Despite their gradual slide into irrelevance and ultimate disbanding, there was a time when R.E.M. was among the biggest bands ever to ride the airwaves. Michael Stipe and company made hitmaking look so easy back in the day and held more influence than anyone could expect from a alternative college band. Case in point: "Man on the Moon" from their 1992 album Automatic for the People. This song is directly responsible for the Andy Kaufman biopic of the same name, starring Jim Carrey. It's an excellent film with one of Carrey's best acting performances, and to say it wouldn't exist without the popularity of this song is no understatement. The lyrics, like so many by R.E.M., make not one lick of sense, but when you listen to it everything seems correct and in its proper place. There's no small magic involved in that.
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