Electrolite

1996 single by R.E.M.

This article is about the R.E.M. song. For the ionic solution, see electrolyte.

"Electrolite"

Single by R.E.M.
from the album  New Adventures in Hi-Fi
B-side| "The Wake-Up Bomb" (Live), "Binky the Doormat" (Live), "King of Comedy" (808 State remix)
Released| December 2, 1996 (1996-12-02)
Recorded| Soundcheck at the Desert Sky Mall in Phoenix, United States on November 4, 1995
Genre|

* Folk pop
* jangle pop

Length| 4:05
Label| Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)|

* Bill Berry
* Peter Buck
* Mike Mills
* Michael Stipe

Producer(s)|

* Scott Litt
* R.E.M.

R.E.M. singles chronology
| "Bittersweet Me"
(1996)  | "Electrolite"
(1996)  | "How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us"
(1997)

|
|

Music video
"Electrolite" on YouTube

"Electrolite" is a song by American rock band R.E.M., released as their third single and closing track from their tenth studio album, New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996). The song is a piano-based ballad to Los Angeles, Hollywood icons and the closing 20th century. Initially, Michael Stipe objected to including the song on the album, but was won over by Peter Buck and Mike Mills. It has since become one of his favorite R.E.M. songs as well as one of Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke's;[1] Radiohead has covered the song.[2]

The single was released by Warner Bros. on December 2, 1996, in the United Kingdom and on February 2, 1997, in the United States. Commercially, "Electrolite" reached the top 40 in Canada, Finland, Iceland and the United Kingdom but stalled at number 96 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The single's music video, directed by Peter Care and Spike Jonze, "involved dune buggies, crazy costumes, and rubber reindeer."[3]

## Composition[edit]

Los Angeles at night, as viewed from Mulholland Drive

The piano line for the song was originally written by Mills in his apartment before bringing it to the band.[4] The lyrics were composed by Stipe about the two-year period he spent living in Santa Monica and the trips he would take to people-watch on Mulholland Drive.[5] During a June 21, 2008 performance in Atlanta, Georgia, Stipe mentioned that he was inspired to write the song after the 1994 Northridge earthquake. He told the audience that his home in L.A. was badly damaged and he went up Mulholland Drive and watched the lights from the city at night; he called the view an "electrolyte blanket" around the city.[6]

Rolling Stone writer Mark Kemp called the song a "a simple, folk-based pop song fueled by R.E.M.’s soothingly familiar guitar jangle."[7]

Like most of New Adventures in Hi-Fi, this song was recorded while on tour promoting Monster. This song was recorded by Joe O'Herlihy, Scott Litt, and Jo Ravitch during a soundcheck before their November 4, 1995 show in Phoenix, Arizona's Desert Sky Pavilion, after rehearsing it at John Keane's studio in Athens, Georgia.[6] Most of the final track's instrumentation is made up of this live soundcheck performance, with minimal studio overdubbing; Stipe added his vocals at Bad Animal Studios in Seattle after the tour concluded.[6] Stipe initially did not want to include the song on the album, but was persuaded to by his bandmates.[6]

### Lyrical content[edit]

In June 2006, the website of the Los Angeles Times featured an article on Mulholland Drive[8] including excerpts from an essay Stipe wrote[9] about the 55-mile-long (90 km) highway:

"Mulholland represents to me the iconic 'from on high' vantage point looking down at L.A. and the valley at night when the lights are all sparkling and the city looks, like it does from a plane, like a blanket of fine lights all shimmering and solid. I really wanted to write a farewell song to the 20th century.

20th century go to sleep.
Really deep.
We won't blink.

"And nowhere seemed more perfect than the city that came into its own throughout the 20th century, but always looking forward and driven by ideas of a greater future, at whatever cost.

"Los Angeles.

"I name check three of the great legends of that single industry 'town,' as it likes to refer to itself. In order: James Dean, Steve McQueen, Martin Sheen. All iconic, all representing different aspects of masculinity—a key feature of 20th century ideology. It is the push me-pull you of a culture drawing on mid-century ideas of society, butt up against and in a great tug-of-war with modernism/rebirth/epiphany/futurism, wiping out all that that came before to be replaced by something 'better,' more civilized, more tolerant, fair, open, and so on ... [see 'reagan,' 'soylent green,' 'bladerunner,' current gubernatorial debates]

"The 'really deep' in the lyric is, of course, self-deprecating towards attempting at all, in a pop song, to communicate any level of depth or real insight.
"Mulholland is the place in films where you get a distance, and the awe, of the city built on dreams and fantasy. Far away enough to not smell it but to marvel at its intensity and sheer audacity. Kinda great.

