1999 single by R.E.M.
"
The Great Beyond
" is a song by American rock band
R.E.M.
, written for the 1999 film
Man on the Moon
. It was released as a single the same year for support of
the film's soundtrack album
. On the soundtrack, there is some dialogue from the movie at the end of the track; meanwhile, the single version is a radio edit, with the bridge omitted.
"The Great Beyond" reached number three on the
UK Singles Chart
in January 2000, the band's highest-ever chart position in that country, and it was nominated for a
Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
. It additionally became a top-20 hit in Canada, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, and Norway. The unedited version is included in two R.E.M. compilations:
In Time - The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003
and
Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982?2011
.
Background and content
[
edit
]
According to the book
Perfect Circle: The Story of R.E.M.
, the band employed their then-usual live musicians when recording the song: "To record the single, the group convened at
John Keane
's.
Joey Waronker
was brought in on drums;
Scott McCaughey
and
Ken Stringfellow
were each invited to take part;
Pat McCarthy
returned to the producer's chair."
In the unedited version, at 4:09 and at 4:26, the listener can hear
Michael Stipe
singing the following lines in the background: "Here's a little
agit
for the never-believer, here's a little ghost for the offering". Both lines were taken from the band's 1992 song "
Man on the Moon
", also about
Andy Kaufman
, from which the film took its title.
Music video
[
edit
]
The song's video was directed by
Liz Friedlander
. It originally featured footage of
Jim Carrey
as Andy Kaufman from the 1999 film. Yet, the compilation
DVD
In View: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003
(which accompanied
In Time
and collected R.E.M.'s major videos from 1988 to 2003), the video was remixed to feature archived footage of Kaufman himself (similar to the video for "Man on the Moon"). The original version can be seen on the
Man on the Moon
DVD. Carrey revealed in the 2017 documentary
Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond
that he had been invited to appear in the video in person, but refused, as he wished to psychologically distance himself from the Kaufman character; he stated that he now regretted the decision.
[2]
Track listings
[
edit
]
All songs were written by
Bill Berry
,
Peter Buck
,
Mike Mills
, and
Michael Stipe
, except for "The Great Beyond", written by Buck, Mills, and Stipe. All live track were recorded on June 25, 1999, at the
Glastonbury Festival
.
- US CD, 7-inch, and cassette single
[3]
[4]
[5]
- UK cassette single
[6]
- "The Great Beyond" (edit)
- "
Man on the Moon
" (live at Glastonbury)
- Japanese CD single
[8]
- "The Great Beyond" (edit)
- "
The One I Love
" (live at Glastonbury)
- "
Everybody Hurts
" (live at Glastonbury)
- "Man on the Moon" (live at Glastonbury)
- UK and European CD single
[9]
- "The Great Beyond" (radio edit) ? 4:13
- "Everybody Hurts" (live from Glastonbury) ? 6:21
- "The One I Love" (live from Glastonbury) ? 3:10
Charts
[
edit
]
Weekly charts
[
edit
]
|
Year-end charts
[
edit
]
|
Release history
[
edit
]
Other versions
[
edit
]
In June 2003, Michael Stipe sang an
a cappella
excerpt from the song for a
BBC Radio 2
advertisement.
[42]
He performed it on a stage in an empty theater. Welsh
progressive breakbeat
producers
Hybrid
later would use this a cappella to create a
bootleg
remix
.
[43]
A live version of this song is included on
R.E.M. Live
. The song was covered by
The Fray
in 2007 for the compilation album
Radio 1: Established 1967
.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"The 50 best pop songs written for movies"
.
The Telegraph
. 18 December 2017.
- ^
"Venice Film Review: 'Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond ? featuring a very special, contractually obligated mention of Tony Clifton'
"
. 6 September 2017.
- ^
The Great Beyond
(US CD single liner notes).
R.E.M.
Warner Bros. Records
,
Jersey Records
. 2000. 9 16888-2.
{{
cite AV media notes
}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link
)
- ^
The Great Beyond
(US 7-inch single vinyl disc). R.E.M. Warner Bros. Records, Jersey Records. 1999. 7-16888.
{{
cite AV media notes
}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link
)
- ^
The Great Beyond
(US cassette single sleeve). R.E.M. Warner Bros. Records, Jersey Records. 1999. 9 16888-4.
{{
cite AV media notes
}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link
)
- ^
The Great Beyond
(UK cassette single sleeve). R.E.M. Warner Bros. Records, Jersey Records. 2000. W516C.
{{
cite AV media notes
}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link
)
- ^
The Great Beyond
(US maxi-CD single liner notes). R.E.M. Warner Bros. Records, Jersey Records. 1999. 9 44816-2.
