar bands...
play acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
on the recording. Buck reflected, "It was really cool: Peter and I would be in our little booth, sweating away, and Bill and Mike would be out there in the other room going at it. It just had a really magical feel." Singer Michael Stipe
Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
's vocal was recorded in a single take. Orchestral strings, arranged by Mark Bingham, were added to the song by members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Robert Spano has been its music director since 2001...
at Soundscape Studios in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
in October 1990.
Composition and lyrics
"Losing My Religion" is based on Peter Buck's mandolin-playing. Buck said, "The verses are the kinds of things R.E.M. uses a lot, going from one minor to another, kind [of] like those 'Driver 8Driver 8
"Driver 8" was the second single from R.E.M.'s third album, Fables of the Reconstruction. Released in September 1985, the song peaked at #22 on the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart...
' chords. You can't really say anything bad about E minor, A minor, D, and G – I mean, they're just good chords." Buck noted that "Losing My Religion" was "probably the most typical R.E.M.-sounding song on the record. We are trying to get away from those kind of songs, but like I said before, those are some good chords." Orchestral strings play through parts of the song.
In the song, Michael Stipe sings the lines "That's me in the corner/That's me in the spotlight/Losing my religion". The phrase "losing my religion" is an expression from the southern region of the United States that means losing one's temper
Temperament
In psychology, temperament refers to those aspects of an individual's personality, such as introversion or extroversion, that are often regarded as innate rather than learned...
or civility, or "being at the end of one's rope." Stipe told The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
the song was about romantic expression. He told Q that "Losing My Religion" is about "someone who pines for someone else. It's unrequited love, what have you." Stipe compared the song's theme to "Every Breath You Take
Every Breath You Take
"Every Breath You Take" is a song by The Police on the band's 1983 album Synchronicity, written by Sting and Andy Summers . The single was one of the biggest hits of 1983, topping the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for eight weeks and the UK Singles Chart for four weeks. It also topped the...
" by The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
, saying, "It's just a classic obsession pop song. I've always felt the best kinds of songs are the ones where anybody can listen to it, put themselves in it and say, 'Yeah, that's me.'"
Release and reception
"Losing My Religion" was released on February 19, 1991 in the United States as the lead single from R.E.M.'s forthcoming album Out of Time. The band's record label, Warner Bros., was wary about the group's choice of the song as the album's first single. Steven Baker, who was vice president of product management at Warner Bros. at the time, said there were "long, drawn-out discussions" about releasing such an "unconventional track" as the single until the label agreed. While R.E.M. declined to tour to promote Out of Time, the band visited radio stations, gave numerous press interviews, and made appearances on MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
to promote the record. Meanwhile Warner Bros. worked to establish the single at campus
Campus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...
, modern rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
, and album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
radio stations before promoting it to American Top 40 stations, where it became a success. "The record crosses the boundaries of being just an alternative record", one Top 40 radio station program director said; he admitted that "Losing My Religion" was "a hard record to program; you can't play L.L. Cool J behind it. But it's a real pop record—you can dance to it."
"Losing My Religion" became R.E.M.'s biggest hit in the United States, peaking at number four on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. The single stayed on the chart for 21 weeks. It charted at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, and peaked at number 16 and number 11 in Canada and Australia, respectively. Mills said years later, "Without 'Losing My Religion', Out of Time would have sold two or three million [copies], instead of the ten [million copies] or so it did. But the phenomenon that is a worldwide hit is an odd thing to behold. Basically that record was a hit in almost every civilised country in the world." The success of "Losing My Religion" and Out of Time broadened R.E.M.'s audience beyond its original college radio-based fanbase. When asked at the time if he was worried that the song's success might alienate older fans, Buck told Rolling Stone, "The people that changed their minds because of 'Losing My Religion' can just kiss my ass."
