80’s at 8- December 13, 2022: R.E.M. And The Cure
On tonight’s 80’s at 8 I started off with the song that got R.E.M. a contract with the major record label I.R. S. Records. It was first released in 1981 on the short-lived Independent label Hib – Tone. Upon its release, it received critical acclaim, and its success earned the band a record deal with I.R.S. Records.
Their first album Mur- Mur was recorded with I. R. S. Records and R. E.M. re-recorded Radio Free Europe. The Re-recording became R. E.M.’s first charting single, it reached #25 on the BB Mainstream Rock Chart and #78 on the BB Hot 100. Radio Free Europe is ranked number 389 in Rolling Stone Magazine’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2010, it was added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry for setting “the pattern for later indie rock releases by breaking through on college radio in the face of mainstream radio’s general indifference.
The 1983 version of Radio Free Europe has some slightly different lyrics and a slower tempo and is not as well-liked by the band as the original from 1981. The liner notes for the 1988 compilation album Eponymous (on which the original Hib-Tone version is featured) stated that “Mike and Jefferson think this one [referring to the Hib-Tone version] crushes the other one like a grape.” Peter Buck has also stated that he “[didn’t] think we captured it the way we did on the single.” Original producer Mitch Easter also commented on the re-recording, saying it was “more pro, but a little too sedate.
At the request of MTV, 1983 single was accompanied by a music video, directed by Arthur Pierson. The video took place in the garden of artist Howard Finster, who would go on to paint the album cover for the band’s second album, Reckoning.
Check out the music video for Radio Free Europe here:
The other song in tonight’s 80’s at 8 was Just Like Heaven by British Alternative Rock/ Goth band The Cure. It was the third single released from their 1987 album Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me. The Band wrote most of the song during recording sessions in southern France in 1987. The lyrics were written by their frontman Robert Smith, who drew inspiration from a past trip to the seashore with his future wife. Smith’s memories of the trip formed the basis for the song’s accompanying music video. Before Smith had completed the lyrics, an instrumental version of the song was used as the theme for the French television show Les Enfants du Rock.
Frontman Robert Smith has said he considers “Just Like Heaven” to be one of the band’s strongest songs. It has been praised by music critics and covered by artists such as Dinosaur Jr. and Katie Melua. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said, “the stately ‘Just Like Heaven’ is remarkable and helps make the album one of the group’s very best”. Ned Raggett, also of AllMusic, wrote that the song was “instantly memorable, and sparkling with rough energy it’s a perfect showcase for Robert Smith’s ear for wistful, romantic numbers. His main guitar line, a descending, gently chiming melody, contrasts perfectly against the fuzzier mix of the rhythm guitars, while Simon Gallup’s bass and Boris Williams’ strong, immediate drums make for a great introduction to the track.”
The music video for “Just Like Heaven” was directed by Tim Pope, who had directed all of the band’s previous videos since 1982’s “Let’s Go to Bed”. The video was filmed in England’s Pinewood Studios in October 1987. Set on a cliff overlooking a sea, the video recreates many of the memories detailed in the song’s lyrics. When a fanzine asked Smith what the song was about, he said it was inspired by “something that happened to me a long time ago—see the video!
Check out the Music video for Just Like Heaven by The Cure here:
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