I'm undergoing an R.E.M.enaissance. Max linked to Flagpole Magazine's list of the top 25 R.E.M. songs ever, and then drew up his own list, and many people chimed in with their own thoughts and links to lists in Max's comments. I think Kevin's list is my favorite I've seen so far, and I realized I had to do my own.
So, I've been listening to the boys from Athens for the past day or so (not solid, but everytime I've had music on) and here's what I've come up with.
And, it's not really the best R.E.M. songs necessarily, but definitely my favorite/top choices.
25. Undertow, New Adventures in Hi-Fi. One of my favorites from Hi-Fi, an album that I really love (I realize that puts me in the minority.) Key lyric: "This is not my time, sister, it is cold in heaven, and no one's coming after me."
24. Perfect Circle, Murmur. Gorgeous. Key lyric: "A perfect circle of acquaintances and friends."
23. Turn You Inside Out, Green. This is on here because a) it rocks, and b) because of the punny key lyric: "I believe in what you do. I believe in watching you."
22. Orange Crush, Green. Hey, Orange Crush just straight up rocks. The harmonies in it are sublime. Key lyric: none really, but pay note to the harmonies in the bridge.
21. The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite, Automatic for the People. It's a weird song, but I love it. I didn't really realize how much until I saw how high up it was in the play count listing in iTunes. I love how Stipe giggles in it, and I love the levity it gives Automatic for the People. It's literally like after Drive and Try Not to Breathe they knew something quirky was in order. Key lyric: "A candy bar, falling star, or a reading from Dr. Seuss."
20. Talk about the Passion, Murmur. Has a great opening guitar section, and is certainly a better meditation on Christ than Creed. Key lyric: "Not everyone can carry the weight of the world."
19. Man on the Moon, Automatic for the People. Love this, especially the live adaptations that change Mike Mills' backing vocals. It's kind of an epic song, and it was a pretty big radio hit, and for good reason. Stipe clearly has a lot of fun, especially live, doing the Elvis voice, but what I love most is the general wistfulness and curiosity inherent in it. Key lyric: "I'll see you in heaven if you make the list."
18. The Great Beyond, Man on the Moon Soundtrack. This one doesn't seem to have popped up on anyone else's list, maybe because it's post-Monster and not on a real album. I love, love, love this song. I saw them do this in 1999, I think, in St. Louis, and I just think it's a great song. It was also a huge song for me in college. It has a really nice sound. Key lyric: "I'm breaking through, I'm bending spoons, I'm keeping flowers in full bloom"
17. Finest Worksong, Document. Great rock song. After LRP, Document and Green are my favorite complete albums, and Finest Worksong is particulary great because it's a tone-setter for a great album. Key lyric: "What we want and what we need has been confused"
16. Shaking Through, Murmur. This is one that has come into favor with me in the last year or so. Murmur really kind of became fully realized to me only recently. And Shaking Through is just sort of ambling and chipper and awesome. Key lyric: Oh, who am I kidding. Shaking Through has kind of weird lyrics. But the melody is rad.
15. I Believe, Life's Rich Pageant. Another from LRP, and another that just totally reached into my little sixteen year old heart and pulled. It's a damn great song. Key lyric: "What do you do between the horns of the day?"
14. Exhuming McCarthy, Document. R.E.M.'s best political song, I think, all punchy and poppy. I had this on in the car today, on this spring day in New England and it was just perfect. Key lyric: "Look who bought the myth, by jingo, buy America."
13. You are the Everything, Green. I love how, on my iPod, the crickets come on and I get excited every time because I know it's this song. Probably the only totally perfect love song R.E.M. put out. Fell in love with this one early in my R.E.M. addiction. I can completely relate to the car ride imagery. Key lyric: "I think about this world a lot, and I cry."
12.E-Bow The Letter, New Adventures in Hi-Fi. This is another one where I think I'm alone in adoring it. The Patti Smith backing vocal is totally haunting and perfect, and there's a real narrative thread, of a sort of typical Stipe stream-of-consciousness thing. Key lyric: "Will we live to 83? Will you ever welcome me?" Another one with a great video.
11. Pop Song '89, Green. Love this one. It comes up on the radio sometimes and always fills me with glee. The video is superb, too. Also, it's freaking 16 years old. Wow. Great guitar riff, too. Key lyric: "Should we talk about the governmennt?"
10. Driver 8, Fables of the Reconstruction. I remember my acquiring of Fables was kind of weird. I bought it for my mom and she already had a copy, maybe? Something kind of out of the ordinary. It's not my favorite album, but Driver 8 is great. A great kind of folky pop song, and the rhythm is perfect for a song about a train. Key lyric: "The children look up, all they hear is sky blue bells ringing."
9. Try Not To Breathe, Automatic for the People. This song is like instant high school sense memory for me. I thought it was so unbelievable then, and I still do. Talk about a melody that drips with pathos. The strings are great in it, too. Key lyric: "These are the eyes that I want you to remember."
8. Nightswimming, Automatic for the People. Face it, it's great. John Paul Jones' arrangement of the orchestration is so complete. Nightswimming is the R.E.M. song for people who hate R.E.M. I pretty much have a rule that no mix cd or tape I make is R.E.M.-less, and Nightswimming is my go-to song for someone who I think is anti-R.E.M. Key lyric: "You I thought I knew you, You I cannot judge."
7. So Fast, So Numb, New Adventures in Hi-Fi. I'm really weird, I realize, but I adore New Adventures in Hi-Fi. When it came out I was very much nonplussed, and then two or three years later I gave it another shot and was like, "WHOA!" I heard a live version of this song on a bootleg, and completely fell in love with it. This song was a big part of my senior year in college soundtrack--I litened to NAiHF all the time. Key lyrics: "You say that you hate it, you want to recreate it." A great rock song.
6. Country Feedback, Out of Time. Stipe's favorite, as proclaimed on MTV Unplugged. This one also took a while to grow on me, but man. It's totally demoralizing and depressing, but beautiful. Key lyric: "It's crazy what you could have had."
5. World Leader Pretend, Green. Known for being the first song ever to have lyrics included in the liner notes. Partially because the lyrics really are superb. It still resonates, and it has a particularly nice instrumentation. Key lyric: "I have a rich understanding of my finest defenses."
4. Find the River, Out of Time. This is the song I want played at the end of my funeral. It's just so...resigned and beautiful and awesome. It took me years to appreciate this song. Nightswimming kind of overpowers it because it comes just before it, and Nightswimming is so great, but this one has aged better with me. Key lyric: "I've got to leave to find my way."
3. These Days, Life's Rich Pageant. LRP is my favorite album, I think maybe ever by anyone on earth. It's right up there with my top five for sure. These Days is just so kick ass. It opens strong and never quits. I remember being fourteen or fifiteen and just totally engaging with "We are young despite the years, we are concern, we are hope despite the times."
2. Half a World Away, Out of Time. This one is a sentimental favorite. I just adore it, and always have. When I saw R.E.M. in 1995, I just hoped and prayed that they would play this one, and they did, and it was awesome. It always makes me think of Keats' "Ode to a Nightengale." Key lyric: "The storm it came up strong, shook the trees, and blew away our fear."
1. Fall on Me, Life's Rich Pageant. My favorite song from my favorite album. I never, ever tire of this. It's gorgeous. Key lyric, from the bridge: "I would keep it above, but it wouldn't be sky anymore. If I sent it to you, you've got to promise to keep it whole." Damn.
Posted by waking slow at March 31, 2005 11:34 PM