"Radio Free Europe" by R.E.M.

Birthday wishes go out to Mike Mills, bass player for R.E.M.

Radio Free Europe was R.E.M.'s first single, released on the independent Hib-Tone label in 1981; it was later re-recorded and used on their 1983 debut album Murmur, which was released by I.R.S. Records.
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"Man On The Moon" by REM

I've decided to do the expected thing here and post REM's Man on the Moon. Although the song is ostensibly about Andy Kaufman, Kaufman was a known moon landing skeptic (in addition to having one of those 'out of this world' imaginations) which is where the title gets it dual meaning; the song was not only featured in Miloš Forman's biopic of Kaufman, but also gave the film its name.

Man in the Moon originally appeared on the band's 1992 album Automatic for the People; the video features black and white footage of Michael Stipe looking the best he ever has under the direction of Peter Care, who filmed the rest of his bandmates - including Bill Berry, Peter Buck, and Mike Mills - in the town of Lancaster in California's Antelope Valley.

This isn't the only time REM were inspired to write a song about an individual, though; their song Monty Got A Raw Deal - about Montgomery Clift - appears on the same album as this one.
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