Really disappointed it wasn't mentioned. One of the key R.E.M. things is Mike Mills backing vocals. And these ones bring so much poignancy as a counterpoint to Michael's words.
Huh - always misheard this as “IIII aaaam not alone”, but knew it sounded like he was saying something else. “time I had some time alone” makes a lot of sense.
"It's the end of the world as we know it" "It's time I had some time alone" This song just proves that R.E.M. was secretly composed of 3 time-travellers.
I remember hearing this song for the first time as a kid in the early 2000's thinking it was a fairly recent song, or at least from the late 90's, only to find out WAY later when I found the album that it was from the 80's. I couldn't believe it. It sounds so much like a 90's or early 00's indie rock song.
@@yesta7375 do what everyone a dozen years older than you have been doing. Extending your childhood into your 30's, collect superhero memorabilia, watch nothing but Marvel movies and play games all day.
Yall, i wonder how people in 1918 felt. There was The First World War, little food for the war, Influenza epidemic that killed over 100 million, and so much death. It’s literally the four horses of the apocalypse 😳
I was thinking about this a few days ago, and I realized that this is likely the first global, widespread pandemic that nearly everyone actually *knows* about. The flu pandemic in 1918-1919 was not widely known; due to involvement in WW1, most countries weren't talking about it. In fact, that's why it's known as the Spanish flu; Spain wasn't in the war and was able to talk openly about it, even though it likely began in the US. For the first time, near-instant global communication has made us aware of the pandemic we're facing. This is largely unprecedented.
You can be positive while still bearing in mind the at-times depressing truth of the world. The world can get better, and we have the power to do that.
You're both right...things will never go back to "normal". Sure we will go back to work eventually n all that. But we'll be seeing and feeling the effects of this pandemic for a long time.
This is the first wave of this disease. This one hits the hardest, but it won't be the last wave. And it won't be the last pandemic disease, if we don't stop messing around with animals.
The one thing that amazes me about this song (as well as songs from the past), is that how it maintains its relevance over the years. Such songs are so iconic, that it does not need the status of achieving the number 1 song in the charts
The flipping through channels explanation actually put the song in context for me. The idea of going through news channels to only see all the terrible things in the world, then getting angry but feeling kind of powerless or detached. That’s a very universal thing I think
Even more of a bizarre coincidence though, is what Mike Mills sings in harmony while Stipe sings "It the end of the world as we know it..." Mills sings "It's time I had some time alone..."
@Alex Mulvihill Because it doesn't seem to fuckin care and maybe it's just some kind of crowd control and everything will start over afterwards, like it has several times.
i feel like millennials have been living in the chapter of a history book since most of us were born: columbine, 9/11, "once in a lifetime" hurricanes, more than one pandemic, obama getting elected, more than one recession....
Peter Griffin having a stroke from eating McDonald's then crashing his car into a lake really does sum up the madness of the world that this song is speaks on.
Crazy thing was that March 13th was my last day in school for my sophomore year. Trying to finish your high school years during a pandemic while struggling mentally and then being thrown into a toxic relationship and trying to get out of said relationship. The hardest 2 years of my life but changed me for the best. REM is just a part of the soundtrack of those 2 years for me
i've always compared end of the world as we know it to we didn't start the fire biased on political lyrics no idea if it was an influence but in my mind it has similar structure too
I spent most of 2017-2018 as a quiet loner wanting nothing to do with anybody before I started making friends. So Self-Isolation doesn't bother me for the most part. At least I have Polyphonic to entertain me
@@TH3F4LC0Nx I was incredibly lonely and depressed last year, thus leading me to make a lot of bad decisions which affected the people I tried to be friends with. So I spent the past 3 months trying to atone for these mistakes. But in the end, I have accepted that it is my destiny to be alone. And fortunately, I brought myself a book, and I have also made an imaginary friend to talk too to help me
@@thevfxmancolorizationvfxex4051 Umm...ok. It's your destiny to be alone only if you want it to be. I don't know what the heck you did to the people you were trying to make friends with, but you can always learn from whatever mistakes you made so you won't repeat them in the future.