The song received a number of critical plaudits. The single placed second in the Village Voice Pazz & Jop
Pazz & Jop
The Pazz & Jop critics' poll is a poll of music critics run by The Village Voice newspaper. It is compiled every year from the top ten lists of hundreds of music critics...
annual critics' poll, behind Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
's "Smells Like Teen Spirit
Smells Like Teen Spirit
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a song by the American grunge band Nirvana. It is the opening track and lead single from the band's second album, Nevermind , released on DGC Records...
". R.E.M. was nominated for seven awards at the 1992 Grammy Awards
Grammy Awards of 1992
The 34th Grammy Awards were held on February 26, 1992. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year . Natalie Cole was the big winner winning three awards including Album of the Year.-Award winners:*Record of the Year...
. "Losing My Religion" alone earned several nominations, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. The song won two awards, for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals
Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
The Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals was awarded between 1966 and 2011...
and Best Short Form Music Video
Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video
The Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos...
. In 2004, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
listed the song at number 169 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time
The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" was the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone, issue number 963, published December 9, 2004, a year after the magazine published its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"....
". In 2007, the song was listed as #9 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s. In 2009, Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
ranked it at number 79 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born".
Music video
The music video for "Losing My Religion" was directed by Tarsem SinghTarsem Singh
Tarsem Dhandwar Singh , known professionally as Tarsem, is an Indian director who has worked on films, music videos, and commercials.- Life and career :...
. As opposed to previous R.E.M. videos, Michael Stipe agreed to lip sync
Lip sync
Lip sync, lip-sync, lip-synch is a technical term for matching lip movements with sung or spoken vocals...
the lyrics. The video originated as a combination of ideas envisioned by Stipe and Singh. Stipe wanted the promo to be a straightforward performance video, akin to Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U"....
's "Nothing Compares 2 U
Nothing Compares 2 U
"Nothing Compares 2 U" is a pop song written by American recording artist Prince for one of his side-projects, The Family. However, it wasn't until Sinéad O'Connor recorded her version for the album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got when it became a worldwide hit, topping charts in 15 countries,...
". Singh wanted to create a video in the style of a certain type of Indian filmmaking, where everything would be "melodramatic and very dreamlike", according to Stipe.
The video begins with a brief sequence inside a dark room where water drips from an open window. Buck, Berry, and Mills run across the room while Stipe remains seated. A pitcher of milk drops from the windowsill and shatters, and the song begins. Director Singh drew inspiration from the Italian painter Caravaggio
Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was an Italian artist active in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily between 1593 and 1610. His paintings, which combine a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, had a formative influence on the Baroque...
and Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century....
. The video is laden with religious imagery such as angel wings, Saint Sebastian and Hindu
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
deities, portrayed in a series of tableaux
Tableau vivant
Tableau vivant is French for "living picture." The term describes a striking group of suitably costumed actors or artist's models, carefully posed and often theatrically lit. Throughout the duration of the display, the people shown do not speak or move...
.
The music video was nominated in nine categories at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards
MTV Video Music Awards
An MTV Video Music Award , is an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in music videos...
. The video won six awards, including Video of the Year
MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year
The MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year is the main award handed out at the yearly MTV Video Music Awards. It was first awarded in , when The Cars won it, and has been given out since. Eminem has been the most nominated solo artist, male solo artist, and act in this category, having been...
, Best Group Video
MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video was first given out at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards; and in 2007, going along with how the VMAs were revamped that year, the award was renamed Best Group, as it awarded the artist's body of work for the full year rather than a specific video...
, Breakthrough Video
MTV Video Music Award - Breakthrough Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Breakthrough Video was first awarded in 1988, replacing the award for Most Experimental Video. Along with Best Direction in a Video, this award was considered to be one of the most important professional categories at the VMAs, as every once in a while it was even...
, Best Art Direction
MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction
The following is a list of MTV Video Music Award winners for Best Art Direction in a Video. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are the biggest winners in this category with three wins in 1992, 2000, and 2006....
