New Test Leper
Encyclopedia
"New Test Leper" is a song by R.E.M. It is included on their tenth studio album, New Adventures in Hi-Fi
, which was released in 1996. It wasn't released as a single; its only non-album issue was on a 1996 Germany
-only-released Warner Bros. Records
promotional CD.. The song was also included in the greatest hits compilation Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011
, released in 2011 soon after the disbandment of R.E.M.
in Seattle, Washington, in March 1996, four months after R.E.M. completed their 1995 world tour in support of their previous album, Monster. On the track, Bill Berry
plays drums and shaker; Peter Buck
plays guitar; Mike Mills
, bass and organ; and Michael Stipe
provides the vocals, which were penned during moments of downtime at the studio.
The following month, on April 19, the band recorded an acoustic version of the song at the same location. That version was released as a B-side to the "Bittersweet Me
" single. The video of the performance, directed by Lance Bangs
, was used as the video to the album version of the song in the Bonus Videos section on the band's In View
DVD, released in 2003.
" opening line, Buck clarified the matter to Q magazine's Tom Doyle in 1996. "It's written from the perspective of a character that Michael saw on TV on a talk show. But are people going to think Michael's talking about himself not liking Jesus? I don't think that people will take us that seriously. It's not like we're tearing up a picture of the Pope
on television." He was referring to Sinéad O'Connor
's 1992 Saturday Night Live incident.
"'New Test Leper' is something that we only played at soundcheck, like, twice," Buck explained in another interview, this time to Addicted to Noises Michael Goldberg, also in 1996. "And for some reason, we just forgot about it and never really played it. I don’t know why. Michael just happened to luckily enough have it on tape. He says, ‘I’ve got this great stuff for that song and none of us even remember playing it. So we cut it here in Seattle when we did the record. I think it’s probably the most R.E.M.-ish sounding thing on the record. Literally, Michael was watching one of those talk shows and I think the subject was ‘People judge me by the way I look’ or something. Whereas I, when I have the misfortune to look for two minutes at one of those Oprah, Geraldo things, I just get revolted at everyone concerned: the audience, me. Michael actually looked at it and felt like, ‘Gosh, what if someone’s actually trying to communicate something to these people and this person who’s in this awful, tacky, degrading situation?’ So it’s written from that perspective. And I think probably having done press conferences in the past and being in those kinds of situations, there might be a little empathy from experience that we’ve had.”
According to Darryl White's R.E.M. Timeline, "New Test Leper" received its first live airing on May 31, 1997, at the Variety Playhouse
in Atlanta during the final show of The Magnificent 7 vs. The United States' tour. The "Magnificent 7" was composed of Peter Buck, Mark Eitzel
, Justin Harwood
, Dan Pearson, Barrett Martin
, Scott McCaughey
and Skerik Walton, with other people performing occasionally. Buck's R.E.M. bandmates were present, and the guitarist left Eitzel to perform the last encore to go backstage and talk with the trio. Berry, however, had already departed and was on his way home. “Bill phoned me after the show to tell me he’d loved it,” explained Buck. “But he had to leave halfway through because he was scared he’d be asked to play. It had taken him two hours to drive there; he stayed for forty minutes, and then drove home so he wouldn’t be asked to play one R.E.M. song." The remaining threesome put together a short set and took to the stage.
During R.E.M.'s performance on VH1 Storytellers in 1998, Stipe explained the background of the song he described as his "crowning achievement": how he initially (and, thankfully for him, erroneously) thought he'd stolen the song's "biggest line" - What a sad parade - from his friend Vic Chesnutt
; how he wanted to write a follow-up to the only other song he knew that contained the word Jesus in the first line - namely Patti Smith
's re-working of Van Morrison
's "Gloria" ("Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine"); how he "wanted to write a song that was in the 6/8 polka kind of thing, but wanted the vocal to be contrapuntal
; and how he quoted his favorite movie in the second verse ("I am not an animal," from The Elephant Man
, a movie that Stipe says also inspired R.E.M.'s "Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars)
", amongst others).
New Adventures in Hi-Fi
New Adventures in Hi-Fi is the tenth studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was their fifth major label release for Warner Bros. Records, released on September 9, 1996, in Europe and Australia and the following day in the United States...
, which was released in 1996. It wasn't released as a single; its only non-album issue was on a 1996 Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-only-released Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
promotional CD.. The song was also included in the greatest hits compilation Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011
Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011
Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011 is a 2011 greatest hits album from alternative rock band R.E.M. Intended as a coda on their career, this is the first compilation album that features their early work on independent record label I.R.S. Records in addition to their 10 studio...
, released in 2011 soon after the disbandment of R.E.M.
Recording
The song was recorded at Bad Animals StudioBad Animals Studio
Bad Animals Studio is a music and media recording studio on 4th Avenue in downtown Seattle. It was originally founded as Steve Lawson Productions by founders Steve and Debbie Lawson in 1979. In 1991, Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson joined forces with Lawson to create Studio X. In 1992, the studio...
in Seattle, Washington, in March 1996, four months after R.E.M. completed their 1995 world tour in support of their previous album, Monster. On the track, Bill Berry
Bill 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....
plays drums and shaker; 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....
plays guitar; 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...