@@thevfxmancolorizationvfxex4051 That's because you didn't get the attention you wanted from real people so instead peddle your "isolation" on the internet in hopes that you will get asked "why are you this way. you must be interesting. tell us more about you!"
I remember packing up my stuff to go home from the UK (Int. Student here) and this song started after I hit “shuffle”. My uni completely empty, halls abandoned, my room in chaos, amid packing up. I remember standing there, listening to this song and smoking. I thought, yeah I do indeed feel fine. I guess there is a chaotic, destructive and dark part of us that just loves hearing bad and alarming news. That part of us feels odd excitement when things go wrong.
I think that means there’s gonna be a massive change. “As we know it” means “as things are most days”, and I think that for most people the situation we’re in IS the end of the world as we know it.
There’s something going on that’s not quite right!... There’s something going on that wasn’t here before, keep your eyes glued to the floor... loved REM... Michael’s nervous and the lights are bright, There’s something going on that’s not quite right!
When "We Didn't Start the Fire" first came out, it reminded me of this song! "End of the World" was released in 1987, "Fire" in 1989. (I looked up the dates to make sure I was remembering it right.)
Right on. As a GenXer I’ve always felt connected to Stipe’s lyrics even when I couldn’t always understand what he was saying. I did get to see them on the Green tour at LSU assembly center. Most impressive
The luxury of 30 years of history advancing and the march of technology is lyrics are easy to come by. I remember listening to this song over and over again trying to write down all the lyrics and then have to go look up any reference I didn’t get.
Great episode. And yes, on curiositystream I've watched the Apocalypse WW1 documentary, it's pretty depressing stuff, graphic too at some points , wasn't quite expecting that, faces blown off..etc. but definitely interesting.
It tells that 'I feel fine' is that no matter what is daunting at the time, it doesn't matter, life goes on. So why worry about bs. I haven't watched more than an hour of the orchestra of the pandemic, and I haven't looked at a billboard chart in 30 years. Independent artists that never sign have more relevancy in my life than any mainstream artist does now days, whether they chart or not. The pandemic didn't affect me psychologically as much as it should have because I had risen above its meaning of despair.
This song happened to start playing as I ordered a beer at a bar the last night before they all shut down near me. making that moment even better, before I walked in the door, the bartender yelled from the fence out back “welcome to the end of the world party!!”
My brother has been staying out in palm desert the last month. He said the last two days he’s heard bomb blasts, a rumble, and felt an earthquake after. I wouldn’t believe it if he didn’t tell me himself. I know famous people have used Palm Springs/desert for their Vacation homes and that 29 palms military base isn’t far away. Any info on this? News isn’t covering and I looked it up and did the average and palm desert averages about 2.4 earthquakes a day and has had something like 75 in 24 hours
i dont think we turn to memes as a form of denial, i feel like we resort to memes because like you said, theres nothing we can do. why not laugh at the fact that we might all be dead soon? theres no reason to be afraid of the inevitable, so might as well have fun while we can.
It seems to come from something similar but not the same. It's from an engraving by Thomas Jeffereys for a royal encyclopedia in the 1700s. wellcomecollection.org/works/cvsevfzz
No shit, there was a dude, half naked on top of a building in the middle of campus, dancing to this song. Not recording that remains one of my greatest regrets in life.
Now that the sun flares are being stronger, and our shield that is covering the earth is getting thinner, this is truly the theme song to 2022! So burn up humanity, because I won’t miss you. ☀️🔥
Don’t forget the backing vox in the chorus: “time I had some time alone”. Very apt for these times.
I should not have bothered with my reply before reading the others. We all noticed the same thing....
@@deannilvalli6579 It happens to all of us at one point or another.
Really disappointed it wasn't mentioned. One of the key R.E.M. things is Mike Mills backing vocals. And these ones bring so much poignancy as a counterpoint to Michael's words.
