Radio Free Europe (song)
Encyclopedia
"Radio Free Europe" is a song by American
alternative rock
band R.E.M.
"Radio Free Europe" was released as R.E.M.'s debut single on the short-lived independent record label
Hib-Tone
in 1981. The song features "what were to become the trademark unintelligible lyrics which have distinguished R.E.M.'s work ever since." The single received critical acclaim, and its success earned the band a record deal with I.R.S. Records
. R.E.M. re-recorded the song for its 1983 debut album Murmur
and a live performance at Larry's Hideaway, Toronto, Canada, from July 9, 1983 was released on the 2008 Deluxe Edition reissue of that album. The re-recording for I.R.S. became the group's first charting single, peaking at number 78 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart. The song is ranked number 379 on Rolling Stone
list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
. In 2010, it was added to the Library of Congress
's National Recording Registry
for setting "the pattern for later indie rock releases by breaking through on college radio in the face of mainstream radio's general indifference."
in 1980. The band quickly established itself in the local scene. Over the course of 1980 the band refined its songwriting skills, helped by its frequent gigs at local venues. One of the group's newer compositions was "Radio Free Europe". The other members of the band were reportedly awestruck when they heard the lyrics and melodies singer Michael Stipe
had written for the song. By May 1981 the band added "Radio Free Europe" to its setlist.
After a successful show opening for The Police
, R.E.M. intended to record material for a demo tape. The group traveled to Drive-In Studios in Winston-Salem
, North Carolina
, to record some songs with producer Mitch Easter
, who was a member of the band Let's Active
. The band recorded "Radio Free Europe", "Sitting Still", and the instrumental song "White Tornado", which were placed on a promotional cassette tape. The band sent out 400 copies, one of which was received by Athens law student Jonny Hibbert. Hibbert felt the recording was unsatisfactory, and oversaw a remix. Easter said he found the presence of Hibbert "distracting" and added, "He came into my studio and it was like, now the big city guy is going to do it right. We mixed the song for about 12 hours and really, there wasn't enough equipment to warrant more than 45 minutes." The final mastering of the song disappointed the band. Guitarist Peter Buck
, who described the recording years later as "muddy and hi-end", expressed his displeasure by breaking a copy of the finished single and nailing to his wall. In contrast, Buck also admitted that "there's something to be said for the original sort of murky feeling for [the original recording]".
. "Michael brought those negatives over to our place," explains photographer Terry Allen. "He said, 'Can you make a print of these?' and we said, 'What, you want a picture of this blur?' He said, 'Yeah,' and so I said, 'I've got a picture that's probably better than this that you can use,' but he said, 'No, I want this blur!'"
Around 600 copies of the first pressing were sent out for promotional uses, but these omitted the Hib-Tone contact address. It was included, however, on the 6,000 copies of the second pressing.
figure. The intro to the I.R.S. version originated as a errant system hum accidentally recorded on tape. Easter triggered the effect to open and shut an electronic noise gate in time with bassist Mike Mills' playing. The producer then manually adjusted the EQ of the effect on the studio mixing console, and spliced the seven-bar figure into the start of the recording.
Drummer Bill Berry
begins the song with a four-to-the-floor beat, and then the rest of the band enters. Berry plays a steady backbeat throughout the song. During the verses, Mills plays a fast eighth note bassline pulse, characteristic of punk rock
and New Wave
. Guitarist Peter Buck plays the palm-muted lower strings of his guitar, marking the end of a four-bar repetition with an upstroke strummed chord. During the prechorus refrain, Buck switches to playing arpeggio
s, ending each four bar phrase with a full chord downstroke. Mills accompanies this section by performing independent melody lines with syncopated rhythms. Mills' last note of the refrain is doubled by a piano.
After two verses and two prechoruses, the band enters the song's chorus, where Stipe sings the phrase "Calling out in transit/Calling out in transit/Radio Free Europe". After a second chorus, a bridge section follows, where Mills' one-note ascending bassline is doubled by the piano. The band then plays a final verse-prechorus-chorus section. At the song's end, Buck plays an arpeggio figure similar to the prechorus refrain, and the band ends on an A chord.
interview, Stipe denied the interviewer's claim that his lyrics on Murmur were "indecipherable", but acknowledged that "Radio Free Europe" was one of the few exceptions, describing it as "complete babbling".
and Jefferson
think this one [referring to the Hib-Tone version] crushes the other one like a grape." Peter Buck has also stated that he "[didn't] think we captured it the way we did on the single." Original producer Mitch Easter also commented on the re-recording, saying it was "more pro, but a little too sedate."
