Radio Free Europe / Sitting Still

by R.E.M.

Radio Free Europe / Sitting Still cover art
  • Type: Single
  • Released: 8 July 1981
  • Label: Hib-Tone
  • Country: United States
  • Length: 6:45
  • Community rating: 4.23/5 from 3 ratings

Artists on this release: Mitch Easter

Album Notes & Community Reviews

The indie-rock 'shot heard round the world' that effectively launched the 1980s American college rock movement. Recorded by Mitch Easter at his Drive-In Studio, this debut single features Peter Buck's chiming, Byrds-influenced Rickenbacker guitar and Michael Stipe's famously indecipherable, mumbled vocal delivery. The band later re-recorded a more polished version for their debut LP, 'Murmur', but this murky Hib-Tone pressing remains a foundational text of alternative music.

Genres

Descriptors: melodic, political, jangly, lo-fi, DIY

Tracklist

  1. Radio Free Europe (3:35)
  2. Sitting Still (3:10)

Credits

  • Mike Mills - bass [b]
  • Bill Berry - drums [d]
  • Peter Buck - guitar [g]
  • Michael Stipe - vocals [v]

More from R.E.M.: full discography