@@jovenintensa Like most bass players, he is underrated. His contribution to the band was always very big.
Huh - always misheard this as “IIII aaaam not alone”, but knew it sounded like he was saying something else.
“time I had some time alone” makes a lot of sense.
"It's the end of the world as we know it"
"It's time I had some time alone"
This song just proves that R.E.M. was secretly composed of 3 time-travellers.
Phil .Tremblay four
I can't believe he didn't mention "time I spent some time alone" running behind the chorus
Echoes of "Fall on Me" from a few years earlier
"Fall on me"
"What is it up in the air for"
It's Over, It's over"
It certainly seems like they knew something or several things
Did u travel back in time just to let us know.
"Sorry, nobody poops that much" should have been a real headline when that happened
soupofthedave tbf ppl with ulcerative colitis do in fact poop that much. although at that point, it would be better to just get a bidet
spaceinbetween it’s true they do
@@spaceinbetween6591 I would love a bidet, pandemic or not.
It’s the end of the world and I am watching Polyphonic and I feel fine.
College Students: "Stroke. Stroke. Stroke."
Griffin: "Quit mocking me."
Walter Acevedo back when either family guy was funny or I was just dumb enough to like it
I only stumbled across that scene since the Coronavirus... It is a classic 😀💃👍❤
who else was suddenly hit by this pandemic right when they were fixing their lives?
this pandemic and now cancer... i'm... not upset about it not at all /s
Tobías Yance I just bought a car :/
Yup
@@foxiepaws Damn, that sucks :/
Kinda, my aunt died some time ago and my cousin moved with us, then the pandemic came over... so it's just a never ending shit
2020 feels like living through a forgotten verse of this song
Or "We Didn't Start The Fire"
@@AriOrSomething Or "Space Monkey Mafia".
@@hickorymccay2994 what?
@@king_dot th-cam.com/video/NEYc8ar2Bpw/w-d-xo.html
@@king_dot line in "We Didn't Start the Fire"
I remember hearing this song for the first time as a kid in the early 2000's thinking it was a fairly recent song, or at least from the late 90's, only to find out WAY later when I found the album that it was from the 80's. I couldn't believe it. It sounds so much like a 90's or early 00's indie rock song.
people with social lives are freaking out but I'm vibing
@@yesta7375 do what everyone a dozen years older than you have been doing. Extending your childhood into your 30's, collect superhero memorabilia, watch nothing but Marvel movies and play games all day.
@@RatelHBadger amen to that
Fr me to
Mark Sanchez amen
Yall, i wonder how people in 1918 felt. There was The First World War, little food for the war, Influenza epidemic that killed over 100 million, and so much death. It’s literally the four horses of the apocalypse 😳
I was thinking about this a few days ago, and I realized that this is likely the first global, widespread pandemic that nearly everyone actually *knows* about. The flu pandemic in 1918-1919 was not widely known; due to involvement in WW1, most countries weren't talking about it. In fact, that's why it's known as the Spanish flu; Spain wasn't in the war and was able to talk openly about it, even though it likely began in the US.
For the first time, near-instant global communication has made us aware of the pandemic we're facing. This is largely unprecedented.
You only listed 3 things though.
@@PieMaster2425 they listed 4 things. War, Famine, Pesitlence, and Death in that order.
PieMaster2425
War- First World War
Famine- Food Shortages (yes due to the war)
Pestilence- 1918 Influenza
Death- First World War + 1918 Influenza
@@PieMaster2425 less we forget a decade later there was the great depression then a decade afterwards another world war. History repeats itself.
I can’t believe this song is 30 years old
JustinHMusic it’s 40.
Seriously? I would have guessed...5 .
@@alastair_the_lyon As of _now,_ 2022, it's 35 years old. 2022 - 1987 = 35. :P
"many people are panicking but ONLINE the biggest universal response is... MEMES" - this hits home hard
You made the newspaper JUST for the video!! This is insane, it reminds me Jethro Tull's legendary Thick as a Brick cover! Great video!
