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Succumbs

Succumbs is a music video compilation released by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. in 1987, marking their first commercially available full-length video release on VHS and Laserdisc formats. Produced by A&M Video, the approximately 49-minute collection features promotional videos for eight songs from R.E.M.'s early albums on IRS Records, including footage directed by lead singer Michael Stipe and others such as James Herbert. The compilation includes videos for "Radio Free Europe" from the 1983 album Murmur, "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)" and "Camera" from Reckoning (1984), "Can't Get There from Here" from Fables of the Reconstruction (1985), and "Driver 8", "Life and How to Live It", "Fall on Me", and "Feeling Gravity's Pull" from Lifes Rich Pageant (1986). These videos, often characterized by the band's signature low-fi, artistic aesthetic and Stipe's enigmatic visuals, capture R.E.M.'s transition from underground college rock to broader commercial visibility in the mid-1980s. Originally dedicated to the "spirit of independent filmmaking," Succumbs was no longer in production by the early 2000s and has since become a sought-after collector's item, with most of its content later reissued on the 2006 DVD When the Light Is Mine: The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982–1987.

Background

Context in R.E.M.'s career

R.E.M. formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980, when college students Michael Stipe (vocals), Peter Buck (guitar), Mike Mills (bass), and Bill Berry (drums) bonded over shared musical interests and began performing locally. The band's early sound, characterized by jangly guitars and introspective lyrics, quickly attracted attention in the burgeoning college rock scene. Their debut release, the 1982 EP Chronic Town on I.R.S. Records, captured this raw energy and led to a contract with the label, marking their entry into a wider audience. The group's major-label breakthrough came with the 1983 album Murmur, produced by Don Dixon and Mitch Easter, which earned widespread critical acclaim for its atmospheric Southern Gothic style and peaked at No. 36 on the Billboard 200, establishing R.E.M. as leaders in alternative rock. Follow-up releases Reckoning (1984) and Fables of the Reconstruction (1985), both produced by Joe Boyd, built on this foundation with increasingly polished songcraft, touring extensively to cultivate a dedicated fanbase despite limited radio play. Videos from these albums, such as that for "Radio Free Europe" from Murmur and "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)" from Reckoning, and selections from Fables, form the primary content of Succumbs, reflecting the band's visual output during this formative period. Throughout the mid-1980s, R.E.M. maintained a deliberate distance from mainstream media demands, including music videos, as lead singer Michael Stipe expressed significant discomfort with on-camera performance and the performative aspects of the emerging MTV era. This reluctance stemmed from the band's punk-influenced ethos and desire to prioritize live shows and recordings over commercial visuals, resulting in sparse and experimental video productions. By 1987, R.E.M.'s trajectory shifted with the September release of , produced by , which featured the band's first Top 10 single "The One I Love" and achieved platinum status, signaling their evolution from underground darlings to mainstays. This growing popularity, amid the mid-1980s alternative scene boom, prompted to compile Succumbs in October 1987 as the band's first full-length video release, encapsulating their early visual legacy just as broader commercial success loomed.

Concept and development

Succumbs originated as R.E.M.'s inaugural full-length video release, compiling promotional footage from their early career to meet the surging demand for visual media in the MTV era. Developed between 1986 and 1987, the project was spearheaded by I.R.S. Records in collaboration with A&M, responding to industry pressures for enhanced promotion of the band's growing catalog amid their rising profile following albums like Murmur (1983) and Document (1987). The title "Succumbs" playfully alludes to the band's reluctant concession to the prevailing video craze, allowing them to preserve artistic rather than yielding to commercial conventions. Rather than producing a conventional or high-production narrative, the compilation prioritized an assemblage of existing promo clips, underscoring 's preference for unpolished, enigmatic visuals that echoed their jangly ethos. This approach avoided the glossy performances typical of mainstream acts, opting instead for abstract, low-key that aligned with the band's underground roots. Central to the development was the involvement of band members, with lead singer exerting significant influence in curating and shooting much of the footage. Stipe, who directed several early videos alongside collaborators like and Arthur Pierson, selected material that captured the group's cryptic style, including clips dating back to 1983 for "Radio Free Europe", and from 1984 for "So. Central Rain." This hands-on selection process reflected 's early career aversion to traditional , enabling them to maintain creative control while addressing label expectations for visual output.

