J. Niimi writes about music for the Chicago Reader, SPIN, City Pages, and SF Weekly, among other publications. In previous years he worked as a studio engineer, recorded eight albums as the drummer of Ashtray Boy, and hosted a weekly radio show on WHPK. He lives in Chicago with his wife and their two border terriers.

R.E.M.'s debut album, released in 1983, was so far removed from the prevailing trends of American popular music that it still sounds miraculous and out of time today. J. Niimi tells the story of the album's genesis - with fascinating input from Don Dixon and Mitch Easter. He also investigates Michael Stipe's hypnotic, mysterious lyrics, and makes the case for Murmur as a work of Southern Gothic art.