''Monster'' is the ninth studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternat ...

, released on September 27, 1994, by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. Produced by the band and

Scott Litt Scott Warren Litt (born March 10, 1954) is an American record producer who mostly works with artists in the alternative rock genre and is best known for producing six R.E.M. albums in the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s during the band's most su ...

and recorded at four studios, the album was an intentional stylistic shift from R.E.M.'s previous two albums, '' Out of Time'' (1991) and ''

Automatic for the People ''Automatic for the People'' is the eighth studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released by Warner Bros. Records on October5, 1992 in the United Kingdom and Europe, and on the following day in the United States. R.E.M. began p ...

'' (1992), with loud, distorted guitar tones and simple arrangements.

Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence. Po ...

's lyrics at times deal with the nature of celebrity, and some are sung from the viewpoint of a character. Led by the successful single "

What's the Frequency, Kenneth? "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" is a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M. from their ninth studio album, ''Monster'' (1994). The song's title refers to an incident in New York City in 1986, when two then-unknown assailants attacked ...

", ''Monster'' debuted at number one in the United States and at least seven other countries, and received generally positive reviews. Four more singles were released from the album, including the UK top-20 hits "

Bang and Blame "Bang and Blame" is a song by American alternative rock group R.E.M. It was released as the second single from their ninth studio album, ''Monster'' (1994), on October 31, 1994. The song was R.E.M.'s last to reach the top 40 on the US ''Billboa ...

", "

Strange Currencies "Strange Currencies" is a song by American rock band R.E.M. It was included on their ninth studio album, ''Monster'' (1994), and was released as the album's third single on April 18, 1995, by Warner Bros. Records. The song reached number nine on ...

", and "

Tongue The tongue is a muscular organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for mastication and swallowing as part of the digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper surface (dorsum) is covered by taste bu ...

". That year, the band promoted the album with their first concert tour since 1989; although the tour was commercially successful, band members suffered several health problems. At the

37th Annual Grammy Awards The 37th Annual Grammy Awards were presented on March 1, 1995, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Bruce Springsteen was the night's biggest winner with 4 awards, including Song ...

, ''Monster'' was nominated for

Best Rock Album The Grammy Award for Best Rock Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the rock music genre. Honors in sever ...

, but lost to

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

' ''

Voodoo Lounge ''Voodoo Lounge'' is the 20th British and 22nd American studio album by the English rock band The Rolling Stones, released on 11 July 1994. As their first new release under their new alliance with Virgin Records, it ended a five-year gap since th ...

''. The album's follow-up ''

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 i ...

'' (1996) was primarily recorded during the tour.

Recording

Early in 1993, R.E.M. convened a four-day meeting in

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has ...

to plan their next two years. The group agreed on a plan for 1994 through 1996, which included recording a new album and touring to promote it.Cavanagh, David. "Tune In, Cheer Up, Rock Out". ''Q''. October 1994. Drummer

Bill Berry William Thomas Berry (born July 31, 1958) is an American musician who was the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. Although best known for his economical drumming style, Berry also played other instruments, including guitar, bass guita ...

was particularly eager to tour (which the band had not done since 1989), and insisted that the album "rock". The band agreed that after '' Out of Time'' and ''

'', they did not want to record another slow-paced album.Buckley, p. 236 Later that year, R.E.M. began recording their ninth album. Pre-production took place at Kingsway Studio in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Buckley, p. 237 Guitarist

Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. He also plays the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his c ...

said that the band wrote 45 songs, including "a whole album's worth of acoustic stuff" which they demoed. According to Howard, the sessions were experimental: "The bass had a tremolo sound on it. It was a more inventive session for them." The studio did not have a control room, so Howard recorded Michael Stipe singing lyrical ideas while lying on a couch: "Being able to put those vocals down helped him write the lyrics to a lot of songs on ''Monster''."Buckley, p. 238 When the sessions were finished Howard played the recordings to co-producer Scott Litt, who had worked with the band since their fifth album (''

Document A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ''Documentum'', which denotes a "teaching" o ...

