An American Masterpiece Turns 40

How one of the finest debut albums in rock history laid the humble foundations of the college rock revolution

‘Radio Free Europe’, the lead track from the R.E.M. debut LP, Murmur has all of the earmarks of a catchy underground hit. A simple, repeatable chorus line draped within a catchy, ascendant vocal line. The apparent gibberish of the remaining lyrics simply reinforcing the compact glory of the harmonies and hooks. There is that driving rhythm action, the spare chime of that Rickenbacker, and that weird Southern smog that belongs only to America’s greatest band.

By most metrics it’s easy to see how ‘Radio Free Europe’ was a regional hit, and how that success could lead one to think there might just be a promising career ahead for those four young men from Athens, GA. It would have been impossible to predict the overwhelming and culturally defining impact this band would be making in less than a decade.