Man on the Moon (song)
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| “Man on the Moon” | ||||||||||||||
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| Single by R.E.M. from the album Automatic for the People |
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| Released | November 21, 1992 | |||||||||||||
| Format | CD single, 7" single, 12" single, Cassette | |||||||||||||
| Recorded | 1992 | |||||||||||||
| Genre | Rock | |||||||||||||
| Length | 5:12 | |||||||||||||
| Label | Warner Bros. Records | |||||||||||||
| Producer | Scott Litt & R.E.M. | |||||||||||||
| R.E.M. singles chronology | ||||||||||||||
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"Man on the Moon" is a song by the band R.E.M. from their 1992 album Automatic for the People. The song makes numerous references to the performer Andy Kaufman, including his Elvis impersonation and work with wrestlers Fred Blassie and Jerry Lawler. The song was released as a single in 1993.
The song gave its name to a 1999 film Man on the Moon, and was used in the film's soundtrack.
The song was placed on R.E.M.'s Warner Bros. Records "best of" album In Time - The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003 in 2003. It was one of four songs from Automatic for the People to make the compilation, more than from any other album.
The song was performed on December 11, 1999, on Saturday Night Live and on July 2, 2005, at Live 8's London concert, along with "Everybody Hurts" and "Imitation of Life". The song was also performed by the original line-up of the band, accompanied by Eddie Vedder, during the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on March 12, 2007.
The song is included on R.E.M. Live.
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[edit] Video
The song's video, directed by Peter Care, was shot over three days in the desert, at Lancaster in the Antelope Valley area of California, in October 1992. Care kept a journal of the unusually long planning, filming, and editing process, which was published by Raygun magazine and reprinted in the R.E.M. fan club newsletter. It gave a clear idea of the amount of work, money, and attention-to-detail involved.[1]
In the video, Stipe, attired in a cowboy hat, walks along a desert road. He leaps onto a passing truck, driven by Bill Berry, and hitches a ride to a truck stop where Peter Buck is tending bar and Mike Mills is shooting pool. Berry trades his truck seat for a bar stool, and along with a few of the other customers, sings along during the choruses. After finishing his order of fries, Stipe leaves and walks off into the dusk. In the background on a small television set in the truck stop, various footage of Andy Kaufman can be seen showing.
This video was ranked #41 on Rolling Stone magazine's The 100 Top Music Videos.
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe except as noted..
[edit] US 7", Cassette and CD Single
- "Man on the Moon" – 5:12
- "New Orleans Instrumental #2" – 3:48
[edit] UK "Collector's Edition" CD Single
- "Man on the Moon" – 5:12
- "Fruity Organ" – 3:26
- "New Orleans Instrumental #2" – 3:48
- "Arms of Love" (Robyn Hitchcock) – 3:35
[edit] DE 12" and CD Maxi-Single
- "Man on the Moon" (edit) – 4:39
- "Turn You Inside-Out" – 4:15
- "Arms of Love" (Hitchcock) – 3:35
[edit] UK and DE 7" and Cassette Single
- "Man on the Moon" (edit) – 4:39
- "Turn You Inside-Out" – 4:15
[edit] Notes
- ^ Gray, M: "It Crawled from the South"
[edit] External links
- Video at VH1 Classic
- Video clip at REMhq
- Lyrics at REMhq
- Low-resolution video clip with "Weird Al" Yankovic mocking the clip
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