, Best Direction
MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction
The following is a list of MTV Video Music Awards winners for Best Direction in a Video. In 2007, the award was briefly renamed Best Director, but it returned to its original name for the 2008 awards....
, and Best Editing
MTV Video Music Award for Best Editing
The following is a list of MTV Video Music Awards winners for Best Editing in a Video. Five artists are tied for the record of biggest winner in this category, each having won the award twice: Peter Gabriel, R.E.M., Madonna, The White Stripes, and Gnarls Barkley. The latter two, in fact, won...
. "Losing My Religion" also ranked first in the music video category of the 1991 Pazz & Jop poll.
Track listing
All songs written by Bill BerryBill Berry
William "Bill" Thomas Berry is a retired American musician, multi-instrumentalist, best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. In addition to his drumming duties, Berry played many other instruments including guitar, bass guitar, and piano, both for songwriting and on R.E.M....
, Peter Buck
Peter Buck
Peter Lawrence Buck , is an American rock guitarist who is best known for playing in and co-founding alternative rock band R.E.M....
, Mike Mills
Mike Mills
Michael Edward "Mike" Mills is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock group R.E.M.. Though known primarily as a bass guitarist, backing vocalist, and pianist, his musical repertoire includes also keyboards, guitar, and percussion instruments...
, and Michael Stipe
Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
, except where noted
7"
- "Losing My Religion" – 4:29
- "Rotary Eleven" – 2:32
12" and Compact Disc
- "Losing My Religion" – 4:29
- "Rotary Eleven" – 2:32
- "After HoursAfter Hours (song)"After Hours" is a 1969 song written by Lou Reed and originally performed by The Velvet Underground. It is the tenth and final track on their self-titled album. It is one of few songs with lead vocals by drummer Maureen Tucker, as Lou Reed stated the song was "so innocent and pure" that he could...
" (Lou ReedLou ReedLewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
) (live)1 – 2:08
UK "Collector's Edition" CD one
- "Losing My Religion" – 4:29
- "Stand" (live)1 – 3:21
- "Turn You Inside-Out" (live)1 – 4:23
- "World Leader Pretend" (live)1 – 4:24
UK "Collector's Edition" CD two
- "Losing My Religion" – 4:29
- "Fretless" – 4:51
- "Losing My Religion" (Live Acoustic Version/Rockline) – 4:38
- "Rotary Eleven" – 2:32
1. Taken from the live performance video, Tourfilm
Tourfilm
Tourfilm is a documentary-style concert film by American rock band R.E.M. The film chronicles the band's 1989 Green tour of North America...
.
Charts
| Chart (1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 11 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 6 |
| Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
16 |
| Dutch Singles Chart Mega Single Top 100 The Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales and legal downloads and composed by MegaCharts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Dutch Top 40 and the Mega Top 50. The difference is that these charts also include airplay data.The list is... |
1 |
| French Singles Chart | 3 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 4 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 3 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 11 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
19 |
| U.S. Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
4 |
| U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock Tracks Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue... |
1 |
| U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs... |
1 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 28 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification |
|---|---|
| Italy Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
Gold |
| United States Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... |
Gold |
Personnel
R.E.M.- Bill BerryBill BerryWilliam "Bill" Thomas Berry is a retired American musician, multi-instrumentalist, best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. In addition to his drumming duties, Berry played many other instruments including guitar, bass guitar, and piano, both for songwriting and on R.E.M....
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Peter BuckPeter BuckPeter Lawrence Buck , is an American rock guitarist who is best known for playing in and co-founding alternative rock band R.E.M....
– mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single... - Mike MillsMike MillsMichael Edward "Mike" Mills is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock group R.E.M.. Though known primarily as a bass guitarist, backing vocalist, and pianist, his musical repertoire includes also keyboards, guitar, and percussion instruments...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals, keyboards - Michael StipeMichael StipeJohn Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
– lead vocals
Additional musicians:
- Peter HolsapplePeter HolsapplePeter Holsapple formed, along with Chris Stamey, the singing, songwriting, and guitar-playing core of the dB's, a jangle-pop band from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He became the band's principal songwriter and singer after Stamey's departure. The dB's were at the forefront of the guitar bands...
– acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
Cover versions
- In 1994, American singer Tori AmosTori AmosTori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
recorded acoustic piano cover of the song, and it was included in the Higher LearningHigher LearningHigher Learning is a 1995 American drama film, starring an ensemble cast. It also featured Tyra Banks' first performance in a theatrical film...
movie soundtrack. - In 1995, Hi-NRG/eurodance cover was recorded by British singer AbigailAbigail (singer)Abigail is a Hi-NRG dance music singer born in England. She began her career with the song, "I Feel You", released in 1992...
for her debut album Feel GoodFeel Good (Abigail album)-Track listings:# "Smells Like Teen Spirit" 4:03# "Constant Craving" 5:45# "Don't You Wanna Know?" 5:23# "How Can You Call It Love" 6:13# "Losing My Religion" 5:28# "Feel Good" 4:57# "Stop the Hands of Time" 5:03...
. - In 2001, Nina PerssonNina Perssonis the lead singer and lyricist for the Swedish pop group The Cardigans. She has also worked as a solo artist, releasing two albums as A Camp and appearing on the tribute album to Serge Gainsbourg entitled Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited...
(The CardigansThe CardigansThe Cardigans are a Swedish rock band formed in the town of Jönköping in October 1992.Their debut album Emmerdale gave them a solid base in their home country and enjoyed some success abroad, especially in Japan. It was not until their second album Life that an international reputation was secured...
vocalist) covered the song for the Lad de små børn soundtrack. - In 2003, GravewormGravewormGraveworm is a symphonic black metal band from Bruneck, Italy with strong influences from gothic metal .-History:...
, Italian black metal band, included a cover of the song on their album Engraved in BlackEngraved in BlackEngraved in Black is the fourth studio album by the symphonic black metal band Graveworm, released in 2003 through Nuclear Blast. This is the first Graveworm album to feature guitarist Eric Righi, who also played bass on this recording.-Track listing:...
. - Dutch singer Anouk covered the song live. This version was included in her 2004 live album Update.
- French power metal band Karelia included their version of the song on their album Restless (2008).
- In 2010, GleeGlee (TV series)Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
singer Cory MonteithCory MonteithCory Allan Monteith is a Canadian actor and musician, best known for his role of Finn Hudson on the Fox television series Glee.-Early life:...
covered the song as Finn HudsonFinn HudsonFinn Hudson is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Cory Monteith, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Finn was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan...
in the episode "Grilled CheesusGrilled Cheesus"Grilled Cheesus" is the third episode of the second season of the American television series Glee, and the 25th episode overall. It was written by Brad Falchuk, directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, and premiered on the Fox network on October 5, 2010...
". The song was also released as a single. - In 2011, Dia Frampton, on the first season of the TV Show "The Voice" performed her rendition of the song.
Featured media
- In 1992, the song was featured on Beverly Hills, 90210Beverly Hills, 90210Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...
hit-TV Show. It became a love theme for two characters: Brenda Walsh and Dylan McKay, played both by Shannen DohertyShannen DohertyShannen Maria Doherty is an American actress, producer, author and television director, known for her work as Heather Duke in Heathers , as Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills, 90210 and its spinoff series 90210, and as Prue Halliwell in Charmed .-Early life and career:Doherty was born in Memphis,...
and Luke PerryLuke PerryLuke Perry is an American actor. Perry starred as Dylan McKay on the TV series Beverly Hills, 90210, a role he played from 1990–95, and then from 1998–2000. Much publicity was garnered over the fact that even though he was playing a sixteen-year-old when 90210 began, Perry was actually in his...
.