Radio Song
{{Short description|1991 song by R.E.M}}
{{About|the R.E.M. song|other uses|Radio Songs (disambiguation){{!}}Radio Songs}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Radio Song
| cover = R.E.M. - Radio Song.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = R.E.M.
| album = Out of Time
| B-side = "Love Is All Around" (live)
| released = {{start date|1991|11|4}}{{cite magazine|title=New Releases: Singles|magazine=Music Week|page=23|date=November 2, 1991}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
- Funk
- rap-rock{{Cite web|url=https://www.treblezine.com/10-bad-songs-on-good-albums/|title=10 Bad Songs on Good Albums|first=Treble|last=staff|date=March 20, 2014}}
- pop
| length = 4:15
| label = Warner Bros.
| writer = {{hlist|Bill Berry|Peter Buck|Mike Mills|Michael Stipe}}
| producer = {{hlist|Scott Litt|R.E.M.}}
| prev_title = Near Wild Heaven
| prev_year = 1991
| next_title = It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
| next_year = 1991
}}
"Radio Song" is a song by American rock band R.E.M., released as the fourth single from their seventh album, Out of Time (1991), where it appears as the opening track. Lead singer Michael Stipe once said that he hoped everyone had enough sense of humor to realize that he was "kind of taking the piss of everyone," himself included.{{cite book | first=Johnny | last=Black | title=Reveal: The Story of R.E.M. | publisher=Backbeat Books | location=London | year=2004 | isbn=0-87930-776-5 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/revealstoryofrem00john }} Stipe also asked KRS-One, leader of Boogie Down Productions (of which Stipe was a fan), to contribute to the track. He provides some backing vocals for the track, as well as a closing rap, and appears prominently in the video.
Critical reception
Dele Fadele from NME named "Radio Song" Single of the Week, adding, "The most galvanising radio-wave song since Joy Division's "Transmission" sees Messrs Berry, Buck and Mills pressure-cooking some dirty funk with poignant pauses ('radio silence' as an act of subversion)."{{cite magazine|first=Dele|last=Fadele|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/52487175668/|title=Singles|work=NME|date=November 9, 1991|page=23|access-date=May 2, 2023|author-link=Dele Fadele}} Another editor, Terry Staunton, declared it as "predictably the most curious and out of character track, which switches from gentle Velvet Underground strumming to anxious funk workout."{{cite magazine|first=Terry|last=Staunton|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/52310823567/|title=Long Play|work=NME|date=March 16, 1991|page=30|access-date=April 6, 2023}} Parry Gettelman from Orlando Sentinel viewed it as one of the album's "strongest cuts" and "an adventurous amalgam of jangly funk and sugary-sweet pop balladry, with KRS-1 a good foil for otherworldly singer Michael Stipe." He added, "While Stipe is, as usual, a bit oblique ("I've everything to show/I've everything to hide/ look into my eyes - listen"), KRS-1's words are unambiguous ("Now our children grow up prisoners/all their life - radio listeners")."Gettelman, Parry (March 22, 1991). "R.E.M.". Orlando Sentinel. Celia Farber from Spin felt it's one of the few "that rocks out a little [on the album], settling intermittently on a classic dramatic R.E.M. moment, with a crescendo of arpeggiated guitars and words about the world collapsing."{{cite magazine|first=Celia|last=Farber|authorlink=Celia Farber|title=Spins|magazine=Spin|date=March 1991|page=73|accessdate=January 23, 2023|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QurB9YiFO9QC}}
Track listings
All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe unless otherwise indicated.
7-inch and cassette
- "Radio Song" – 4:15
- "Love Is All Around" (Reg Presley) (live)1 – 3:15
UK "Collectors' Edition" CD
- "Radio Song" – 4:15
- "You Are the Everything" (live)3 – 4:43
- "Orange Crush" (live)² – 4:03
- "Belong" (live)4 – 4:47
CD, 12-inch, and maxi-cassette
- "Radio Song (Tower of Luv Bug mix)" – 4:14
- "Love Is All Around" (Reg Presley) (live)1 – 3:15
- "Belong" (live)4 – 4:07
UK and Germany 12-inch
- "Radio Song" – 4:15
- "Love Is All Around" (Reg Presley) (live)1 – 3:15
- "Shiny Happy People (Music Mix)"
=Notes=
1 Recorded on Rockline, Los Angeles, California; April 1, 1991.
2 Incorrectly listed as "Fox Theater, Atlanta, Georgia; November 13, 1989"; actually from Miami Arena, Miami (FL), April 29, 1989.
3 Taken from the live performance video, Tourfilm.
4 Recorded at the Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina; November 10, 1989.
Details for the second and third live recordings (tracks three and four) for "Collectors' Edition" are not provided on the CD materials.
Personnel
Personnel taken from Out of Time liner notes{{Cite AV media notes|title=Out of Time |others=R.E.M. |date=1991 |type=CD liner notes}}
R.E.M.
- Bill Berry – drums, percussion
- Peter Buck – guitar
- Mike Mills – organ, bass guitar
- Michael Stipe – vocals
Additional musicians
- Peter Holsapple – bass guitar
- Kidd Jordan – baritone, tenor and alto saxophone
- KRS-One – rapping
- Scott Litt – echo-loop feed
Strings
{{div col}}
- David Arenz – violin
- Ellie Arenz – violin
- Mark Bingham – string arrangement
- David Braitberg – violin
- Andrew Cox – cello
- Reid Harris – viola
- Ralph Jones – double bass
- Dave Kempers – violin
- Elizabeth Murphy – cello
- Paul Murphy – lead viola
- Jay Weigel – orchestral liaison
{{div col end}}
Charts
Bingo Hand Job version
A live version of "Radio Song" was released in early 2019 via Noisetrade. Recorded in 1991 at The Borderline in London, the track was credited to Bingo Hand Job, a pseudonym for R.E.M. and guests (who also adopted various fake names). A recording of the much bootlegged full concert was officially released in April 2019 as Live at the Borderline 1991.{{cite web|title=Bingo Hand Job Albums - NoiseTrade|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/noisetrade/music/bingohandjob|access-date=April 20, 2019|website=Paste}}
Use in other media
The song was featured in the Cameron Crowe film Singles (1992), although it is not included in the official soundtrack album.{{Cite web |url=http://www.theuncool.com/films/singles/singles-soundtrack/ |title=Singles Soundtrack |date=2015 |website=TheUncool.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170526050930/http://www.theuncool.com/films/singles/singles-soundtrack/ |archive-date=May 26, 2017 |url-status=live }}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20050409064424/http://www.remhq.com/shared_assets/videography/videos/radioSong.html Video clip at REMhq.com]
{{R.E.M.}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Songs written by Bill Berry
Category:Songs written by Peter Buck
Category:Songs written by Mike Mills
Category:Songs written by Michael Stipe
Category:Song recordings produced by Scott Litt
Category:Song recordings produced by Michael Stipe
Category:Song recordings produced by Mike Mills
Category:Song recordings produced by Peter Buck
Category:Song recordings produced by Bill Berry