R.E.M.

I am pretty sure we have posted this before and yet once again for the repeated works here, I don't care! If I posted it once it stands repeating . . . . especially for this song . . . . . 
I lost my religion a long time ago . . . . . . (I never had any if truth be told!) but was taught much at school and grew up singing hymns on school days which proved anathema to me. I do not believe I ever actually sang any but mimed a few and couldn't bear to explain why I wouldn't sing them so miming seemed a happy medium.

On this day in music history: March 12, 1991 - “Out Of Time”, the seventh album by R.E.M. is released. Produced by Scott Litt and R.E.M., it is recorded at Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, NY, John Keane Studios in Athens, GA, Soundscape Studios in Atlanta, GA and Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, MN from September - October 1990. After touring in support of “Green”, their first album for Warner Bros. Records, R.E.M. take a year long hiatus before starting work on the the follow up. When they reconvene, the band members decide to make an album that stands in stark contrast to the previous one. Writing songs on non traditional instruments like mandolin, acoustic guitars and organ, R.E.M. uses this instrumentation as the basis for much of the new album. The mood and feel of the completed album is quieter compared to the bands normally electric guitar based sound, most prominent on the first single “Losing My Religion” (#4 Pop), which features guitarist Peter Buck playing the mandolin as a lead instrument. The song is accompanied by a surreal and visually striking music video directed by Punjabi born filmmaker Tarsem Singh. Filled with religious imagery and based on Indian cinema, the video becomes an immediate fan favorite, broadening R.E.M.’s audience way beyond their original core fan base. The video wins six MTV WMA Awards including Video Of The Year. It also spins off three singles including “Shiny Happy People” (w/ Kate Pierson of The B-52’s) (#10 Pop) and “Radio Song” (w/ KRS-One of Boogie Down Productions) (#48 Mainstream Rock). At the time of its original release, Warner Bros issues some promo copies of the CD in a limited edition “portfolio” package, featuring ten postcards, with the CD featuring a custom “wood grain” label and the outer packaging printed on vellum. To commemorate its twenty fifth anniversary in 2016, “Out Of Time” is remastered and reissued as a two CD deluxe edition. The first disc contains the original eleven track album, with the second disc featuring nineteen previously unreleased demos. The European edition contains a third CD with a full live concert, and a Blu-ray disc with hi-rez versions of the album remixed into 5.1 surround sound. It also includes music videos and a documentary on the making of the album. It is also reissued as a 180 gram LP in 2016. The huge critical and commercial success, it gives R.E.M. the biggest selling album of their career. It is nominated for seven Grammy Awards, winning three including Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals, Best Alternative Album and Best Music Video Short Form in 1992. “Out Of Time” spends two weeks (non-consecutive) at number one on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified 4x Platinum in the US by the RIAA.