Synopsis

R.E.M. perform "Bang And Blame" in three side-by-side black-and-white panels, with each frame showing a different take and shifting combinations of the band members. The stark performance footage is interrupted by glimpses of a house interior, playful but oddly disorienting close-ups, and rapidly accelerated images filmed from a moving car on rural roads. The fragmented editing and changing visual rhythms match the song's aggressive, unsettled character while keeping the band at the center of the clip.

Factoids & Trivia

• The three-panel layout was conceived as a way to frame several images at once rather than present the performance in a conventional full-screen format. The approach reflects an interest in still photography and boxed compositions.

• The video was filmed in New York in September 1994, around the time of the MTV Video Music Awards.

• A contemporary SPIN report mentioned Michael Stipe filming scenes with MTV journalist Tabitha Soren and actor Stephen Dorff, including a bizarre squirt-gun sequence.

• The clip was included in R.E.M.'s 1995 long-form video compilation "Parallel," which collected promotional films from the "Automatic for the People" and "Monster" eras.

• "Bang And Blame" became R.E.M.'s last single to reach the US Billboard Hot 100 top 40, while also becoming the band's final number-one hit on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song reached number one in Canada as well.