Synopsis

On April 5, 1980 four college pals - Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe - took the stage together for the first time to play at a friend's birthday party. The band they started that night stayed together for 30 years and changed the shape of rock music. This film tells R.E.M.'s story in their own words, through three decades of performances and interviews R.E.M. gave to MTV. Featuring revealing, never-before-seen footage, R.E.M. by MTV tells the amazing story of a band that did it their own way, and changed how a generation of musicians after them did it, too.

Director

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  • Alexander Young
  • Alexander Young is a producer and director based in New York. Born in 1980 and raised in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, he first saw an R.E.M. concert at age 14 with his father, solidifying his passion for R.E.M. and live music. In 2014, he directed and co-produced a documentary covering the music and history of R.E.M. He currently works in music development and programming at MTV.