'', 1987). North Miami FL Criteria Studios01

In February 1994, the band moved to Crossover Soundstage in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

. At Crossover, most of the album's basic tracks were recorded live as if the band were playing in concert. Litt said, "I thought since they hadn't toured in a while, it would be good for them to get into that mind-set—you know, monitors, PA, standing up".DeCurtis, Anthony. . ''Rolling Stone''. October 20, 1994. Retrieved on May 6, 2010. The sessions were hampered by several events, including Berry and bassist

Mike Mills Michael Edward Mills (born December 17, 1958) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Though known primarily as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of R.E.M., ...

falling ill on separate occasions, Buck and Stipe leaving to visit family members and the deaths of Stipe's friends, actor

River Phoenix River Jude Phoenix (; August 23, 1970 – October 31, 1993) was an American actor, musician and activist. Phoenix grew up in an itinerant family, as the older brother of Rain Phoenix, Joaquin Phoenix, Liberty Phoenix, and Summer Phoenix. He h ...

and

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lamp Richard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo. ...

's Kurt Cobain. The band wrote and recorded "Let Me In" in tribute to Cobain and dedicated the album to Phoenix, whose sister

Rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water ...

provided background vocals on "

". In late April 1994 the band relocated to

Criteria Studios Criteria Studios is a recording studio in North Miami, Florida, founded in 1958 by musician Mack Emerman. Hundreds of gold, platinum, and diamond singles and albums have been recorded, mixed or mastered at Criteria, for many notable artists and ...

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...

, but recording was interrupted because Stipe had an abscessed tooth. Unlike previous album sessions, by the time production moved to

Ocean Way Recording Ocean Way Recording was a series of recording studios established by recording engineer and producer Allen Sides with locations in Los Angeles, California, Nashville, Tennessee, and Saint Barthélemy. Ocean Way Recording no longer operates record ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

the band was behind schedule. Litt attributed the delay to recording live at Crossover, which lengthened the mixing process; he told ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'', "We're trying to figure out how raw to leave it and how much to studiofy it." Stipe was still writing songs when the band was supposed to be mixing the album. Tensions arose among the band members, who were staying in different locations in Los Angeles and would rarely be in the studio at the same time. The situation came to a head when the group was recording at Louie's Clubhouse (Litt's home studio in Los Angeles); years later, Stipe recalled, "We broke up ... We reached the point where none of us could speak to each other, and we were in a small room, and we just said 'Fuck off' and that was it." The group met to resolve their issues; Mills told ''Rolling Stone'', "We have to begin working as a unit again, which we haven't been doing very well lately."

Composition

Unlike R.E.M.'s previous two albums, ''Monster'' incorporated distorted guitar tones, minimal overdubs, and touches of 1970s

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on div ...

. Peter Buck described the album as "a 'rock' record, with the 'rock' in quotation marks." He explained, "That's not what we started out to make, but that's certainly how it turned out to be. There's a nudge, nudge, wink, wink feel to the whole record. Like, it's a rock record, but is it really?" Mike Mills told ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

'', "On past albums we had been exploring acoustic instruments, trying to use the piano and mandolin, and we did it about all we wanted to do it. And you come back to the fact that playing loud electric-guitar music is about as fun as music can be." Stipe's vocals were pushed down in the mix. Buck's guitar work on the album was inspired by the

tremolo In music, ''tremolo'' (), or ''tremolando'' (), is a trembling effect. There are two types of tremolo. The first is a rapid reiteration: * Of a single note, particularly used on bowed string instruments, by rapidly moving the bow back and fo ...

-heavy guitar playing of Glen Johansson of

Echobelly Echobelly are a British rock band, debuting in 1994 with their album ''Everyone's Got One''. They were often compared to Blondie and The Smiths; Morrissey becoming a fan of the group. The most prominent part of Echobelly's success formula was ...

