R.E.M.: Radio Songs

EMERGING FROM the haze of haircut bands that dominated the early '80s was R.E.M., a mysterious and gripping outfit hailing from the college town of Athens, Georgia. Led by the murmurings of vocalist Michael Stipe and the open-tuning Rickenbacker jangle of guitarist Peter Buck, R.E.M. became the buzzword for critics and college radio programmers fed up with soulless synth schlock.