We all know REM’s It’s The End Of The World As We Know It. The lead single from the band’s 1987 Document album featured a fast-paced stream of consciousness lyric that takes in references to Lenny Bruce, Leonid Brezhnev and, lest we forget, LEONARD! BERNSTEIN!
Other than Michael Stipe, few of us could sing it all the way through accurately. Hell, REM didn’t put any lyrics on their sleeves until the following album, Green, so how could we know? Now, no lesser an authority than Stipe himself has cleared up some of the common mistakes people make.
Needless to say, it all began on social media and a Simpsons meme, one in which Homer claims he can sing all the lyrics to It's the End of the World, only to be told, "No you can't, Mr. Simpson. No one can."
I can
— @michaelstipe.bsky.social (@michaelstipe.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-09-03T15:11:37.884Z
At which point Michael Stipe piped up on Bluesky with an ‘I can’.
And two days later, the singer was as good as his word, clearing up two lines that have baffled fans for years. It is, apparently, 'Left of west and coming in a hurry with the Furies breathing down your neck' and 'Team by team reporters, baffled, trumped, tethered, cropped, Look at that low playing, fine, then'.
So now you know. Anyway, here’s the song in full, with its slightly baffling original video:
Incidentally, REM have appeared on The Simpsons before, playing End Of The World. They crop up in the 2001 episode Homer The Moe, ending up playing the song in Homer’s garage. How did he manage to book them? He lied and said it was a benefit for ‘saving the rainforest’.
It’s been fourteen years now since REM split up. In that time there numerous teases that a Michael Stipe solo album could be just around the corner, but the singer has only ever released the odd single track.
Of the four band members Peter Buck has been the most active, releasing three solo albums as well as collaborative efforts with ex-Auteurs singer Luke Haines and with Filthy Friends, a kind of alt-rock supergroup which has over the years included both Krist Novoselic and Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker.
