Sitting Still
| "Sitting Still" | |
|---|---|
| Single by R.E.M. | |
| A-side | "Radio Free Europe" |
| Released | July 8, 1981 |
| Format | 7" |
| Recorded | April–May 1981 at Drive-In Studios in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States |
| Genre | Alternative rock, folk rock,punk rock |
| Length | 3:07 |
| Label | Hib-Tone |
| Writer(s) | Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe |
| Producer(s) | Mitch Easter |
| "Sitting Still" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| song by R.E.M. from the album Murmur | ||||
| Released | April 12, 1983 | |||
| Recorded | 1983 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, folk rock, punk rock | |||
| Length | 3:17 | |||
| Label | I.R.S. | |||
| Writer(s) | Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe | |||
| Producer(s) | Don Dixon and Mitch Easter | |||
| Murmur track listing | ||||
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"Sitting Still" is a song by R.E.M. that was issued on their first single in 1981 and on their 1983 debut album Murmur.
"Sitting Still" was one of the first songs written by R.E.M., in late 1980, along with "Radio Free Europe" and "Shaking Through."Hib-Tone founder Jonny Hibbert agreed to release "Radio Free Europe" and "Sitting Still" as a single on his label in exchange for the publishing rights. The song was initially recorded on April 15, 1981 and some of Michael Stipe's vocals were re-recorded in May. The single was released on July 8, 1981. The band was able to reacquire the publishing rights in order to issue the two songs on Murmur in 1983. Unlike "Radio Free Europe," which was re-recorded, the version of "Sitting Still" on Murmur is from the same recording made in producer Mitch Easter's garage as the Hib-Tone single. However, some changes were made to the Murmur version, such as slowing down the tape. Also, some out of tune backing vocals were fixed and Mike Mills re-recorded his bass part.
"Sitting Still" reflects R.E.M.'s folk rock influences.Peter Buck's guitar riffs have been compared to those of The Byrds. The song's verses have a call and response structure, with Buck's guitar arpeggios responding to Stipe's vocal line.Allmusic critic Stewart Mason states that this is one of the few R.E.M. songs in which Mills and drummer Bill Berry act as a traditional rhythm section, propelling the song forward together. Mills plays straightforward punk rock-influenced eighth notes, and does not incorporate his typical walking bass lines or "harmonic accents." It is one the band's most straightforward rock songs. Mason calls it "part of the band's statement of purpose" as it gives the message "See, we can play regular pop songs, we just choose not to."
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