Overlooked Songs

Volume 28, Track 9

“What If We Give It Away?” by R.E.M. (1986) Back when vinyl and cassettes were the only music formats—back when there were two sides to an album—R.E.M. had a habit of naming each side, especially during their I.R.S. years. On Lifes Rich Pageant, the band’s environmentally conscious breakthrough album, side one was called “Dinner side” [...]

Volume 28, Track 8

“White Tornado” by R.E.M. (1987) The B-side to “Superman,” “White Tornado” was recorded on the same day that “Radio Free Europe” was back in 1981 (and I’m pretty sure it was the original Hib-Tone version of “Radio Free Europe” and not the I.R.S. version, if I’m not mistaken). “White Tornado” clocks in at just under [...]

Volume 28, Track 7

“Tongue” by R.E.M. (1994) “Anybody can get laid” The above lyric always taunted me when I listened to this song when I was sixteen years old and was still a virgin. The context of the song didn’t matter; it felt like Michael Stipe was personally fucking with me. Anybody can get laid—except for me. The [...]

Volume 28, Track 6

“Binky the Doormat” by R.E.M. (1996) New Adventures in Hi-Fi is the album I consider to be R.E.M.’s swan song, and I imagine that I am not alone in this regard. This is the last album that drummer Bill Berry would appear on and, while I love Stipe, Buck, and Mills, it just never felt [...]

Volume 28, Track 5

“Shaking Through” by R.E.M. (1983) If I were in high school or college listening to Murmur for the first time when it was released in 1983, I imagine that I would be blown away by the first side. Then I would flip the album over to side two and be impressed with “Catapult” and “Sitting [...]

Volume 28, Track 4

“King of Birds” by R.E.M. (1987) The penultimate song on Document, “King of Birds” starts with a quasi-Middle Eastern feel, followed by a nice marching beat by Bill Berry. It grows into a mellow number that finds Michael Stipe’s vocals layered on top of one another during the chorus. When the song reaches its climax [...]

Volume 28, Track 3

“Voice of Harold” by R.E.M. (1987) Dead Letter Office is a collection of B-sides that never saw the day of light on the radio, or on MTV. (The album’s title is named after the USPS office that holds undeliverable mail.) “Voice of Harold,” the B-side of “So. Central Rain,” is the most interesting track on [...]