{{
cite AV media notes
}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link
)
- ^
The Great Beyond
(Japanese CD single liner notes). R.E.M. Warner Bros. Records. 2000. WPCR-10638.
{{
cite AV media notes
}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link
)
- ^
The Great Beyond
(UK & European CD single liner notes). R.E.M. Warner Bros. Records, Jersey Records. 2000. W516CD.
{{
cite AV media notes
}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link
)
- ^
"
R.E.M. ? The Great Beyond"
.
ARIA Top 50 Singles
. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
- ^
"
Top RPM Singles: Issue 9723
."
RPM
.
Library and Archives Canada
. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
- ^
"
Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 9751
."
RPM
.
Library and Archives Canada
. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
- ^
"
Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 10022
."
RPM
.
Library and Archives Canada
. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
- ^
"Eurochart Hot 100 Singles"
(PDF)
.
Music & Media
. Vol. 17, no. 7. February 12, 2000. p. 11
. Retrieved
June 19,
2020
.
- ^
"
R.E.M. ? The Great Beyond"
(in German).
GfK Entertainment charts
. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- ^
"Islenski Listinn Topp 20 (4.2? 10.2 2000)"
.
Dagblaðið Visir
(in Icelandic). February 4, 2000. p. 10
. Retrieved
October 6,
2019
.
- ^
"
The Irish Charts ? Search Results ? The Great Beyond"
.
Irish Singles Chart
. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
- ^
"
R.E.M. ? The Great Beyond"
.
Top Digital Download
. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
- ^
"
R.E.M. ? The Great Beyond"
(in Dutch).
Single Top 100
. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
- ^
"
R.E.M. ? The Great Beyond"
.
VG-lista
. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
- ^
"Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100"
.
Official Charts Company
. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
- ^
"
R.E.M. ? The Great Beyond"
.
Singles Top 100
. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
- ^
"
R.E.M. ? The Great Beyond"
.
Swiss Singles Chart
. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
- ^
"Official Singles Chart Top 100"
.
Official Charts Company
. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
- ^
"R.E.M. Chart History (Hot 100)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
- ^
"R.E.M. Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
- ^
"R.E.M. Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
- ^
"R.E.M. Chart History (Alternative Airplay)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
- ^
"R.E.M. Chart History (Mainstream Rock)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
- ^
"Islenski Listinn Topp 100"
.
Dagblaðið Visir
(in Icelandic). January 5, 2001. p. 10
. Retrieved
February 8,
2020
.
- ^
"Top 100 of 2000"
.
Raidio Teilifis Eireann
. Archived from
the original
on June 2, 2004
. Retrieved
March 16,
2022
.
- ^
"Best Sellers of 2000: Singles Top 100".
Music Week
. January 20, 2001. p. 25.
- ^
"Most Played Adult Top 40 Songs of 2000".
Airplay Monitor
. Vol. 8, no. 51. December 22, 2000. p. 48.
- ^
"Most Played Modern Rock Songs of 2000".
Airplay Monitor
. Vol. 8, no. 51. December 22, 2000. p. 38.
- ^
"The Best of 2000: Most Played Triple-A Songs".
Airplay Monitor
. Vol. 8, no. 51. December 22, 2000. p. 44.
- ^
a
b
"Going for Adds"
(PDF)
.
Radio & Records
. No. 1324. November 5, 1999. pp. 92, 107, 111, 119
. Retrieved
July 28,
2021
.
- ^
"Gavin AC/Hot AC: Impact Dates".
Gavin Report
. No. 2279. November 8, 1999. p. 20.
- ^
"Gavin Top 40/Rhythm Crossover: Impact Dates".
Gavin Report
. No. 2283. December 3, 1999. p. 8.
- ^
"Album Releases: December 1999"
.
Jam!
. Archived from
the original
on August 29, 2000
. Retrieved
January 6,
2023
.
- ^
"New Releases ? For Week Starting 24 January, 2000: Singles"
(PDF)
.
Music Week
. January 22, 2000. p. 25
. Retrieved
July 28,
2021
.
- ^
"ザ?グレイト?ビヨンド | R.E.M."
[The Great Beyond | R.E.M.] (in Japanese).
Oricon
. Retrieved
August 29,
2023
.
- ^
"Radio 2 TV ads reflect its unique positioning"
? www.campaignlive.com
- ^
"REM - the Great Beyond (Hybrid Mix) - Hybrid Discography - Track Info MP3 WAV CD and Vinyl Links"
. Archived from
the original
on January 6, 2011
. Retrieved
August 11,
2013
.
External links
[
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]
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