, who supported R.E.M. on some of the Monster Tour. The album's music has been described as grunge and

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

by critics. The band has called it a "foxy, in-your-face, punk rock, trashed and stupid" record. "

", "

Crush with Eyeliner "Crush with Eyeliner" is a song by American rock band R.E.M., released as the fourth single from their ninth studio album, ''Monster'' (1994). Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore provides background vocals. Michael Stipe claims the song was inspired by ...

" and "Circus Envy" have been described as glam rock. Stipe wrote ''Monster'' lyrics in character; this, according to biographer Dan Buckley, "set the real Stipe at a distance from the mask adopted for each song." The album dealt with the nature of celebrity and "the creepiness of fandom as pathology". Buck called the album a reaction to the band's popularity: "When I read the lyrics I thought, all these guys are totally fucked up. I don't know who they are, because they're not Michael. I would say that this was the only time where he's done characters that are creepy, and I don't know if anyone got that. He was getting out his things by acting out these parts that are not him." The band noted that at the end of certain songs, they left blank choruses (where Mills and Berry would usually sing harmony) so fans could sing along. "The song 'Let Me In' is me on the phone to

Kurt Kurt is a male given name of Germanic or Turkish origin. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. In Turkish, Kurt means "Wolf" and is ...

, trying to get him out of the frame of mind he was in," said Stipe. "I wanted him to know he didn't need to pay attention to all this; that he was going to make it through. I know what the next

record was going to sound like. It was going to be an amazing fucking record, and I'm a little angry at him for killing himself. He and I were going to make a trial run of the album. It was set up. He had a plane ticket. At the last minute he called and said, 'I can't come.

Packaging

The

cover art Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper (tabloid), comic book, video game ( box art), music album ( album ...

features a blurred drawing of a bear's head against an orange background. The concept originated when Stipe showed cover artist Chris Bilheimer a balloon he wanted to use as the

album cover An album cover (also referred to as album art) is the front packaging art of a commercially released studio album or other audio recordings. The term can refer to either the printed paperboard covers typically used to package sets of and 78-r ...

and told him to "play around with". Bilheimer changed the color of the balloon (which was originally green), and re-photographed the bear head. When he was down to the last few frames on a roll of film, he took a few photos without bothering to focus the shots (which he and Stipe ended up liking the best). The jewel case of the original CD release of ''Monster'' also featured an orange polystyrene media tray, akin to the yellow one used for the ''

'' CD. The back cover has the body of the bear next to the track listing, and the inside sleeve features images of the cartoon character

Migraine Boy ''Migraine Boy'' is a comic strip created by cartoonist Greg Fiering, which has been published in several mainstream printed media and TV. Usually presented in black and white six-panel strips, the comic is set in a typical American suburban neig ...

. "I lifted Migraine Boy from the ''

Flagpole A flagpole, flagmast, flagstaff, or staff is a pole designed to support a flag. If it is taller than can be easily reached to raise the flag, a cord is used, looping around a pulley at the top of the pole with the ends tied at the bottom. The fla ...

''," Stipe told Molly McCommons, his 12-year-old interviewer and daughter of ''Flagpole'' editor Pete McCommons. "I'd like to officially thank ''Flagpole'' for introducing me to Greg Fiering and Migraine Boy. I haven't met Greg, but I've talked to him a lot on the phone. We were actually in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

at the same time, but I was working on another project and we had a television visit for about two hours. This is an exclusive. I don't think anybody else knows about Migraine Boy yet." The booklet contains several alternate names and working titles of songs recorded for the album. In interviews, the band has described its process of naming albums: they tape a large sheet of paper on the studio wall, and then write down random ideas as they occur. One song mentioned on the list is "Revolution", an outtake which later appeared on the '' Batman & Robin'' soundtrack and the bonus disc of '' In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003''. "Yes, I Am Fucking with You" was the working title of "King of Comedy". The limited-edition deluxe CD was packaged with a 52-page hardcover book of photographs and artwork (including Migraine Boy), similar to the visual extras in other 1980s and 1990s limited-edition R.E.M. albums (which were usually overseen and directed by Stipe). The ''Monster'' book also included an obi strip and a different design printed on the disc itself, which fitted into a die-cut, star-shaped opening inside the book's cover.

