Rocktrospectiva: The Incredible And Greatest "Pretty In Pink: Soundtrack" Turns 40

 

Released on 28 February 1986 "Pretty In Pink: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" was the official soundtrack of the film the same name and as with previous films by John Hughes. The title song by the Psychedelic Furs acted as a bit of inspiration for the film and was re-recorded specifically for the film's opening sequence in a version that was less raw than the original version that appeared on the 1981 album Talk Talk Talk. "Left of Center" was remixed by Arthur Baker. The first track, "If You Leave", by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, was written in 1985 specifically for the film. In addition to their soundtrack song "Shellshock", New Order also contributed an instrumental version of "Thieves Like Us" and the instrumental "Elegia", both of which appear in the film but not on the soundtrack.

 

The Rave-Ups, who appear in the film performing "Positively Lost Me" and "Shut-Up" from their Town and Country album, do not have any songs on the soundtrack album. Nik Kershaw's "Wouldn't It Be Good" appears on the soundtrack in a version by former Three Dog Night vocalist Danny Hutton's band, Danny Hutton Hitters. The Smiths' "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" appears on the soundtrack and was later covered by the Autumns for the 2000 Isn't She Still... The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Revisited album. Also noteworthy is the inclusion of Echo & the Bunnymen's "Bring On the Dancing Horses", which, according to the liner notes of the CD release of the band's compilation album Songs to Learn & Sing, was recorded specifically for the film.

The film also includes Otis Redding's "Try a Little Tenderness", to which Duckie lip-synchs in the film, the Association's "Cherish" and Talk Back's "Rudy". These three tracks do not appear on the official soundtrack album.

Another Hughes film cracker and according to certain stories, the idea came from Molly Ringwald herself. She reached out to John Hughes, urging him to create a film inspired by her favourite tune at the time—The Psychedelic Fur' "Pretty in Pink" at the time of its released  it was nothing quite like the soundtrack that Hughes assembled for Pretty in Pink, the third film he'd written to star Molly Ringwald in a lead role, following 1984’s Sixteen Candles and 1985’s The Breakfast Club. 

The film made almost $7.5M in its opening week – In Ringwald’s own words: I made three movies with John Hughes; when they were released, they made enough of a cultural impact to land me on the cover of Time magazine and to get Hughes hailed as a genius.  There was music in Hughes’s previous film, The Breakfast Club, and it even featured a #1, era-defining single in Simple Minds’s “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” – but as many people said, there was not much else on that soundtrack that was particularly memorable.

Pretty in Pink, however, was different cause the album had a number of now-iconic UK college rock artists (back then) on it, none of whom had come anywhere near the tops of the US pops in 1986: New Order had a trio of songs featured in the film, though only  "Shell-Shock" appeared on its soundtrack, Echo and the Bunnymen, the Smiths, Psychedelic Furs and the British synthpop stars Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, a/k/a OMD, whose "If You Leave" soundtracked the film's climactic prom scene. 

Suzanne Vega, then hot off her self-titled 1985 album, also appears on the soundtrack, with Joe Jackson on piano, INXS, former Time member Jesse Johnson, former Three Dog Night singer Danny Hutton and UK synthpopper Belouis Some, who had notched a pair of top 10 US dance hits in ‘85. 

In summary, the Pretty in Pink soundtrack wasn't just another collection of tracks—it’s was life-changer! and made a huge impact in pop culture regarded as one of the ‘Best Movie Soundtracks: The 15 Film Music Compilations That’ll Change Your Life'.

 

Pretty In Pink Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Track List: 

 

1. If You Leave

2. Left Of Center

3. Get To Know Ya

4. Do Wot You Do

5. Pretty In Pink

6. Shell-Shock

7. Round, Round

8. Wouldn't It Be Good

9. Bring On The Dancing Horses

Film: The Iconic Teen Drama "Pretty In Pink" Turns 40

Originally premiered at Mann's Chinese Theatre on January 29, 1986, and was released theatrically in the United States on February 28, 1986 by Paramount Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Ringwald's performance, and grossed $40.5 million against a $9 million budge. 

Pretty in Pink was a 1986 American teen romantic comedy-drama film about love and social cliques in American high schools in the 1980s. The film stars Molly Ringwald, alongside Harry Dean Stanton, Jon Cryer, Annie Potts, James Spader, and Andrew McCarthy. A cult classic of the 1980s an it was commonly identified as a "Brat Pack" film. The film followed high school senior Andie Walsh (Ringwald), and her relationships with her love interest Blane McDonnagh (McCarthy), her best friend Philip F. "Duckie" Dale (Cryer), and her father (Stanton).

It was directed by Howard Deutch, produced by Lauren Shuler Donner, and written by John Hughes, who also served as co-executive producer. The film was named after a song by the Psychedelic Furs, and the film's soundtrack, which has been acclaimed as "among the most brilliant in modern cinema", featured a re-recorded version of the song. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's "If You Leave" became an international hit and charted at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 in May 1986.

Hughes explored the spectrum of teenage angst in the films he wrote or directed. Its 1985’s The Breakfast Club, explored the cliches of high school cliques and the misunderstandings that come with them. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was a love letter to middle-class misbehavior in the pursuit of finding oneself. With Pretty in Pink we saw complex characters handle the weighty issues of love, family and class inequity. It shows us the ups and downs of romance between a lower-middle-class girl and an upper-class boy, as well as the jealousy and lovelorn feelings of a friend. The film leans into some tired tropes of high school life, sure, but it shows a refreshing female lead who is smart, confident, creative and has no desire to sell herself out to win the guy. 

But the film isn’t just remembered for its story, either. It's also considered to have one of the most remarkable soundtracks in cinema, which includes bands such as Psychedelic Furs, The Smiths, New Order, Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark and Echo and the Bunnymen. And the outstanding Cryer's unforgettable lip-synching performance to Otis Redding's "Try a Little Tenderness," which resulted in some injuries and the demise of some vintage shoes he wore. Meanwhile, the record store Andie works in, Trax, is an audiophile's wet dream with larger-than-life posters and seemingly endless aisles of vinyl.

In the early era of teen movies, from the 1950s to the '80s, plots centered on archetypes such as rebellion, greasers, jocks and nerds, often with lighter themes. The 1990s and early aughts saw a rise in comedies like Clueless and Mean Girls; supernatural stories like Twilight and the Harry Potter series; queer narratives in films like Love, Simon; and mental health struggles like those in The Edge of Seventeen. Today, teen-focused content includes increased realism with topics like suicide, addiction, sexual identity and the pressures of social media. And it’s not just white suburbia that’s represented. 

