Quintessential R.E.M.

The 10 songs you need to listen to in order to fully appreciate the greatness of these four gents from Athens, GA.


10. "How The West Was Won and Where it Got Us" - New Adventures in Hi-Fi
One of the later tracks from the good period, before Bill Berry left and the band lost its way for about three albums. Very lush sound on this one...a marked contrast from the I.R.S. period. Stipe's vocals come to the fore on this one. The depth of the lyrics is stunning.

9. "Finest Worksong" - Document
For my money, Document is their best album, based in part on this track. Strong writing and a well-arranged horn section make this one worth listening to.

8. "Living Well is the Best Revenge" - Accelerate
The best track on the new album. Shows the evolution of their sound until this point, though they were much better with Bill Berry. This one comes close to matching the mature sound from the mid-1990s, just after the switch to Warner and before the wheels fell off.

7. "One" (U2 Cover)
This one has made the rounds on the internet for a while and was even picked up by Music Choice for a time. I think it might just be Mills and Stipe here, but I'm not sure and have seen it labeled a couple of different ways. The harmonizing between the two is the best I have ever heard it. Stipe's interpretation of Bono's lyrics are incredible...he nails the emotional parts and makes it his own.

6. "Exhuming McCarthy" - Document
Veiled political messages from the 1980s combined with a funky guitar riff from Peter Buck. An upbeat ditty as the nation, supposedly, went all to pot under Reagan.

5. "Superman" - Life's Rich Pageant
Just listen.

4. "Orange Crush" - Green
Anti-Vietnam and very memorable lyrics. Politics and good music work well together here.

3. "It's The End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" - Document
Naturally. In 4 minutes you get a snapshot of the 1980s on American college campuses.

2. "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville" - Reckoning
Written ostensibly about a girl who was about to leave UGA, much to the chagrin of certain band members, but is really about the rural South and its take on urban discontent. Best instrumentation while they were on I.R.S. The 10,000 Maniacs cover of this one is strong as well.

1. "Everybody Hurts" - Automatic for the People
Hands down their best song. The video (where the people stop their cars on the interstate and start walking) helped a lot, as did their performance of this one on the VMAs. Lyrically and musically flawless.

So I'm a bit too tired to do this list justice with comments...