Release and reception

''Monster'' debuted at number one on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' charts and sold 131,000 copies in four days to debut at number one on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

. The album was selling ten times its nearest rival,

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. The debut Massive Attack album '' Blue Lines'' was rele ...

's ''

Protection Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although t ...

''. There were several hits from the album; particularly "

" and "

", which charted better than any single from ''Automatic for the People'' in the United States and Canada. These two singles were also successful in the United Kingdom, peaking at number nine and number 15 respectively. " Star 69" also charted, although it was not released as a single. The album was among the first promoted with online content, which was also distributed via

floppy disk A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, or a diskette) is an obsolescent type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined ...

. The album was generally praised. ''Rolling Stone'' critic

Robert Palmer Robert Allen Palmer (19 January 1949 – 26 September 2003) was an English singer and songwriter. He was known for his powerful, soulful voice and wikt:sartorial, sartorial elegance, and his stylistic explorations, combining Soul music, so ...

noted that Stipe's lyrics dealt with issues of identity ("The concept of reality itself is being called into question: Is this my life or an incredible virtual simulation?"), and the singer occasionally "begins to sound not unlike the proverbial rock star, whining about all those fans who just won't let him alone." Palmer added, "What's truly impressive about ''Monster'' is the way R.E.M. make an album with such potentially grave subject matter so much fun." ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' reviewer Keith Cameron wrote, "It's fun, frequently, but we feel distanced, engaged only on a secondhand level. Moreover, the loudly trumpeted fox factor has been conspicuous by its absence." According to Cameron, "At best stunning, at worst merely diverting, ''Monster'' sounds like the album they 'had' to make, to clear out their system, a simple prop to occupy our time ..."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

editor

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, oc ...

wrote, "''Monster'' doesn't have the conceptual unity or consistently brilliant songwriting of ''Automatic for the People'', but it does offer a wide range of sonic textures that have never been heard on an R.E.M. album before." It was voted number 786 in the third edition of

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". Along wit ...

's ''

All Time Top 1000 Albums ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by the ...

'' (2000). In 2005, Warner Bros. released expanded two-disc editions of all the band's Warner Bros. studio albums. The ''Monster'' reissue included a CD, a

DVD-Audio DVD-Audio (commonly abbreviated as DVD-A) is a digital format for delivering high-fidelity audio content on a DVD. DVD-Audio uses most of the storage on the disc for high-quality audio and is not intended to be a video delivery format. The st ...

disc with a 5.1-channel surround-sound mix of the album, and concert footage from the Monster Tour. The original CD booklet's liner notes were expanded with lyrics and a photo gallery. In November 2011 ''Monster'' was ranked ninth on ''

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists – and fans of guitar-based music and trends – that has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original arti ...

'' top-ten list of 1994 guitar albums, between Rancid's ''

Let's Go Let's Go may refer to: Film * ''Let's Go'' (1918 film), a 1918 comedy short starring Harold Lloyd * ''Let's Go'' (1923 film), a silent film written by Keene Thompson * ''Let's Go!'' (film), a 2011 Hong Kong action film Music Albums * ''Let's ...

'' and

Tesla Tesla most commonly refers to: * Nikola Tesla (1856–1943), a Serbian-American electrical engineer and inventor * Tesla, Inc., an American electric vehicle and clean energy company, formerly Tesla Motors, Inc. * Tesla (unit) (symbol: T), the SI-d ...