The idea of what teen movies are has dramatically changed since their golden age in the 1980s.But high hormones, low confidence, love triangles, the woes of popularity and class divide remained until now on any teen drama. And that's the reason why Pretty in Pink remained iconical today, cause it certainly glamorizes this era of life that feels so heavy when we're in it, but so inconsequential as an adult. And even though we can predict these same old plot lines one after another, it's the proof, perhaps, that some stories like this won't die.

New Music: Amazona

           

Taken from Mozza's upcoming new album "Make-Up Is A Lie", here's "Amazona" his third single  "Amazona" which actually is a Roxy Music cover with acoustic guitars strummed during the song’s main verse eventually give way to a guitar solo, actually for certain people the acoustic guitars here a part of the problem why this new single has been criticized, but the guitars solo offers a refreshing moment and almost put the track as one the most interesting of his latests single when the album is about to be release.

New Music: Into The Wild

            

The Temper Trap have released their first new single of the year, "Into the Wild". which encapsulates the duality of body and mind, and the existential yearning to transcend physical limits, according to a press release. The noted producer Styalz Fuego worked with the Australian band on the single. After years of being apart and trying to find our groove again, "Into the Wild" was the spark that lit the fire, The Temper Trap share. The surreal music video has been directed by emerging Melbourne creatives Joey Clough and Edvard Hakansson.

 

New Music: If I Leave

           

Mitski presents her new haunting single "If I Leave" taken from the artist 8th., studio album "Nothing's About To Happen To Me", for the occasion she and Jared Hogan directed the video with her band to make the most of an extremely spooky house, peeling wallpaper and all. 

Primicia: Alfie

           

The London shoegaze trio Deary are back with their new single Alfie"  an eight-minute epic about a different kind of animal. The song started as a tribute to guitarist Ben Easton's family dog. The Slowdive influence is fully strong on this one and the band honors their lineage, now this is like going back early in the 90's, the video was directed by Limb starring Lily Moss as the roller girl on the video. 

Rocktrospectiva: The Magnificent "Stray Cats" Turns 45

Released in February 1981 "Stray Cats" was the first studio album by US rockabilly band Stray Cats, first released in the United Kingdom by Arista Records in February 1981. It was produced by the band and Dave Edmunds. The album was successful in Britain, peaking at No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart, and produced the UK Singles Chart top 40 hits "Runaway Boys" (No. 9), "Rock This Town" (No. 9) and "Stray Cat Strut" (No. 11).

Formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island hamlet of Massapequa, New York and then moved to the UK. The year was 1981 and the band released their self-titled album using rockabilly as their main sound early in the 80s in a time in which synth music and new wave was the king. Stray Cats was a near-perfect revival of rockabilly spirit with punk-era urgency. From the first slap of the upright bass to the last twangy riff, the trio delivered a debut that felt raw, stylish, and unmistakably cool back then and even today. 

Tracks like Runaway Boys, Rock This Town, and Stray Cat Strut were instant classics — lean, fast, and full of swagger. Not just cause Edmunds production but alo Brian Setzer’s guitar work was flashy without being indulgent, the rhythm section snapped like a switchblade. In conclusion there was no filler just 30 minutes of pure energy and attitude as a way in which they didn't honor the memory — they made it sound alive again.

The album was only issued in the United States after the success of the band's first US album, 1982's Built for Speed. However, six of the songs from Stray Cats ("Rock This Town", "Stray Cat Strut", "Rumble in Brighton", "Runaway Boys", "Double Talkin' Baby" and "Jeanie, Jeanie, Jeanie") were already included on Built for Speed.

 

Stray Cats Track List: 

 

1. Runaway Boys

2. Fishnet Stockings

3. Ubangi Stomp

4. Jeanie, Jeanie, Jeanie

5. Stome The Embassy 

6. Rock This Town

7. Rumble In Brighton

8. Stray Cat Strut

9. Crawl Up And Die

10. Double Talkin' Baby

11. My One Desire

12. Wild Saxophone

New Music: Attempt A Crash Landing

            

Scotland’s The Twilight Sad are releasing It’s the Long Goodbye, their first new album in seven years, on March 27 via Rock Action. Now they have shared its third single, "Attempt a Crash Landing". Robert Smith of The Cure appears on three songs on the album, which tackles grief and mental health issues. Previously the band shared the album’s first single, "Waiting for the Phone Call," which was their first new single in six years and featured Smith on guitar. The Twilight Sad is now officially a duo featuring frontman James Graham and guitarist Andy MacFarlane. The album also features sometime Arab Strap player David Jeans on drums and Mogwai live team-member Alex Mackay on bass. MacFarlane produced the album, which was recorded at Willesden’s Battery Studios. 

 

New Music: Mantis/Sugar Plum

           

           

Courtney Barnett announced her new album "Creature Of Habit" and month ago, now she's back with two more tracks: "Mantis" and "Sugar Plum. 'Mantis' is the centerpiece of this album, it embodies the message and meaning of every track. It’s a song about searching, and it helped me find my way through Creature Of Habit," Barnett explained, continuing: I was feeling particularly lost while I was working on this song. One day, I was standing in the kitchen, making a coffee, when I noticed a little green praying mantis sitting on top of the doorframe. I had never seen one there in the desert house, so I took it as an important sign from the universe. I texted a photo to Stella and she said it’s good luck, look it up! I did a quick search and found it to also represent patience, perseverance and a guide for those who needed direction. I stood and spoke to the mantis for a while, it was a strange and enlightening moment that I’ll never forget. Eventually, I got back to writing, and finally I had the chorus to this song. 

New Music: Born To Kill

           

Orange County punk veterans Social Distortion have announced a new album, Born To Kill, due May 8 "Born To Kill".  It's their eighth album, first in 15 years, and first since Mike Ness successfully underwent cancer treatment. Ness co-produced the album with veteran producer Dave Sardy, and it features appearances by Lucinda Williams and Benmont Tench (of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers). Along with the announcement, the band have shared as a single the title track and its video directed by Lance Bangs. The track it's a punked-up boogie rocker with lyrical nods to Iggy Pop, David Bowie, and Lou Reed, and Mike Ness' voice sounds as gritty and unmistakable as usual.

New Music: The Bitter End

           

The beloved Trashcan Sinatras, ever since their four-decade journey began in 1986, and the legendary Scottish five-piece’s persistence with melodic, lyrically driven guitar pop can be heard on their new single "The Bitter End", the band's first new music in four years. A typically taut three minutes of crystal-cut, jangle-imbued anthemism, the single comes as they mark 40 years as a band in 2026. The video has been directed by How It Is Nowadays.

