Welcome to part 3 of my 5 part list of the best 105 R.E.M. songs of all time. Again to re-iterate this is my list of favorites in my order. If you have a different take by all means let me know what you think in the comments section. Again I will have about 5 videos in here as well. Let's move along:
63. LEAVE: From New Adventures in HI-FI: This is one of those songs where when I first heard it. I hated it. The beginning was too much with some every electronic music which I am usually not a fan of. But when I got In Time the best of REM, on the second CD they had a different version of the song and I loved this new version. Gone was the electronic part. But begrudingly I went back and listened to the original one again and voila I liked it.
62. SITTING STILL: From Murmur: More classic early REM. Just a fun little song.
61. DISCOVERER: From Collapse into Now: The first track from what turned out to be REM's last studio album is a catchy grabber of a song that actually makes an appearance in the last song of the album. Blue (which was #81).
60. SWAN SWAN H: From Life's Rich Pagent: Another great song from a great album. This one is pretty interesting and is one of their slower songs. Still good though.
59. STAND: From Green: One of REM's more popular and well known songs is the epitome of peppiness and goofiness. It was also used as the theme song for the long ago sitcom Get A Life starring Chris Elliot and Brian Doyle-Murray. But is definitly one of the songs most people remember REM did.
58. LOSING MY RELIGION: From Out of Time: This is the song that made REM. This was by far their biggest hit, another of the songs they are mostly known for, and it is grossly misunderstood. It is not an anti-religion song. Listen to the lyrics. It's about losing yourself, not your faith or religious beliefs. Losing My Religion is a Southern term. The video however made it out to be a song about losing the literal religion, that may be where some of the confusion comes from. Regardless, this is the song that propelled REM into the stratusphere and sent them on an incredible journey that most bands would love to have. In the end it is not one of favorite songs, but it is tolerable.
57. TRY NOT TO BREATH: From Automatic for the People: Love this song. A song that tries to be dark and depressing ala Everybody Hurts, but is actually a song about hope. And one of the neatest songs out there.
56. UNTIL THE DAY IS DONE: From Accelerate: One of the songs that slows the speed of Accelerate down, but is another glorious soft song full of hope.
55. SWEETNESS FOLLOWS: From Automatic For The People: The last three songs are a pretty good group to listen to in one sitting. A good retort to Everybody Hurts that is absolutely wonderful.
53. IT HAPPENED TODAY: from Collapse Into Now: What I love about this song is that the actual singing is only about 2 minutes long, and it's a great catchy song. But what nails it for me is the Minute and a half of just music and humming. The Mandolin that was so prevalent in Out of Time makes a reapperance here as well.
52. SUPERNATURAL SUPERSERIOUS: from Acclerate: This was the first song in a really long time by REM that was played on the radio. I remember hearing it on 98 ROCK a number of times. This in turn helped Accelerate get REM back on the charts. It also is a fun song that has some rememberances of going to camp when you were younger.
51. LIFE AND HOW TO LIVE IT: from Reconstruction of the Fables: Like much of Fables I did not like the songs until I started listenting to it more. This one is a good old fashioned rocker, very REM-esqe and I am still surprised at myself for not liking it more when I was younger.
50. SO. CENTRAL RAIN: from Reckoning: "I'm sorry, I'm Sorry..." While a good old fashioned Southern rock song, it is also an apology to a scorned loved one. So. Central Rain is one of their classic songs that when you hear it know immediately that it is REM. It is also one of their first ever televised songs.
48. EXHUMING McCARTHY: from Document: REM has always been a political band and this song is another one of their political songs. Though not has overt has Ignoreland or Revolution, this one in a peppy no nonsense way tries to let everyone know that McCarthyism is still around. They even dip into history and pull out a section from one of the McCarthy hearings. "Have you no sense of decency sir?"
47. THE SIDEWINDER SLEEPS TONITE: from Automatic for the People: With it's title it is supposed to make you think of The Lion sleeps tonight, though both songs are nowhere close to being near each other. This song though is a fun one that would have probably felt better suited for the more fun out of Time then the contemplative Automatic For The People. But there it is, and it is a nice palatte cleanse for the more slower album that is Automatic For the People.
46. BANG AND BLAME: from Monster: The second single from Monster after What's the Frequency Kenneth? This one is one of their classic rockers but without as much electricity as What's the Frequency Kenneth? had. The chorus is a little earwormy, but it has a good opening and is a great fun rocker.
45. DRIVE: from Automatic for the People: The first single from what I still think is their best album leads you right into their contemplative state of mind that the album is mostly about, it also differentiates itself from their previous album Out of Time.
44. MORAL KIOSK: from Murmur: Moral Kiosk is a quirky song that keeps the upbeat tempo of their first album in tact in a fun song that will also earworm you as well.
43. WORLD LEADER PRETEND: from Green: A truly amazing song, a deep song, and one you won't stop thinking about.
That's it for this countdown. Sorry for the delay. Hopefully the next one won't be as late.
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