Once in awhile I spin the dial and land on a Random Weekend song that I’m (wrongly) certain has been on the blog before.

Such is the case with today’s selection, R.E.M.’s cover of The Velvet Underground’s ‘Pale Blue Eyes.’ This recording was released on the 1987 album Dead Letter Office, a collection of rare cuts and B-sides, and it has always been a favorite of mine. But while I have featured the Velvet Underground original, I’ve never gotten around to posting R.E.M.’s version.

This track was recorded during sessions for R.E.M.’s sophomore album, 1984’s Reckoning, and guitarist Peter Buck had this to say about it:

This is one of my favorite Lou Reed songs. Michael changed the lyrics considerably and I added an exceedingly sloppy solo.

It might be sloppy, but I find the whole thing quite lovely.