The re-recorded version of "Radio Free Europe" was the first single from Murmur. It was the first R.E.M. single to reach the charts, peaking at number 78 on the Billboard
singles chart and remaining on the chart for five weeks. The song also reached number 25 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart.
, the single was accompanied by a music video, directed by Arthur Pierson. The video took place in the garden of artist Howard Finster
, who would go on to paint the album cover for the band's second album, Reckoning
.
, Peter Buck
, Mike Mills
, and Michael Stipe
unless otherwise indicated.
Hib-Tone version
I.R.S. version:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
alternative rock
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...
"Radio Free Europe" was released as R.E.M.'s debut single on the short-lived independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
Hib-Tone
Hib-Tone
Hib-Tone is an American recording label, based in Atlanta, Georgia, founded by Jonny Hibbert, a law student at Woodrow Wilson College of Law, in 1981. The label has released eight records, including two full-length albums by the bands Design and RF and the Radar Angels...
in 1981. The song features "what were to become the trademark unintelligible lyrics which have distinguished R.E.M.'s work ever since." The single received critical acclaim, and its success earned the band a record deal with I.R.S. Records
I.R.S. Records
I.R.S. Records was a record label, started in the United States in 1979 by Miles Copeland III along with Jay Boberg and Carl Grasso. Miles was also the manager of Wishbone Ash, The Police, and later, Sting, as well as other bands. I.R.S. was the sister label of Copeland's Illegal Records .I.R.S...
. R.E.M. re-recorded the song for its 1983 debut album Murmur
Murmur (album)
Murmur is the debut album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1983 on I.R.S. Records. Murmur drew critical acclaim upon its release for its sound, defined by singer Michael Stipe's cryptic lyrics, guitarist Peter Buck's jangly guitar style, and bassist Mike Mills' melodic...
and a live performance at Larry's Hideaway, Toronto, Canada, from July 9, 1983 was released on the 2008 Deluxe Edition reissue of that album. The re-recording for I.R.S. became the group's first charting single, peaking at number 78 on the Billboard 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...
chart. The song is ranked number 379 on 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...
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 2010, it was added to the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
's National Recording Registry
National Recording Registry
The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, which created the National Recording...
for setting "the pattern for later indie rock releases by breaking through on college radio in the face of mainstream radio's general indifference."
Origin and original recording
R.E.M. formed in Athens, GeorgiaAthens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
in 1980. The band quickly established itself in the local scene. Over the course of 1980 the band refined its songwriting skills, helped by its frequent gigs at local venues. One of the group's newer compositions was "Radio Free Europe". The other members of the band were reportedly awestruck when they heard the lyrics and melodies 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...
had written for the song. By May 1981 the band added "Radio Free Europe" to its setlist.
After a successful show opening for 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...
, R.E.M. intended to record material for a demo tape. The group traveled to Drive-In Studios in Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, to record some songs with producer Mitch Easter
Mitch Easter
Mitch Easter is a songwriter, musician, and producer. As a producer, he is probably best known for his work with R.E.M. from 1981 through 1984, though he has also worked with many other acts including The Hang Ups, Pavement, Suzanne Vega, Game Theory, Marshall Crenshaw, Velvet Crush, and...
, who was a member of the band Let's Active
Let's Active
Let's Active was an American rock musical group formed in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1981.-History:The principal songwriter and sole continuous member of Let's Active was Mitch Easter, who kept the band active through most of the 1980s. The band's musical style is sometimes referred to as...
. The band recorded "Radio Free Europe", "Sitting Still", and the instrumental song "White Tornado", which were placed on a promotional cassette tape. The band sent out 400 copies, one of which was received by Athens law student Jonny Hibbert. Hibbert felt the recording was unsatisfactory, and oversaw a remix. Easter said he found the presence of Hibbert "distracting" and added, "He came into my studio and it was like, now the big city guy is going to do it right. We mixed the song for about 12 hours and really, there wasn't enough equipment to warrant more than 45 minutes." The final mastering of the song disappointed the band. Guitarist 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....
, who described the recording years later as "muddy and hi-end", expressed his displeasure by breaking a copy of the finished single and nailing to his wall. In contrast, Buck also admitted that "there's something to be said for the original sort of murky feeling for [the original recording]".
Cover art
The cover art to the single came courtesy of Michael StipeMichael 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...
. "Michael brought those negatives over to our place," explains photographer Terry Allen. "He said, 'Can you make a print of these?' and we said, 'What, you want a picture of this blur?' He said, 'Yeah,' and so I said, 'I've got a picture that's probably better than this that you can use,' but he said, 'No, I want this blur!'"
Around 600 copies of the first pressing were sent out for promotional uses, but these omitted the Hib-Tone contact address. It was included, however, on the 6,000 copies of the second pressing.