"The title of the song came from flying into L.A. and/or seeing it from on high and it looking like a blanket of stars or those bizarre sea creatures that light up when you stir up the water. How I got 'electrolite' out of that I don't know, I still can't think of the word I was going for, but it is actually called 'phosphorescence' or 'bioluminescence.' I thought it was 'electro'- something, so I just used light/lyte, giving it the 'lite' of modern fad diet language."

During R.E.M.'s performance on VH1 Storytellers, Stipe introduced the song by saying:

> "I had a dentist in Los Angeles, who was also a dentist to Martin Sheen, and Martin Sheen was in the dentist's chair, getting his tooth drilled, when I went up to him and said, 'We have a record coming out in a couple of weeks and you're mentioned in one of the songs, and I just want you to know that it's honoring you; I don't want you to think that we're making fun of you.' And he was saying [impression of Sheen speaking with the dentist working on his mouth] 'Thank you very much!'. He was very nice about it."

## Critical reception[edit]

Paul Lester from Melody Maker wrote that "the cello-plaintive" song "is fine".[10]

## Track listing[edit]

All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe.

1. "Electrolite" – 4:05
2. "The Wake-Up Bomb" (Live) – 5:07
3. "Binky the Doormat" (Live) – 5:01
4. "King of Comedy" (808 State remix) – 5:36

Live tracks were recorded at the Omni Coliseum, Atlanta Georgia on November 18, 1995. Taken from the live performance video, Road Movie.

### Live versions[edit]

June 8, 1997, New York City

* Mike Mills – drum machine, piano
* Michael Stipe – vocals

October 27, 1998, London

* Peter Buck – guitar
* Scott McCaughey – keyboards
* Mike Mills – piano
* Michael Stipe – vocals
* Ken Stringfellow – bass guitar
* Joey Waronker – drums, percussion

July 19, 2003, Wiesbaden

* Peter Buck – banjo
* Scott McCaughey – guitar
* Mike Mills – piano
* Bill Rieflin – drums
* Michael Stipe – vocals
* Ken Stringfellow – bass guitar

October 7, 2003, New York City

* Peter Buck – guitar
* Scott McCaughey – keyboards
* Mike Mills – piano
* Bill Rieflin – drums, percussion
* Michael Stipe – vocals
* Ken Stringfellow – banjo

June 30 – July 5, 2007, Dublin

* Peter Buck – guitar
* Scott McCaughey – keyboards
* Mike Mills – piano
* Bill Rieflin – drums, percussion
* Michael Stipe – vocals

March 13, 2008, Austin

* Peter Buck – guitar
* Scott McCaughey – bass guitar
* Mike Mills – piano
* Bill Rieflin – drums, percussion
* Michael Stipe – vocals

## Personnel[edit]

R.E.M. performing "Electrolite" at the 1998 Rockpalast festival. Left to right: Mike Mills, Ken Stringfellow, Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Joey Waronker, Scott McCaughey.

"Electrolite"

* Bill Berry – drums, percussion
* Peter Buck – banjo, guitar
* Andy Carlson – violin
* Nathan December – guiro
* Mike Mills – piano, bass guitar
* Michael Stipe – vocals

"The Wake-Up Bomb" (Live)

* Bill Berry – drums
* Peter Buck – guitar
* Nathan December – guitar
* Scott McCaughey – guitar, keyboards
* Mike Mills – bass guitar, vocals
* Michael Stipe – vocals

"Binky the Doormat" (Live)

* Bill Berry – drums
* Peter Buck – guitar
* Nathan December – guitar
* Scott McCaughey – guitar, keyboards
* Mike Mills – bass guitar, vocals
* Michael Stipe – vocals

"King of Comedy" (808 State Remix)

* Bill Berry – drums
* Peter Buck – guitar
* Sally Dworsky – background vocals
* Mike Mills – bass guitar, vocals
* Michael Stipe – vocals

## Charts[edit]

### Weekly charts[edit]

| Chart (1996–1997)  | Peak
position

|

Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[11] | 19
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[12] | 24
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[13] | 20
Germany (Official German Charts)[14] | 83
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[15] | 5
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] | 92
Scotland (OCC)[17] | 20
UK Singles (OCC)[18] | 29
US Billboard Hot 100[19] | 96
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[20] | 5

### Year-end charts[edit]

| Chart (1997)  | Position

|

Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[21] | 58

## Release history[edit]

"Electrolite" was released as a single on 7-inch and 12-inch vinyl, cassette, and two-track and maxi-CD singles. The 7-inch, cassette, and two-track CD releases only contain "Electrolite" and "The Wake-Up Bomb" (Live).

