I met Micheal Stipe a week ago at my job, and he was the most coolest, chill, kind person. I ended up doing a quick sketch for him after I served him his Decaf Americano and chocolate croissants. Moral of the story, even with all he has achieved and influenced, he still remained a kind and respectful human being.

Im from the uk. At 8 years old, I heard the songs main chorus on the radio when my nan's husband picked me up from school. I was too shy to ask what song it was, but i loved it, and obviously, hearing the chorus, it's unintelligible to try and memorise so I had no way of getting ahold of the song to listen to it again. So for 10 years, it was stuck in my head, I spent years trying to find it. With complete unsuccess. Until 2 weeks ago. I was at my local pub and the song was playing and I had no idea until I heard the main chorus play and I immediately stood up and asked the barstaff what song this was and he didn't know so he checked on what radio station it was playing on and then I saw the title "now playing: the sidewinder sleeps tonite" now I feel like a 10 year old huge weight has been lifted from me.

REM was the reason why I started to study English language....I asked my Englich teacher to translate this song and he was not able to do the whole text..at high school,I remember myself listening the tape ,later CDs with lyrics and dictionary and translate them,because I wanted to understand what that brilliant music was about....that was the time when album Up came out and it was quite diffetent from the previous ones,too many methaphors,hints and stuff like that 🙂 But I never gave up...I had special notebook dedicated to REM 😁 this song has the special meaning to me....I was obsessed with it so much that I recorded it on the whole tape and it was playig all days 😊 my mother hated this song 😁 and the other tape was full of Find the river 🙂 as an adult I understand the words and backgrounds more,of course 😊 this music brings do many memories ❤

Michael Stipe, a voice that will not be repeated!

I believe R.E.M. is one of those legendary bands that will survive the test of time, because their music brings different meanings to individual listeners.

Probably one of the best songs ever.

I lost my beautiful sister in law (English Teacher aged 46) in April 2021. Whilst she leaves an enormous legacy to her pupils in Hamilton, Scotland REM fans take care and look after each other Love Angela x

Automatic for The People is one of the best albums ever recorded. I didn't really listen to R.E.M., but I heard many of their songs on the radio and one day I just started listening to R. E. M. songs here on KZfaq and I can say it changed my life in a really good way.

2:33 That chuckle gets me everytime.

This has got to be the best chorus ever. Callmewhenyoutrytowakeherup.

Automatic for the people was and is the best album

Some much diversity in Michael's vocal range in this song it's brilliant.

R.E.M. has spiritually reunited me with my Dad. He recently passed away. He loved this band. I have wonderful memories of my Dad every time I listen to R.E.M

The only song I could think of to make me feel better...summer 2020

I was addicted to this song in high school,listening to it over and over every day 🙂 I gave REM tape to my English teacher and asked him for lyrics and translation 😁and now,when I hear it on the radio or youtube I feel the same as when I was 14 ❤️❤️❤️ been REM fan for 25 years.....great music ❤️❤️❤️❤️

There was a time, a glorious time, when REM were arguably the biggest band in the world. They sold out Western Springs, Auckland one hot summers night - Grant Lee Buffalo opened, followed by Kiwi favourites Crowded House at their peak (they could have sold The Springs out by themselves, fuck were we partying to Neil Finn!) but then the awesome power of REM just blew the crowd away - Michael Stipes first words "uhmm, that was a song, and here's another one" - laconic chill in front of 80,000 fans. Still the best outdoor concert I ever attended.

Once I understood that the sidewinder is a pay phone it all made sense. One of their best eva.

This Song Takes me directly back to my Teenage years ( and to when my mum was still alive 😫😫,) Love Love Love this

30 years later. . . it still works ! Long live Stipe´s voice ! 😁😁😁

This song is proof that the 90s were the best time for music. 90s were the best! We may not have had cell phones, but we knew how to have fun. Good times, great memories. 90s forever! Listen to good music every day and be happy. Greetings from Saint Marys, Georgia. 90s❤

Automatic for the people is sooooo good

I havent heard this song since i was 21 am 48 now and forgot how great this song is. Keep it on repeat!

