<P> Recording of the song started in September 1990 at Bearsville Studio A in Woodstock, New York . The song was arranged in the studio with mandolin, electric bass, and drums . Bassist Mike Mills came up with a bassline inspired by the work of Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie; by his own admission he could not come up with one for the song that was not derivative . Buck said the arrangement of the song "had a hollow feel to it . There's absolutely no midrange on it, just low end and high end, because Mike usually stayed pretty low on the bass ." The band decided to have touring guitarist Peter Holsapple play acoustic guitar on the recording . Buck reflected, "It was really cool: Peter and I would be in our little booth, sweating away, and Bill and Mike would be out there in the other room going at it . It just had a really magical feel ." Singer Michael Stipe's vocal was recorded in a single take . Orchestral strings, arranged by Mark Bingham, were added to the song by members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at Soundscape Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, in October 1990 . </P> <P> "Losing My Religion" is based on Peter Buck's mandolin - playing . Buck said, "The verses are the kinds of things R.E.M. uses a lot, going from one minor to another, kind (of) like those' Driver 8' chords . You can't really say anything bad about E minor, A minor, D, and G--I mean, they're just good chords ." Buck noted that "Losing My Religion" was "probably the most typical R.E.M. - sounding song on the record . We are trying to get away from those kind of songs, but like I said before, those are some good chords ." Orchestral strings play through parts of the song . The song is in natural minor . </P> <P> In the song, Michael Stipe sings the lines "That's me in the corner / That's me in the spotlight / Losing my religion". The phrase "losing my religion" is an expression from the southern region of the United States that means losing one's temper or civility, or "being at the end of one's rope ." Stipe told The New York Times the song was about romantic expression . He told Q that "Losing My Religion" is about "someone who pines for someone else . It's unrequited love, what have you ." Stipe compared the song's theme to "Every Breath You Take" by The Police, saying, "It's just a classic obsession pop song . I've always felt the best kinds of songs are the ones where anybody can listen to it, put themselves in it and say,' Yeah, that's me ."' </P> <P> "Losing My Religion" was released on February 19, 1991, in the United States as the lead single from R.E.M.'s forthcoming album Out of Time . The band's record label, Warner Bros., was wary about the group's choice of the song as the album's first single . Steven Baker, who was vice president of product management at Warner Bros. at the time, said there were "long, drawn - out discussions" about releasing such an "unconventional track" as the single until the label agreed . While R.E.M. declined to tour to promote Out of Time, the band visited radio stations, gave numerous press interviews, and made appearances on MTV to promote the record . Meanwhile, Warner Bros. worked to establish the single at campus, modern rock, and album - oriented rock radio stations before promoting it to American Top 40 stations, where it became a success . "The record crosses the boundaries of being just an alternative record", one Top 40 radio station program director said; he admitted that "Losing My Religion" was "a hard record to program; you can't play L.L. Cool J behind it . But it's a real pop record--you can dance to it ." </P>

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