# R.E.M. Celebrates the 40th Anniversary of “Chronic Town”

- Link: https://www.nyrdcast.com/r-e-m-celebrates-the-40th-anniversary-of-chronic-town/
- Published: 2022-06-28T10:00:00-05:00
- Author: Eugene Tierney

![](https://i0.wp.com/mcusercontent.com/f67b4587af2b2ef9aa80ed984/images/97b13bee-
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**R.E.M.
CELEBRATES THE 40th ANNIVERSARY OF 
_CHRONIC TOWN_

**Available For The First Time As A Standalone CD
_via _I.R.S. / UMe With Extensive
Liner NotesBy Producer MITCH EASTER

**Also Available In Picture Disc And Cassette Editions**

**LOS ANGELES – JUNE 28, 2022 — **Celebrating its 40^(th) anniversary this year,**
R.E.M.**’s debut EP _**CHRONIC TOWN**_ will be released for the first time ever 
as a standalone CD with extensive liner notes by the original producer **Mitch Easter**(
_Let’s Active_).  It will be released in three different formats: CD, Picture Disc,
and Cassette on August 19, 2022 _via_ I.R.S./UMe and can be preordered [**here**](https://reybee.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f67b4587af2b2ef9aa80ed984&id=f5d8d55e38&e=615f2b8493).

![](https://i0.wp.com/mcusercontent.com/f67b4587af2b2ef9aa80ed984/images/c3fad71a-
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**R.E.M. **_**Chronic Town**_
EP artwork

Featuring such adored classics in the band’s repertoire as “**Gardening At Night,**”“**
Wolves, Lower,**” and “**1,000,000**,” the five-song EP, as Rolling Stone noted,“
served notice that R.E.M. was an outfit to watch.” As a debut release, R.E.M.’s 
_Chronic Town_ became an anomaly… a record that didn’t quite fit into the constraints
of what was played on the radio.  So instead of trying to fit into a genre, R.E.
M. helped create their own: College Rock. The follow-up to their breakthrough single“
Radio Free Europe” which was released in 1981, _Chronic Town_ served as the entry
point to what would become one of Alternative Rock’s biggest bands.  “One might 
fancifully say that _Chronic Town_ was the sound of an expedition, ready for anything,
setting forth,” says Easter fondly about the EP.  “If R.E.M. ‘Radio Free Europe’
single was a signpost, the _Chronic Town _EP was the atlas.”  

![](https://i0.wp.com/mcusercontent.com/f67b4587af2b2ef9aa80ed984/images/1d934d8b-
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**R.E.M. **
Photo Credit: Sandra Lee Phipps

Introducing their arpeggiated guitar playing, cryptic and often indecipherable lyrics,
and radiant choruses that would soon emerge as signatures of the classic R.E.M. 
sound, _Chronic Town_ is the sound of a restless band, chock-full of ideas, operating
on a post-collegiate budget. Charmingly ragged and refreshingly immediate, it established
the band indelibly upon impact. “Wolves, Lower” opens the EP with **Michael Stipe**’
s trademark impressionistic and idiosyncratic lyrics, while **Mike Mills**’ rubbery
bass lines and **Peter Buck**’s jangly Rickenbacker keeps **Bill Berry**’s unpredictable
drumming in check. It’s this combination that would not only fuel the band for subsequent
decades but make them equally as dependable as songsmiths. Serving as a template
for ‘80s college jangle pop, “Gardening At Night” forged a style that combined heartily
strummed rhythm guitars with a meandering bass line that proved to be a solid blueprint
for college bands to come.

Critically hailed both upon release and in retrospect, _Chronic Town_ heralded “
a great band planting their flag in the ground, a historic landmark that portended
great things that actually came” (Stereogum). The Stranger praised “everything about
the EP, from its gnomic, blue-tinted cover art, to its restlessly discursive music,
to the fact that the two sides both had their own titles (‘Chronic Town’ and ‘Poster
Torn’), was not only good on its own merits, but an excellent influence in favor
of obscurantism and understatement.” _Chronic Town_’s impact and influence on the
future of alternative music is uncontested and described by Magnet Magazine as “
essentially a template for the entire indie-rock movement.”

![](https://i0.wp.com/mcusercontent.com/f67b4587af2b2ef9aa80ed984/images/b98fb631-
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[[**R.E.M. – **_**CHRONIC TOWN**_
**1. [Wolves, Lower](https://reybee.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f67b4587af2b2ef9aa80ed984&id=b805b00112&e=615f2b8493)****2. Gardening
At Night****3. Carnival Of Sorts (Boxcars)****4. 1,000,0005. Stumble**

R.E.M. - Wolves, Lower (Official Video)

[⌊R.E.M. - Wolves, Lower (Official Video)⌉⌊R.E.M. - Wolves, Lower (Official Video)⌉

Watch this video on YouTube

**R.E.M. “Wolves, Lower”**

**[Website](https://reybee.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f67b4587af2b2ef9aa80ed984&id=34d991c5b7&e=615f2b8493)
| [Twitter](https://reybee.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f67b4587af2b2ef9aa80ed984&id=05145d07f3&e=615f2b8493)
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