The Name of This Band Is R.E.M.: A Biography

In spring 1980, in Athens, Georgia, an unknown group of eccentric musicians held a concert at a college party. Within the span of a few years, their albums Out of Time, Automatic for the People, Monster, and Green came to gain notoriety. The band R.E.M.’s distinctive musical flair was unmatched for the time and they gained popularity. R.E.M. challenged the corporate and social order, chasing a vision and cultivating a magnetic, transgressive sound.

Author Peter Ames Carlin’s rich, intimate biography looks beyond the sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll to reveal the fascinating lives of four college friends: Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry. This book is steeped in 80s and 90s nostalgia and paints a cultural history of the band and the music industry of that era and is the story of the generation that came of age at the apotheosis of rock.