On This Day In 1988: Did R.E.M. Really Need To Go 'Green'?

Released on this date 29 years ago, R.E.M.'s sixth album, Green, marked an intentional musical and ideological shift away from what the band considered to be their "trademark" sound.

In doing so, the little band from Athens, GA, whose music had once been rooted in a gothic (by Deep South standards, anyway) folk murkiness led by a singer who could hardly be understood, quickly morphed into an arena rock Goliath whose song titles were now broadcast on a backdrop the size of an aircraft carrier. Those who'd championed the band early on were now forced to make room on the bandwagon for, well, everybody as the band's popularity now rivaled that of U2, Bon Jovi, and Whitesnake.

Whether planted by their management, or by the band themselves, the seed that suggested the band leave I.R.S. Records for a major label with a more established global distribution network should have been pulled out before it took root because, as we can see now, what grew from that one seed was more destructive than an entire field of weeds.

Had R.E.M. come to underestimate the value of being on a label like I.R.S. Records? Sadly, yes.

Let's face it, signing to I.R.S. Records when they did had been the most important factor in R.E.M.s success and development as a band. Not only did you have a label full of talented people at I.R.S. who loved the band and fought tirelessly in the trenches for every album and single the band released, you had the added muscle of a major label in MCA (the label's U.S. distributor) when you needed it.

That, my friends, is what you call having "the best of both worlds".

Granted, when I.R.S. chose to sign a distribution pact with MCA in 1985 after a great run with A&M Records, this writer openly winced, but the success of Lifes Rich Pageant and Document spoke for itself and quickly convinced us that I.R.S. knew exactly what they were doing.

Whatever thoughts the band had about not being considered as high a priority at MCA as they were at I.R.S. should have been stomped out like a brush fire because no label's staff was as driven and dedicated to breaking R.E.M. the right way as the one they already had working on their behalf at I.R.S. Records.

There's no two ways about it, by leaving I.R.S. behind, R.E.M. had left a part of their soul.

Everything the band did from the moment the ink dried on their new multi-million dollar deal with Warner Brothers only confirmed that.

Would the R.E.M. of 1985 have ever agreed to allow one of their songs be used as a sitcom theme song?

Of course, the R.E.M. of 1985 would have never written a song like "Stand" in the first place, much less "Shiny Happy People", yet, by 1990, the band had consented to the Fox network's use of "Stand" as the theme song for the Chris Elliot sitcom "Get A Life".

Most importantly, that earlier incarnation of R.E.M. would have never taken millions of dollars in advance and then decided to not tour in support of their next TWO ALBUMS, which R.E.M. did.

Granted, both albums (Out of Time and Automatic For The People) were still hugely successful, but imagine how much more successful they'd have been if the band had toured, even if only for a month or two.

Of course, by the time the band released Monster in 1994, the band reached that dreaded point of diminishing returns brought on by the simple fact that alternative music had become mainstream and the band found itself trying to keep up with the very bands that they'd influenced.

While the saying "All good things must come to an end" seems especially true in rock & roll, had R.E.M. played their hand just a little smarter, one can't help think they'd have been the first band to "buck" that trend.