Synopsis

At a lively Japanese party, young guests dance, pose, and mime along to R.E.M.'s swaggering rock song. Their playful, exaggerated performances create the impression of a stylish underground scene, while the band appears only briefly as detached observers. The video's quick cuts, heightened poses, and flirtatious energy match the track's glam-rock attitude, making the party feel less like a narrative setting than a vivid showcase for the song's rebellious mood.

Factoids & Trivia

• "Crush With Eyeliner" appears on R.E.M.'s 1994 album "Monster" and was released as a single in January 1995.

• The song features background vocals from Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, adding another layer to its noisy, glam-influenced sound.

• Michael Stipe said the track was inspired by the New York Dolls and their deliberately exaggerated, sleazy performance style.

• The song was among the first pieces of writing to emerge from Stipe after the creative block that followed the death of his friend River Phoenix.

• The video was included on "Parallel," R.E.M.'s 1995 home-video compilation covering material from the "Automatic for the People" and "Monster" eras.

• Unlike many traditional band-performance videos, the clip gives most of its screen time to the partygoers, leaving R.E.M. in a deliberately secondary, observational role.

• "Crush With Eyeliner" was later featured in the soundtrack of the 2019 film "Captain Marvel."