's ''

Bust a Nut ''Bust a Nut'' is the fourth studio album by American hard rock band Tesla, released in 1994. It was their final studio album on Geffen Records. The first single was "Mama's Fool," followed by "Need Your Loving" and "A Lot To Lose." The album was ...

''. ''Guitar World'' also included the album on their list "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994". ''Rolling Stone'' originally named it the year's second-best album, but dropped it to fifteenth-best in a 2014 re-ranking. "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" was ranked at number 16 of ''

Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, A liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves a ...

''s list of The 20 Best R.E.M. Songs of All Time in 2009, number 11 of ''

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outl ...

''s list of R.E.M.’s Top 20 Songs, and number 19 of

ThoughtCo Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, l ...

's list of the Top 40 Best R.E.M. Songs.

Tour

Despite their highest chart positions to date in 1991 and 1992, R.E.M. elected not to tour after they found the year-long ''Green'' tour exhausting. The Monster Tour was the group's first outing in six years. The tour, which played arenas and amphitheaters, as well as some stadiums in Europe, began in January 1995 with shows in Australia and Japan and continued throughout Europe and the United States for the rest of the year. Support acts included

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of th ...

and Radiohead. Although the tour was a commercial success, it was difficult for the group. On March 1, Berry collapsed onstage during a performance in

Lausanne, Switzerland , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin ( ...

due to a

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. Aneurysms in the posterior circu ...

. He had surgery immediately, and recovered fully within a month. Berry's aneurysm was the beginning of a series of health problems for the band; Mills had surgery to remove an intestinal adhesion in July, and a month later Stipe had emergency surgery to repair a

hernia A hernia is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. Various types of hernias can occur, most commonly involving the abdomen, and specifically the groin. Groin hern ...

. However, the group composed and debuted a number of new songs on the tour and recorded most of ''

'' (their next album) on the road. They used eight-track recorders to capture the shows, and based the new album on those recordings.

25th anniversary reissue

R.E.M. decided to release a 25th anniversary deluxe edition of ''Monster'' in 2019, after having released such an edition for ''Monsters predecessor, ''

'', in 2017. The edition contains remastered, live and demo versions of the songs from the album, as well as, unusually, a CD containing a fully remixed version of the album. The remix was the brainchild of original producer Scott Litt, who had long regretted the original mixing job he had done on ''Monster'', which involved distortion and vocals low in the mix, in keeping with the grunge style popular at the time. He felt that the tracks were unnecessarily muddy and did not make for a cohesive album, and noted that, at used record stores, he always saw copies of ''Monster'' that people had given away, and rarely copies of R.E.M.'s other albums, indicating listener dissatisfaction. For the 25th anniversary remix, Litt made Stipe's and others' vocals more prominent and clearer, removed some instrumental tracks (like the staccato guitar in the chorus of "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?"), and even used some different vocal takes, for example in "Strange Currencies". He cited the new version of "Let Me In", whose vocals are more comprehensible, as "maybe the best example of what's going on in the remix, which is simplicity". The members of R.E.M., while supportive of the remix, said that they were still happy with the original production, saying that, in Stipe's words, it conveyed "exactly who we were at that moment in time." The music website ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' was critical of the remix, writing, "the inescapable excess of Buck’s guitar tone as well as the slipperiness of Stipe’s vocals are what make the record special; when you invert these effects, it starts to be indistinguishable from any other R.E.M. record."

