Video Classics: 'Losing My Religion' - R.E.M.

To honor WNEW's legendary Firecracker 500, every day we are highlighting the music that populated the 1991 and 1996 lists, with classic videos, live performances and little-known facts about the songs and how they came to be...

If R.E.M. had wanted to be more literal with their lyrics, their highest-charting hit in the U.S., Losing My Religion should have been titled 'Learning to Play Mandolin'. More on that after the video ...

Sometimes a happy accident creates a hit song, and for R.E.M. that's the case for their biggest hit, which comes in at #208 on the 1991 Firecracker 500 and #141 on the 1996 list.

One day, in 1990, R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck decided it was time to broaden his skills as an instrumentalist, and just have a little fun, so he bought a mandolin. Rather than immediately trying to learn to play the them from The Godfather, he instead just fiddled around with it a bit and developed a riff, which he recorded, and the rest just grew from there, accoding to him:

"When I listened back to it the next day, there was a bunch of stuff that was really just me learning how to play mandolin, and then there's what became 'Losing My Religion', and then a whole bunch more of me learning to play the mandolin."

Throw in some trademark R.E.M. minor-key chord progression and lyrics by Michael Stipe, and you've got yourself a hit.

Interestingly enough, the song really isn't about religion at all. According to Stipe, it is based on the old southern U.S. expression which refers to someone losing their temper or civility by saying they've 'lost their religion'.  Stipe swears the song is about unrequited love, but really, given the rather abstract nature of the lyrics (and the video), people can pretty much make what they want of it. Or, they can just enjoy the music.

Have memories of this song or the Firecracker 500? Add your thoughts to the comments below or take a look at Video Classics past...