Trying to stay positive and then he releases this
No, please stay negative.
You can be positive while still bearing in mind the at-times depressing truth of the world. The world can get better, and we have the power to do that.
@@iwantaoctosteponmyneckbut3545 Yes, stay positive in the mind but stay negative regarding the virus tests.
Tim Schulz I mean, yeah, that’s fair
That song has been stuck in my head the past few weeks
"Issue 420, Price: 69 cents"
Nice.
nice
Nice
Nice
Nice
nice
In a way, it really is the end of the world AS WE KNOW IT. The world is going to change somehow, in a big way possibly.
Iago The last time I really recall there being a clear before and after was 9/11. I was 24 then. Things will never be the same.
You're both right...things will never go back to "normal". Sure we will go back to work eventually n all that. But we'll be seeing and feeling the effects of this pandemic for a long time.
This is the first wave of this disease. This one hits the hardest, but it won't be the last wave. And it won't be the last pandemic disease, if we don't stop messing around with animals.
The world is ending, and we're all going to die
*LET'S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK*
The one thing that amazes me about this song (as well as songs from the past), is that how it maintains its relevance over the years. Such songs are so iconic, that it does not need the status of achieving the number 1 song in the charts
The flipping through channels explanation actually put the song in context for me. The idea of going through news channels to only see all the terrible things in the world, then getting angry but feeling kind of powerless or detached. That’s a very universal thing I think
And the aliens aren't even here yet
Aaaaaaaany minute now.
Yet
Oh, hmm...don’t be so sure. 👽😉🤪
And the asteroids aren’t even on their way yet
For that we have Karen Carpenter's "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft."
Even more of a bizarre coincidence though, is what Mike Mills sings in harmony while Stipe sings "It the end of the world as we know it..." Mills sings "It's time I had some time alone..."
Fricking ray of sunshine. Timely
You might think your world is ending but I know my world is not ending. I have my spine and my orange crush.
@Alex Mulvihill So what? Everything is dying. Let it die
@Alex Mulvihill Because it doesn't seem to fuckin care and maybe it's just some kind of crowd control and everything will start over afterwards, like it has several times.
You might say it was “one of Earth’s greatest classical ballads”.
I was just thinking about this song yesterday for some reason.
*LEONARD BERNSTEIN!*
Damn, you beat me by 5 minutes.
that's the only lyric from the song i knew for the longest time
Another great video. Didn't know how much meaning these lyrics had, michael stipe is a brilliant lyricist.
We're living in a History textbook chapter as of now
Floostick Yep
yeah, and a lot of us are going to be statistics on a graph as well.
Hahaha, yeah, it's gonna be interesting in the future having first hand experience about this.
i feel like millennials have been living in the chapter of a history book since most of us were born: columbine, 9/11, "once in a lifetime" hurricanes, more than one pandemic, obama getting elected, more than one recession....
I realize
*bright eyes - At the bottom of everything*
Feels like a big ode to this song too.
R.E.M got me out of a depression, and they’re still one of my favorite bands.
Peter Griffin having a stroke from eating McDonald's then crashing his car into a lake really does sum up the madness of the world that this song is speaks on.
Crazy thing was that March 13th was my last day in school for my sophomore year. Trying to finish your high school years during a pandemic while struggling mentally and then being thrown into a toxic relationship and trying to get out of said relationship. The hardest 2 years of my life but changed me for the best. REM is just a part of the soundtrack of those 2 years for me
Literally though
i've always compared end of the world as we know it to we didn't start the fire biased on political lyrics no idea if it was an influence but in my mind it has similar structure too
I spent most of 2017-2018 as a quiet loner wanting nothing to do with anybody before I started making friends. So Self-Isolation doesn't bother me for the most part. At least I have Polyphonic to entertain me
I'm the same way. I really don't need companionship that much to be happy. Give me a book or some free WiFi and I'm happy.
@@TH3F4LC0Nx I was incredibly lonely and depressed last year, thus leading me to make a lot of bad decisions which affected the people I tried to be friends with. So I spent the past 3 months trying to atone for these mistakes.
