"The Great Beyond" is a song by R.E.M. written specifically for the 1999 filmMan on the Moon. It was released as a single the following year for support of the film's soundtrack album. The single reached #3 in the UK singles chart in January 2000, the band's highest-ever chart position in that country. The unedited version is included in two R.E.M. compilations: In Time - The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003 and Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011. On the Man on the Moon soundtrack, there is some dialogue from the movie at the end of the track; meanwhile, the single version is a radio edit, with the bridge omitted. In the unedited version, at 4:09 and at 4:26, the listener can hearMichael Stipe singing the following lines in the background: "Here's a little agit for the never-believer, here's a little ghost for the offering". Both lines were taken from the 1992 R.E.M. song "Man on the Moon", also about Andy Kaufman, from which the movie took its title. According to the book Perfect Circle: The Story of R.E.M., the band employed their then-usual live musicians when recording the song: "To record the single, the group convened at John Keane's. Joey Waronker was brought in on drums; Scott McCaughey and Ken Stringfellow were each invited to take part; Pat McCarthy returned to the producer's chair." The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. The song's video was directed by Liz Friedlander. It originally featured footage of Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman from the 1999 film. Yet, the compilation DVD', the video was remixed to feature archived footage of Kaufman himself. The original version can be seen on the Man on the Moon DVD. Carrey revealed in the 2017 documentary that he had been invited to appear in the video in person, but refused, as he wished to psychologically distance himself from the Kaufman character; he stated that he now regretted the decision. In June 2003, Michael Stipe sang an a cappella excerpt from the song for a BBC Radio 2 advertisement. He performed it on a stage in an empty theater. Welsh progressive breakbeat producers Hybrid later would use this a cappella to create a bootlegremix. The song was covered by The Fray in 2007 for the compilation album'. A live version of this song is included on R.E.M. Live.
Track listing
All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe, except for "The Great Beyond" written by Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe. Cassette / US CD