Once i was driving in UK, countryside in november, it was around 5pm the sun went down the sky was dark blue, it was a tiny bit rainy like showers and left the road wet... There was black clouds around, the wind was blowing and it was cold.... i was thinking "Hmm, lets turn on the radio, lets see what is the radiostations like" and then nothing. The usual cracking sounds no signal and from the nowhere a radio station came up. It was not a perfect signal but it was fine. This music played in the radio. I still remember the name of that... it is called "Absolute Radio"... I will never ever forget the moments. It was less than a minute left from this music but i still remember every single moment of that 1 minute driving part in the countryside. This music hits HARD! Since then whenever i listen to this, the memories are coming up and still hits hard! It gives me goosebumps! And it was only a minute... Absolutely crazy stuff. UK countryside driving with this music around november 5pm is a very very strange feeling. Iam telling you. 10/11 feeling. :) Plus on top of that the dark blue sky with the black clouds around... It is cold outside, wet and windy but an amazing feeling! I love this music and i love UK... Every single part of it! Yes, this artist is from US but it reminds me of the UK countryside driving moment in my life. :)

The man is a genius - Emotional and upbeat at the same time 😊

I don't know any other song where the vocal laughs through the lyric. It's so spontaneous and fits perfectly.

I love the line when Stipe tries to sing " or a reading from dr seuss", only it comes out "Zeus", because apparently (according to R.EM facts/ books) he couldn't pronounce "seuss "and that's why he laughs at that part in the song. It just adds even more whimsy and character to an already amazingly original and imaginative song. The fact that he can somehow string together the rapid fire chorus but not pronouncethe word "seuss" is pretty bizzare, though.

Michael stipe the GOAT

I'm Polish native speaker and it's completely unpossible to me to understand, what they sing in the chorus. So, after reading the comments I can see that English native speakers have the same problem too :-D

I haven't heard this song in probably 20 years. I can feel the neurons tickle.

what a song, maybe their best

I love that controlled crack in his voice both times he descends from the high note. *Shivers* ... I actually don't mind digital effects and fixes in music but that natural delivery is SO DAMN EVERYTHING.

R.E.M. is the band that raised rock, turned it into art!

His trying not to laugh after 'a reading from Dr Seuss' will Always be the best part of any song known to man ❤️

Michael Stipe wearing the style that 90s UK boy bands would copy for the next 5 years.

R.E.M. the world's greatest band

One of R.E.Ms most underrated songs in my opinion. To me it is their best song

Can't ever get enough of this

I'm a 64 yr old boomer and still love REM...is it wrong?😁💋

I still remember being a little boy in San Diego hearing this on our cassette player in a car. It reminds me how nice being in the world for the first few years were. I love REM and these great memories

I never realized just how gorgeous Stipes is. WOW!!!

Athens in the late 80s and early 90s was such a magical place...

one of the best bands ever. the range of emotion is second to none

I listened to this album along with my classmates on our way to France, in the bus. Oh where does the time go?

Best Lyric in any Song! “I can always sleep standing up!”

best song of R.E.M. ever ever ever

I actually Cry, every time I listen to this song...incredible memories go along with so much of their music... it kept me alive🙏

I got to see REM at the Hollywood Bowl before they split. It was amazing! Stipe’s voice is like no other. Pure awesomeness!!

Rem marcó una época increíble en los 90 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

It's almost too hard to comprehend the gulf between artists like this and what passes for popular music today. This is eerie, it's wondrous and spine tingling.

Ah! Tony the Baker. One of my favourite REM songs.

Ever since a friend at university sang “calling Cheryl baker” its all I hear in this song !

automatic for the people...the best of world music

this is their best song

I have sang this song at the top of my lungs while driving my car so, so many times. Specially the : "Tell her, tell her she can kiss my ass" part. I so love this song.

