R.E.M. “Green” released 30 years ago today, November 7th, in 1988.** Green was R.E.M.’s 6th studio LP and their first on the major label Warner Bros. Records after leaving I.R.S. Records. It was a major hit, going to #12 in the US and to #27 in the UK. I’m pretty sure it’s also the last vinyl LP I bought before the dark days of buying CD’s for several years. **Green was released on November 7th in the UK but on November 8th in the US to coincide with the US presidential elections; R.E.M. was highly critical of George H.W. Bush (see the track “World Leader Pretend”).

Green is not my favorite R.E.M. album but is definitely the most meaningful to me and is one of those records that instantly transports me to late ‘88 and early ‘89. I was a senior in high school and my parents had just bought a brand new Volkswagen Jetta, our first car with a tape deck! As was my habit, I made a tape of the record (I’d generally play my vinyl just once to tape it and then play that so as to keep the vinyl pristine) and played it repeatedly while driving around Appleton. The song “Orange Crush,” which was the first single released in December ‘88 and went to #1 on the Modern and Mainstream Rock charts, reminds me of cold Midwestern evenings, driving down the dark streets to after school activities. “Pop Song 89,” the third single released in May ‘89 (#16 Modern Rock chart) has much sunnier recollections – the last days of high school, warm weather, excitement of the prospect of a glorious summer and then on to college. The fourth single “Get Up” (released September ‘89, it did not chart) is one of my favorites from Green. Michael Stipe reportedly wrote it about Mike Mills who always overslept for their recording sessions; it’s also Stipe’s favorite song on the album.

But the most significant song to me is the much-maligned second single “Stand” (it was meant to be a “60′s-esque bubblegum pop ditty” in the spirit of The Monkees, etc.). Do I really like “Stand”? No, not really. But it is the song that most reminds me of my friend Laurie who disappeared 26 years ago. She loved R.E.M. – going so far as to date a dolt who had a more than passing resemblance to Michael Stipe – and we’d do the “Stand” dance in her backyard during our high school lunch hours. She was bright and bubbly, just like the song. “Stand” went to #6 on the US Hot 100 (#1 on the Alternative and Mainstream Rock charts) and to #48 in the UK.