History Music / OutOfTime

The album produced four singles: "Losing My Religion", "Shiny Happy People", "Near Wild Heaven", and "Radio Song". The first of those was a particular surprise success: peaking at No. 4 on the Hot 100, it was their highest-charting single up to that point, and in hindsight its success acted as a precursor to the boom in popularity alternative rock as a whole would see later that year with Music/{{Nirvana}}'s [[Music/{{Nevermind}} "Smells Like Teen Spirit"]]. ''Out of Time'' was also supported by the video album ''This Film Is On'', containing music videos for the aforementioned singles, "Low", "Belong", "Half a World Away", and "Country Feedback", plus supporting live shows.

* CreatorProvincialism: "Losing My Religion" comes from a figure of speech for a loss of temper, only really used in the southern United States, including the band's native Georgia. The band didn't realize that the majority of the English-speaking world would be having to guess what they were on about (and therefore make incorrect assumptions, usually by taking the tile literally and mistaking it for a ReligionRantSong).

** "Low", a minor-key song with gloomy lyrics and muttered, droning vocals.

[[caption-width-right:350:''That was just a dream; that's me in the corner\\
That's me in the spotlight losing my religion'']]

* RadioSong: Take a wild guess.

* PrecisionFStrike: Michael Stipe lets out an f-bomb on "Country Feedback", the only instance of any heavy swearing on the entire album.

** While no official confirmation regarding the song's meaning, "Shiny Happy People" is frequently interpreted as a parody of Chinese propaganda; note that the song and album were released roughly two years after the Tiananmen Square massacre.

* NewSoundAlbum: ''Out of Time'' continues the trend of each R.E.M. album noticeably deviating from the last; in this case, the main change is the more uptempo and poppier composition style, a marked contrast from the harsh ProtestSong direction of ''Music/{{Document}}'' and ''Music/{{Green}}''. The band also ramp up the CountryMusic influences, with songs like "Country Feedback" outright veering into alternative country territory; this element would continue into their following material, especially ''Music/AutomaticForThePeople'' and a significant portion of ''Music/NewAdventuresInHiFi''.

* ShoutOut: The riff during the chorus in "Radio Song" quotes Music/DavidBowie's [[Music/YoungAmericans "Fame"]].

* NotChristianRock: Despite its name, "Losing My Religion" has nothing to do with actual religion; the title is a southern U.S. idiom for losing one's composure, and is meant to tie in with the ObsessionSong lyrics.

[[caption-width-right:350:''"That's me in the corner; that's me in the spotlight..."'']]

[[caption-width-right:350:''But that was just a dream\\
That was just a dream; that's me in the corner'']]

[[caption-width-right:350:''"That was just a dream."'']]

The album produced four singles: "Losing My Religion", "Shiny Happy People", "Near Wild Heaven", and "Radio Song". The first of those was a particular surprise success: peaking at No. 4 on the Hot 100, it was their highest-charting single up to that point, and in hindsight its success acted as a precursor to the boom in popularity alternative rock as a whole would see later that year with Music/{{Nirvana}}'s [[Music/{{Nevermind}} "Smells Like Teen Spirit"]].

* CreatorProvincialism: "Losing My Religion" comes from a figure of speech for a loss of temper, only really used in the southern United States, including the band's native Georgia. The band didn't realize that the majority of the English-speaking world would be having to guess what they were on about (and therefore make incorrect assumptions, usually by taking the tile literally).

* InTheStyleOf: According to Peter Buck, "Near Wild Heaven" was written as a pastiche of Music/TheBeachBoys, being put together on the heels of Creator/CapitolRecords' CompilationRerelease [=CDs=] in 1990. Buck specifically mentions having been listening copiously to the ''Music/SmileySmile''[=/=]''Music/WildHoney'' combo CD during the recording sessions.

* SpecialGuest: [[Music/TheB52s Kate Pierson,]] who provides backing vocals on "Near Wild Heaven", "Shiny Happy People", and "Me in Honey".

* InTheStyleOf: According to Peter Buck, "Near Wild Heaven" was written as a pastiche of Music/TheBeachBoys, being written on the heels of Creator/CapitolRecords' CompilationRerelease [=CDs=] in 1990. Buck specifically mentions having been listening copiously to the ''Music/SmileySmile''[=/=]''Music/WildHoney'' combo CD during the recording sessions.

The second album of their Warner contract, it was their BreakthroughHit, catapulting the Georgia AlternativeRock band from a cult hit to a household name worldwide. The success was not a complete surprise; their 1987 single [[Music/{{Document}} "The One I Love"]] had already been their first to crack the mainstream music listening market, their shift to Warner Bros. in 1988 allowed ''Music/{{Green}}'' to see much greater distribution both at home and abroad than the I.R.S.-era albums, and the band's massive 1989 world tour allowed them to build up an international fanbase as well as a domestic one. Everything had come together for R.E.M. over the past four years; it was ''Out of Time'' that served as the final catalyst.