New Music: Stronger Together

           

Tori Amos has shared "Stronger Together" the first single from her new album "In Times Of Dragons" altogether with her daugther "Tash" who sings backup on the track. Amos describes the song's role in the album narrative thus: "In Times of Dragons is a story that parables the current dangerous times we are in—where democracy itself is on the line. As I'm fleeing from the character that is my sadistic billionaire Lizard Demon husband, I came across people I had not been allowed to see in years, and they had not wanted to see me because of the relationship I found myself in. To avoid being captured and dragged back to the Lizard Demon’s penthouse, I run to the deep south of the US to throw him and his henchman off my trail. One of the many characters I meet on the journey is The Daughter. We spend time and sing together."

Rocktrospectiva: The Succesful "Auberge" Turns 35

 

Released on 25 February 1991 "Auberge" a French word for "inn" was the 11th., studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea. The album, as well as the title song, is notable for its association with the Caterham Super Seven that Rea owned, which he called the "Blue Seven". The car appears on the album cover, illustrated in oil by motoring artist Alan Fearnley. The album spawned four singles "Auberge", "Heaven", "Looking For The Summer" & "Winter Song". The album made several references to the car over several tracks, as well on the video of the title song, and its cover illustration was used for its adverts. In 2005, Rea sold the car in an auction. 

 

Auberge was the follow-up to Road to Hell, an ambitious, dark-toned album that found European and critical success. Perhaps "Auberge" was not as dark as its predecessor, but Rea seemingly can't sing a word without sharpening its flinty edges, making it a bit threatening. The album reflected the thoughts and feelings of a man on a meandering road trip, thinking over the things he's said and done. "Heaven" seemed to recall a time when the afterlife was in reach, but it could just as easily be the song of someone who's finally found his way. The reggae-tinged "Every Second Counts" found Rea adjusting his phrasing perfectly to the song's mellow upbeat, while the rousing title track and its accompanying set piece "Set Me Free" moved from searching, tentative guitar noodlings into full-blown epics, sketching the album's story line with bluesy bottom end, blustering horns, backup singers, and Rea's own grainy vocal rumble. "Auberge" was ambitious, and its rangy songwriting gone to take a few odd turns on its way to the scenic overlook where everything became clear and then the twisting guitar and swelling strings of "Gone Fishing." 

 

Auberge reached the No. 1 in the UK and Germany despite critices described the record as more of the same stuff with subtle differences to keep both doubters and aficionados guessing.

 

Auberge Track List: 

 

1. Auberge

2. Gone Fishing

3. You're Not A Number

4. Heaven

5. Set Me Free

6. Winter Song

7. Red Shoes

8. Sing A Song Of Love To Me

9. Every Second Counts

10. Looking For The Summer

11. And You My Love

12. The Mention Of Your Name 

New Music: Jet Stream Heart

           

Temples the British rockersare back with a new single that serves as the first taste of their newly announced album "Bliss" their first release via V2 Records. This is just the first taste of the group's fifth record, which will mark a new chapter for Temples not only sonically, but also in that it serves as their first release for V2 Records. "I think it's easy to get stuck in this creative loop with each record you make, and it felt like coming together to create "Bliss" completely broke the cycle," shares the band's bassist, Tom Walmsley. “We had time to really reflect on ourselves, rebuild and reconnect with why we want to make music. Bliss feels like a line in the sand; it’s us recommitting to ourselves not just to being a band, but how we want to exist as one going forward." Regarding the new single, he adds that "Jet Stream Heart" was the first step in achieving this reinvention. It felt like we were giving ourselves permission to be more physical with everything—with heavier sounds and textures—and "Jet Stream Heart" was a forerunner in the whole process.

In Memoriam: The Iconic "Robert Carradine" Dies At 71

 

Robert Carradine, who played Lewis Skolnick, the king of the college nerds with a signature laugh, in the “Revenge of the Nerds” movie franchise, has died. He was 71. 

 

In a Monday statement, Carradine's family said he struggled with bipolar disorder and died by suicide.

"It is with profound sadness that we must share that our beloved father, grandfather, uncle, and brother Robert Carradine has passed away. In a world that can feel so dark, Bobby was always a beacon [of] light to everyone around him," the statement said. "We are bereft at the loss of this beautiful soul and want to acknowledge Bobby’s valiant struggle against his nearly two-decade battle with Bipolar Disorder.

We hope his journey can shine a light and encourage addressing the stigma that attaches to mental illness. At this time we ask for the privacy to grieve this unfathomable loss. With gratitude for your understanding and compassion."

The youngest of a prolific Hollywood family, Carradine's siblings include actors David and Keith and architect Christopher, of Walt Disney Imagineering. David Carradine died in 2009 at age 72. Their brother Bruce, who died in 2016, was also an actor.

Keith Carradine told that his family wanted everyone to know about Robert's struggle with bipolar disorder.

"We want people to know it, and there is no shame in it," he told the outlet. "It is an illness that got the best of him, and I want to celebrate him for his struggle with it, and celebrate his beautiful soul. He was profoundly gifted, and we will miss him every day. We will take solace in how funny he could be, how wise and utterly accepting and tolerant he was. That’s who my baby brother was."

The L.A.-born actor enjoyed a prolific 50-plus-year career in film and television. To prepare for his role on the 1984 comedy "Revenge of the Nerds," Robert Carradine spent two weeks wearing "nerd clothes," a wig and glasses everywhere he went.

This included heading to fraternity row at the University of Arizona during rush week while in character with a fellow actor. They asked the head of a fraternity if they could join.

"The guy took one look at us and said, "No way," ' Carradine recalled in 1990. By the time the first day of shooting rolled around, I was in full flight as a nerd. 

The youngest son of prolific character actor John Carradine, Robert Carradine was born on March 24, 1954, in Los Angeles. Known for both his film and television work, Carradine made his debut in a 1971 episode of the long-running western “Bonanza. His first film appearance was in the 1972 John Wayne western “The Cowboys.”

During his 50-year Hollywood career, he appeared alongside his brother David in a 1972 episode of "Kung Fu" and the 1973 Martin Scorsese film "Mean Streets." David, Keith and Robert joined other sets of acting siblings to portray sets of real-life siblings in the 1980 Western "The Long Riders." Carradine also landed roles in Hal Ashby's 1978 Vietman War drama "Coming Home" and Samuel Fuller's 1980 World War II epic "The Big Red One."

While Carradine found success in the family business, he also had a love for racing. "There are certain people who are supposed to be race car drivers," Carradine told The Times in 1991. "And I've got that. I've got that thing that makes me have to race. I have to do it."

At the time he was balancing both careers, racing at the Grand Prix level in a Lotus Esprit Turbo SE. But it was clear he would have chosen racing over acting if he could.

In the 2000s, Carradine charmed a new generation of fans as lovable TV dad Sam in "Lizzie McGuire."

"There was so much warmth in the McGuire family and I always felt so cared for by my on-screen parents," the show's star Hilary Duff wrote in her Instagram tribute to her on-screen dad. "I'll be forever grateful for that. I'm deeply sad to learn Bobby was suffering. My heart aches for him, his family, and everyone who loved him."