, bass and organ; 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...
provides the vocals, which were penned during moments of downtime at the studio.
The following month, on April 19, the band recorded an acoustic version of the song at the same location. That version was released as a B-side to the "Bittersweet Me
Bittersweet Me
"Bittersweet Me" is a song by R.E.M., released as the second single from their tenth studio album New Adventures in Hi-Fi. The song was a bigger hit than its predecessor "E-Bow the Letter," the first single from the album, except on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, where the first single's #2 peak...
" single. The video of the performance, directed by Lance Bangs
Lance Bangs
Lance Bangs is an American filmmaker, documentarian, and music video director who has created videos for Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Green Day, the Arcade Fire, the Shins, The Thermals, Belle & Sebastian, Menomena, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, R.E.M., Mike Watt, Death Cab for Cutie, The Black Keys, Kanye West, and...
, was used as the video to the album version of the song in the Bonus Videos section on the band's In View
In View: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003
In View: The Best Of R.E.M. 1988-2003 is a DVD featuring videos by the rock band R.E.M. during 1988-2003, released as a companion to the Warner Bros. compilation In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003...
DVD, released in 2003.
Songwriting and lyrics
Though it might seem as though Stipe was trying to be controversial with the song's "I can't say that I love JesusJesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
" opening line, Buck clarified the matter to Q magazine's Tom Doyle in 1996. "It's written from the perspective of a character that Michael saw on TV on a talk show. But are people going to think Michael's talking about himself not liking Jesus? I don't think that people will take us that seriously. It's not like we're tearing up a picture of the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
on television." He was referring 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 1992 Saturday Night Live incident.
"
According to Darryl White's R.E.M. Timeline, "New Test Leper" received its first live airing on May 31, 1997, at the Variety Playhouse
Variety Playhouse
Variety Playhouse is a music venue in the Little Five Points neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is located on Euclid Avenue and features a variety of music acts including rock, country, folk, bluegrass, jazz, blues and world music as well as other live shows.-Details:The building...
in Atlanta during the final show of The Magnificent 7 vs. The United States' tour. The "Magnificent 7" was composed of Peter Buck, Mark Eitzel
Mark Eitzel
Mark Eitzel is a musician, best known as a songwriter and lead singer of the San Francisco band American Music Club.-History:Eitzel spent his formative years in a military family living in Okinawa, Taiwan, Ohio and the United Kingdom. He moved to America in 1979.He started making music while he was...
, Justin Harwood
Justin Harwood
Justin Harwood is a New Zealand-born bass guitarist, notable for his work with several indie rock bands of the 1980s and 1990s, The Chills, Luna, and Tuatara...
, Dan Pearson, Barrett Martin
Barrett Martin
Barrett Martin , is an American drummer, upright bassist, composer, producer, writer, and Zen artist. He was the drummer for the Seattle, Washington groups Skin Yard and Screaming Trees, as well as the supergroups Mad Season and Tuatara...
, Scott McCaughey
Scott McCaughey
As a singer and songwriter, Scott McCaughey is the leader of the Seattle and Portland-based bands The Young Fresh Fellows and The Minus 5.He is also bassist for Robyn Hitchcock's most recent touring band, The Venus 3, along with Bill Rieflin and Peter Buck....
and Skerik Walton, with other people performing occasionally. Buck's R.E.M. bandmates were present, and the guitarist left Eitzel to perform the last encore to go backstage and talk with the trio. Berry, however, had already departed and was on his way home. “Bill phoned me after the show to tell me he’d loved it,” explained Buck. “But he had to leave halfway through because he was scared he’d be asked to play. It had taken him two hours to drive there; he stayed for forty minutes, and then drove home so he wouldn’t be asked to play one R.E.M. song." The remaining threesome put together a short set and took to the stage.
During R.E.M.'s performance on VH1 Storytellers in 1998, Stipe explained the background of the song he described as his "crowning achievement": how he initially (and, thankfully for him, erroneously) thought he'd stolen the song's "biggest line" - What a sad parade - from his friend Vic Chesnutt
Vic Chesnutt
James Victor "Vic" Chesnutt was an American singer-songwriter from Athens, Georgia. His first album, Little, was released in 1990, but his breakthrough to commercial success didn't come until 1996 with the release of Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation, a tribute album of mainstream artists...
; how he wanted to write a follow-up to the only other song he knew that contained the word Jesus in the first line - namely Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
's re-working of Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
's "Gloria" ("Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine"); how he "wanted to write a song that was in the 6/8 polka kind of thing, but wanted the vocal to be contrapuntal
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
; and how he quoted his favorite movie in the second verse ("I am not an animal," from The Elephant Man
The Elephant Man (film)
The Elephant Man is a 1980 American drama film based on the true story of Joseph Merrick , a severely deformed man in 19th century London...
, a movie that Stipe says also inspired R.E.M.'s "Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars)
Chronic Town
Chronic Town is the debut EP by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1982 on I.R.S. Records. Chronic Town is the first illustration of R.E.M.'s signature musical style: jangling guitars, chords played in arpeggio, murmured vocals, and obscure lyrics.-Background and recording:After...
", amongst others).