Tag Archives: r.e.m.

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Song of the Day #1,181: ‘Half a World Away’ – R.E.M.

R.E.M.’s Out of Time was released in 1991, and marked the band’s giant leap into the mainstream. First single ‘Losing My Religion’ became an unlikely smash, perhaps the first song featuring lead mandolin to reach Billboard’s top five. Guitarist Peter Buck was learning to play the mandolin for the first time when he stumbled upon the riff that would become ‘Losing My Religion.’

Out of Time is an odd mix of some of the best music the band ever recorded (‘Country Feedback,’ ‘Losing My Religion,’ today’s SOTD) and some of the worst (‘Radio Song,’ ‘Shiny Happy People‘).

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Song of the Day #1,180: ‘You Are the Everything’ – R.E.M.

Stop two on the R.E.M. nostalgia tour brings us to 1988’s Green, the band’s first album with Warner Bros. This record went double platinum and marks the beginning of R.E.M.’s commercial breakthrough.

Unfortunately, that breakthrough came courtesy of ‘Stand,’ one of the lamest R.E.M. songs. Sad that we live in a world where nobody is familiar with ‘(Don’t Go Back to) Rockville‘ but everybody can sing along to ‘Stand.’

But Green features some quality material, including the sublime ‘World Leader Pretend‘ and today’s beautifully melancholy track.

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Song of the Day #1,179: ‘Feeling Gravity’s Pull’ – R.E.M.

I was out of town when R.E.M. announced their break-up, so the news didn’t reach me right away. I saw a couple of Facebook friends post R.E.M. songs without any context and thought it an odd coincidence, but I didn’t assume it was pegged to news about the band.

A day later I read a short story about the announcement in USA Today, a rare case (these days) of learning about something for the first time in a newspaper.

My response was not sadness, but a mixture of relief and nostalgia. I imagine most long-term R.E.M. fans had a similar reaction.

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R.E.M. – Collapse Into Now

“20th century, collapse into now,” Michael Stipe says in the final moments of R.E.M.’s latest album, Collapse Into Now. And it’s a fitting coda, as this album feels like a look back at all the things R.E.M. did so well in the 80s and 90s.

It’s been 13 years since drummer Bill Berry left the band, and Collapse Into Now is the closest they’ve come since to sounding like who they used to be. It doesn’t come close to the heights of their best work — how could it? — but it’s a rewarding listen that suggests 2008’s blistering Accelerate was indeed the wake-up call it sounded like.

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