Listen to Michael Stipe for Healthy Brain Function: The Meaning Behind R.E.M.’s “Daysleeper”

As R.E.M. prepared for their 11th studio album, they almost broke up. During the initial sessions in 1997, drummer Bill Berry announced he was quitting. He had survived an onstage brain aneurysm in 1995 while the band toured in support of the colossal (and well-titled) album Monster. But it wasn’t only the health scare prompting Berry’s exit. The joy of being in the band was gone.  

Reluctantly, R.E.M. soldiered on as a trio. Guitarist Peter Buck had been collecting drum machines and synthesizers, providing a new way to travel for a band known for its organic warmth and chiming guitars. The new album, Up, would employ a combination of drum machines and session drummers. 

However, Berry wasn’t the only longtime R.E.M. family member to leave. They also parted with producer Scott Litt, who had worked with the band since its 1987 album Document. Pat McCarthy, who’d engineered Monster and New Adventures in Hi-Fi, co-produced Up with the band. McCarthy and Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich assisted Buck with his electronic experimentations. 

Up, released in 1998, was a divisive album for R.E.M. fans. Though it wasn’t out of step with late-’90s rock bands mixing guitars and drum machines, it was out of step with the world’s biggest college-rock alternative band. 

The first single released from Up, whose meaning we discuss here, was “Daysleeper.” Curiously, Michael Stipe’s direct lyrics contrasted the album’s droning experimentations. Musically, listeners struggled to understand what was happening to R.E.M. Yet, here was a song easily understood lyrically, perhaps even lived out by some. 

Circadian Rhythm

In New York City, Stipe noticed a sign on an apartment door that read “day sleeper.” The song’s narrator is a night shift worker moving through life disoriented and drowsy. The routine of sleeping during the day while working when the world sleeps leads to isolation and depression. 

Receiving department, 3 a.m.
Staff cuts have socked up the overage
Directives are posted, no callbacks, complaints
Everywhere is calm
Hong Kong is present, Taipei awakes
All talk of circadian rhythm

Although clocking in for a graveyard shift isn’t the same as life in a rock band, staying up late and sleeping through the day adds to an equally unhealthy lifestyle. In his book Why We Sleep, Matthew Walker documents that one can reliably hurt the body by depriving it of sleep. It harms brain function, increases irritability, and can even lead to diseases like cancer. 

I see today with a newsprint fray
My night is colored headache gray
Don’t wake me with so much
The ocean machine is set to nine
I’ll squeeze into heaven and valentine
My bed is pulling me, gravity
Daysleeper

Living things follow a circadian rhythm that follows a 24-hour clock. Plants and animals have evolved to respond to light and dark. Sleeping when it’s light outside is difficult for a reason. Working against the forces of evolution, the night shift worker stays awake using caffeine and bright fluorescent lights to complete the job. 

Walk Unafraid

R.E.M. had gone from a club band in Athens to the kings of college alternative radio to packing arenas. Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry had been a staple on MTV, creating a massive run of groundbreaking albums. With Up, they found themselves in a period of transition.  

Returning to Berry’s departure, R.E.M.’s songwriting process had changed. Berry and Buck would typically work together on ideas before Mills arrived. The instrumental ideas were then delivered to Stipe, who would write lyrics and vocal melodies. 

[RELATED: R.E.M.’s Mike Mills Says There’s No Chance for a Reunion; Reveals Solo Album Plans]

Stipe suffered from writer’s block during the sessions. The band kept busy in the studio by tinkering with sounds, mixing, and remixing the album. The synthesizers were pushed to the front of the mix on Up, where Buck’s guitars used to be. “Daysleeper” is the closest sonic relative to the band’s mega-hit album Automatic for the People.

After the success of Monster (1994), R.E.M. re-signed with Warner Bros. for $80 million. They recorded the follow-up, New Adventures in Hi-Fi, while touring in support of Monster. With the 1997 reinvention of the band and its sound, Up began a cycle of commercial decline. Though Up reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200, it quickly faded from the charts, becoming R.E.M.’s lowest-selling album in years. 

Things Looking Up After All

The 25th-anniversary reissue of Up is a souvenir for fans to follow this great band in and out of the dark. R.E.M. broke up in 2011. The band, for the first time, appeared on the cover of their final album, darkly titled Collapse Into Now. They had hinted at retirement for some time. Maybe Collapse Into Now is their own “Daysleeper” note. It’s a pleading: “Let us sleep.”

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