It’s been 34 years to the day since R.E.M. released Automatic for the People, their groundbreaking eighth studio album. Fascinatingly, the record—which frontman Michael Stipe called “pretty f**kin’ weird”—has an interesting connection to an ex Led Zeppelin member.
Back in March 1992, months before the record was released, Stipe sat down with Rolling Stone for an extensive interview. During the conversation, he hinted at what their next project would sound like. “Very mid-tempo, pretty f***king weird,” he said. “More acoustic, more organ-based, less drums.”
That music, the world would come to learn, was collected as Automatic for the People.
Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones did string arrangements for R.E.M.’s ‘Automatic for the People’
One reason Automatic for the People was such a groundbreaking project was the string arrangements. Many of which were done by Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones. R.E.M.’s producer, Scott Litt, had reached out to Jones to see if he’d be interested, and it just so happened that he was.
“Doing the string arrangements for that album was a great experience, actually,” Jones told Uncut back in 2014. “They sent me the demos of their songs, and we went into a studio in Atlanta, with members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. They were great songs, something you can really get your teeth into as an arranger – and I’ve been good friends with them ever since.”
‘Automatic for the People’ was just the start of a brand new chapter for R.E.M.
While it was their eighth record, Automatic for the People represented the beginning of a brand new era for R.E.M. Ahead of its release, he offered some thoughts to Rolling Stone on the band’s longevity. “Hopefully, we’re not going to put out Chicago XIV,” he said, referring to the band Chicago’s 1980 album.
“That would be my worst fear,” Stipe continued. “That we would turn into one of those dumb bands who go into their second decade and don’t know how bad they are and don’t know when to give it up.”
“I don’t think we’re at that point, he added. “I think the stuff we’re doing now challenges in energy and emotion and feeling anything we’ve ever done.”
The interviewer then noted that R.E.M. members Peter Buck and Bill Berry “reportedly made a pact to keep the band going until the year 2000 and then quit.” In response, Stipe quipped, “They decided they wanted to break up at the millennium. There is something poetic about it. I dig that idea. Hey, I can hang in with these guys for another decade.”
R.E.M. actually lasted another decade past that, splitting amicably in 2011.
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