Region  | Date  | Label  | Format  | Catalog

|
|
|
|

United Kingdom  | December 2, 1996[22] | Warner Bros. | CD  | WO383CD
United Kingdom  | December 2, 1996[22] | Warner Bros.  | Maxi-CD  | W0383CDX
United Kingdom  | December 2, 1996[22] | Warner Bros.  | Cassette  | W0383C
Germany  | December 1996  | Warner Bros.  | Maxi-CD  | W0383CD
United States  | February 4, 1997  | Warner Bros.  | Promo one-track CD  | PRO-CD-8575
United States  | February 4, 1997  | Warner Bros.  | 7-inch record  | 7‒17446
United States  | February 4, 1997  | Warner Bros.  | Maxi-CD  | 9 43810‒2
United States  | February 4, 1997  | Warner Bros.  | 12-inch record  | 9 43810‒0
United States  | February 4, 1997  | Warner Bros.  | Cassette  | 9 17445‒4
Japan  | February 10, 1997[23] | Warner Bros.  | Maxi-CD  | WPCR 966
Australia  | February 1997  | Warner Bros.  | Maxi-CD  | 5439174464
Australia  | February 1997  | Warner Bros.  | Cassette  | 5439174464
Japan  | October 26, 1998[24] | Warner Bros.  | Maxi-CD  | WPCR-2182
United States  | February 1999  | Warner Bros.  | Two-track CD  | 9 17446‒2

The song was included in R.E.M.'s Warner Brothers greatest-hits compilation In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003. The music video appears on the accompanying DVD In View: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003.

The public debut of the song was performed by Mills and Stipe on June 8, 1997 in New York City for the Tibetan Freedom Concert and released on Tibetan Freedom Concert. Another version recorded on October 27, 1998 for Later with Jools Holland in the BBC Television Centre in London was released as a b-side to "Suspicion" with a recording of "Man on the Moon" from the same performance. The July 19, 2003 performance also appears on the Perfect Square DVD. A version recorded live in-studio at Clinton Studios in New York City on October 7, 2003 was included in the promotional disc A Joyful Noise – In Time with R.E.M.; the promo includes several other songs from that session. R.E.M.'s performance from their 2005 Dublin rehearsals was released on the live album Live at The Olympia and their 2008 performance from Austin City Limits appears on R.E.M. Live from Austin, TX.

"Suspicion" single

Region  | Date  | Label  | Format  | Catalog

|
|
|
|

Germany  | June 1999  | Warner Bros.  | Maxi-CD  | 9362‒44717‒2

A Joyful Noise – In Time with R.E.M.

Region  | Date  | Label  | Format  | Catalog

|
|
|
|

United States  | 2003  | Warner Bros.  | Promotional CD  | PRO-CD-101236

## References[edit]

1. ^ "R.E.M. interview". The Big Takedown. June 2008.
2. ^ Craig Rosen (August 26, 2008). "Concert review: Radiohead casts hypnotic spell". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on May 31, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2008.
3. ^ Craig Rosen. (1997). R.E.M. Inside Out: The Stories Behind Every Song. Da Capo Press. ISBN 1-56025-177-8.
4. ^ Caro, Mark (June 30, 2008). "Mike Mills reveals R.E.M.'s songwriting process, sort of". Chicago Tribune.
5. ^ "R.E.M. - Electrolite w/intro — live Hollywood Bowl 5/29/08". R.E.M. May 29, 2008. Archived from the original on January 2, 2009. Retrieved August 24, 2008.
6. ^ a b c d Thomson, Graeme (December 2021). "The Making Of... Electrolite". Uncut. pp. 86–87. ISSN 1368-0722.
7. ^ Kemp, Mark (September 19, 1996). "New Adventures in Hi-Fi". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
8. ^ Thomas Curwen (June 21, 2006). "'If you ever want to fly...'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 24, 2008.
9. ^ Michael Stipe (June 22, 2006). "06.22.06 MICHAEL ON MULHOLLAND DRIVE". R.E.M. Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved August 24, 2008.
10. ^ Lester, Paul (August 31, 1996). "Albums". Melody Maker. p. 42. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
11. ^ "R.E.M. – Electrolite" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
12. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3190." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
13. ^ "R.E.M.: Electrolite" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
14. ^ "R.E.M. – Electrolite" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
15. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (20.2. '97 – 26.2. '97)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). February 21, 1997. p. 16. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
16. ^ "R.E.M. – Electrolite" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
17. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
18. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
19. ^ "R.E.M. Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
20. ^ "R.E.M. Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
21. ^ "Árslistinn 1997 – Íslenski Listinn – 100 Vinsælustu Lögin". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 2, 1998. p. 25. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
22. ^ a b c "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. November 30, 1996. p. 45.
23. ^ "エレクトロライト | R.E.M." [Electrolite | R.E.M.] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
24. ^ "エレクトロライト | R.E.M." [Electrolite | R.E.M.] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 29, 2023.