Production

Video directors and crew

The Succumbs video compilation showcases contributions from a core group of directors who collaborated closely with R.E.M. during their early career, emphasizing the band's hands-on approach to visual media. Arthur Pierson directed the opening video for "Radio Free Europe," capturing the band's raw energy in a straightforward style. Howard Libov helmed "So. Central Rain," focusing on intimate, performance-driven footage. James Herbert contributed to multiple segments, including the experimental "Left of Reckoning" and videos like "Life and How to Live It" and "Feeling Gravity's Pull," often incorporating innovative editing techniques such as rephotography to enhance the indie aesthetic. Michael Stipe, R.E.M.'s lead vocalist, also served as a director for several entries, co-directing "Can't Get There From Here" with Rick Aguar, co-directing "Driver 8" with James Herbert, and solely directing "Fall on Me." His dual role as performer and filmmaker is evident in his prominent on-screen presence across select videos, where he delivers the band's signature enigmatic performances. Crew involvement remained tightly knit, with editing handled by band-affiliated producers to preserve creative integrity, and cinematography prioritizing natural lighting and minimalistic setups that echoed R.E.M.'s indie ethos of authenticity over polished production. The overall assembly of the compilation was managed by UNI/A&M's A&M Video division, avoiding major external studio involvement to retain the project's unpretentious character. Band members extended their input beyond the videos themselves, with guitarist and manager Jefferson Holt providing an introductory clip that sets a welcoming, insider tone for the collection.

Filming locations and techniques

The videos compiled in Succumbs were primarily filmed in , the band's hometown, leveraging intimate, everyday settings to foster an authentic and unpretentious atmosphere reflective of 's early indie roots. Additional outdoor rural shots were captured across the American South, including locations like Finster's in , for "Radio Free Europe," which helped evoke the introspective and regional themes of albums such as Murmur. These choices grounded the visuals in the band's Southern heritage while maintaining a sense of locality and immediacy. Filming techniques prioritized a raw, documentary-like quality, frequently employing 16mm or stock to produce a grainy texture that distanced the work from the glossy commercialism of MTV staples. Emphasis was placed on tight performance close-ups and subtle abstract imagery, with restrained use of effects to highlight the musicians' expressions and instrumentation rather than elaborate production values. This approach, rooted in low-cost methods like montage and variable frame speeds, preserved the videos' organic feel and aligned with the band's aversion to overt spectacle. Low-budget constraints shaped a guerrilla-style ethos, enabling spontaneous shoots that capitalized on available resources and natural elements for visual impact. For example, the "So. Central " video incorporated rain-soaked effects through water cascading down a wall behind , simulating a in a controlled yet improvised manner that underscored the song's themes of and . Such challenges demanded resourceful adaptations, turning financial limitations into stylistic strengths that enhanced the compilation's cohesive, handmade aesthetic. The assembly of Succumbs involved post-production splicing of disparate footage shot between 1983 and 1986, creating a unified 49-minute program from individual video segments, including an introductory clip featuring and Jefferson Holt. This editing process emphasized narrative continuity without altering the original raw footage, resulting in a compilation that celebrated the band's independent spirit.

Content

Music videos

The music videos in Succumbs compile R.E.M.'s early promotional clips from their first four albums on , Murmur (1983), (1984), (1985), and (1986), highlighting the band's progression from stark, raw indie aesthetics to more layered and narrative-driven visuals. These videos, directed by collaborators including , Howard Libov, and , emphasize thematic elements tied to Southern Americana, abstraction, and performance intimacy, with a total runtime of approximately 49 minutes for the core content, excluding spoken introductions. The compilation opens with "Radio Free Europe" (4:03), a performance video directed by Arthur Pierson that captures the band in a dimly lit room, underscoring the track's urgent, jangly energy from Murmur with minimalistic, shadowy staging reflective of their nascent ethos. Next is "So. Central Rain" (3:31), directed by Howard Libov, featuring rainy highway visuals that evoke isolation and longing, aligning with the song's melancholic themes from through overlaid footage of desolate roads and subtle water effects during the band's live-like rendition. A standout is the extended "Left of Reckoning" medley (20:00 total), directed by James Herbert, which blends tracks from the first half of Reckoning—including "Harborcoat," "7 Chinese Bros.," "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)," "Pretty Persuasion," and "Time After Time (Annelise)"—with surreal, backlit footage of the band at a Georgia whirligig farm, interspersed with written intros and abstract Southern imagery like spinning folk art installations to mirror the album's cryptic, regional storytelling. This piece ties directly to Reckoning's aesthetic of fragmented narratives and rural eccentricity. From Fables of the Reconstruction, "Can't Get There From Here" (3:40), co-directed by Michael Stipe and Rick Aguar, presents surreal Southern imagery such as the band frolicking in hay fields and at a drive-in theater, juxtaposed with oversized insects and tumbling sequences to convey disorientation and playful absurdity in line with the album's folkloric weirdness. "Driver 8" (3:25), directed by Stipe and Herbert, employs train-themed abstraction with model locomotives, power lines, and blurred motion effects, capturing the song's rhythmic propulsion and themes of travel and fatigue from Fables. "Life and How to Live It" (3:35), directed by Herbert, uses narrative skits inspired by a real Athens eccentric who divided his home, depicting dual lifestyles and quirky domestic scenes to echo the track's eccentric, biographical roots in Fables' Southern gothic style. This is followed by "Feeling Gravitys Pull" (4:10), directed by James Herbert using edited live performance footage from 1983, which highlights the song's dissonant riffs and atmospheric tension through raw, energetic band shots emphasizing their early live intensity from Fables. The compilation closes with "Fall on Me" (3:20) from Lifes Rich Pageant, directed by Michael Stipe, featuring abstract, upside-down black-and-white footage of an abandoned quarry and industrial structures with superimposed lyrics, evoking themes of impending collapse and weight without appearing the band. Overall, these videos showcase R.E.M.'s evolution from the unpolished, performance-focused clips of their Murmur era to the more polished, conceptually rich works of Lifes Rich Pageant, maintaining a cohesive indie restraint while experimenting with visual symbolism.

