Sunday, 18 October 2026
RIFFOLOGY
New Adventures in Hi‐Fi by R.E.M., album cover
Album · 30 years old this year

New Adventures in Hi‐Fi

by R.E.M.
Released9 September 1996
LabelWarner Bros. Records
Popularity76.8
Also cited10 September 1996
alternative rockrockalternative countryamericana
Wikipedia ↗MusicBrainz ↗Apple Music ↗Deezer ↗Podcast cover

New Adventures in Hi-Fi is the tenth studio album by R.E.M., the American alternative rock band, and their fifth for Warner Bros. Records. It came out on 9 September 1996, arriving in Europe and Australia first and in the United States a day later. It followed Monster from 1994 and preceded Up in 1998.

It is also the end of an era. This was the last record made with founding drummer Bill Berry, who left amicably the following year, as well as original manager Jefferson Holt and longtime producer Scott Litt. The band themselves see the finished album as R.E.M. at their peak, and many fans treat it as their last great record before a perceived decline. Its reputation has grown over the years, and several retrospectives rank it among their finest work.

New Adventures in Hi‐Fi: tracklist, credits and charts

14 tracks · 1:05:32

Tracklist

  1. 1How the West Was Won and Where It Got UsBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe4:31
  2. 2The Wake‐Up BombBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe5:08
  3. 3New Test LeperBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe5:27
  4. 4UndertowBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe5:09
  5. 5E‐Bow the LetterBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe5:25
  6. 6LeaveBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe7:18
  7. 7DepartureBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe3:29
  8. 8Bittersweet MeBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe4:06
  9. 9Be MineBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe5:33
  10. 10Binky the DoormatBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe5:02
  11. 11ZitherBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe2:34
  12. 12So Fast, So NumbBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe4:13
  13. 13Low DesertBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe3:32
  14. 14ElectroliteBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe4:05
Produced by
Scott Litt, R.E.M.
Recorded at
Bad Animals Studio (Seattle), John Keane Studios, Louie’s Clubhouse, North Charleston Coliseum, TD Garden, Omni Coliseum, The Palace of Auburn Hills, Memphis Pyramid, Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, Wachovia Spectrum, Amway Arena, Spectrum, Pyramid Arena, Studio X, Desert Sky Pavilion
Recorded
1995–1996
Mixed by
John Keane, Scott Litt
Mixed at
John Keane Studios, Louie’s Clubhouse
Engineered by
Adam Kasper, John Keane, Pat McCarthy, Joe O’Herlihy, Jo Ravitch, Jeff Wooding
Labels
Warner Bros. Records, Warner Bros.
Length
1:05:32

Line-up

  • Bill Berry · drums (drum set), percussion, whistle, acoustic guitar, synthesizer, background vocals, bass guitar
  • Peter Buck · bass guitar, bouzouki, guitar, mandolin, ebow, electric sitar, banjo
  • Mike Mills · piano, synthesizer, background vocals, bass guitar, organ, mellotron, Moog, keyboard, farfisa, guitar
  • Michael Stipe · synthesizer, lead vocals, spoken vocals
  • Nathan December · guitar, tambourine, slide guitar, güiro
  • Scott McCaughey · synthesizer, piano, farfisa, autoharp
  • Patti Smith · background vocals · guest
  • Andy Carlson · violin · guest

Singles

  • “E-Bow the Letter” · 19 August 1996
  • “Bittersweet Me” · 21 October 1996
  • “Electrolite” · 2 December 1996
  • “How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us” · 1997

Peak chart positions

ChartPeak
UK Albums Chart · 1996–971
US Billboard 200 · 1996–972
Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1996–971
Austrian Albums · 1996–971
Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 1996–971
Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1996–971
Canadian Albums (The Record) · 1996–971
Danish Albums (IFPI/Nielsen Music Control) · 1996–971
Dutch Albums · 1996–971
European Albums (European Top 100 Albums) · 1996–971
All 24 charts
Finnish Albums · 1996–971
German Albums · 1996–971
Irish Albums (IRMA) · 1996–971
New Zealand Albums · 1996–971
Norwegian Albums · 1996–971
Scottish Albums · 1996–971
Swedish Albums · 1996–971
Swiss Albums · 1996–971
Portuguese Albums (AFP) · 1996–972
Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 1996–973
Spanish Albums (AFYVE) · 1996–975
French Albums · 1996–976
Hungarian Albums · 1996–977
Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1996–9726

Certifications

RegionCertification
AustriaGold
Belgium · 1996Gold
Canada2× Platinum
GermanyGold
New ZealandPlatinum
NorwayGold
Spain · 1996Gold
Sweden · 1996Gold
SwitzerlandGold
United KingdomPlatinum
United States · 1996Platinum
Europe · 1996Platinum

From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.

76.8
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
4.1k
ListenBrainz listeners
98k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
12k
Deezer fans (all editions)
← Monster (1994)Essential R.E.M.: R.E.M. in the Attic (Alternative Recordings 1985–89) (1997) →

Also released on 9 September

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More from R.E.M.