But in the end, I have accepted that it is my destiny to be alone. And fortunately, I brought myself a book, and I have also made an imaginary friend to talk too to help me
@@thevfxmancolorizationvfxex4051 Umm...ok. It's your destiny to be alone only if you want it to be. I don't know what the heck you did to the people you were trying to make friends with, but you can always learn from whatever mistakes you made so you won't repeat them in the future.
@@TH3F4LC0Nx It was nothing. I just annoyed them. And yes, I have matured since then
@@thevfxmancolorizationvfxex4051 That's because you didn't get the attention you wanted from real people so instead peddle your "isolation" on the internet in hopes that you will get asked "why are you this way. you must be interesting. tell us more about you!"
The lyrics are also hitting just as fast as each of the disasters. Except April so far.
This was the first song I learned every lyric to
C Joe Happy Birthday must have been hard.
Jo Fo I was like five when I learned every lyric to Its the end of the world as we know it
False, we're all born knowing Mr. Brightside
I remember packing up my stuff to go home from the UK (Int. Student here) and this song started after I hit “shuffle”. My uni completely empty, halls abandoned, my room in chaos, amid packing up. I remember standing there, listening to this song and smoking. I thought, yeah I do indeed feel fine. I guess there is a chaotic, destructive and dark part of us that just loves hearing bad and alarming news. That part of us feels odd excitement when things go wrong.
Honestly this is probably one of your best videos, keep up the good work man
The key words are "as we know it"... it doesn't mean it's going to literally end
I think that means there’s gonna be a massive change. “As we know it” means “as things are most days”, and I think that for most people the situation we’re in IS the end of the world as we know it.
A Nicaraguan viewer here, never noticed the contra reference in the lyrics, great video, my favorite of yours
There’s something going on that’s not quite right!... There’s something going on that wasn’t here before, keep your eyes glued to the floor... loved REM... Michael’s nervous and the lights are bright, There’s something going on that’s not quite right!
Thanks for mentioning the protests and putting a chilean flag in the video, as a Chilean citizen it means a lot
we are the best country of chile bro jajaja
Goddamn the editing in this video is fantastic.
It honestly reminds me a lot of We Didn’t Start The Fire
When "We Didn't Start the Fire" first came out, it reminded me of this song! "End of the World" was released in 1987, "Fire" in 1989. (I looked up the dates to make sure I was remembering it right.)
Obligatory Pearls Before Swine ref, in case no one's done it yet:
"The greatest song in the world." "And we only know two words."
LEONARD BERNSTEIN!
Lol. This was always one of my favorite REM songs. And now it is as appropriate as ever.
how do you not have 1,000,000 subscribers yet, you are one of the best channels on youtube
Who else first heard this song in the alien invasion scene of Chicken Little?
dude me
I literally jumped off my chair when I saw the chilean flag and demonstrators at the beginning. Greetings from Chile, I absolutely love your channel
I love how much work u put in these videos.
I love your video style and analysis of music. Great work!
Last time i was this early the world was still ok
Fitting and well-timed. Thanks Poly
I find this guys voice so soothing
It now is the song of the 2020's. not just 2020
The quote at 4:46 gives me insane douche chills.
The line "Since daddy had to lie" from Don Henley's "End of the Innocence" was also about Iran-Contra.
Im 3 years late for this video and WOW! Excellent take on this 👏👏👏👏👏 Well done and said sir 👍👍
This song will never die, It will always be around. No matter what, It will still live on.
Right on. As a GenXer I’ve always felt connected to Stipe’s lyrics even when I couldn’t always understand what he was saying. I did get to see them on the Green tour at LSU assembly center. Most impressive
I’ve been literally listening to this over and over again
Well done! I’m enjoying the conversations this video is provoking.
Thanks for including Chile 💝
Nothing like hearing 2 songs in a row, IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT then IMAGINE.
That should stick in your head a few days.