Additional segments

The additional segments in Succumbs consist of framing elements that enhance the overall structure beyond individual music videos. These include an opening introduction, which integrates narrative components to unify the presentation. The compilation opens with a spoken by guitarist and the band's manager Jefferson Holt, lasting approximately one minute and establishing a casual, conversational tone to welcome viewers. This brief segment serves as an informal prologue, reflecting the band's independent ethos during their early career. The video concludes without formal , opting instead for subtle fades that evoke the band's understated, organic style and reinforce thematic ties to their Southern and DIY spirit. Overall, these non-video elements provide narrative cohesion, transforming the release from a standard compilation into a cohesive "movie-like" experience that emphasizes artistic experimentation over conventional formatting.

Release and formats

Initial VHS release

Succumbs was released on in October 1987 by UNI/A&M Records in the United States and I.R.S. Video internationally. The tape was issued in standard format, compatible with standards in the U.S. and PAL for international markets, and featured full-color . It targeted R.E.M.'s expanding American fanbase following the commercial breakthrough of their album Document. Marketing efforts linked the video compilation to Document's promotion.

Subsequent editions and availability

In 1993, a reissue of Succumbs was released in the UK on VHS by 4 Front Video in association with A&M Video, optimized for the PAL format to suit European broadcast standards. No official DVD or Blu-ray edition of Succumbs has been produced, leaving it confined to its original and rare formats, including 1987 releases in the and , and a 1990 reissue, with access primarily through bootlegs and unauthorized fan uploads. The full video became widely available online via a fan upload on in October 2020. Individual music videos from Succumbs were later included in the 2006 DVD compilation When the Light Is Mine: The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982–1987, but the complete Succumbs program has not been commercially reissued in any format. Physical copies of Succumbs are now and no longer commercially available, while official digital streaming options remain absent due to ongoing rights complications with the original material.

Reception

Critical response

Upon its release in 1987, Succumbs received limited coverage in the music press, with reviews describing it as a of 's early visual style. Retrospectively, by the , Succumbs has been valued in documentaries for preserving the band's early DIY spirit and transitional phase. It holds an user rating of 8.2/10 based on 34 votes, reflecting its enduring appeal among enthusiasts.

Fan and cultural impact

Succumbs has developed a dedicated following among R.E.M.'s early fans, who regard it as a cult favorite for providing rare, intimate visuals of the band's live-like performances from their formative years. The compilation's inclusion of footage shot by Michael Stipe himself captures the raw energy of R.E.M.'s pre-mainstream era, appealing to supporters who valued the group's unpolished aesthetic over polished MTV productions. In the 1990s, prior to widespread internet access, fans frequently traded bootleg copies of the VHS, including unauthorized editions like Polish dubs, preserving its accessibility within underground communities. The compilation holds a notable place in R.E.M.'s legacy, often referenced in band biographies from the as a pivotal "succumbing" to commercial video demands while retaining creative independence. This milestone aligned with the founding of Michael Stipe's C-Hundred Film Corp. in 1987, marking an early foray into that inspired his later production ventures, including public-service shorts and narrative features. In the , online availability has sustained interest, with uploads of Succumbs segments accumulating views in the thousands and sparking discussions that highlight its enduring raw charm and nostalgic value for longtime fans.

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