Full discography →
Chronic Town by R.E.M., album cover
Chronic Town
1982
Murmur by R.E.M., album cover
Murmur
1983
Reckoning by R.E.M., album cover
Reckoning
1984
Fables of the Reconstruction by R.E.M., album cover
Fables of the Reconstruction
1985
Lifes Rich Pageant by R.E.M., album cover
Lifes Rich Pageant
1986
Dead Letter Office by R.E.M., album cover
Dead Letter Office
1987
Document by R.E.M., album cover
Document
1987
Eponymous by R.E.M., album cover
Eponymous
1988
Green by R.E.M., album cover
Green
1988
Out of Time by R.E.M., album cover
Out of Time
1991
The Best of R.E.M. by R.E.M., album cover
The Best of R.E.M.
1991
Automatic for the People by R.E.M., album cover
Automatic for the People
1992
The Automatic Box by R.E.M., album cover
The Automatic Box
1993
Singles Collected by R.E.M., album cover
Singles Collected
1994
Monster by R.E.M., album cover
Monster
1994
Essential R.E.M.: R.E.M. in the Attic (Alternative Recordings 1985–89) by R.E.M., album cover
Essential R.E.M.: R.E.M. in the Attic (Alternative Recordings 1985–89)
1997
Up by R.E.M., album cover
Up
1998
Reveal by R.E.M., album cover
Reveal
2001
Vancouver Rehearsal Tapes - May 10, 2003
2003
In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003 by R.E.M., album cover
In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003
2003
Around the Sun by R.E.M., album cover
Around the Sun
2004
iTunes Originals: R.E.M. by R.E.M., album cover
iTunes Originals: R.E.M.
2004
And I Feel Fine… The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982–1987 by R.E.M., album cover
And I Feel Fine… The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982–1987
2006
Live by R.E.M., album cover
Live
2007
Accelerate by R.E.M., album cover
Accelerate
2008
Reckoning Spotify Sampler by R.E.M., album cover
Reckoning Spotify Sampler
2009
Live at the Olympia by R.E.M., album cover
Live at the Olympia
2009
Collapse Into Now Sampler by R.E.M., album cover
Collapse Into Now Sampler
2011
Collapse Into Now by R.E.M., album cover
Collapse Into Now
2011
Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage: 1982–2011 by R.E.M., album cover
Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage: 1982–2011
2011
Live in Greensboro by R.E.M., album cover
Live in Greensboro
2013
Unplugged: The Complete 1991 and 2001 Sessions by R.E.M., album cover
Unplugged: The Complete 1991 and 2001 Sessions
2014
Complete Warner Bros. Rarities 1988–2011 by R.E.M., album cover
Complete Warner Bros. Rarities 1988–2011
2014
Complete Rarities – I.R.S. 1982–1987 by R.E.M., album cover
Complete Rarities – I.R.S. 1982–1987
2014
R.E.M. at the BBC by R.E.M., album cover
R.E.M. at the BBC
2018
Live at the Borderline 1991 by R.E.M., album cover
Live at the Borderline 1991
2019
Radio Free Europe 2025 by R.E.M., album cover
Radio Free Europe 2025
2025

The best of 1996

All of 1996 →
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Metallica · 1996
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Down on the Upside by Soundgarden, album cover
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Type O Negative · 1996
Yourself or Someone Like You by Matchbox Twenty, album cover
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Matchbox Twenty · 1996

More on Warner Bros. Records

The label →
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Linkin Park · 2000
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The Hunting Party by Linkin Park, album cover
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Out of Time by R.E.M., album cover
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R.E.M. · 1991
Automatic for the People by R.E.M., album cover
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R.E.M. · 1992
Reanimation by Linkin Park, album cover
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Linkin Park · 2002
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Tusk by Fleetwood Mac, album cover
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Fleetwood Mac · 1979

Releases and pressings

How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz; also seen: 1996-09-10 (wikidata)
SourceDateNote
MusicBrainz9 September 1996
Wikipedia infobox9 September 1996
Wikidata10 September 1996
US release10 September 1996earliest US date
UK / Europe release9 September 1996earliest UK or European date
20 editions
DateCountryLabelBarcodeKind
1996BRWarner Bros. Records093624632023other
1996XEWarner Bros. Records093624643623other
1996ZAWarner Bros. Records6001491375725other
1996AUWEA Records093624632023other
1996CAWarner Bros. Records093624632023other
9 September 1996XEWarner Bros. Records093624632023original
9 September 1996GBWarner Bros. Records093624632016original
10 September 1996USWarner Bros. Records093624632023other
25 September 1996JPWarner Bros. Records4943674080120other
1 March 2005USWarner Bros. Records081227395025other
2014USConcord Records00888072396173other
1 April 2016XWConcord Records00888072396166other
1 July 2016USConcord Bicycle Music093624632023other
29 October 2021XWCraft Recordings00888072264229remaster
29 October 2021XWCraft Recordings00888072264236remaster
29 October 2021—Craft Recordings00888072264243remaster
29 October 2021XWCraft Recordings00888072264250other
29 October 2021XWCraft Recordings888072263970deluxe
29 October 2021JPCraft Recordings4988031455555other
29 October 2021XWCraft Recordings00888072264076deluxe
Cover art sources

itunes · native: native 3000x3000

SourceSizeVerdict
itunes ✓3000×3000native: native 3000x3000
deezer1200×1200upscaled
fanarttv1000×1000upscaled
coverartarchive900×900upscaled