## External links[edit]

* Lyrics from R.E.M. HQ
* Full video on R.E.M. HQ's YouTube channel

* v
* t
* e

R.E.M.

* Bill Berry
* Peter Buck
* Mike Mills
* Michael Stipe
* Bertis Downs
* Jefferson Holt

Studio albums|

* Murmur
* Reckoning
* Fables of the Reconstruction
* Lifes Rich Pageant
* Document
* Green
* Out of Time
* Automatic for the People
* Monster
* New Adventures in Hi-Fi
* Up
* Reveal
* Around the Sun
* Accelerate
* Collapse into Now

Live albums|

* R.E.M. Live
* Live at The Olympia
* Unplugged: The Complete 1991 and 2001 Sessions
* R.E.M. at the BBC
* Live at the Borderline 1991

Compilations|

* Dead Letter Office
* Eponymous
* The Best of R.E.M.
* The Automatic Box
* Singles Collected
* In the Attic
* In Time
* iTunes Originals
* And I Feel Fine
* Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011
* Complete Rarities (I.R.S. · WB)
* 7IN—83–88

EPs|

* Chronic Town
* Not Bad for No Tour
* Vancouver Rehearsal Tapes
* Live from London
* Reckoning Songs from The Olympia

Other albums|

* Man on the Moon
* r.e.m.IX

Singles|

* "Radio Free Europe"
* "Talk About the Passion"
* "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)"
* "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville"
* "Cant Get There from Here"
* "Driver 8"
* "Wendell Gee"
* "Fall on Me"
* "Superman"
* "The One I Love"
* "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"
* "Finest Worksong"
* "Orange Crush"
* "Stand"
* "Pop Song 89"
* "Get Up"
* "Losing My Religion"
* "Shiny Happy People"
* "Near Wild Heaven"
* "Radio Song"
* "Drive"
* "Man on the Moon"
* "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite"
* "Everybody Hurts"
* "Nightswimming"
* "Find the River"
* "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?"
* "Bang and Blame"
* "Crush with Eyeliner"
* "Strange Currencies"
* "Tongue"
* "E-Bow the Letter"
* "Bittersweet Me"
* "Electrolite"
* "How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us"
* "Daysleeper"
* "Lotus"
* "At My Most Beautiful"
* "Suspicion"
* "The Great Beyond"
* "Imitation of Life"
* "All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)"
* "I'll Take the Rain"
* "Bad Day"
* "Animal"
* "Leaving New York"
* "Aftermath"
* "Electron Blue"
* "Wanderlust"
* "#9 Dream"
* "Supernatural Superserious"
* "Hollow Man"
* "Man-Sized Wreath"
* "Until the Day Is Done"
* "Mine Smell Like Honey"
* "Überlin"
* "Oh My Heart"
* "We All Go Back to Where We Belong"

Other songs|

* "Sitting Still"
* "Gardening at Night"
* "Perfect Circle"
* "Pretty Persuasion"
* "7 Chinese Bros."
* "Begin the Begin"
* "Cuyahoga"
* "Ages of You"
* "Turn You Inside-Out"
* "Texarkana"
* "Country Feedback"
* "First We Take Manhattan"
* "Ignoreland"
* "Dark Globe"
* "Star 69"
* "New Test Leper"
* "All the Right Friends"
* "Out in the Country"

Videos|

* Succumbs
* Tourfilm
* Pop Screen
* This Film Is On
* Parallel
* Road Movie
* In View
* Perfect Square
* When the Light Is Mine
* R.E.M. Live
* Live from Austin, TX
* REMTV

Support and
side projects|

* Nathan December
* Buren Fowler
* Peter Holsapple
* Barrett Martin
* Scott McCaughey
* Bill Rieflin
* Ken Stringfellow
* Joey Waronker
* The Baseball Project
* Filthy Friends
* Hindu Love Gods
* The Minus 5
* Tanzplagen
* Tuatara
* Tired Pony

Related articles|

* Discography
* List of songs
* Awards
* Tours
* 170 College Avenue
* Peter Buck
* Athens Andover
* "I Belong to You"
* Hib-Tone
* Surprise Your Pig: A Tribute to R.E.M.
* Drive XV: A Tribute to Automatic for the People

Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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