Album: Murmur
Year: 1983
. . .
File Under Opportune
Did you know about the joke that R.E.M. had running through their credits for their entire recording career? It had to do with their music publishing, which is why it’s super trainspottingy and utterly nerdy for me to know this. With Murmur, they decided to call their music publishing company “Night Garden Music,” which was “Administered throughout the Universe by Unichappel Music.” For nearly 30 years, on all of their studio albums absent one, exactly which world their Night Garden Music was administered would change.
I don’t remember when I discovered this, or if I read it in one of the many R.E.M. books I devoured in the late 80s / early 90s, but one of my goals as I write about them is to let you know what the variation is for each of their albums, as well as the one album where they — let’s face it, it was probably Michael Stipe who instigated this running joke — didn’t vary from the previous album.
This is just one of many public services of Certain Songs. You’re welcome!!
[Read more…] about Certain Songs #1697: R.E.M. – “Shaking Through”