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Man on the Moon is a song by the band R.E.M. from their 1992 album Automatic for the People. The song makes numerous references to the performer Andy Kaufman, including his Elvis impersonation and work with wrestlers Fred Blassie and Jerry Lawler. The song was released as a single in 1993.
The title, video, and lyrics are a reference to the conspiracy theory that the American moon landing was faked. There have also been rumors that Andy Kaufman faked his death. The lyrics make no direct reference to this or a connection between the two, but they do imply that Kaufman should be seen as having “nothing up his sleeve.”
The song gave its name to a 1999 film Man on the Moon, and was used in the film’s soundtrack.
The song’s video, directed by Peter Care, was shot over three days in the desert, at Lancaster in the Antelope Valley area of California, in October 1992. Care kept a journal of the unusually long planning, filming, and editing process, which was published by Raygun magazine and reprinted in the R.E.M. fan club newsletter. It gave a clear idea of the amount of work, money, and attention-to-detail involved.
In the video, Stipe, attired in a cowboy hat, walks along a desert road. He leaps onto a passing truck, driven by Bill Berry, and hitches a ride to a truck stop where Peter Buck is tending bar and Mike Mills is shooting pool. Berry trades his truck seat for a bar stool, and along with a few of the other customers, sings along during the choruses. After finishing his order of fries, Stipe leaves and walks off into the dusk. In the background on a small television set in the truck stop, various footage of Andy Kaufman can be seen showing.
The title, video, and lyrics are a reference to the conspiracy theory that the American moon landing was faked. There have also been rumors that Andy Kaufman faked his death. The lyrics make no direct reference to this or a connection between the two, but they do imply that Kaufman should be seen as having “nothing up his sleeve.”
The song gave its name to a 1999 film Man on the Moon, and was used in the film’s soundtrack.
The song’s video, directed by Peter Care, was shot over three days in the desert, at Lancaster in the Antelope Valley area of California, in October 1992. Care kept a journal of the unusually long planning, filming, and editing process, which was published by Raygun magazine and reprinted in the R.E.M. fan club newsletter. It gave a clear idea of the amount of work, money, and attention-to-detail involved.
In the video, Stipe, attired in a cowboy hat, walks along a desert road. He leaps onto a passing truck, driven by Bill Berry, and hitches a ride to a truck stop where Peter Buck is tending bar and Mike Mills is shooting pool. Berry trades his truck seat for a bar stool, and along with a few of the other customers, sings along during the choruses. After finishing his order of fries, Stipe leaves and walks off into the dusk. In the background on a small television set in the truck stop, various footage of Andy Kaufman can be seen showing.
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Added by phoben
Final few seconds of their millennium stadium concert on 10 july 2005.Poor sound+vision but still a good memory.
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Albums featuring this track
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Shouts
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wtfnaj wrote:
man on the mooooooooon
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Spark_and_Spark wrote:
I forget too often how enjoyable it is to listen to this song.
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TotoMelua wrote:
Simply sensational....
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maxahasveros wrote:
my favourite from r.e.m.
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tmanrocker wrote:
best rem song
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xXxzelkxXx wrote:
love REM
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PrettyStar wrote:
song of my life
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cringeworthy wrote:
sounds like the BEST. ever.
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popkorna91 wrote:
like the version featured with chris martin)))
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sturminator wrote:
it's all about classy freddie blassie you pencil-neck geeks!
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jennica_med_c wrote:
Absolutely loved the film with Jim Carrey. And this song is beautiful.
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KrazeeCat wrote:
Annie did you hear about this one?
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Terrasidius wrote:
Nice one.
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dontmakemeatrgt wrote:
Absolute classic.
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JerryZola25 wrote:
glad to hear others are playing Risk
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krustywazoo wrote:
Let's play checkers, let's play Risk, yeah yeah yeah yeah!
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gilliananne wrote:
yeah yeah yeah! I like this one. (I'm not sure about the man on the moon though - I suspect that was Hollywood!)
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Porgeface wrote:
Wicked song
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mota3737 wrote:
this is a good song.
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lovelikesummer wrote:
one of my favourites
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Team48Lowes, westheredneck, dobermans_dad and 12 other people loved R.E.M. – Man on the Moon. 3 hours ago
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