Carradine is survived by his three children — actor Ever Carradine, Marika Reed Carradine and Ian Alexander Carradine — as well as his brothers, nieces including actor Martha Plimpton, nephews and grandchildren.

Rocktrospectiva: The Enjoyable "Working Class Dog" Turns 45

Released on 24 February 1981 "Working Class Dog" was the 5th., studio album by the Australian musician/actor 

Rick Springfield. The album contained the hit single "Jessie's Girl" and "Love Is Alright Tonite" alongisde the 2nd., single "I've Done Everything For You". The album earned a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, produced his biggest career hit, "Jessie's Girl", and it's considered a staple of 1980s pop-rock.

By the late seventies Rick Springfield was in a state of desperation. At this point he's released 3 studio albums with middling success and is maybe a teen idol past his prime. Even though music is his passion, bills have to be paid, so he auditions for an acting role on General Hospital, the soap of the time and got the job. 

Meanwhile he signed with RCA and started making another record in earnest, newly inspired by the power pop guitar crunch that prevailed the LA clubs at the time, so by 1981, the guy is starring a top show "General Hospital" and at the very same time, nis new album came out and his latest single "Jessie's Girl" began to earn radio play and support from a newly channel called MTV.  The song ultimately hits #1 on the Billboard chart. 

The album proved to be a good choice, one of their most consistent and powered of his career, across its 10 song, there were no waste, all of them were good, with a killer hook and potentially single, of course every song talked about girls (business as usual for Rick). and the sound since the 1970s, bands overtly influenced by that early Beatles sound and song construction were filed directly into the category that came to be known as power pop indeed there was something about this particular sound that struck a chord with hardcore music nerds. It was pop, but self-referential and smart and clever, with guitars all over it.The result was romantic music for boys, so, practically this sort of sound covered Rick's lyrics and that was it, Rick wrote nine of the whole ten pack. The one track he didn’t write was a Sammy Hagar tune dated from 1978, "I've Done Everything For You" which Rick took on it's own.

A sort of mid-romantic album to enjoyed it while driving in your car between 7-11 late at night, or cruising the road somehow shomewhere, the first 8 tracks were hook laden pocket anthems and each one to the last features an  impossibly infectious chorus. "Jessie's Girl" was a truly rockin' piece of ear candy off the album has begun picking up steam on the radio, and it’s corresponding video is soon all over MTV. The song ultimately hits #1 on the Billboard chart, then the hardest "Love Is Alright Tonite" a merely intense and fascinating succesful tune, "Daddy's Pearl" a clever and weird tune at the same time, the lusty ballad "Inside Silvia", full of metaphors indeed, and of the experimental "Red Hot And Blue Love" to mention the most interesting tunes from the pack.

Rick still out there touring and recording, and even thought this record is not considered a prime album, it was for Rick indeed, nearly 3 millions of copies has been sold since, and had 3 top ten singles from it, not bad after all these decades and changes. 

 

Working Class Dog Track List:  

 

1. Love Is Alright Tonite 

2. Jessie's Girl 

2. Hole In My Heart

4. Carry Me Away

5. I've Done Everything For You

6. The Light Of Love 

7. Everybody's Girl 

8. Daddy's Pearl

9. Red Hot & Blue Love

10. Inside Sylvia

New Music: Written Into Changes

            

Avalon Emerson & the Charm shares new single "Written into Changes", the title-track off her forthcoming album, due March 20th via Dead Oceans. The track is paired with a performance video recorded in Avalon's home studio alongside Hunter Lombard and Keivon Mehdi Hobeheidar. Speaking about "Written into Changes," Avalon shares: "Sometimes change barrels down tracks, announced by a high loud whistle. Other times it flows seasonally over sand, carving a canyon". "Written into Changes’" is a song about moving across the world and turning chapters in life. This song came together in London with Bullion, Hunter and Keivon. 

 

New Music: Begging For Change

           

Pulp shares a new track "Begging for Change", which was recorded at Abbey Road and mixed by James Ford with backing support from Damon Albarn, comes from War Child's upcoming charity compilation record, Help(2), the follow-up to their initial 1995 compilation in aid of war-torn areas. Following contributions by Arctic Monkeys, Depeche Mode, Wet Leg, and more, Pulp’s ‘Begging for Change’ does exactly what it says on the tin – beckons you to straighten up and really think about the world around you. In keeping with this direct approach, Jarvis Cocker's accompanying remark on the track highlighted their previous efforts with War Child and what this new single means as a notable addition. Cocker said: "Thirty years ago, we gave our Mercury Prize (and the prize money) to War Child." "This year, we have given more. How much more? You’ll have to wait and see." The song was initially a throwaway from the band’s recent record, More. Well, not exactly – they'd worked on it during the sessions, but it wasn't immediately in the state they’d wanted to include it on the record. For War Child, they gave it another go, turning it into an anthemic rallying cry for change in today’' societally complacent world.

New Music: Ride

           

Jessie Ware has shared a new single from Superbloom.  "Ride," the track she premiered at a Glastonbury club in 2024, comes with a simple but sexy video. The track interpolates Ennio Morricone's theme song from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Ware sayd in a press release, "Ride was the first song I wrote for this record. I made it in 2024 with my best friend Jack Peñate and Karma Kid, who feature throughout the album. It’s a song for the clubs, for the dancefloor - fun, cinematic, cheeky and powerful. I first performed it at NYC Downlow at Glastonbury after headlining West Holts, and I’ve been waiting two years to finally put it out. I know others have been waiting too… so here it is. You’re welcome."

New Music: Human After All

           

Five years ago today, Daft Punk posted a video announcing they were breaking up. The French electronic duo is still out of business, unfortunately. But that doesn't mean Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo are done celebrating their helmeted past. They just released a new music video for their 2005 single "Human After AllW featuring footage from Electroma, their 2006 sci-fi film, that was edited by Cédric Hervet. In the clip, Daft Punk drive a car through the desert and eventually pass through a residential town. As they observe neighbors outside on a sunny day—dining on a cafe patio, getting married at a chapel, pushing their children on playground swings—they clock that each one of them is also wearing a helmet.

Rocktrospectiva: The Average "Different Gear, Still Speeding" Turns 15

Originally released in Japan on 23 February 2011 and in the UK on 28 February "Different Gear, Still Speeding" was the debut studio album by the English rock band Beady Eye, it debuted at number three in the UK Albums Chart, the album spawned four singles "Bring The Lights", "Four Letter Word", "The Roller", "Millionaire" & "The Beat Goes On". 

