Watch R.E.M.’s Extended, NSFW ‘Nightswimming’ Video
R.E.M. have unveiled an extended and not-safe-for-work version of the video for their 1993 single “Nightswimming.” The so-called “R version” of the clip will see release on the 25th-anniversary reissue of Automatic for the People, out November 10th via Craft Recordings.
The “R version” of “Nightswimming” features an extended intro in which a group of young people gather by a lake and strip down for a skinny dip and a campfire. The clip then shifts to shots of R.E.M.‘s hometown of Athens, Georgia, eventually catching up with the businessman whose lonely late-night swim in a motel pool anchors the original video. The extended clip also includes an additional mid-section featuring more of director Jem Cohen’s gorgeous, gauzy footage of the naked bathers.
In a short behind-the-scenes video, R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe talks about how the “Nightswimming” video came together, giving all the credit to Cohen. “He called all his coolest friends together and said, ‘We’re going to a lake, or a stream, and we’re setting up really rudimentary lights and you’re gonna get naked and I’m gonna photograph you and make films,'” the singer says. “And he put together a beautiful piece.”
“In ’91, I made a daytime swimming hole film (Drink Deep) shot mostly around Athens, Georgia,” Cohen tells Rolling Stone of the origin of the clip. “Michael took part and the ‘Nightswimming’ offer came on the tail of that. ‘Nightswimming’ was simply about skinny-dipping as a liberating celebration for all kinds of people with all kinds of bodies in all kinds of water. It was drawn right out of the song and local experience, with the one twist being the man in the motel pool. To me, MTV-style music videos were usually a sexist, commodified drag, so the video was also a chance to take that on a bit. In fact, I was frustrated by music video constraints in general and the footage we got was such a joy that I eventually did the extended ‘Full Moon’ short film you see here; breaking the song in half, full frontal all around, etc.
“It was very generous of the band and label to let me go ahead with it. Michael had also been there for most of the shooting, a measure of friendship, of his intense involvement with independent film, and of his deeply personal connection to the song. One of the only hitches with the whole ‘Nightswimming’ project was that to make the deadline we couldn’t wait until summer to shoot so we sometimes froze our asses off, but all in all, it was one of the sweetest gigs I’ve ever had.”
The extended version of the “Nightswimming” video will appear on a Blu-ray disc alongside the other music videos R.E.M. released for Automatic for the People. The 25th-anniversary edition will also feature several unreleased tracks, including “Devil Rides Backwards” and “Mike’s Pop Song,” plus a concert LP, Live at the 40 Watt Club 11/19/92.