Composition
Both the Hib-Tone and I.R.S. releases of "Radio Free Europe" begin with brief instrumental intros before the band enters. The Hib-Tone version features a brief synthesizerSynthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
figure. The intro to the I.R.S. version originated as a errant system hum accidentally recorded on tape. Easter triggered the effect to open and shut an electronic noise gate in time with bassist Mike Mills' playing. The producer then manually adjusted the EQ of the effect on the studio mixing console, and spliced the seven-bar figure into the start of the recording.
Drummer 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....
begins the song with a four-to-the-floor beat, and then the rest of the band enters. Berry plays a steady backbeat throughout the song. During the verses, Mills plays a fast eighth note bassline pulse, characteristic of punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
. Guitarist Peter Buck plays the palm-muted lower strings of his guitar, marking the end of a four-bar repetition with an upstroke strummed chord. During the prechorus refrain, Buck switches to playing arpeggio
Arpeggio
An arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
s, ending each four bar phrase with a full chord downstroke. Mills accompanies this section by performing independent melody lines with syncopated rhythms. Mills' last note of the refrain is doubled by a piano.
After two verses and two prechoruses, the band enters the song's chorus, where Stipe sings the phrase "Calling out in transit/Calling out in transit/Radio Free Europe". After a second chorus, a bridge section follows, where Mills' one-note ascending bassline is doubled by the piano. The band then plays a final verse-prechorus-chorus section. At the song's end, Buck plays an arpeggio figure similar to the prechorus refrain, and the band ends on an A chord.
Lyrics
Stipe's lyrics are hard to discern, and largely serve to give the singer something to vocalize with. When first developing the original song, Stipe intentionally did not want the lyrics to be understood, as he "...hadn't written any of the words yet." Also, when the song was played live, Stipe improvised his own set of lyrics halfway through the song. In a 1988 NMENME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
interview, Stipe denied the interviewer's claim that his lyrics on Murmur were "indecipherable", but acknowledged that "Radio Free Europe" was one of the few exceptions, describing it as "complete babbling".
I.R.S. version
R.E.M. signed to I.R.S. Records in 1982. I.R.S. asked R.E.M. to re-record "Radio Free Europe" in 1983 for their debut album, Murmur. The band agreed, because they had felt that they'd improved significantly since the original 1981 sessions. The new version has some slightly different lyrics and a slower tempo, and is not as well-liked with the band as the original; indeed, the liner notes for the 1988 compilation album Eponymous (which the original Hib-Tone version is featured on) stated that "MikeMike 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 Jefferson
Jefferson Holt
Jefferson Holt is the founder of and former manager of rock band R.E.M., often referred to as the band's "fifth member," from 1981-1996.In 1996, Holt and R.E.M. parted ways. When asked about leaving the band he offered this statement to Chuck Philips, L.A.Times Staff Writer:"I've agreed to keep...
think this one [referring to the Hib-Tone version] crushes the other one like a grape." Peter Buck has also stated that he "[didn't] think we captured it the way we did on the single." Original producer Mitch Easter also commented on the re-recording, saying it was "more pro, but a little too sedate."
The re-recorded version of "Radio Free Europe" was the first single from Murmur. It was the first R.E.M. single to reach the charts, peaking at number 78 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...
singles chart and remaining on the chart for five weeks. The song also reached number 25 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart.
Music video
At the request of 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....
, the single was accompanied by a music video, directed by Arthur Pierson. The video took place in the garden of artist Howard Finster
Howard Finster
Howard Finster was an American artist and Baptist reverend from Georgia. He claimed to be inspired by God to spread the gospel through the environment of Paradise Garden and over 46,000 pieces of art. His creations overlap folk art, outsider art, naïve art, and visionary art...
, who would go on to paint the album cover for the band's second album, Reckoning
Reckoning (R.E.M. album)
Reckoning is the second album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1984 by I.R.S. Records. Produced by Mitch Easter and Don Dixon, the album was recorded at Reflection Sound Studio in Charlotte, North Carolina over 16 days in December 1983 and January 1984...
.
Charts
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 78 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Tracks | 25 |
Track listings
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...
unless otherwise indicated.
Hib-Tone version
- "Radio Free Europe" – 3:46
- "Sitting Still" – 3:07
I.R.S. version:
- "Radio Free Europe" (edit) – 3:10
- "There She Goes AgainThere She Goes Again"There She Goes Again" is a song by The Velvet Underground. It first appeared on their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico. The syncopated guitar riff is taken from the 1962 Marvin Gaye song, "Hitch Hike", but is most likely influenced by The Rolling Stones' cover version, from their...
" (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...
) – 2:49