Track listing

All songs written by

and

. Side one – "C side" #"

" – 4:00 #"

" – 4:39 #"King of Comedy" – 3:40 #"I Don't Sleep, I Dream" – 3:27 #" Star 69" – 3:07 #"

" – 3:52 Side two – "D side" #

" – 4:13

" – 5:30 #"I Took Your Name" – 4:02 #"Let Me In" – 3:28 #"Circus Envy" – 4:15 #"You" – 4:54

25th anniversary edition

The 25th anniversary edition includes a remastered album and several bonus discs: Disc 2 (CD) – ''Monster'' (Demos) #"Pete's Hit" – 3:22 #"Uptempo Mo Distortion" – 3:18 #"Uptempo Ricky" – 4:53 #"Harlan County with Whistling" – 3:04 #"Lost Song" – 5:43 #"AM Boo" – 1:00 #"Mike's Gtr" – 5:05 #"Sputnik 1 Remix" – 4:30 #"Black Sky 4-14" – 4:17 #"Revolution 4-21" – 3:22 #"Rocker with Vocal" – 4:58 #"Time Is on Mike's Side" – 5:02 #"Experiment 4-28 No Vocal" – 5:35 #"Highland Fling 4-29" – 3:54 #"Cranky 4-29" – 3:41 Disc 3 (CD) – ''Monster'' (2019 Scott Litt Remixes) #"What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" (Remix) – 3:39 #"Crush with Eyeliner" (Remix) – 4:35 #"King of Comedy" (Remix) – 4:00 #"I Don't Sleep, I Dream" (Remix) – 3:56 #"Star 69" (Remix) – 3:07 #"Strange Currencies" (Remix) – 3:52 #

"Tongue" (Remix) – 4:00

#"Bang and Blame" (Remix) – 5:12 #"I Took Your Name" (Remix) – 4:02 #"Let Me In" (Remix) – 3:08 #"Circus Envy" (Remix) – 4:15 #"You" (Remix) – 4:50 Disc 4 (CD) – Live in Chicago 6/3/95 – Monster 1995 Tour (Part One) #"What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" – 3:59 #"Circus Envy" – 4:24 #"Crush with Eyeliner" – 4:38 #"

Near Wild Heaven "Near Wild Heaven" is a song by American rock band R.E.M., released in August 1991 as the third single from their seventh studio album, '' Out of Time'' (1991). The song was also the first single released by the band to have had its lyrics both ...

" – 3:57 #"Welcome to the Occupation" – 3:06 #"Undertow" – 5:19 #"I Took Your Name" – 4:29 #"Strange Currencies" – 5:00 #"Me in Honey" – 4:22 #"Revolution" – 3:56 #"Tongue" – 5:26 #" Man on the Moon" – 5:51 #"

Country Feedback "Country Feedback" is a song by R.E.M. from their 1991 album '' Out of Time''. The title describes the music (country rock-influenced, with feedback and pedal steel guitar), rather than describing the song's lyrical content, a series of chaotic, ...

" – 6:03 #"Monty Got a Raw Deal" – 3:21 Disc 5 (CD) – Live in Chicago 6/3/95 – Monster 1995 Tour (Part Two) #

Losing My Religion "Losing My Religion" is a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in February 1991 as the first single from the group's seventh album, '' Out of Time'' (1991). Built on a mandolin riff, the song was an unlikely hit for the grou ...

" – 4:54 #"You" – 5:07 #"Departure" – 3:44 #"

Orange Crush Crush is a brand of carbonated soft drinks owned and marketed internationally by Keurig Dr Pepper, originally created as an orange soda, Orange Crush. Crush competes with Coca-Cola's Fanta. It was created in 1911 by beverage and extract chemis ...

" – 3:54 #"

Get Up Get or GET may refer to: * Get (animal), the offspring of an animal * Get (divorce document), in Jewish religious law * GET (HTTP), a type of HTTP request * "Get" (song), by the Groggers * Georgia Time, used in the Republic of Georgia * Get AS, a ...

" – 2:55 #"Star 69" – 3:07 #"Let Me In" – 3:42 #"

Everybody Hurts "Everybody Hurts" is a song by American rock band R.E.M. from their eighth studio album, '' Automatic for the People'' (1992), and released as a single in April 1993. It peaked at number 29 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reached the top ...

" – 6:51 #"

So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry) "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was released in May 1984 as the first single from the group's second studio album, '' Reckoning''. R.E.M. performed a rough version of the song on the NBC ...