This here is the place I will be staying There isn't a number You can call the pay phone Let it ring a long, long, long, long time If I don't pick up, hang up, call back, let it ring some more If I don't pick up, pick up The sidewinder sleeps, sleeps, sleeps in a coil Call me when you try to wake her up Call me when you try to wake her Call me when you try to wake her up Call me when you try to wake her Call me when you try to wake her up Call me when you try to wake her There are scratches all around the coin slot Like a heartbeat, baby trying to wake up, But this machine can only swallow money You can't lay a patch by computer design It's just a lot of stupid, stupid signs Tell her, Tell her she can kiss my ass, Then laugh and say that you were only kidding That way she'll know that it's Really, really, really, really me Call me when you try to wake her up Call me when you try to wake her Call me when you try to wake her up Call me when you try to wake her Call me when you try to wake her up Call me when you try to wake her Baby, instant soup doesn't really grab me Today I need something more sub-sub-sub-substantial A can of beans or blackeyed peas, some Nescafe and ice, A candy bar, a falling star, or a reading of Doctor Seuss; Call me when you try to wake her up Call me when you try to wake her Call me when you try to wake her up Call me when you try to wake her Call me when you try to wake her up Call me when you try to wake her The cat in the hat came back, wrecked a lot of havoc on the way, Always had a smile and a reason to pretend But their world has flat backgrounds And little need to sleep but to dream The sidewinder sleeps on his back Call me when you try to wake her up Call me when you try to wake her Call me when you try to wake her up Call me when you try to wake her I can always sleep standing up Call me when you try to wake her Call me when you try to wake her up Call me when you try to wake her Call me when you try to wake her up Call me when you try to wake her I can always sleep standing up Call me when you try to wake her Call me when you try to wake her up Call me when you try to wake her I can always sleep standing up Call me when you try to wake her I can always sleep standing up Call me when you try to wake her We've got to moogie, moogie, move on this one

don't why i took so long to start listening to REM again...luv the Band!

I can't imagine a world where this song doesn't exist.

I really liked REM when I was a child/teen and eventually grew out of them. I've more than grown back into them and this song is one of those gems I'm glad to have rediscovered.

I grew up in college in the 90's in West Lafayette and to me it just captures the moments with answering machine transition/or a person picking up. Calling some who won't pick up so you call back let it right longer is a bit of neurotic to me and that is kind of how I felt college and struggling with life, eating, or homeless or wherever you might be listening to this album. Calling people to wake them up. lol..People don't do that anymore ..Calling to wake her up ..Calling to wake up..

R.E.M. are the anthem of a generation. And I'm part of that generation

"There's scratches all around the coin-slot like a heartbeat, baby, tryin' to wake up....." love that line!

Happy Birthday, Michael Stipe! Glad I attended three of your Irish appearances.

I enjoyed how Michael Stipe says Dr. Seuss in this song!

This song saved my life today ... again "God Bless REM!"

My favourite all time R.E.M song. make the most of these bands as we will not see their type again in our lifetime

Que recuerdos inolvidables ésos años aquellos 😊 era un adolescente. Lo escuchaba en cassette 😂 R.E.M. mi hermano lo escuchaba tanto qué se me quedó. No existia tanta tecnología cómo ahoraa qué, está a alcancé de todos. Pero hoy lo escuchó en la 🏡 y trabajó me acompañado durante toda mi vida hermosa. 😂 very good.

The song ist the best from R.E.M.

Never see the likes of bands like these again 80s 90s brilliant

MY FAV REM song...

I would like to thank my mother for raising me on this music in the 90's

A classic never played live by the band...

Somebody 2024?

Great song from a brilliant album. And I love Michael's little giggle after the line "a reading from Dr. Seuss" :)

Best R.E.M. song ever! Love it!

I have listened to this a million times and always thought it was "dont even try to wake her up"...

R.E.M what a band. Way ahead of their time, Stipe's Voice is distinct. that chuckle after he say's "reading by dr zeus" love it!

Love this song. The John Paul Jones string arrangement is fantastic.

I listened to this album nonstop when it came out, and all these years later I just now found there was an actual music video for this?!?! Mind blowing!