Britpop giants and Beatles devotees Oasis split in 2009 after brothers Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher finally could not stand each other. Vocalist Liam Gallagher went on to form Beady Eye with the remnants of Oasis; guitarist Gem Archer, Oasis bassist-now guitarist, Andy Bell and drummer Chris Sharrock, while Noel seems to be content without releasing anything.

Befitting a band derived from the heavily 60s pop influenced Oasis Different Gear, Still Speeding sounded like Liam and co. truly wish it was 1966 all over again. Oasis were always criticized for being a Beatles rip-off but without Noel's songwriting Beady Eye sounds closer to The Rolling Stones, The Who and The Pretty Things in the harder rocking songs, while the ballads sounded  akin to Liam's John Lennon-ish "I'm Outta Time" from Oasis' last album Dig Out Your Soul.

Different Gear, Still Speeding was very much a case of what-you-see-is-what-you-get; it is a heavily 60s inspired rock album by former members of Oasis. The main question before the release of the album was not how it would sound, but rather how strong the songs would be since Noel Gallagher was always the main songwriter of Oasis and consistently wrote far stronger songs than the other band members, although Oasis's last album Dig Out Your Soul included Liam’s best songs to date.

Building on that promise, Different Gear, Still Speeding resulted to be better than feared. There was not a single bad song on the album, but there were very few really good ones and nothing that could compete with Oasis's stronger work. In the end this was made for a solid album, without any of the missteps that were expected, but only two songs would hold up against a typical Oasis album or have a chance of earning repeat play after the initial interest wears off; the fierce album opener "Four Letter Word" and the ballad "The Roller." were the most remarkable tracks.

The album's main fault is that the band seemingly only had two gears; it's either 60s-inspired rock or Lennon-styled ballads, and when the songs weren't exceptionally strong a 52 minute album of this is tiring for the listener. What was worse is that this could have been avoided since "World Outside My Room," was a bonus track on some versions, is a great little Village Green-era Kinks-ish track that would have been among the strongest songs if it would have been included on the regular album, and it would have brought a much needed respite from the standard Beady Eye sound.

Ultimately the album remained as a better first post-Oasis release from Liam Gallagher than expected, with much more consistency in the songwriting than feared, but at the same time it is exactly what you would expect – just better, and the expectations were not high. Different Gear, Still Speeding showed that the band is comfortable with themselves and their follow-up had every chance to be a stronger album – especially if they are brave enough to include more styles

Reviews for the album were regular and accused the band attempts to be just ike the Stones but ened with a "Be Here Now" styled guitar sound, althought other reviews were slightly better by saying the album was the strongest record Liam' ever made since (What's The Story) Morning Glory?

Different Gear, Still Speeding Track List: 

 

1. Four Letter Word

2. Millionaire

3. The Roller

4. Beatles And Stones

5. Wind Up Dream

6. Bring The Light

7. For Anyone

8. Kill For A Dream 

9. Standing On The Edge Of The Noise

10. Wigwam

11. Three Ring Circus

12. The Beat Goes On

13. The Morning Son

New Music: Distant Early Warning (2026 Terry Brown Mix)

           

Rush have shared a visualizer video for their track "Distant Early Warning (2026 Terry Brown Mix)." UMe/Mercury and Anthem Records label groups continue the comprehensive Rush albums expanded reissue series with the March 11 released of new Super Deluxe Editions of the band's 1984 release, Grace Under Pressure, an album that saw the trio shifting gears to construct eight technology-driven tracks that were forward driving compositions from their previous works. Grace Under Pressure: Super Deluxe Edition will be available in five distinct configurations, including the (1) Super Deluxe Edition 4-CD + Blu-ray, (2) Super Deluxe Edition 5-LP + Blu-ray, (3) Super Deluxe Digital Edition, (4) Dolby Atmos Digital Edition, and (5) Grace Under Pressure Tour: Live in Toronto 1984 at video DSPs. Grace Under Pressure, Rush’s tenth studio album, was originally released in April 1984, and it features some key sonic-template modifications resulting from the band’s decision to further evolve its sound by enlisting a new producer after a successful decade of working with Terry Brown behind the board.

New Music: Miracles

            

The Academy Is... have released a new single "Miracle," the second from their long-awaited new album, Almost There, arriving via I Surrender Records on March 27, 2026. The song sways between intense, driving guitars and reflective moments underlined by glimmering tones. The band throws themselves into the iridescence headfirst, as William Beckett sings, "I need to love again/Turn me on my head/I need to feel the warmth/Tell me I'm not dead." "With this track, we were chasing the feeling of when you discovered your new favorite song..." guitarist Mike Carden explains. "'Miracle' reminds us of LimeWire era vibes; finally finding that song that takes you by surprise, a very distinct feeling. We wanted it to hit and pull you straight in. We feel like...mission accomplished."

Rocktrospectiva: The Weirdo And Quintessential "Tremolo E.P." Turns 35

Released on 20 February 1991 "Tremolo E.P." was an extended play by Irish-English band My Bloody Valentine, the EP spawned the single "To Here To Knows When". The EP was a critical success and topped the UK Indie Chart.

The EP featured the band more heavily utilising samplers, which allowed them to play back sounds on keyboard. Sampled sounds include guitar feedback, vocals, and a BBC stock sound effects recording used to create a low-end effect on "To Here Knows When", and a Turkish belly dancing track ripped from cassette on the track "Swallow". The title is a reference to the band's heavy usage of guitar tremolo and vibrato to create blurred, dreamlike tones.

Tremolo was the second of two extended-plays released during the prolonged recording sessions of My Bloody Valentine’s shoegaze masterpiece Loveless. In contrast to its sister – the  heavier Glider – Tremolo forsakes indie/alternative stylings for abstract composites of sound produced by instruments that just so happen to also make rock music. The title refered to lead guitarist/vocalist Kevin Shield’s “glide guitar method” of strumming while applying tremolo/vibrato pedal effects, which gave the band its signature surreal sound.

Leading off with Loveless's most ethereal cut and first cut "To Here Knows When," this EP had little of the Isn’t Anything structured noise pop. "Swallow" featured the hyper-processed flute-loop sound that prominently featured in "What You Want" from Loveless. It was a bit lighter than anything on that album, with a much softer mix and a lack of heavy guitar reverb. "Honey Power" was the closest track to anything that was on Glider, featuring backwards-sampled guitar loops and a less abstruse song structure. The closer "Moon Song" was the only track on Tremolo to feature Shields' voice with no processing or after-effect; it’s easily the most surreal track on the album, featuring kaleidoscopic guitar samples and a curious jungle beat that hints at the group’s interest in dance music toward the end of Loveless and prior to their 1997 break-up.

Tremolo was interesting caused the addition of certain elements such as three codas to the end of each track but "Moon Song," all of which highlight the druggy, intimate atmosphere therein. Of particular note is the one on "To Here Knows When," which was different and maybe better than the final mix released on Loveless. These were not mere not sloppy interludes tacked onto the end; they underscored the phantasmagorical experience commonly listening to My Bloody Valentine's nineties work, and their short length provides the illusion that the listener is transitioning between dreams.

