The Great Beyond

"The Great Beyond" is a song by American rock band R.E.M., written for the 1999 film Man on the Moon. It was released as a single the same year for support of the film's soundtrack album. On the soundtrack, there is some dialogue from the movie at the end of the track; meanwhile, the single version is a radio edit, with the bridge omitted.

"The Great Beyond"
Single by R.E.M.
from the album Man on the Moon (Music from the Motion Picture)
B-side
ReleasedNovember 8, 1999 (1999-11-08)
GenreAlternative rock[1]
Length
  • 5:06 (album version)
  • 4:14 (radio edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Pat McCarthy
R.E.M. singles chronology
"Suspicion"
(1999)		 "The Great Beyond"
(1999)		 "Imitation of Life"
(2001)
Music video
"The Great Beyond" on YouTube

"The Great Beyond" reached number three on the UK Singles Chart in January 2000, the band's highest-ever chart position in that country, and it was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. It additionally became a top-20 hit in Canada, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, and Norway. The unedited version is included in two R.E.M. compilations: In Time - The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003 and Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011.

Background and content

According to the book Perfect Circle: The Story of R.E.M., the band employed their then-usual live musicians when recording the song: "To record the single, the group convened at John Keane's. Joey Waronker was brought in on drums; Scott McCaughey and Ken Stringfellow were each invited to take part; Pat McCarthy returned to the producer's chair."

In the unedited version, at 4:09 and at 4:26, the listener can hear Michael Stipe singing the following lines in the background: "Here's a little agit for the never-believer, here's a little ghost for the offering". Both lines were taken from the band's 1992 song "Man on the Moon", also about Andy Kaufman, from which the film took its title.

Music video

The song's video was directed by Liz Friedlander. It originally featured footage of Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman from the 1999 film. Yet, the compilation DVD In View: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003 (which accompanied In Time and collected R.E.M.'s major videos from 1988 to 2003), the video was remixed to feature archived footage of Kaufman himself (similar to the video for "Man on the Moon"). The original version can be seen on the Man on the Moon DVD. Carrey revealed in the 2017 documentary Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond that he had been invited to appear in the video in person, but refused, as he wished to psychologically distance himself from the Kaufman character; he stated that he now regretted the decision.[2]

Track listings

All songs were written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe, except for "The Great Beyond", written by Buck, Mills, and Stipe. All live track were recorded on June 25, 1999, at the Glastonbury Festival.

UK cassette single[6]
  1. "The Great Beyond" (edit)
  2. "Man on the Moon" (live at Glastonbury)
  • US maxi-CD single[7]
Japanese CD single[8]
  1. "The Great Beyond" (edit)
  2. "The One I Love" (live at Glastonbury)
  3. "Everybody Hurts" (live at Glastonbury)
  4. "Man on the Moon" (live at Glastonbury)
  • UK and European CD single[9]
  1. "The Great Beyond" (radio edit) – 4:13
  2. "Everybody Hurts" (live from Glastonbury) – 6:21
  3. "The One I Love" (live from Glastonbury) – 3:10

Charts

Release history
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref(s).
United States November 8, 1999
[33][34]
November 9, 1999
[33]
December 7, 1999 Contemporary hit radio [35]
Canada December 21, 1999 CD [36]
United Kingdom January 24, 2000
  • CD
  • cassette
 [37]
Japan January 26, 2000 CD Warner Bros. [38]

Other versions

In June 2003, Michael Stipe sang an a cappella excerpt from the song for a BBC Radio 2 advertisement.[39] He performed it on a stage in an empty theater. Welsh progressive breakbeat producers Hybrid later would use this a cappella to create a bootleg remix.[40] A live version of this song is included on R.E.M. Live. The song was covered by The Fray in 2007 for the compilation album Radio 1: Established 1967.

References
  1. "The 50 best pop songs written for movies". The Telegraph. 18 December 2017.
  2. "Venice Film Review: 'Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond — featuring a very special, contractually obligated mention of Tony Clifton'". 6 September 2017.
  3. The Great Beyond (US CD single liner notes). R.E.M. Warner Bros. Records, Jersey Records. 2000. 9 16888-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. The Great Beyond (US 7-inch single vinyl disc). R.E.M. Warner Bros. Records, Jersey Records. 1999. 7-16888.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. The Great Beyond (US cassette single sleeve). R.E.M. Warner Bros. Records, Jersey Records. 1999. 9 16888-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. The Great Beyond (UK cassette single sleeve). R.E.M. Warner Bros. Records, Jersey Records. 2000. W516C.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. The Great Beyond (US maxi-CD single liner notes). R.E.M. Warner Bros. Records, Jersey Records. 1999. 9 44816-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. The Great Beyond (Japanese CD single liner notes). R.E.M. Warner Bros. Records. 2000. WPCR-10638.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. The Great Beyond (UK & European CD single liner notes). R.E.M. Warner Bros. Records, Jersey Records. 2000. W516CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. "R.E.M. – The Great Beyond". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  11. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9723." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  12. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 9751." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  13. "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 10022." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  14. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 7. February 12, 2000. p. 11. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  15. "R.E.M. – The Great Beyond" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  16. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 20 (4.2– 10.2 2000)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). February 4, 2000. p. 10. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  17. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Great Beyond". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  18. "R.E.M. – The Great Beyond". Top Digital Download. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  19. "R.E.M. – The Great Beyond" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  20. "R.E.M. – The Great Beyond". VG-lista. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  21. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  22. "R.E.M. – The Great Beyond". Singles Top 100. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  23. "R.E.M. – The Great Beyond". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  24. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  25. "R.E.M. Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  26. "R.E.M. Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  27. "R.E.M. Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  28. "R.E.M. Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  29. "R.E.M. Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  30. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 100". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 5, 2001. p. 10. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  31. "Top 100 of 2000". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Archived from the original on June 2, 2004. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  32. "Best Sellers of 2000: Singles Top 100". Music Week. January 20, 2001. p. 25.
  33. "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1324. November 5, 1999. pp. 92, 107, 111, 119. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  34. "Gavin AC/Hot AC: Impact Dates". Gavin Report. No. 2279. November 8, 1999. p. 20.
  35. "Gavin Top 40/Rhythm Crossover: Impact Dates". Gavin Report. No. 2283. December 3, 1999. p. 8.
  36. "Album Releases: December 1999". Jam!. Archived from the original on August 29, 2000. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  37. "New Releases – For Week Starting 24 January, 2000: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. January 22, 2000. p. 25. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  38. "ザ・グレイト・ビヨンド | R.E.M." [The Great Beyond | R.E.M.] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  39. "Radio 2 TV ads reflect its unique positioning" – www.campaignlive.com
  40. "REM - the Great Beyond (Hybrid Mix) - Hybrid Discography - Track Info MP3 WAV CD and Vinyl Links". Archived from the original on January 6, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
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