Eviscerate Your Memory: R.E.M.'s "You Are the Everything"

The Rock Turtleneck/R.E.M. countdown has gained momentum
#3: “You Are the Everything”

In “You Are the Everything” from R.E.M.’s major-label debut Green, RT honoree J.M. Stipe asks you, the listener, to “eviscerate your memory.” And in one fell swoop, R.E.M. expands our vocabularies and our horizons.

“Eviscerate” means to disembowel or surgically remove. He is asking us to retrieve the memories that are deep and distant, in this case the time before the NHTSA began regulating child safety seats:

Here’s a scene:
You’re in the backseat, laying down
The windows wrap around to the sound of the travel and the engine
All you hear is time stand still in travel
You feel such peace and absolute stillness still
That doesn’t end but slowly drifts into sleep
The stars are the greatest thing you’ve ever seen
And they’re there for you
For you alone, you are the everything

While an academic type like Sting would use the contemplation of the heavens to remind us of our insignificance, Stipe instead uses it as an affirmation of our connectedness. It is easy to see why he has become the spokesman for sensitive souls everywhere.

“You Are the Everything” was a breakthrough for the band musically as well. In an effort to keep things fresh after five brilliant but relatively straightforward rock albums, the band members began switching instruments. Guitarist Peter Buck began playing mandolin, bassist Mike Mills took up the accordion, and Bill Berry switched from drums to bass. The resulting sound recalled the pastoral country rock of fellow instrument whores The Band.

Though a tad uneven,Green captured the band in transition from alternative darlings to the mainstream stars they would become with Out of Time. The title was a nod to the band’s eco-friendliness, the big dough they were now making as part of the Warner Bros. stable, and perhaps even the faux naivete of songs like “You Are the Everything,” “Hairshirt,” "Stand" and the wonderful, untitled track 11. The cover was orange.

Herewith, an unfortunately short 1991 clip of R.E.M. playing “You Are the Everything,” followed by the studio and live versions of the tune. And for comparison and contrast, “Rockin’ Chair” by the Band, from their magnificent, eponymous second album.

YouTube: R.E.M. “You Are the Everything” (Holland 1991, Out of Time promotional tour)


mp3: R.E.M., “You Are the Everything,” Green
mp3: R.E.M., “You Are the Everything,” live in Miami, 1989

mp3: The Band, “Rockin’ Chair,” The Band