Man on the Moon (song)
Man on the Moon is one of the most famous songs by the American rock band REM
The title appeared in 1992 on the album Automatic for the People and was released as a single in 1993.
"Man on the Moon" is dedicated to the provocative US comedian Andy Kaufman , who was known for "getting in the ring" with his guests - in the true sense of the word. The text describes scenes from the life of Kaufman, who died of lung cancer in 1984. The title lines allude to the fact that those who believe in Andy Kaufman's death also believe in the moon landing .
Michael Stipe , singer of REM, said about this song to Craig Rosen , author of the book Inside Out - The Story Behind the Lyrics of REM , that it was also important for him to put more "Yeahs" in a song than his friend Kurt Cobain ( Nirvana ) in the lyrics to his song "Lithium" (on the 1991 album Nevermind ). “Man on the Moon” contains 56 “Yeahs”, “Lithium” on the other hand only 48.
In 1998 the song was re-recorded as the soundtrack for a film of the same name : Miloš Forman filmed the life of Andy Kaufman , with Jim Carrey in the lead role .
Web links
- Text from “Man on the Moon” ( Memento from May 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) on the former official website of REM
Studio albums: Murmur (1983) | Reckoning (1984) | Fables of the Reconstruction (1985) | Lifes Rich Pageant (1986) | Document (1987) | Green (1988) | Out of Time (1991) | Automatic for the People (1992) | Monster (1994) | New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996) | Up (1998) | Reveal (2001) | Around the Sun (2004) | Accelerate (2008) | Collapse into Now (2011)
Singles (selection): The One I Love (1987) | It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) (1987) | Stand (1989) | Losing My Religion (1991) | Shiny Happy People (1991) | Man on the Moon (1992) | Bang and Blame (1994) | Imitation of Life (2001)