Ignoreland - Wikiwand

Song by R.E.M

ReleasedOctober 5, 1992 (1992-10-05)

Alternative rock
glam metal^[1]

Length4:24

"Ignoreland"
Promotional CD single
Promotional single by R.E.M.
from the album Automatic for the People
Released	October 5, 1992 (1992-10-05)
Genre	Alternative rock glam metal^[1]
Length	4:24
Label	Warner Bros.
Songwriters	Michael Stipe Peter Buck Mike Mills Bill Berry
Producers	Scott Litt R.E.M.

"Ignoreland" is the eighth track from R.E.M.'s studio album Automatic for the People. The song was only released as a promo single, but had chart positions on the Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts. "Ignoreland" is the sixth song by R.E.M. to be released as a promo single while having a chart position. The previous song unreleased with a chart position by the band was a cover of Leonard Cohen's "First We Take Manhattan", which was released as a B-side to "Drive".

The song's lyrical content is explicitly political, referring to the conditions of the United States during the Presidencies of Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush.

Mike Mills said: "Michael's rolling against Republican politics. The opening line is, 'These bastards stole all the power from the victims of the us v. them years / wrecking all things virtuous and true'. And the last verse is really great – 'I know that this is vitriol, no solution, spleen-venting / But I feel better having screamed. Don't you?' It's really great."^[2]

"You need headphones to get all the words, but they're understandable," said Peter Buck. "Michael's singing through an amp on that. He wanted to get that cold anger in his voice that you get with natural distortion. And the song is written in Neil Young's tuning. Not that he owns it. But the Es are tuned down to D, like in 'Cinnamon Girl'. I admit it, he's the one I learned that tuning from."^[2]

The song made its live debut almost 16 years after its album release at the opening show for the band's final tour Accelerate in Vancouver, British Columbia, on May 23, 2008.^[3]^[4]

The song has been described by Matt Neal as "hair metal-ish".^[1]

Charts

Chart (1993)	Peak position
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)^[5]	5
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)^[6]	4

References

1 2 Neal, Matt (28 September 2011). "R.E.M." The Standard. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
1 2 Melody Maker, 1992
↑ Amrit Singh (May 27, 2008). "R.E.M. Kick Off Tour In Vancouver With Some Rarities". stereogum.
↑ "Vancouver Sun reviews opening night (setlist)". remhq.com. 24 May 2008.
↑ "R.E.M. Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
↑ "R.E.M. Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2020.

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 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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