R.E.M.’s The Great Beyond: A Psychedelic Rock

R.E.M.’s The Great Beyond is a psychedelic rock song that was released in 1998. The song is about the band’s late lead singer, Michael Stipe, and his experience with drugs and alcohol.

Introduction

R.E.M.’s “The Great Beyond” is a psychedelic rock song that was released as a single in October of 1989. The song was written by lead singer Michael Stipe and was inspired by the Vietnam War Memorial. The song peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

The Great Beyond as a Psychedelic Rock Masterpiece

R.E.M.’s The Great Beyond is considered by many to be a psychedelic rock masterpiece. The album was released in 1974 and was the band’s first album to be released on a major label. The album is a concept album that tells the story of a man who goes on a journey to find himself. The album is full of catchy hooks and psychedelic sounds.

The Sound of The Great Beyond

For a band that was so influential in the development of alternative rock, R.E.M. sure knew how to write a pop song. The Great Beyond is a perfect example of this, with its catchy hook and sing-along chorus. But there’s more to this song than meets the eye. If you listen closely, you can hear the influence of psychedelic rock in the production and songwriting.

The Great Beyond was released as a single in October of 1999, and it quickly became a hit. It was the first single from the band’s album “In Time: The Best of R.E.M.” The song is about lead singer Michael Stipe’s experience coming out as gay, and it features references to Greek mythology and astrology.

The sound of The Great Beyond is heavily influenced by psychedelic rock. The production is atmospheric and ethereal, with swirling keyboards and dreamy guitars. The lyrics are vague and cryptic, hinting at hidden meanings and hidden worlds. The result is a song that feels like it’s from another world entirely.

If you’re a fan of R.E.M., or if you’re just looking for something new to listen to, check out The Great Beyond. You might just find yourself getting lost in its hazy, dreamlike soundscape.

The Lyrics of The Great Beyond

When frontman Michael Stipe was writing the lyrics for “The Great Beyond,” he wanted to capture the feeling of being on psychedelics. He has said that the song is about “the idea of dreaming while you’re awake.” The lyrics are written in a non-linear fashion, which adds to the psychedelic feeling of the song. The opening lines, “There’s a world beyond this world/And it’s calling to you,” set up the song’s dreamlike atmosphere.

The lyrics take the listener on a journey through different planes of existence, from the physical world to the spiritual world. In the physical world, we are constrained by our bodies and our limitations. But in the spiritual world, we are free to explore and experience things that we could never imagine in the physical world. This is what Stipe is trying to convey in the lyrics of “The Great Beyond.”

He sings about how there is more to life than what we can see and touch: “There’s a girl in every sunbeam/And a million different colors/In every raindrop that falls.” However, he also acknowledges that it can be hard to believe in something that we can’t see or touch: “And it’s hard to see it all/When you’re standing in the middle of it all.”

Despite its dreamlike quality, “The Great Beyond” is ultimately a hopeful song. It reassures us that there is more to life than what we can see and that we should keep exploring until we find what we’re looking for.

Conclusion

R.E.M.’s The Great Beyond is a psychedelic rock classic that is sure to stand the test of time. The album is full of catchy hooks, driving beats, and ethereal soundscapes that transport the listener to another world. If you’re a fan of psychedelic rock, or just looking for something different, this album is definitely worth a listen.