Videos were filmed for the songs "Swallow" and "To Here Knows When" under the direction of Angus Cameron. The single "To Here Knows When" reached number 29 on the UK Singles Chart and were described it as the most strangest single ever to chart.

Tremolo E.P. Track List: 

 

1. To Here Knows When (plus instrimental coda) 

2. Swallow (plus instrumental coda)

3. Honey Power (plus coda)

4. Moon Song

Rocktrospectiva: The Outstanding "Trainspotting: Music From The Motion Picture" Soundtrack Turns 30

Originally released on 19 February in the UK and 9 July in the USA, "Trainspotting: Music From The Motion Picture" was the soundtrack album for the 1996 film adaptation of Irvine Welsh's novel of the same name. The album spawned the brilliant single "Born Slippy Nuxx". 

The original soundtrack prompted the release of a second soundtrack on 21 October 1997. This second album included songs from the film that did not make the cut for the first album, as well as songs that did not appear in the final film but were involved at earlier stages or were used as inspiration by the filmmakers, and one duplicate song. The popularity of the first volume led EMI to reissue it and continue to press it since 16 June 2003. 

The film's sex, violence and copious drug-taking sparked controversy over whether it glamorised, or condemned, heroin use. But it also inspired a crucially banging soundtrack. Featuring an expertly curated cross-section of '70s rock iconoclasts (Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Brian Eno), on-trend Britpop (Blur, Pulp, Elastica) and intoxicating electronica (Leftfield, Underworld, Primal Scream), the soundtrack — released 30 years ago today — was a significant part of Trainspotting's cultural impact all over the globe. Representing a golden era of '90s compilation tie-ins, it provided overseas audiences with a Cool Britannia cheat sheet.

The music followed throught the film arrived in the arresting opening sequence, where the pounding drums of Iggy Pop's Lust For Life match the pace of protagonist Mark Renton, tearing down Edinburgh's cobblestone streets away from pursuing security guards. The 1977 song takes on a heightened energy accompanying the now-infamous "choose life" monologue as the shoplifting sequence turns into a soccer-match-and-smacked-out montage that introduces us to our main cast of misfits.

Then there's the soothing ambience of Brian Eno's Deep Blue Day scoring a visit to "The Worst Toilet In Scotland". Or how about Lou Reed's elegant Perfect Day given a fresh, harrowing take soundtracking a heroin overdose?. A nightclub sequence that morphs from battle of the sexes comedy to a meet cute and subsequent one night stand is set to Heaven 17's Temptation, Sleeper's stellar Blondie cover, and New Order wafting in the background of the morning after.

In each case mentioned, the songs "matched and amplified key scenes, especially when they seemed incongruous", no doubt why the soundtrack remained as one of the 50 Most Memorable Movie Soundtracks. Few soundtracks from the '90s have aged as well. 

The film loosely begins in the "mid-to-late '80s … But by the time you reach the end of the film, [the characters] move through the house [music] scene and rave scene. And then we end up with Britpop".

Trainspotting snagged many of the UK musical movement's reigning favourites: Pulp, who'd gone supernova with era-defining anthem Common People; the female-fronted Elastica and Sleeper, and Britpop titans Blur, who were engaged in a media-charged charts battle with Oasis. The latter were a glaring omission from Trainspotting's track list, kept off because Noel Gallagher thought the film was literally about people watching trains.

David Bowie — whose music is referenced frequently in Welsh's original book — also turned down all licensing requests. (His track Golden Years was the first choice for the "worst toilet in Scotland"). However, Boyle says Bowie still provided a "big turning point" in helping access Lou Reed and Iggy Pop, whose solo material Bowie had produced.

Beyond Britpop, Trainspotting presaged the mid-nineties ascent of dance, electronic and big beat music, where the likes of The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers and Basement Jaxx came for Britpop's crown.

Trainspotting's signature tune is Underworld's Born Slippy (.NUXX): the thumping, euphoric shout-along that closes the film, and Renton's narrative arc. The now-iconic Born Slippy almost didn't make the cut. Boyle was already editing the film when he discovered the 1995 B-side while browsing HMV in London's Oxford Street. "I didn't know they'd released it as a single. [But] I took it home … heard the second mix and thought 'that's the end of the film'!" He reached out to Underworld's Karl Hyde and Rick Smith, who were initially reluctant.

Boyle convinced Underworld after screening them a sequence, and the duo sanctioned not only Born Slippy, but also Dark & Long for Renton's disturbing detox sequence, featuring a baby crawling on the roof.

Another influential electronic group that gave Trainspotting their blessing was Leftfield, who had released their seminal 1995 album Leftism before the film's arrival. The duo of Paul Daley and Neil Barnes had also supplied music for the title sequence of Boyle's first film, Shallow Grave.

The energy and vitality of the film chimed with the Zeitgeist and mid-to-late '90s youth culture: Britpop, YBA [Young British Artists], New Labour," as Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie put it. "There was some kind of hopefulness in the air back then, a post–acid house rush of possibilities, both chemically and politically pronounced. "Trainspotting rode in on that wave and stands as a testament to those times."

Primal Scream recorded a spy-rock instrumental titled Trainspotting, featured in yet another quotable sequence in which Renton's frenemy Sick Boy (Johnny Lee Miller) is educating him on a cultural phenomenon.

Trainspotting soundtrack has been regarded as the 7th., best motion picture soundtrack ever made in history since. 

 

Trainspotting: Music From The Motion Picture Track List:  

 

1. Lust For Life - Iggy Pop

2- Deep Blue Day - Brian Eno 

3. Atomic - Sleeper

4. Temptation - New Order

5. Nightclubbing - Iggy pop

6. Sing - Pulp

7. Perfect Day - Lou Reed

8. Mile End - Pulp

9. For What You Dream Of - Bedrock featuring KYO

10. 2:1 - Elastica

11. A Final Hit - Leftfield

12. Born Slippy Nuxx - Underworld

13. Closet Romantic - Damon Albarn

Rocktrospectiva: David Bowie's Breakthrough "Hallo Spaceboy (Pet Shop Boys Remix) Turns 30

Released on 19 February 1996 "Hallo Spaceboy was a song by the English musician David Bowie from his 20th studio album, Outside. It originated as an instrumental by Reeves Gabrels called "Moondust", which Bowie and Brian Eno stripped down and used to form the final track. An industrial rock and electronica track influenced by artists such as Nine Inch Nails, the song featured synthesisers, loops and distorted guitar lines. The lyrics were influenced by the sound poet and painter Brion Gysin, and contained images of apocalypse and continued the androgynous lyrics of former Bowie songs such as "Rebel Rebel" and "Boys Keep Swinging".