I once fell asleep standing up next to a speaker at a Rave in Orlando in the early 90's & woke up in Jail. Fun Time's. I always liked REM but growing up I was a Punk/Thrash/Psychedelic enthusiast. As I grow older (Now 43) I find who I was, whom I am & who I am becoming in their music. For myself It is music to grow old with. By that I don't mean slow, boring, unstimulating or something I associate with a rocking chair on a country porch on a cool autumn day sipping sweet tea and reminiscing of days when I had the energy to fight city hall during the day and lead Mosh Pits at night. (I still do those things. It just hurts a lot more the next day whether it's from the police batons or the extended time it takes my older flesh & muscles to recuperate from the blows of younger friends in the Pit). Stipe & company have a lyrical & musical way of introducing the different phases of life with each of their Albums. Currently I am at the "Automatic For The People" stage of my life. REM was in their early to mid 30's when they wrote these songs, but whatever they were going through at the time fits where I am now. My mother's dying, my Mother in law has possible terminal Cancer as well. I'm down to 1 grandparent still alive.I have 2 sons, 1 a teen full of the same teen angst I had, (If you are my age imagine the Intro of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" & you'll understand where he's at) the other is 11 & on the same path. All while living through an America that in no way resembles the country it's founders proposed & promised. Yet luckily I have a wonderful Wife who is also my best friend & despite the current state of the World, a relationship with my sons that society can't break & a new relationship with my siblings that should have always been but needed my Mothers rapidly forthcoming departure from this World to come into existence. Almost as if she is trading in her soul to see her 3 sons & daughter become the family they should have always been. REM, like so many other bands during my life from The Doors, Floyd, Zeppelin & The Beatles, to Television, Joy Division, Bowie & The Clash, to Interpol, The White Stripes, Kendrick Lamar & The Yeah, Yeah, Yeah's & countless others (Michael, Marvin, Cash & Sublime, a few personal reason faves) has become the soundtrack for this page of my life. Without Music I don't know how I would have survived the changing seasons of my life. Not that my seasons have been any harder or easier. Violent or Peaceful. Desperate or Stressless. Sane or Mad. Happy or Sad. These adjectives we use to paint, color, animate & describe our existence (Past, Present & Future) are all based on the Blank Canvas, Screen or Thought they are created upon. With the aforementioned media being ourselves as we were presented to this World. Nude, Blank, Pure, Blind, Deaf, Dumb & Irrelevant. And for the only time in our Earthly existence free of evil thoughts, words, visions, intentions & actions almost always the result of the influence & education of the ignorant souls who surround us. Many times our parents. For me to pretend that my lineage is innocent & the Alpha & Omega of all that is good in this World would be a lie of the gargantuan proportions. For myself to pretend that as Father to my sons I am free from the exact charges I accuse the World of would be just as great of a falsehood. Yet I try to battle the wars that wage within my soul to make sure the end message is one that is not only positive & leads them towards the righteous path but also provides them with the breadcrumbs of the paths (both right & wrong) that I took to get there. Many bands have followed a similar path to find & if they don't break up find & evolve their sound. REM is one of these bands. Thanks REM & everyone who's ever played even one note that struck & stuck with one of the crazy chords that have served as part of the soundtrack of my life. If anyone understands what I'm trying to say please let me know and share with me your feelings and some examples of the bands, musicians, songs, etc. that have supplied the background to the different stages of your life. if you wish to share in private you can email me at peacescapers@gmail.com I am working on an E book on this subject & with your permission I would like to share certain stories and will credit them as advised if used. Thanks, ENOCH

After 30 years of the release of this song, i'm watching this video for the very first time!

It's completely IMPOSSIBLE to understand what he says in the chorus unless you read the lyrics. Even reading the lyrics, I still don't understand how is it possible he fits such a long sentence in two syllabes.

The voice of Michael Stipe at its very best

2020: "This here is the place I will stand"...

This might be my favorite REM song. Whole dang album is amazing

this song is why i am still alive

I hadn't thought of this song in 20 years and the title just popped into my head. Had no idea they even made a video for this one. The fact that this album is now 25 years old is so crazy and somewhat depressing.

"Calling Cheryl Baker Up, Come And Eat Your Bacon Up!" Classic track from a classic album. I bought the album on cd when it was released (still have it in working order). I've seen the new deluxe edition going for crazy money on Amazon UK.

Amo esta banda. Lo escuchaba en los 90 pero recién en 2020 comencé a escuchar toda la discografía completa. Y cada canción es mortal. 🎉🎉🎉

With this being one of the songs to easily be misheard, I'm actually very proud of myself for figuring it out after having it heard only once, especially cos English is not my first language

Jenni, I have sung this song at a karaoke bar! It was so much fun and everyone enjoyed it :)

Happy Anniversary to the release of Automatic For the People, October 5, 1992! This is my favorite song off the album. ✌️🎶💙

Automatic For The People is geniune classic album.

peak REM, this. Sunday afternoon, a liitle drunk, a little high.

Just needed to feel childlike and carefree today !! This song does it for me !! Oct 2020.

Anything REM brings me back to my college days. Great memories

Calling Jamaica... Calling Jamaica... Calling Jamaica...

REM, B52's, U2, Pearl Jam and so many more in the early 90's were at the top of their game. Miss those times so much.

My musical heart will always belong to R.E.M.

Some powerful nostalgia with this song. The lyrics about letting the payphone ring really brings back the days before the Internet and mobile phones. Happy times

So way ahead of their time, this album blows anything out today out of the water.