The luxury of 30 years of history advancing and the march of technology is lyrics are easy to come by. I remember listening to this song over and over again trying to write down all the lyrics and then have to go look up any reference I didn’t get.
When I was like 10 I played it over and over again until I could sing it all from memory. I can still do it. Those were the days
Mike Mills makes that chorus, like he makes most REM choruses. The secret weapon of the band without whom none of those songs would've been the same.
Great episode. And yes, on curiositystream I've watched the Apocalypse WW1 documentary, it's pretty depressing stuff, graphic too at some points , wasn't quite expecting that, faces blown off..etc. but definitely interesting.
This is gonna go viral. Trust me.
Great video as always mate
You have the greatest youtube intro in all my years
we feel fine because the world, as it is right now, NEEDS to end. 😇
here's hoping we rebuild it better, with more empathy and kindness. 🌎💕
He is basically a rapper on this song.
We should let him join the ranks of 50 cent and Tupac in the hip hop hall of fame
I feel like it's getting the boss battle of the world.
Finally, an R.E.M video! ❤
Keep doing these videos for us, please. They are keeping us sane. It really is a public service.
ok but it is actually starting to feel like the end of the world
This is that one dude that actually likes the poetry unit in school
How about LCD Soundsystem or Interpol video ? I would love your take on Turn On The Bright Lights !
It's kinda wild coming back to this in 2021
Outstanding content as always. Berry, Buck, Mills and Stipe....REM...on my Mt Rushmore of influential bands
That intro with the moving news headlines gave me Snake Eater flashbacks
It tells that 'I feel fine' is that no matter what is daunting at the time, it doesn't matter, life goes on. So why worry about bs. I haven't watched more than an hour of the orchestra of the pandemic, and I haven't looked at a billboard chart in 30 years. Independent artists that never sign have more relevancy in my life than any mainstream artist does now days, whether they chart or not. The pandemic didn't affect me psychologically as much as it should have because I had risen above its meaning of despair.
This song happened to start playing as I ordered a beer at a bar the last night before they all shut down near me. making that moment even better, before I walked in the door, the bartender yelled from the fence out back “welcome to the end of the world party!!”
I just noticed that the newspaper articles during the intro, are either his script, or the song's lyrics. Only noticed this a year later
I love your videos. Thank you!❤
I love how this song, made by a band from athens Georgia is still relevant after almost 40 years
My brother has been staying out in palm desert the last month. He said the last two days he’s heard bomb blasts, a rumble, and felt an earthquake after. I wouldn’t believe it if he didn’t tell me himself. I know famous people have used Palm Springs/desert for their Vacation homes and that 29 palms military base isn’t far away. Any info on this? News isn’t covering and I looked it up and did the average and palm desert averages about 2.4 earthquakes a day and has had something like 75 in 24 hours
i dont think we turn to memes as a form of denial, i feel like we resort to memes because like you said, theres nothing we can do. why not laugh at the fact that we might all be dead soon? theres no reason to be afraid of the inevitable, so might as well have fun while we can.
Good one we need this type of logic.
This is so on the mark.....excellent 👍🏼
Great song choice
Definitely thought this was gonna be about the Skeeter Davis song 😅
fables of the reconstruction is my fav rem album
can anyone tell me if that heart drawing is from Vesaluis' 'Fabric Of The Human Body' cause I think it is but im not quite sure
It seems to come from something similar but not the same. It's from an engraving by Thomas Jeffereys for a royal encyclopedia in the 1700s. wellcomecollection.org/works/cvsevfzz
@@kevinforbesofficial I am impressed. I do a lot of research but that was pretty good cuz I think you are right
It's so unsettling hearing this song as I get older, especially now
No shit, there was a dude, half naked on top of a building in the middle of campus, dancing to this song.
Not recording that remains one of my greatest regrets in life.
Now that the sun flares are being stronger, and our shield that is covering the earth is getting thinner, this is truly the theme song to 2022! So burn up humanity, because I won’t miss you. ☀️🔥
I absolutely loved that song!