R.E.M.'s 'Nightswimming' is the Perfect Autumnal Ode to Memories and Faded Youth
Michael Stipe reflects on the past in a piano ballad that has come to signify the bittersweet nature of the fall season.
I know this is a newsletter titled “Free Happiness,” but there are times, like right now, when we are in need of solace.
And during the autumn months, this gorgeous song can especially be a true balm.
Recorded for the 1992 album Automatic for the People, this live version of “Nightswimming” was filmed exactly twenty years ago. It is a simple piano ballad that perfectly embodies the sepia glow of recalling memories from a more innocent time.
The wistful lyric “September is coming soon” is why “Nightswimming” is viewed as an autumnal song. But as a piece of music, it also captures the bittersweet reflectiveness that often accompanies this time of year.
And why I love this live version can be seen near the end the performance (at the 4:06 mark), when Michael Stipe1 watches Mike Mills play the piano. You can see their shared lifetime of memories, as bandmates and friends, flash through his mind. Stipe looks upwards, briefly overcome with emotion, and then flashes Mills a smile.
It is the loveliest snapshot of a longtime friendship, reflecting the nostalgic magic this song creates for those who hear it. Even for the person singing it.
On a personal note, R.E.M. is the underlying heartbeat of my writing career. My first-ever published essay referred to the band.2 And my novel Dava Shastri’s Last Day is a love letter to the transformative power of music, which for me originated with discovering them. R.E.M. is my own piece of free happiness, three decades and counting.
Pop culture recs
**I was honored to have my novel Advika and the Hollywood Wives included in the excellent essay, “The Wronged Women of the 2000s Come to Fiction,”3 detailing the double standards famous women experienced at the time, and how gossip was weaponized against them. A particularly timely read, considering Britney Spears’ new memoir.4
**I am an avid reader of Stereogum’s Number Ones column, which profiles every single No. 1 song in the history of the Billboard Hot 100. Recently, they added The Alternative Number Ones5, and this week is all about The B-52s “Love Shack.” And if Free Happiness could have a theme song, then this would be a good contender.
The story behind this song is fascinating, and actually quite moving. Sharing the gloriously fun music video here if you need the serotonin boost this week.
**I've had my own mixed feelings about George Harrison and his role in bringing Indian classical music to the pop mainstream. So I really appreciated this nuanced and thoughtful essay about The Quiet Beatle and cultural appropriation. (And agree with the writer’s final assessment.)
This week’s fun fact
A Halloween-themed fun fact for you this week:
Americans buy enough Halloween candy to fill six Titanics.
(This is the equivalent of 600 million pounds, or two pounds of candy per person.)
Wishing you a safe and festive Halloween! And just as a reminder, I’m speaking at the Diwali Literary Festival hosted by Yu & Me Books + Brown Girl Bookshelf this Saturday, November 4th in NYC. Details below!
Thanks for reading, I hope you have a wonderful week.
Michael Stipe recently made headlines for officiating the wedding of his goddaughter Frances Bean Cobain, the daughter of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain. A real “wow that’s so cool but also we’re so old” moment for Gen Xers everywhere.
Published on a now-defunct music site, the article was called “Is the End of the Album Near?” As you can probably tell, it was penned during the Napster era.
The essay was written by Elizabeth Held, author of the What to Read If newsletter, a must-read for book lovers.
A future Free Happiness post could just this snippet of Michelle Williams imitating Justin Timberlake on the audiobook.
This weekly column profiles every song that hit No. 1 on the Modern Rock/Alternative Billboard charts, and it’s also behind a paywall. But it is only $5 a month to read, and if you subscribe, then as a bonus you’ll be supporting vital independent music journalism.