" – 3:52 #"

Pop Song 89 "Pop Song 89" is the opening track and third single released from R.E.M.'s sixth studio album ''Green''. It peaked at number 86 on the Hot 100, and in the UK "Stand" was re-released instead. '' Cash Box'' called it a "cynical parody of pop: b ...

" – 3:15 #"

It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" is a song by American rock band R.E.M., which first appeared on their 1987 album, ''Document''. It was released as the album's second single in November 1987, reaching No. 69 i ...

" – 4:44 Disc 6 (Blu-ray) *''Monster'' – 5.1 Surround Sound *''Monster'' – Hi-Resolution Audio *''

Road Movie A road movie is a film genre in which the main characters leave home on a road trip, typically altering the perspective from their everyday lives. Road movies often depict travel in the hinterlands, with the films exploring the theme of aliena ...

'' (concert film) *"What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" music video *"Crush with Eyeliner" music video *"Star 69" music video *"Strange Currencies" music video *"Tongue" music video *"Bang and Blame" music video

Personnel

R.E.M. *

– drums, percussion, bass guitar, backing vocals,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

– guitar,

Farfisa organ Farfisa (Fabbriche Riunite di Fisarmoniche) is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy, founded in 1946. The company manufactured a series of compact electronic organs in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Compact, FAST, Professiona ...

on "Let Me In", production *

– bass guitar, piano, organ, backing vocals, guitar on "Let Me In", production *

– lead vocals, production Additional musicians *Ané Diaz – backing vocals on "

" *

Sally Dworsky Sally Dworsky is an American singer-songwriter and playback singer in animated films. In addition to her solo work and co-fronting the alt-rock band Uma, Dworsky served as the singing voice for lead characters in iconic animated films including ...

– backing vocals on "King of Comedy" and "Bang and Blame" *Lou Kregl - backing vocals on "Bang and Blame" *

Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American musician best known as a member of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. M ...

– vocals and guitar on "

" *

Rain Phoenix Rain Joan of Arc Phoenix ( Bottom; born November 21, 1972) is an American actress, musician, and singer. She is the older sister of Joaquin, Liberty and Summer Phoenix and younger sister of River Phoenix. Early life Phoenix was born Rain Joan ...

– backing vocals on "Bang and Blame" *

Lynda Stipe Lynda L. Stipe (born September 30, 1962) is an American singer and bass guitarist. She is best recognized for her involvement in the bands Oh-OK, Hetch Hetchy and Flash to Bang Time. She is the younger sister of R.E.M.'s lead singer Michael S ...

– backing vocals on "Bang and Blame" Technical personnel *David Colvin – second

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

(Crossover) *Jeff DeMorris – second engineer (Ocean Way) *Mark Gruber – second engineer (Criteria) *Mark Howard – engineering (Kingsway) *Victor Janacua – second engineer (Ocean Way) *

– production *Stephen Marcussen –

mastering engineer A mastering engineer is a person skilled in the practice of taking audio (typically musical content) that has been previously mixed in either the analog or digital domain as mono, stereo, or multichannel formats and preparing it for use in dist ...

(Precision Mastering) * Pat McCarthy – engineering *Mark "Microwave" Mytrowitz – technical assistance

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Notes and sources

Footnotes Sources *Black, Johnny. ''Reveal: The Story of R.E.M.'' Backbeat, 2004. *Buckley, David. ''R.E.M.: Fiction: An Alternative Biography''. Virgin, 2002. *Platt, John (editor). ''The R.E.M. Companion: Two Decades of Commentary''. Schirmer, 1998.

Citations

{{Authority control 1994 albums R.E.M. albums Albums produced by Bill Berry Albums produced by Michael Stipe Albums produced by Mike Mills Albums produced by Peter Buck Albums produced by Scott Litt Warner Records albums Hard rock albums by American artists Punk rock albums by American artists Grunge albums Glam rock albums by American artists