The female singer with the red hair is Kate Pierson from the B-52's. Both REM and the B-52s are from Athens, Georgia, and got their start in the late 1970s and early 1980s. This is a fun, silly, happy (dare I say shiny? :-) ) pop song that puts a smile on my face and reminds me of simpler times.
This is a very mature band with mature people who never pretended to do anything other than be true to themselves. There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING CRINGEWORTHY IN THIS SONG OR VIDEO. They are from Athens Georgia. They really do stand up for what they believe in and for that reason they come off as really weird sometimes but eventually their weird turns out to be well thought out.
The song is actually the opposite of what it appears. Its about society expecting you to put on a happy face and "smile" even when you're sad or struggling. Kind of a fake appearance cover up a mess (and we all do it).
Way to go, u philosopher~ JK, lol! They were what even the less socially conscious among us listened to in my college years because their solid tunes were unbeatable for that time! ( I get frustrated when some of these younger listeners get too hung up on the fashion or outdated videos & miss the entire meaning~ ) This smart little gal doesn't seem to do that~
If this is the first REM she's ever reacted to it might seem confusing. If she'd heard more of their other stuff first and then this, the irony would be more obvious.
www.today.com/video/r-e-m-singer-michael-stipe-reveals-why-country-feedback-is-his-favorite-out-of-time-song-813262403625 It's simply was supposed to be a kids poppy song. I know many thought it had a deeper meaning like drugs etc but in interview its exactly as the song says. :-)
HA! Taken from the Dan Rather incident! I remember when that happened & was a psych nurse at the time~ It's really not funny ,but somebody REALLY, LITERALLY was off their meds! Wonder what became of him? ....Google?
It's definitely got that bouncy B-52's sound to it, but Stipe's voice reminds you off the bat what band it is. I love Kate's vocals. Can't believe she's in her 70's now. Time is crazy relentless.
Glad I caught this reaction after the Clapton one, this song makes me smile. Forget about the video everyone was just making it up as they went back then lol great choices tonight dear...♡
Such a great song...still makes me laugh! Thanks! She was a singer in the B-52's and was a guest singer on this track.... big 60's vibe...yeah...definitely PG rated...lol
This song wasn't exactly an outlier for REM, but they did have a huge emotional range. for the other side of this coin, check out Orange Crush or Breathe.
Wherever the went they took my former great waistline & ass with them! ( Maybe it was all the drinking, dancing, & not eating, lol?) We had FUN! Nothing we ingested made us want to eat someone's face off! Just kiss someone's face~ :)
The verse melody is actually really sad. I have a feeling this is sarcasm. My dad (who was quite famous over here) did a song like this in the 70's called 'A happy song' which was all about the cynicism of thinking that happy music would somehow make depressed people happy. "If you lost your children and wife and you wish you were dead, put on your happy face and sing with us.".
It absolutely is sarcasm. They were told to make a happy, cheerful song, so they made this. Something that seems cheery until you pay attention. It's a mockery of cheer, about being expected to smile and be happy when you're miserable.
India i clicked like even before i watched the video because i love this song!! Loved your reaction!!! I love Kate Pierson from the B52's shes a great singer, and love the dancing as well
I have heard this song was written after the song writer watch the Tenimin (spelled wrong I'm sure) squre masicar on t.v. and notice a sign in the background that read, "shiney, happy, people holding hands" I believe it was an add for the up coming Olympics or some such thing. This is just what I've heard.
Yeah this is a very light hearted song from REM. The singer Michael Stipes is as happy as a jaybird if you know what I mean. But normally that does not matter, he and REM were about playing good music, not about promoting a social agenda like they do today.
From what I understand this was a bit of an experiment. Their music was naturally getting more and more pop sounding. They decided to embrace it and see just how sugary and commercial they could go and still sound like REM, though there's probably a darker undercurrent in the song somewhere. I usually think of them as a serious band but it's good to see that they didn't necessarily take themselves so seriously. If you want to take a deeper dive check out Drive, Everybody Hurts, Fall On Me, The One I Love, Orange Crush, and Man On The Moon (for a little nod to Andy Kaufman's impression of Elvis). If you like those there's lots more to discover.
They filmed part of this at Athens Clarke Co. Highschool auditorium and they got the kids to dance and be in it. The kids also did some of the art work. I live one county over from Athens and my cousins went to that school. R.E.M. is from Athens and so are the B-52's the lady is that groups singer, so just a cute little video.
Oh girl, R.E.M. are an incredible band. Believe me, this cheesy happy stuff was a departure for them. I suggest "The One I Love", ""Its The End of the World As We Know It", "Fall On Me", "Finest Work Song" to start with. 💚
Michael is embarrassed by this song, but Kate loves it. She says she likes to think it is a song about the B-52s. She says she was brought in when it was done and she was told to just add whatever she felt was right. I think she made the song.
It’s funny how they made this song as a joke but then it got huge and they actually had to play it over and over again, and to this day, they refuse to ever play it again.
A very sad song....A lot of people can connect to it if they understand the meaning. It makes me tear up People can relate to it when They understand struggle with cognitive dissonance when it’s Political or Religious struggles
"HEY! HEY! HEY! Pull that bus over! I want the shiny people on one side, and the happy people on the other side! I represent angry, gun toting, meat eating people! ) Dennis Leary or possibly Bill Hicks.) Watching you watch it was much better then all the times I had to watch it when it was new.
No, this really is a song for adults. I see below that it isn't meant to be as happy as it sounds. But I think taking it as the fun song that it seems, is just fine by me. Enjoy. Dance. Actually, R.E.M. are great and you might like to check further. They can also be really serious as you can hear in their song Everybody Hurts. And as for the lovely redhead, she's part of the group The B-52's. Please, please, please review their hit Love Shack. Now that is a happy, party song that will make you dance, for sure. Love Shack, baby! Yeah!
REM is a great band, this was one of their big songs but by far not their best, though it is a good one so that says something about how good they are. "Losing my Religion" and "Everybody Hurts" are probably their best, and more serious than this song.
I think it one of their best. plus: the one I love, so. central rain, losing my religion, everybody hurts, fall on me, strand, nightswimming, drive, and many others.
I agree with all the comments about the irony and Prozac Nation undertones to this song, but I also feel a positive vibe, as India recognizes, that the band members and guest singer input into it. I don't think they're that cynical.
If I remember the story correctly when the singer was growing up there was a commercial they aired all the time where people were smiling and holding hands think it was the hands across America project, anyway this song was supposed to be making fun of them and those robotically happy people in the commercials
After releasing "Shiny Happy People", REM went on Sesame Street to perform this as "Shiny Happy Monsters" with all the Muppet "monsters" on that show. I've read that the group at some point became embarrassed by the "kiddy" sound of this song, but I've always loved it, and never perceived that as a problem until reading about it. REM has a lot of other great songs you'd like, with a more "serious" sound, and meaningful, sometimes misunderstood lyrics. *"The One I Love",* if you don't listen carefully, sounds romantic, but is actually a song about superficial love that is casually "left behind" to move on to the next "one I love". *"Man on the Moon",* is about the late comedian, Andy Kaufman, who it was *speculated* by some fans after he died, staged his death as a prank, a joke about how people at the time thought Elvis was still alive -- the sort of zany thing Andy was known for; and Andy would pop up any day and say 'surprise! it was just a joke!" The title and lyric "Man on the Moon" is an allusion to people who think the moon landing was a hoax.
I always heard it's about that "thing" that may or may not have happened in "that place" a "year or two or possibly not at all" before this song came out. BRB someone's knocking on my door
