Ever wandered what the albums were nearly called? Actually neither have I, but it's quite interesting, here's some suggested names which didn't quite make it:

MURMUR

R.E.M. Speedwagon
     In 1982 REO Speedwagon were a popular FM radio AOR band. That year Peter Buck told a radio interviewer "We're going to call [our first] album R.E.M. speedwagon and sell 2 million copies.

Mumble
     A music press joke at the expense of Stipe's indistinct vocals. It was subsequently used for a bootleg LP. Actually though, it wasn't so funny as R.E.M. had referenced that fact in their own choice of title, the dictionary definition of "murmur" being "softly spoken or nearly inarticulate word or speech".

RECKONING

Rate of Decay
     "That was a kind of joke," Peter said in 1984, after owning up to this suggestion. "It seems like most bands have one album in them - usually the first - and that's it. I thought it was kind of funny, but everyone was appalled by it, to put it mildly." Ironically, the title which the band did choose made much the same point.

File Under Water
     "The real, real title of the record is File Under Water," said Michael, cheekily, shortly after the release. In America both Reckoning and File Under Water appear on the spine of the LP, and nothing on the cover, so U.S. fans are left with the choice. In the UK they insisted on Reckoning appearing on the cover.

FABLES OF THE RECONSTRUCTION

Reconstruction of the Fables
     On the cover and spine of the record it is printed as "Fables of the/Reconstruction of the" so that it can be read either way.

The Sound and the Fury
     Michael told a radio interviewer "Up to the last minute, it was titled something else that we stole from Shakespeare, but it was decided against because William Faulkner had already stolen it."

High on Drugs
     Apparently this was also proposed as a title, presumably with the sole intention of winding up IRS.

LIFES RICH PAGEANT

Life's Rich Pageant
     Had Michael bothered to press the apostrophe key on his typewriter.

DOCUMENT

Mr. Evil Breakfast / Lester Bangs
     Ever since the recordings for Murmur, R.E.M. have put a sheet of paper on the wall in the studio, on which suggestions for the title were written. The above two, written by Peter Buck, are the only 2 legible from a photograph of the sheet.

Last Train to Disneyworld / Disneyland
     The album's working titles.

GREEN

Problems of the Homeless
     The title Stipe gave to Rolling Stone shortly before recording sessions began.

Think Tank Decoy
     The title given on pre-release fan club mails.

Fred
     When answering questions on the meaning of Green, Peter said "It's just a title. We could have called it Fred." Not exactly what you would call a serious suggestion.

OUT OF TIME

Bog
     Peter Buck: "We have the complete ability to do whatever we want to. Essentially, they can never not put out our records. We could make four records of us belching and farting and telling Benny Hill jokes, with a huge penis on the cover, and they'd have to put it out. That's the follow up to this one, of course. We've already recorded it! It'll be called Bog!"

Fiction
     The other side of Document's coin. Michael said "The original title was Fiction, because I wanted to make it very clear these song aren't about me."

Near Wild Heaven
     According to Peter Buck, this was seriously considered at one time. It was abandoned because "it makes the song more important than it is."

Out of Synch
     On an Italian television interview, where Michael and Mike had spend most of the time trying to explain the subtleties behind the chosen title, Michael made the wry comment "I think Out of Synch might have been a better title."  "Out of Beer" was also suggested at a drunken party.

AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE

Unforgettable
     Voted for by Peter and Mike, apparently

Star
     Having changed "Fuck Me Kitten" to "Star Me Kitten" to ensure the more conservative outlets would stock it, and so kids were allowed to but it, the band toyed with turning compromise into provocation. The title would also have tied in with the cover art. Also, having changed the name name of the song, the album would then have effectively have been called "Fuck".

MONSTER

Exploding Head
     Apparently the original title, this would also have gone with the cover art, as well as the change in musical style. Would have been a little ironic the following March, with Bill Berry's aneurysm.