Talk About the Passion

Song by R.E.M

"Talk About the Passion"

Single by R.E.M.
from the album  Murmur
Released| November 14, 1983 (1983-11-14)
Recorded| 1983
Studio| Reflection (Charlotte)
Genre|

* Folk rock[1]
* jangle pop[2]

Length| 3:23
Label| I.R.S
Songwriter(s)|

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

Producer(s)|

* Don Dixon
* Mitch Easter

R.E.M. singles chronology
| "Radio Free Europe"
(1983)  | "Talk About the Passion"
(1983)  | "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)"
(1984)

|
|

"Talk About the Passion" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released as the second single released from its debut album Murmur in 1983. It was released in Europe only, on 12" vinyl. This song failed to follow up on the success of "Radio Free Europe" released earlier in the year, as it did not chart. A live performance at Larry's Hideaway, Toronto, Canada, from July 9, 1983, was released on the 2008 Deluxe Edition reissue of Murmur.

Michael Stipe has stated that "Talk About the Passion" was a song about hunger, but the lyrics were not clear enough, with the only direct reference in the song being to "empty mouths".[3] The video, made in 1988 and featured on the compilations Pop Screen and When the Light Is Mine, made this meaning of the song more explicit by showing images of homeless people and images of an aircraft carrier, ending with the caption, "in 1987 the cost of one destroyer-class warship was 910 million dollars."

An uncredited female cellist plays on the song. "This woman from Charlotte who played in the Symphony down there who somebody at the studio knew," said the album's co-producer Mitch Easter.[4]

In the liner notes to the compilation album Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982-2011, Mike Mills wrote that the guitar solo to this song was played by himself, guitarist Peter Buck and producers Easter and Don Dixon on multiple acoustic guitars.[5]

Buck said: "We'd never played it all the way through before. It was just a rehearsal take, and Mitch Easter said, 'That's fine.'"[4]

The song was included on R.E.M.'s first I.R.S. Records greatest-hits album, Eponymous, and released as the only single from that album in 1988.

## Track listing

[edit]

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

1. "Talk About the Passion" – 3:24
2. "Shaking Through" – 4:30
3. "Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars)" – 3:55
4. "1,000,000" – 3:07

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Yates, Henry (June 12, 2019). "How to buy the very best of R.E.M." Classic Rock Magazine. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
2. ^ Peake, Steve. "The Top 10 R.E.M. Songs of the '80s". LiveAbout. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
3. ^ Bowler, Dave; Dray, Bryan (1995). R.E.M. From "Chronic Town" to "Monster". Secaucus, NJ: Carol Publishing Group. p. 61. ISBN 0-8065-1724-7.
4. ^ a b Hogan, Peter (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of R.E.M. Omnibus Press. p. 7\. ISBN 0-7119-4901-8.
5. ^ Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982-2011 (Media notes). R.E.M. Warner Records. 2011.`{{cite AV media notes}}`: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

* 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 work
* MusicBrainz release group

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