"Bang and Blame" is a song by American
alternative rock group
R.E.M. It was released as the second single from their ninth studio album, Monster (1994), on October 31, 1994 by
Warner Bros. Records. The song was R.E.M.'s last to reach the top 40 on the US
Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 19, and was also their last number-one single on the BillboardModern Rock Tracks chart. The single reached number one in Canada—R.E.M.'s only single to do so—and peaked inside the top 40 on the charts of Australia, Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
Steve Baltin from Cash Box named "Bang and Blame" Pick of the Week and "one of the strongest tracks on the entire album." He wrote, "A
hard-edged guitar tune, vocalist
Michael Stipe gets one of his best moments of Monster when he sings, “You kiss on me/don't kiss on me/you tug on me don't tug on me.” The propulsive rhythm of this track should also prove enticing even to non-fans of the group."[3] Fell and Rufer from the Gavin Report felt that "Stipe's angst bites the hand that used to feed it. "Bang and Blame" seems to be the result of some bad kiss 'n' tell. His genius as an oblique lyricist is most of his charm. The arrangement adds to the drama and makes it almost irresistible. Hot
A/C will eat this one for lunch."[4]
Terry Staunton from Melody Maker named it "one of the least effective songs on the Monster album, and therefore a particularly odd choice for a single."[5] Keith Cameron from NME said it "hinges on an archetypically pretty melody and Stipe's ambiguous voice, caught betwixt disdain and sympathy for the song's distressed subject".[6] Neil Spencer from The Observer wrote that on tracks such as "Bang and Blame", "there are bursts of the musical invention and humanist outlook that characterises their best work."[7]
Track listings
All songs were written by
Bill Berry,
Peter Buck,
Mike Mills, and
Michael Stipe. All live tracks were recorded at the
40 Watt Club, Athens, Georgia, on November 19, 1992. The performance, a benefit for
Greenpeace, was recorded on a solar-powered mobile studio.
"Bang and Blame" was featured in the Cold Case episode "Blackout" as well as in the Danish mini-series "
Charlot og Charlotte" by Ole Bornedal (director of "Nattevagten"/"The Night Watch"), the My Mad Fat Diary episode "Not I" and the Melrose Place episode "No Strings Attached". The song was also used in
"Weird Al" Yankovic's polka medley "The Alternative Polka" from his 1996 album Bad Hair Day.
^Bang and Blame (US cassette single cassette notes). R.E.M. Warner Bros. Records. 1994. 4-17994.{{
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^Bang and Blame (US CD single disc notes). R.E.M. Warner Bros. Records. 1994. 9 17994-2.{{
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^Bang and Blame (UK 7-inch vinyl sleeve). R.E.M. Warner Bros. Records. 1994. W0275.{{
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^Bang and Blame (UK cassette single cassette notes). R.E.M. Warner Bros. Records. 1994. W0275C.{{
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^Bang and Blame (UK & European CD single disc notes). R.E.M. Warner Bros. Records. 1994. W0275CD.{{
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^Bang and Blame (Australian CD single liner notes). R.E.M. Warner Bros. Records. 1994. 9362418572.{{
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^Bang and Blame (Japanese CD single liner notes). R.E.M. Warner Bros. Records. 1995. WPCR-163.{{
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