Radio Song
Encyclopedia
"Radio Song" is the fourth single released by R.E.M.
from their 1991 album Out of Time
, where it appeared as the opening track.
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.
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.
, Peter Buck
, Mike Mills
, and Michael Stipe
unless otherwise indicated.
Additional musicians
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
from their 1991 album Out of Time
Out of Time (album)
Out of Time is the seventh album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on Warner Bros. Records in 1991. With Out of Time R.E.M.'s status grew from that of a cult band to a massive international act. The record topped the album sales charts in both the U.S...
, where it appeared as the opening track.
Singer Michael Stipe
Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
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.
Stipe also asked KRS-One
KRS-One
Lawrence Krisna Parker , better known by his stage names KRS-One , and Teacha, is an American rapper...
, leader of Boogie Down Productions
Boogie Down Productions
Boogie Down Productions was a hip hop group that was originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, months after the release of BDP's debut album, Criminal Minded. The name of the group, Boogie Down, derives from a nickname for the...
(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.
Track listing
All songs written by Bill BerryBill Berry
William "Bill" Thomas Berry is a retired American musician, multi-instrumentalist, best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. In addition to his drumming duties, Berry played many other instruments including guitar, bass guitar, and piano, both for songwriting and on R.E.M....
, Peter Buck
Peter Buck
Peter Lawrence Buck , is an American rock guitarist who is best known for playing in and co-founding alternative rock band R.E.M....
, Mike Mills
Mike Mills
Michael Edward "Mike" Mills is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock group R.E.M.. Though known primarily as a bass guitarist, backing vocalist, and pianist, his musical repertoire includes also keyboards, guitar, and percussion instruments...
, and Michael Stipe
Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
unless otherwise indicated.
US/UK/Germany 7" / US/UK cassette
- "Radio Song" – 4:15
- "Love Is All Around" (Reg PresleyReg PresleyReg Presley is an English singer-songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer with prominent 1960s rock and roll band The Troggs, whose best known hit was "Wild Thing", though their only UK number one single was "With A Girl Like You"...
) (live)1 – 3:15
UK "Collectors' Edition" CD
- "Radio Song" – 4:15
- "You Are the Everything" (live) – 4:43
- "Orange CrushOrange Crush (song)"Orange Crush" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was released as the first single from the band's sixth studio album, Green, in 1988...
" (live)² – 4:03 - "Belong" (live)4 – 4:47
US/Germany CD / US 12"/maxi-cassette
- "Radio Song (Tower of Luv Bug mix)" – 4:14
- "Love Is All Around" (Reg PresleyReg PresleyReg Presley is an English singer-songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer with prominent 1960s rock and roll band The Troggs, whose best known hit was "Wild Thing", though their only UK number one single was "With A Girl Like You"...
) (live)1 – 3:15 - "Belong" (live)4 – 4:07
UK/Germany 12"
- "Radio Song" – 4:15
- "Love Is All Around" (Reg PresleyReg PresleyReg Presley is an English singer-songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer with prominent 1960s rock and roll band The Troggs, whose best known hit was "Wild Thing", though their only UK number one single was "With A Girl Like You"...
) (live)1 – 3:15 - "Shiny Happy PeopleShiny Happy People"Shiny Happy People" is a song by the band R.E.M.. The song appeared on their 1991 album Out of Time and was released as a single in the same year. The song features guest backing vocals by Kate Pierson of the B-52's, who also has a prominent role in the song's music video.It peaked at #10 on the...
(Music Mix)"
Charts
| Chart (1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Dutch Singles Chart | 56 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
5 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
28 |
Personnel
R.E.M.- Bill BerryBill BerryWilliam "Bill" Thomas Berry is a retired American musician, multi-instrumentalist, best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. In addition to his drumming duties, Berry played many other instruments including guitar, bass guitar, and piano, both for songwriting and on R.E.M....
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Peter BuckPeter BuckPeter Lawrence Buck , is an American rock guitarist who is best known for playing in and co-founding alternative rock band R.E.M....
– guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Mike MillsMike MillsMichael Edward "Mike" Mills is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock group R.E.M.. Though known primarily as a bass guitarist, backing vocalist, and pianist, his musical repertoire includes also keyboards, guitar, and percussion instruments...
– organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with... - Michael StipeMichael StipeJohn Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
– lead vocalsLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
Additional musicians
- David Arenz – violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Ellie Arenz – violin
- Mark Bingham – stringString instrumentA string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
arrangementArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
s - David Braitberg – violin
- Andrew Cox – celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
- Reid Harris – violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
- Peter HolsapplePeter HolsapplePeter Holsapple formed, along with Chris Stamey, the singing, songwriting, and guitar-playing core of the dB's, a jangle-pop band from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He became the band's principal songwriter and singer after Stamey's departure. The dB's were at the forefront of the guitar bands...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Ralph Jones – double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
- Kidd JordanKidd JordanEdward "Kidd" Jordan is an American jazz saxophonist and music educator from New Orleans, Louisiana....
– baritoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
, tenorTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
and alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions... - Dave Kempers – violin
- KRS-OneKRS-OneLawrence Krisna Parker , better known by his stage names KRS-One , and Teacha, is an American rapper...
– rappingRappingRapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”... - Scott LittScott LittScott Litt 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.-Biography:...
– echo-loopMusic loopIn electroacoustic music, a loop is a repeating section of sound material. Short sections of material can be repeated to create ostinato patterns...
feedAudio feedbackAudio feedback is a special kind of positive feedback which occurs when a sound loop exists between an audio input and an audio output... - Elizabeth Murphy – cello
- Paul Murphy – lead viola