“Man On The Moon” — R.E.M.

For the 50th anniversary of the Moon Landing…yes, it really happened…there’s probably no more appropriate song than R.E.M.’s “Man On The Moon”.

Of course, the song “Man On The Moon” had nothing at all to do with the escapades of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. Instead it was written as an affectionate tribute to the late actor, comedian and performance artist, Andy Kaufman.

While I knew the song was about Andy Kaufman when it came out…not least because his name is mentioned several times during the course of the record…the only thing I knew about Andy Kaufman at the time was that he played one of the characters in ‘Taxi’, a sitcom I’d enjoyed as a teenager.

It seems I wasn’t the only one. R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe was a big fan too.

He’s a little bit older than me…and certainly a lot more talented…so he was aware of Andy Kaufman’s somewhat wild and crazy work before (and indeed during and after) he became famous for his role as Latka in ‘Taxi’.

So I was more than a little puzzled at first to hear references to Elvis in a song I knew was intended as R.E.M.’s tribute to Andy Kaufman.

Things didn’t get much clearer as the song progressed. The lyrics for “Man On The Moon” wove in references to Mott The Hoople…a great British rock band from the early 1970s…Monopoly, Fred Blassie (I had no idea who he was), Isaac Newton and Moses (both of whom I had heard of…).