Musically, ''Out of Time'' marks a shift to a much poppier sound than previous albums, shifting away from the hard rock-influenced style of ''Document'' and ''Green'' in favor of returning to the band's earlier, jangly sound in addition to featuring greater use of acoustic guitars, mandolins, and organs. Combined with the shift away from the sociopolitical lyricism of their late 80's output in favor of a more introspective lyrical direction, the album both serves as a more accessible take on R.E.M.'s SignatureStyle and acts as a prelude to the brooding, acoustic sound of ''Music/AutomaticForThePeople'' a year later.

That accessibility paid off: the album stayed on the Billboard charts for 109 consecutive weeks, topping the charts twice during this time, and has sold over 18 million copies worldwide by the time of this writing. The album additionally topped the charts in the UK, Austria, Canada, the Netherlands, France, and Italy, going on to become the best-selling album of 1991 in Canada and the eleventh best-selling in the US, additionally being the 50th best-selling album of 1992 in the latter country. It would later be certified septuple-platinum in Canada, quintuple-platinum in the UK and Spain, quadruple-platinum in the US, double-platinum in Australia, France, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, platinum in Austria, quintuple-gold in Germany, and gold in Argentina, Brazil, New Zealand, and Sweden. ''Out of Time'' also won the 1992 Grammy award for Best Alternative Album, with two more being picked up by "Losing My Religion" (Best Short Form Music Video and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal).

''Out of Time'' is most famously known for its lead single, "Losing My Religion", whose surprise success (peaking at ''No. 4'' on the Billboard Hot 100, higher than any of their previous singles up to that point) can be considered in hindsight to be a precursor to the boom in popularity alternative rock as a whole would see later that year with Music/{{Nirvana}}'s [[Music/{{Nevermind}} "Smells Like Teen Spirit"]]. The album's ''other'' most notable song, "Shiny Happy People", is best remembered for the band's [[OldShame sheer]] [[CreatorBacklash hatred]] of it.

The album produced four singles: "Losing My Religion", "Shiny Happy People", "Near Wild Heaven", and "Radio Song".

* AWildRapperAppears: Music/KRSOne gets a verse at the end of "Radio Song", throughout which he also interjects.

* ColorMotif: This album continues the band's association with the color yellow; not only is the logo on the front color and CD label yellow, but the background on said cover has a yellow tint to it, the copyright information on the CD label is yellow, and several images on the foldout liner notes incorporate heavy use of yellow tones.

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* WholePlotReference: The music video for "Losing My Religion" is one for the Gabriel García Márquez short story "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings".

That accessibility paid off: the album stayed on the Billboard charts for 109 consecutive weeks, topping the charts twice during this time, and has sold over 18 million copies worldwide by the time of this writing. The album additionally topped the charts in the UK, Austria, Canada, the Netherlands, France, and Italy, going on to become the best-selling album of 1991 in Canada and the eleventh best-selling in the US, additionally being the 50th best-selling album of 1992 in the latter country. It would later be certified septuple-platinum in Canada, quintuple-platinum in the UK and Spain, quadruple-platinum in the US, double-platinum in Australia, France, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, platinum in Austria, quintuple-gold in Germany, and gold in Argentina, Brazil, New Zealand, and Sweden. ''Out of Time'' also won the 1992 Grammy award for Best Alternative Album, with two more being picked up by "Losing My Religion" (Best Short Form Music Video and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal). In addition to its major commercial success, the album was well-received by critics and fans (barring the minority who believed that the band had sold out in 1988): along with ''Music/{{Murmur}}'', ''Document'', ''Green'', ''Automatic for the People'', and ''Music/NewAdventuresInHiFi'', it is frequently considered one of the band's greatest albums, with some even ranking it as their absolute best. The album would go on to be featured on ''Magazine/TimeMagazine''[='s=] [[Main/TimeAllTime100Albums "All Time 100 Albums"]] list in 2006, and would be ranked at No. 350 on the 2020 edition of ''WebSite/AcclaimedMusic''[='s=] [[UsefulNotes/AcclaimedMusicAllTimeTopAlbums dynamic list]] of the 3000 most critically lauded albums.

* NotableMusicVideos: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwtdhWltSIg The critically-acclaimed video]] for "Losing My Religion", to the point where it snagged R.E.M. a Grammy.

That accessibility paid off: the album stayed on the Billboard charts for 109 consecutive weeks, topping the charts twice during this time, and has sold over 18 million copies worldwide by the time of this writing. The album additionally topped the charts in the UK, Austria, Canada, the Netherlands, France, and Italy, going on to become the best-selling album of 1991 in Canada and the eleventh best-selling in the US, additionally being the 50th best-selling album of 1992 in the latter country. It would later be certified septuple-platinum in Canada, quintuple-platinum in the UK and Spain, quadruple-platinum in the US, double-platinum in Australia, France, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, platinum in Austria, quintuple-gold in Germany, and gold in Argentina, Brazil, New Zealand, and Sweden.

''Out of Time'' is most famously known for its lead single, "Losing My Religion", whose surprise success (peaking at ''No. 4'' on the Billboard Hot 100, higher than any of their previous singles up to that point) can be considered in hindsight to be a precursor to the boom in popularity alternative rock as a whole would see later that year with Music/{{Nirvana}}'s [[Music/{{Nevermind}} "Smells Like Teen Spirit"]].