It was the third and final single from Outside in February 1996, "Hallo Spaceboy" was remixed by the Pet Shop Boys, who added a disco sound and lyrics referencing the Major Tom character from Bowie's "Space Oddity". The single reached number 12 in the UK and charted in other European countries. Its accompanying music video, directed by David Mallet, mixes shots of both Bowie and Pet Shop Boys with footage of science fiction clips, atomic bomb testing footage and television advertising clips. Both versions of "Hallo Spaceboy" have been positively received and have appeared on lists of Bowie's best songs. Bowie performed "Hallo Spaceboy" frequently on his concert tours, recordings from which have appeared on live albums.

Written by David Bowie and Brian Eno, "Hallo Spaceboy" developed from an ambient instrumental piece written by the guitarist Reeves Gabrels called "Moondust". Initial work on the track began during a recording session at Mountain Studios in Montreux in 1994, shortly after the main sessions for the Leon project concluded. Bowie's biographers Nicholas Pegg and Chris O'Leary point to the influence of the poet and artist Brion Gysin, who developed a cut-up technique with William S. Burroughs that Bowie had, on several occasions, utilised for song lyrics. During the recording, Bowie spoke "If I fall, moondust will cover me", reportedly Gysin's final words before his death in 1986. Work halted on the track following the session, as Bowie believed "there wasn't anything special going on with that piece".

The track resurfaced on 17 January 1995 during the Outside sessions in New York City at The Hit Factory. Eno wrote in his diary that it was "stripped down to almost nothing [before] I wrote some lightning chords and space and suddenly, miraculously, we had something." The final track featured Bowie, Eno, Gabrels, Carlos Alomar (guitar), Yossi Fine (bass), Mike Garson (piano) and Joey Baron (drums). After finishing the song, Bowie said, "I adore that track. In my mind, it was like Jim Morrison meets industrial. When I heard it back, I thought, 'Fuck me. It's like metal Doors.' It's an extraordinary sound." Gabrels later expressed disappointment in not receiving a co-writing credit for the song.

Commentators have characterised "Hallo Spaceboy" as industrial rock and electronica. Pegg describes the song as "a hardcore maelstrom of sci-fi noise, hypnotic high-speed drumming and an insistent, speaker-hopping four-note guitar riff". The song's influences range from the Pixies and Pornography-era Cure to Nine Inch Nails and the Smashing Pumpkins; Bowie reportedly stated that he was aiming for a Nine Inch Nails-type sound. Featuring synthesisers, loops and distorted guitar lines, a few reviewers compared the song's sound to Bowie's 1974 album Diamond Dogs and his work with the rock band Tin Machine. The author Dave Thompson argued that the song would not have felt out of place as a bonus track on that album. Lyrically, Pegg states that "Hallo Spaceboy" captures the "millennial angst" of the Outside album and continues the androgynous lyrics of songs such as "Rebel Rebel" (1974) and "Boys Keep Swinging" (1979) with the line "Do you like girls or boys? / It's confusing these days". Some of the words and ideals, such as "chaos", "dust" and "hallo", and visions of a science fiction apocalypse were recycled from Tin Machine's "Baby Universal" (1991).

The album Outside was released on 5 September 1995, with "Hallo Spaceboy" sequenced as the sixth track. The song was a mainstay on Bowie's 1995 Outside Tour, and was often played with Nine Inch Nails and later as the closing track. Bowie intended "Hallo Spaceboy" to be his next single after "Strangers When We Meet". 

Believing the original version of "Hallo Spaceboy" was unlikely to be commercial sucessful, Bowie commissioned Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys to remix the song for release as the third single from Outside. As a lifelong Bowie fan, Tennant agreed and remixed the track at Mayfair Studios in London between 11–15 December 1995. Tennant replaced the song's anger with electronics and added Pet Shop Boys' signature backing vocals to the track. Since the original contained only a single verse, and a lyric featuring feelings of alienation, Tennant and his bandmate Chris Lowe added lyrical fragments from Bowie's 1969 song "Space Oddity", using a Gysin-style cut-up technique to create a second verse: "Ground to Major, bye bye Tom / dead the circuit, countdown's wrong / Planet Earth is control on?" O'Leary argues that the additions turned the song's cry of "this chaos is killing me" into a plea from an astronaut "strung out in heaven".

Bowie initially expressed reservation about the additions when Tennant told him during a telephone conversation, but later agreed that they worked well. Bowie rerecorded his lead vocal so the single became a duet with Tennant. Tennant told NME in a 1997 interview that he and Lowe, working alongside Bowie, had completed what Tennant called the "Major Tom trilogy", in reference to the fictional astronaut who first appeared in "Space Oddity" and later appeared in "Ashes to Ashes" (1980). Tennant explained, "I said to Bowie, 'It's like Major Tom is in one of those Russian spaceships they can't afford to bring down,' and he said, 'Oh wow, is that where he is?'" Compared to the original version, the remix features a disco edge.

The single was finally released on 19 February 1996, through several formats, including a 7" single through BMG/RCA, a CD single through Arista/RCA and a 12" promo in the US through Virgin. The CD single was packaged with a reissue of "The Hearts Filthy Lesson" and live renditions of "Under Pressure" (1981) and "Moonage Daydream" (1972). The single was a success across Europe, reaching number 12 in the UK, becoming Bowie's highest charting single since "Jump They Say" (1993). The remixed "Hallo Spaceboy" topped the singles chart in Latvia, further charting in Australia (36), Austria (37), Belgium Flanders (48) and Wallonia (30), Finland (8), Germany (59), Ireland (21), the Netherlands Top 40 and Single Top 100 (24 and 33, respectively), Scotland (10) and Sweden (12).

The music video for "Hallo Spaceboy" was directed by Bowie's longtime director David Mallet. Bowie performed the song with Pet Shop Boys at the Brit Awards on 19 February 1996, and again on Top of the Pops on 1 March. According to O'Leary, Bowie "thrashed around" during these performances while Tennant sang calmly.

Both versions of "Hallo Spaceboy" have received positive reviews from music critics and biographers. Discussing the original, the biographer Marc Spitz called it Bowie's "most convincing rocker" since "Rebel Rebel", and David Buckley said the track is "quite daring, with a hard, industrial menace and a great use of dynamics". Reviewing the Pet Shop Boys remix, Simon Price from Melody Maker said that "this sounds like the Pet Shop Boys without anything you could call a chorus. The bit where Bowie's gin-and-lemon voice mixes with Neil Tennant's Amaretto Disaronno on the line Do you like girls or boys? It's confusing these days... is one to hoist aloft around the room on a red velvet cushion, though." Mojo magazine's Mark Paytress opined that adding Pet Shop Boys was a "masterstroke"

Rocktrospectiva: R.E.M.s breakthrough single "Losing My Religion" Turns 35

Released on 19 February 1991 "Losing My Religion" was the first single from R.E.M.'s 7th., studio album "Out Of Time". It developed from a mandolin riff improvised by the guitarist, Peter Buck. The lyrics, written by the singer, Michael Stipe, concern disillusionment and unrequited love.

