R.E.M
MAN ON THE MOON
«Man on the Moon» is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released as the second single from their 1992 album Automatic for the People. The lyric was written by lead singer Michael Stipe, and the music by drummer Bill Berry and guitarist Peter Buck, and the track is credited to the whole band as usual. The song was well received by critics and reached number 30 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number 18 on the UK Singles Chart and number one in Iceland. It remains one of R.E.M.’s most popular songs and was included on the compilations In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003 and Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011.
Lyrically, the song is a tribute to the comedian and performer Andy Kaufman, with numerous references to his career, including his Elvis impersonation, wrestling, and the film My Breakfast with Blassie. The song’s title and chorus refer to the Moon landing conspiracy theories, as an oblique allusion to rumors that Kaufman’s death in 1984 was faked. The song gave its name to Miloš Forman’s comedy-drama film Man on the Moon (1999), starring Jim Carrey and based on Kaufman’s life, and features prominently in the film’s soundtrack.
Track information
- Released November 9, 1992
- Genre
Alternative rock, country rock - Label Warner Bros.
- Songwriter(s)
Bill BerryPeter BuckMike MillsMichael Stipe
Composition
«Man on the Moon» is a mid-tempo country-rock song following a verse-chorus structure with an added pre-chorus and an instrumental bridge following the second and third choruses. The song has six lines in the first verse but only four in the second and third verses.
An early instrumental demo of the song was known to the band as «C to D Slide». Guitarist Peter Buck has explained how the music came together: «‘Man on the Moon’ was something that Bill [Berry] had, this one chord change that he came in with, which was C to D like the verse of the song, and he said: ‘I don’t know what to do with that.’ I used to finish some of Bill’s things … he would come up with the riffs, but I would be the finish guy for that. I sat down and came up with the chorus, the bridges, and so forth. I remember we showed it to Mike and Michael when they came in later; definitely we had the song finished. I think Bill played bass and I played guitar; we kept going around with it. I think we might have played some mandolin on it in the rehearsal studio.
Michael Stipe explained in an interview with Charlie Rose how the lyric was written independently of the music, which had no prior association with the song’s eventual lyrical content regarding Kaufman. Stipe recounted the other R.E.M. members had written and performed the music of the song and recorded it along with the rest of the Automatic for the People album during studio sessions in Seattle. As of the final week of the recording sessions, Stipe was still struggling to write the lyric, and the others continued to plead with him to finish it. Stipe attempted to argue the track should be an instrumental, but his bandmates were insistent. Stipe listened to the track on a walk around Seattle on his Walkman cassette player and was inspired to write about the performances of entertainer Andy Kaufman. After Stipe went back to the studio to complete the vocal track, the master was mixed that night and sent out the following day to be mastered.
Release and reception
«Man on the Moon» was released as the second single from Automatic for the People on November 9, 1992, reaching number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 18 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was enthusiastically received by critics. Writing for the New York Times, Ann Powers said it «shines with a wit that balances R.E.M.’s somber tendencies. Stewart Mason went even further in his review for AllMusic, calling the song «near-perfect», «almost inarguably Stipe’s pinnacle as a singer», and «one of R.E.M.’s most enduring achievements». Music writer James Masterton wrote in his weekly UK chart commentary, that it «may be typical REM but is not their most commercial ever. The wave of following they have at the moment though means they can do little wrong with this possibly following ‘Drive’ into the Top 10. The song was listed at number 19 on the Village Voice «Pazz & Jop» year-end critics’ poll in 1993.
DID YOU KNOW?
This was inspired by the late comedian Andy Kaufman. When he was a teenager, R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe saw Kaufman on Saturday Night Live, and has cited him as a huge influence ever since.
People and things mentioned in this song: Mott the Hoople, Life, Monopoly, Twister, Risk, checkers, chess, twenty-one, wrestler Fred Blassie, Elvis Presley, Moses, Sir Isaac Newton, and Charles Darwin.
Kaufman was known for his Elvis-impersonations, which he once performed on Saturday Night Live. Stipe tries one of his own on the line, «Hey, baby are we losing touch?
This was used as the title for a 1999 movie about Andy Kaufman, starring Jim Carrey. R.E.M. did the soundtrack, which included this song.
In the liner notes for Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982-2011, Peter Buck recalled how the music for this song came together: «‘Man on the Moon’ was something that Bill [Berry] had this one chord change that he came in with, which was C to D like the verse of the song, and he said, ‘I don’t know what to do with that.’ I used to finish some of Bill’s things … he would come up with the riffs, but I would be the finish guy for that. I sat down and came up with the chorus, the bridges, and so forth. I remember we showed it to Mike and Michael when they came in later; definitely we had the song finished. I think Bill played bass and I played guitar; we kept going around with it. I think we might have played some mandolin on it in the rehearsal studio.
The lyric, though, was another matter. Stipe struggled to find the right words and was against the clock because the album was due soon. Instead of working through it in the studio, the band took a few days off, during which Stipe listened to the track on a cassette in his rental car until he found inspiration. «When we reconvened, Michael walked into the studio, sang, ‘Man On The Moon’ once, and walked out,» Peter Buck said in the In Time compilation. «We were all stunned. It was one of those magic moments I’ll remember long after the award ceremonies and the photo sessions have disappeared into the mists of time.
