Electrolite

"Electrolite" is a song by R.E.M. released as their third single and closing track from their tenth studio album, "New Adventures in Hi-Fi". 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; Radiohead has covered the song.
The single was released 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."
Composition.
The piano line for the song was originally written by Mills in his apartment before bringing it to the band. 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. 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.
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.
Lyrical content.
In June 2006, the website of the "Los Angeles Times" featured an article on Mulholland Drive including excerpts from an essay Stipe wrote about the highway:
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."
Track listing.
All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe.
Live tracks were recorded at the Omni Coliseum, Atlanta Georgia on November 18, 1995. Taken from the live performance video, "Road Movie".
Live versions.
June 8, 1997, New York City
October 27, 1998, London
July 19, 2003, Wiesbaden
October 7, 2003, New York City
June 30 – July 5, 2007, Dublin
March 13, 2008, Austin
Personnel.
"Electrolite"
"The Wake-Up Bomb" (Live)
"Binky the Doormat" (Live)
"King of Comedy" (808 State Remix)
Release history.
"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).
The song was included in R.E.M.'s Warner Brothers greatest-hits compilation '. The music video appears on the accompanying DVD '.
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
A Joyful Noise – In Time with R.E.M.