THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

710-R.E.M.-It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

1987-Number 88 single. When it was re-released in 1991, it peaked at Number 39.

Best Bit-At 2.27. Because of the worldwide ‘Corona’ virus pandemic in March 2020, the song received an increase in downloads and streaming, alongside other apocalypse, and sickness themed songs. Online downloads increased by 184%, and streams rose by 48%.

R.E.M. were formed in Athens, Georgia, United States, in 1980, by Michael Stipe, (lead vocals) Peter Buck, (lead guitar) Bill Berry, (drums) and Mike Mills (bass, and keyboards) Berry left in 1997, and the other three continued, until retiring the group in 2011. R.E.M. who took their name from the well known abbreviation for ‘rapid eye movement,’ which is the dream stage of sleep, are considered pivotal in the development of ‘Alternative Rock,’ offering something different at the time when ‘Post Punk,’ and ‘New Wave’ was at it’s peak. R.E.M. were an inspiration for acts such as Nirvana, (see also best songs 788 and 9) Sonic Youth, (see also best songs 641) Radiohead, (see also best songs 33) and other ‘Alternative Rock’ bands of the following generations. Kurt Cobain (1967-1994) of Nirvana has said of R.E.M., ‘I don’t know how that band does what they do. God, they’re the greatest. They’ve dealt with their success like saints, and they keep delivering great music.’

The discography of R.E.M., who have sold in excess of 90 million records worldwide, includes, 15 studio Albums released between 1983-2011, and 63 singles that have been issued between 1981-2019, there are also 16 official compilation Albums, and five live Albums available. In America on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, nine of their singles have reached that top 40, with ‘Losing My Religion,’ from 1991, peaking the highest at Number 4, ‘It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine’) stalled at Number 69 in 1987. In the UK, R.E.M. have charted within the top 40 on 31 occasions, with ‘The Great Beyond,’ from 1999, peaking the highest at Number 3.

‘It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine’) was the second of three singles released from ‘Document,’ the fifth studio Album by R.E.M., from August 1987, as with many R.E.M. songs, the writing credits are split amongst all group members regardless of input. R.E.M. are also credited as the songs producer, along with Scott Litt, who was also the Album’s co-producer, along with R.E.M. Scott Litt is an American music producer, who was born on March 10th, 1954, he is best known for co-producing six consecutive R.E.M. Album’s, from ‘Document’ in 1987, through to ‘ New Adventures in Hi-Fi,’ in 1996, during R.E.M.’s most commercially successful period. Feeling that they were going stale, R.E.M. and Scott Litt split in 1997, so R.E.M. could explore a different path for their music. Away from R.E.M., Scott Litt has worked with several different artists, including Nirvana, New Order, and Ziggy Marley.

‘It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine’) is heavily influenced by Bob Dylan’s 1965 song ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues,’ (see also best songs 792) and although he has never admitted it, (as far as I know) Billy Joel could well have got his inspiration for his 1989 song ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire,’ (see also best songs 810) after hearing this. Michael Stipe has explained how he wrote the lyrics for ‘It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine.’) ‘The words come from everywhere. I’m extremely aware of everything around me, whether I am in a sleeping state, awake, dream-state, or just in day to day life. There’s a part in ‘It’s The End Of The World As We Know It’ that came from a dream where I was at Lester Bangs’ birthday party and I was the only person there whose initials weren’t L.B. So there was Lenny Bruce, Leonid Brezhnev, Leonard Bernstein… So that ended up in the song, along with a lot of stuff I’d seen when I was flipping TV channels. It’s a collection of streams of consciousness.’

‘That’s great, it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes, and aeroplanes, and Lenny Bruce is not afraid. Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn, world serves its own needs, don’t mis-serve your own needs. Speed it up a notch, speed, grunt, no, strength, the ladder starts to clatter.’