Murmur – R.E.M. (1983)

July 25, 2025

In 1980, Michael Stipe and Peter Buck – both University of Georgia students at the time – met at the record store where Buck worked. The two avid music fans got to talking and instantly hit it off when they realized that they shared a lot of the same taste, including the Velvet Underground, Television, and Patti Smith. Shortly after this chance encounter, Stipe and Buck would end up getting introduced through a mutual friend to two fellow Georgia Bulldogs who had been playing music together since high school (Bill Berry and Mike Mills), and just like that – R.E.M. was born. The quartet started to gain some momentum by performing small shows where they played a combination of original songs and covers, leading to them developing a following throughout the South and eventually deciding to drop out of school to make R.E.M. their full time job. After about a year of touring, the band would get their big break with their single “Radio Free Europe” in 1981, which despite getting a very limited release and selling very few copies, would end up drawing high volumes of critical praise – most notably with its inclusion in The New York Times’ top 10 singles list for the year. Realizing they suddenly had their moment and could capitalize on the good press, they released their first EP in 1982, which would then pave the way for recording their debut album, 1983’s Murmur.

R.E.M. performs an early show in Boston

After first working with a producer named Stephen Hague, who was focused on achieving technical perfection, R.E.M. quickly realized they needed to go in a different direction to capture the sound they were looking for. They instead teamed up with a new duo of producers – Don Dixon and Mitch Easter – who were onboard with a more stripped down, raw recording style that would aim to imitate their live sound. Wisely, the band decided to take some unconventional approaches that seemed quite controversial at the time, including recording Berry’s contributions in a drummer’s booth (which was considered an outdated method at the time) and foregoing the inclusion of synthesizers and guitar solos to avoid giving it the typical 80s rock sound. They also made the smart choice to re-record the song that put them on the map, “Radio Free Europe,” and release it as their first single – peaking at #78 on the Billboard Hot 100 and giving the album the push it needed to break into mainstream success. Murmur would go on to climb all the way to #36 on the Billboard 200 and continued to earn the band immense critical praise – reaching its pinnacle when Rolling Stone named it the Best Album of 1983 over the likes of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, the Police’s Synchronicity, and U2’s War. Suddenly, R.E.M. was one of the biggest rock bands in the US after just a few years of existence. 

Murmur’s sound draws from the post-punk bands of the late 70s and early 80s, but strays from the funk and R&B influences and leans into the jangly guitar sound that was made famous by bands like the Byrds and Big Star. And on top of the musical hybrid that felt both familiar and innovative at the time, Stipe’s unique, mumbling voice adds a distinct feel that gives R.E.M. a sound that is completely unique and unmistakable – and also makes the lyrics nearly indecipherable. But upon closer inspection, there does appear to be at least some message behind the mumbling. “Radio Free Europe” criticizes the titular radio network that broadcasted propagandist messages about freedom and democracy to the Middle East and Europe; “Pilgrimage” empathizes with the discomfort and difficulty of immigrating to a foreign country; and “Talk About the Passion” targets the hypocrisy of the Church in a world filled with poverty and hunger – specifically calling out the “empty prayer” and “empty mouths.” R.E.M. also certainly puts the “college” in college rock with numerous deep-cut references to Greco-Roman mythology, including lyrics about the myth of Laocoön on “Laughing,” a mention of the Greek goddesses of the seasons on “Moral Kiosk,” and naming “West of the Fields” after the Elysian Fields afterlife for the virtuous.

Berry, Stipe, Mills, and Buck

R.E.M.’s ability to create something that sounds fairly different from where the music landscape was at the time, while still having the record land with pop audiences and critics alike, would have been an impressive task for any group of musicians. But for these guys to come right out of the gate and have the forethought to distinguish themselves in a way that wouldn’t isolate them from mainstream audiences is nothing short of astounding. They would not only change the types of bands that were gaining popularity in the mid-80s, like the Smiths and 10,000 Maniacs, but would also be a key inspiration for some of the biggest acts at the turn of the decade, including the Pixies, the Counting Crows, and Blind Melon. But Murmur – as excellent as it was – would be nowhere near the high point for R.E.M.’s career. Over the course of the 1990s, they would release five consecutive top 3 albums – with Out of Time (#1), Automatic for the People (#2), Monster (#1), New Adventures in Hi-Fi (#2), and Up (#3) – which would include some of the signature songs of the decade, including “Losing My Religion,” “Everybody Hurts,” and “Man on the Moon.” So aside from the fact that Murmur is indisputably on the shortlist of greatest rock debuts of all time, R.E.M.’s prolific output and high-quality discography put them right in the conversation of the best American rock bands to ever do it.