{"id":31783,"date":"2017-12-14T13:07:57","date_gmt":"2017-12-14T13:07:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=31783"},"modified":"2017-12-14T13:07:57","modified_gmt":"2017-12-14T13:07:57","slug":"hey-kids-rock-and-roll-rem-documentary-marks-25th-anniversary-release-of-automatic-for-the-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2017\/12\/hey-kids-rock-and-roll-rem-documentary-marks-25th-anniversary-release-of-automatic-for-the-people\/","title":{"rendered":"HEY KIDS, ROCK AND ROLL – REM Documentary Marks 25th Anniversary Release of Automatic For The People"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

REM <\/strong>have unveiled a new mini-documentary to mark the 25th anniversary re-mastered release of\u00a0Automatic for the People.<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n

Featuring\u00a0<\/strong>new interviews with\u00a0Michael Stipe<\/strong>,\u00a0Peter Buck<\/strong> and\u00a0Mike Mills<\/strong>, along with co-producer\u00a0Scott Litt, <\/strong>the film charts the making of what many consider to be the band’s finest album<\/h4>\n

\u201cCulturally, 1992 in America was not an easy place to\u00a0be,\u201d Stipe remarks on the background to the record’s conception.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d been\u00a0through 12 years of politically the darkest era America had ever seen with\u00a0{Ronald} Reagan, {George} Bush and AIDS.<\/p>\n

“I think the record was a response to\u00a0that. I wanted to make a record about loss, transition\u00a0and death \u2013 the biggest\u00a0transition we all know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recorded by the classic quartet of Buck, Mills, Stipe and drummer\u00a0Bill Berry<\/strong>, the band’s eighth studio album came at a time when they were brimming with confidence in the wake of\u00a0the twin successes of Out of Time<\/strong><\/em> and its lead single\u00a0Losing My Religion.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe songs came together, Michael\u2019s lyrics came\u00a0together, the production and the sound and the overdubs and everything all\u00a0seemed right for this record,\u201d Mills comments.<\/p>\n

But it was Stipe’s willingness to expose and embrace his own innate vulnerability that makes the album such an original and powerful document of the time.<\/p>\n

“I don\u2019t think there was another record that\u00a0sounded like that record that year\u00a0\u2013 which I think is a good thing,\u201d Buck affirms.<\/p>\n

The Craft Recordings\u00a0<\/strong>documentary<\/a> coincides with the multi-format re-release of the album, which was accented by string arrangements courtesy of\u00a0Led\u00a0<\/strong>Zeppelin<\/b>‘s\u00a0John Paul Jones.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hardcore fans will likely be attracted by the deluxe new four-CD version, which features previously unreleased demos and a recording of the band’s only live show from the era at the 40-Watt Club in the band’s home town of Athens, Georgia.<\/p>\n

The deluxe edition also includes a 60-page book, with photos by Anton Corbijn<\/strong> and Melodie McDaniel<\/strong>, plus expanded liner notes by Tom Doyle<\/strong> who conducted new interviews with all four band members.<\/p>\n