The Great Beyond

"The Great Beyond"
Single by R.E.M.
from the album Man on the Moon (Music from the Motion Picture)
B-side "The One I Love" (Live), "Everybody Hurts" (Live), "Man on the Moon" (Live)
Released November 16, 1999 (1999-11-16)
Format
Recorded May 1999
Genre
Length 5:06 (album version)
4:14 (radio edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Pat McCarthy
R.E.M. singles chronology
"Suspicion"
(1999)		 "The Great Beyond"
(1999)		 "Imitation of Life"
(2001)

"The Great Beyond" is a song by R.E.M. written specifically for the 1999 film Man on the Moon. It was released as a single the following year for support of the film's soundtrack album. The single reached #3 in the UK singles chart in January 2000, the band's highest-ever chart position in that country. 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. On the Man on the Moon 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.

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 1992 R.E.M. song "Man on the Moon", also about Andy Kaufman, from which the movie took its title.

The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.

The song's video was directed by Liz Friedlander. It originally featured footage of Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman from the 1999 film. Yet, for the In View: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003 DVD (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.

In June 2003, Michael Stipe sang an a capella excerpt from the song for a BBC Radio 2 advertisement.[1] 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.[2]

The song was covered by The Fray in 2007 for the compilation album Radio 1: Established 1967.

A live version of this song is included on R.E.M. Live.

Track listing

All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe, except for "The Great Beyond" written by Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe.

Cassette / US CD

  1. "The Great Beyond" (Radio Edit) – 4:14
  2. "Man on the Moon"[3] – 5:24

UK CD

  1. "The Great Beyond" (Radio Edit) – 4:14
  2. "Everybody Hurts" (Live)[3] – 6:20
  3. "The One I Love" (Live)[3] – 3:10

Maxi-CD

  1. "The Great Beyond" (Radio Edit) – 4:14
  2. "The One I Love" (Live)[3] – 3:10
  3. "Everybody Hurts" (Live)[3] – 6:20
  4. "Man on the Moon" (Live)[3] – 5:24

Charts

Chart (1999–2000) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[4] 25
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[5] 16
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[6] 46
Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[7] 4
Germany (Official German Charts)[8] 56
Ireland (IRMA)[9] 6
Italy (FIMI)[10] 3
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11] 91
Norway (VG-lista)[12] 8
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[13] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[14] 52
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 72
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[16] 3
US Billboard Hot 100[17] 57
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[18] 1
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[19] 13
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[20] 11
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[21] 33

References

  1. ↑ "Radio 2 TV ads reflect its unique positioning" – www.campaignlive.com
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-01-06. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Recorded at the Glastonbury Festival, Somerset, England; June 25, 1999
  4. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – R.E.M. – The Great Beyond". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9723." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  6. ↑ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 9751." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  7. ↑ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 10022." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  8. ↑ "Musicline.de – R.E.M. Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  9. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Great Beyond". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  10. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – R.E.M. – The Great Beyond". Top Digital Download. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – R.E.M. – The Great Beyond" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – R.E.M. – The Great Beyond". VG-lista. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – R.E.M. – The Great Beyond". Singles Top 100. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – R.E.M. – The Great Beyond". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  17. ↑ "R.E.M. Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  18. ↑ "R.E.M. Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  19. ↑ "R.E.M. Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  20. ↑ "R.E.M. Chart History (Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  21. ↑ "R.E.M. Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
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