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Shiny Happy People

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For the Angel episode, see Shiny Happy People (Angel).
"Shiny Happy People"
Song

"Shiny Happy People" is a song by the band R.E.M. It appeared on their 1991 album Out of Time and was released as a single in the same year. The song features guest backing vocals by Kate Pierson of the B-52's who also has a prominent role in the song's music video.

It peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, the fourth and to date the last R.E.M. single to reach the top 10 on the chart. It also peaked at #6 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the first R.E.M. Song to reach the top ten in the UK and the only one to reach the top ten in both countries. Although a top ten hit, it was excluded from the band's 2003 'Best Of' album In Time; this was reportedly a deliberate decision by Michael Stipe, who once mentioned his dislike of the song in an episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast.

It was recorded during the autumn of 1990, but not released until May 1991 (in the UK), and the single didn't go on sale in the USA until four months later.

The song is supposedly an ironic reference to a piece of roughly translated Chinese propaganda; and the massacre in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, two years before the song was released.[1] The inference apparently relates to how politics is controlled by those with children in powerful positions, not idealistic revolting unhappy students on the ground in Tiananmen Square. The idea that propaganda is often used to cover up stark weaknesses in political systems. The song is mockingly played to encourage unknown political candidates to be upbeat even under fire.

The song appeared in Michael Moore's anti-war film Fahrenheit 9/11 during footage of George H. W. Bush visiting the Saud family. Moore had previously directed the video to "All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)" for R.E.M. The song also appeared in the movie Tropa de Elite, released in August 2007, and in the movie Marley & Me, released in December 2008.

Track listing

All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe unless otherwise stated.

US/UK 7"/cassette singles

  1. "Shiny Happy People" – 3:45
  2. "Forty Second Song" – 1:20

UK CD/12"

  1. "Shiny Happy People" – 3:45
  2. "Forty Second Song" – 1:20
  3. "Losing My Religion" (live acoustic version)1 – 4:36

UK "Collectors' Edition" CD

  1. "Shiny Happy People" – 3:45
  2. "I Remember California" (live)2 – 5:42
  3. "Get Up" (live)2 – 3:15
  4. "Pop Song '89" (live)2 – 3:30

Charts

Chart (1991) Peak
position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart 11
Canadian Hot 100 5
Irish Singles Chart 2
UK Singles Chart 6
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 10
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks 8
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 3

Reception

After the song's release, comedian Denis Leary attacked it on an MTV standup performance (which was recorded and later released as No Cure For Cancer). In one rant, he exclaimed, "Hey, hey, hey! Pull this bus over to the side of the pretentiousness turnpike! I want everybody out, I want the shiny people over here and the happy people over here! I represent angry, gun-toting, meat-eating fucking people! ...Sit down and shut the fuck up, Michael."[2] In 2005, Q magazine included Shiny Happy People in a list of "Ten Terrible Records by Great Artists".[3] In its 2006 "Song of the Summer" countdown, CBC Radio's Freestyle named "Shiny Happy People" 1991's "Song of the Summer".[4] In contrast, in 2006, the song received the number one position on AOL Music's list of the "111 Wussiest Songs of All Time."[5]. Blender magazine also ranked the song at #35 on its list of the "50 Worst Songs Ever".[6]

Other versions

The band performed it on Sesame Street under the title "Furry Happy Monsters." The female vocal was performed by Stephanie D'Abruzzo of Avenue Q fame. An adaptation was written by Sesame Street writer Christopher Cerf, changing many of the lyrics to fit the context of the scene. The song has also been covered by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, but without the lyrics.[7] A cover version of the song is featured on the 2004 video game Donkey Konga 2.

Notes

1 Recorded on Rockline; April 1, 1991.
2 Taken from the live performance video, Tourfilm.

References

  1. ^ The 111 Wussiest Songs of All Time (No. 1) - AOL Music
  2. ^ Black, Johnny (2004). Reveal: The Story of R.E.M. Backbeat Books. ISBN 0-87930-776-5.
  3. ^ The Independent, December 11, 2006
  4. ^ CBC Radio | Freestyle. Retrieved on 5 September 2006.
  5. ^ ""The 111 Wussiest Songs of All Time (No. 1)"". AOL Music. Retrieved 20 August 2006. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  6. ^ Run for Your Life! It's the 50 Worst Songs Ever! from Blender.com. Retrieved on 3 May 2008.
  7. ^ The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - Shiny Happy People, Youtube, May 5, 2008
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