"Losing My Religion" was R.E.M.'s highest-charting hit in the United States, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and expanding their popularity. Its music video, directed by Tarsem Singh, features religious imagery. At the 1992 Grammy Awards, "Losing My Religion" won Best Short Form Music Video and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Its video won awards for Video of the Year, Best Group Video, Breakthrough Video, Best Art Direction, Best Direction, and Best Editing at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2017.

The R.E.M. guitarist, Peter Buck, wrote the main riff and chorus for "Losing My Religion" on a mandolin. He had recently bought it and was learning how to play, recording as he practiced while watching television. Buck said that "when I listened back to it the next day, there was a bunch of stuff that was really just me learning how to play mandolin, and then there's what became 'Losing My Religion', and then a whole bunch more of me learning to play the mandolin". He said he likely would not have written the chord progression in the same way had he not played it on mandolin.

In July 1990, R.E.M. recorded a demo version with the working title "Sugar Cane" in a studio in Athens, Georgia, featuring banjo and Hammond organ. Mike Mills wrote a bassline inspired by the Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie. The final version was recorded in September at Bearsville Studio A in Woodstock, New York.

Finding the song lacked midrange between the bass and mandolin, R.E.M. enlisted the touring guitarist Peter Holsapple on acoustic guitar. Buck said, "It was really cool: Peter and I would be in our little booth, sweating away, and Bill and Mike would be out there in the other room going at it. It just had a really magical feel." Michael Stipe recorded his vocals in a single take. The strings, arranged by Mark Bingham, were performed by members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at Soundscape Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, in October 1990.

The lyrics of "Losing My Religion" were based on Buck's mandolin part. Buck said, "The verses are the kinds of things R.E.M. uses a lot, going from one minor to another, kind [of] like those 'Driver 8' chords. You can't really say anything bad about E minor, A minor, D, and G ... We are trying to get away from those kind of songs, but like I said before, those are some good chords.#  He felt "Losing My Religion" was the most "typical" R.E.M. song on the album. The song is in natural minor. 

 

The title phrase is an expression from the Southern United States that means "losing one's temper or civility" or "feeling frustrated and desperate". Stipe said the song was about romantic expression and unrequited love. The lines "That's me in the corner / That's me in the spotlight" were originally "That's me in the corner / That's me in the kitchen", describing a person at a social event too shy to approach the person they like. Stipe compared the theme to "Every Breath You Take" by the Police, saying, "It's just a classic obsession pop song. I've always felt the best kinds of songs are the ones where anybody can listen to it, put themselves in it and say, 'Yeah, that's me.'"

The music video for "Losing My Religion" was directed by the Indian filmmaker Tarsem Singh. Unlike previous R.E.M. videos, Stipe agreed to lip-sync the lyrics. The video begins inside a dark room where water drips from an open window. Recreating a scene from the Andrei Tarkovsky film The Sacrifice, Buck, Berry, and Mills run across the room while Stipe remains seated as a pitcher of milk drops from the windowsill and shatters.

The video originated as a combination of ideas envisioned by Stipe and Singh. Stipe wanted a straightforward performance video, akin to Sinéad O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U". Singh wanted to create a video in the style of a certain type of Indian filmmaking, where everything would be "melodramatic and very dreamlike", according to Stipe. Singh said the video was modeled after the Gabriel García Márquez short story "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings", in which an angel crashes into a town and the villagers have varied reactions to him. He also drew inspiration from the Italian painter Caravaggio, and the video uses religious imagery such as Saint Sebastian, the Biblical episode of the Incredulity of Thomas, and Hindu deities, portrayed in a series of tableaux.

The "Losing My Religion" video was nominated in nine categories at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards and won for Video of the Year, Best Group Video, Breakthrough Video, Best Art Direction, Best Direction, and Best Editing.

"Losing My Religion" was released on February 19, 1991, in the United States as the lead single from R.E.M.'s album Out of Time. Their record label, Warner Bros., was wary of the choice of lead single. Steven Baker, then the vice president of product management., said there were "long, drawn-out discussions" about releasing such an "unconventional track" as the single until the label agreed.

R.E.M. did not tour to promote Out of Time, but visited radio stations, gave press interviews and made television appearances. On November 10, 1991, R.E.M. performed "Losing My Religion" with members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra to celebrate the tenth anniversary of MTV. It was recorded at the Madison Morgan Cultural Centre in Madison, Georgia, about 20 miles south of Athens.

Warner Bros. worked to establish "Losing My Religion" at campus, modern rock, and album-oriented rock radio stations before promoting it to American Top 40 stations, where it became a success and became R.E.M.'s biggest hit in the US, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It stayed on the chart for 21 weeks. It topped the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart for three weeks and the Modern Rock Tracks chart for eight weeks, the best performance of any R.E.M. song on either chart. It reached number 19 on the UK singles chart, No. 16 in Canada and No. 11 in Australia.

With "Losing My Religion", R.E.M. crossed over into mainstream pop culture. Asked if he was worried the success might alienate older fans, Buck told Rolling Stone, "The people that changed their minds because of 'Losing My Religion' can just kiss my ass." Mills said R.E.M. understood they had a worldwide hit when they heard it on local radio in the jungle of Paraguay. Years later, Mills said: "Without 'Losing My Religion', Out of Time would have sold two or three million [copies], instead of the ten [million copies] or so it did. But the phenomenon that is a worldwide hit is an odd thing to behold. Basically that record was a hit in almost every civilised country in the world."

Critics said: This was R.E.M. at their most tender and unsettling, Stipe's careworn voice filled with inexplicable sadness, but as warm and familiar as ever." R.E.M. had returned to its "trademark jangle", and that "Stipe touches again on what seems to be ambivalence about his role as a pop star, and about the need to communicate with an audience".

 

Losing My Religion Track Listing: 

 

7-inch

 

1. Losing My Religion

2. Rotary Eleven

 

12-inch and CD

 

1. Losing My Religion

2. Rotary Eleven

3. After Hours 

 

UK Collector's Edition CD one: 

 

1. Losing My Religion

2. Stand

3. Turn You Inside-Out (Live)

4. Wolrd Leader Pretend (Live)

 

UK Collector's Edition CD two: 

 

1. Losing My Religion

2. Fretless

3. Losing My Religion (live acoustic version/rockline)

4. Rotary Eleven