Anybody else love "Sidewinder"? It was their nod to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE is do bomb.

@Lewis5020

4 күн бұрын

Great tune! I like how Michael laughs in the first line of the chorus after "Or a reading from Dr. Seuss"

@christiangrote6027

Күн бұрын

Love it! It's so uplifting 🙂

@brianrobertson9580

Күн бұрын

Always been my favorite REM song (I continue to be surprised by that, but I just can’t stop loving it).

Rick, I know this vid is a year old, but my father died shortly after Automatic came out, my mother soon after. Try Not to Breathe, Sweetness Follows, Everybody Hurts and Find a River resonates so strongly with me. It was the right album at the right time.Truthfully Document is my favorite R.E.M. album, Automatic is a very close second. Congrats on interviewing Mike Mills, so good to see R.E.M. perform at the Songwriters ceremony.

Find the River is my favorite. It’s tough to pick from so many excellent songs, but Find the River is an absolutely gorgeous song, perfect in every element.

@hogey74

9 ай бұрын

Me too! When they came to Brisbane in about 2009 they played it and Michael said it was because someone had asked specifically. I was so glad.

@MichaelSeow

9 ай бұрын

Agreed

@andyrunton

9 ай бұрын

Totally agree. Listened to them since the beginning and this is the one that I just can’t get enough of. It’s so haunting and so easy to lose yourself in.

@Florida_guy

9 ай бұрын

Yea find the river is such a great song

@MayorOfFunkytown42

8 ай бұрын

Fall on Me, Gardening at Night, and Rockville are some other great ones

You are the Everything, for me. Off GREEN. Just takes me straight back to being a littlun and falling asleep laid out, on the back seat of dad’s red Ford Cortina, driving back from a day at gran and grandads. The stars, aroma of the seats, the sound of travel and the engine.. Such peace.

@fuckamericanidiot

3 ай бұрын

That's lovely

@deFruitberg

3 ай бұрын

One of their best, indeed

@johnharvey4448

2 ай бұрын

Same. Laid down on back seat of old Ford Escort Estate, no seat belt driving back from Aunties too late. Here's a scene you're in the backseat laying down, the windows wrap around you, the sound of travel and the engine...

@kamiekarsten5555

14 күн бұрын

My favorite as well

@ericspagnoli1594

10 күн бұрын

Love the lyrics all of Green is pretty classic actually

"Driver 8" and "Fall on Me" are two of their greatest, and every lifelong R.E.M. fan loves them.

@TacomaGraphicArtist

Жыл бұрын

Driver 8 and Don't Go Back to Rockville are my favorites

@piershollott339

Жыл бұрын

I am always going to love Document because of how that album showed what they were really capable of, but everything they would later do was evident in Fables and Pageant... I love the harmonies in "Fall On Me" so much. They're not trying to be the Beatles or the Beach Boys, they're just doing their own thing. Mike Mills backup vocals are always stellar.

@netflix_and_zwift

Жыл бұрын

Fall on Me - Hands down

@mojodojo5533

Жыл бұрын

My two favorites for sure. They are quintessential REM.

@matthewdavenport2490

Жыл бұрын

@@piershollott339 100% Mike Mills' backup vocals on "Fall on Me" are the hook of the entire song for me.

"Fall on Me" deserved a mention. It's amazing in all respects especially the conversion of the vocals in the chorus. It's eerily nostalgic and utterly beautiful.

@Tamburlaine2

Жыл бұрын

I was surprised nothing from REM's best album, Life's Rich Pageant, made the list.

@nobodyimportant7804

Жыл бұрын

Definitely, but if he included all the worthy songs, the video would be two hours long, which would be fine with me.

@billsilva1740

Жыл бұрын

@@Tamburlaine2 100% their best album. So many good songs.

@zendisciple3737

Жыл бұрын

Was Stipe's favourite at some point...

@gnlout7403

Жыл бұрын

@@Tamburlaine2 life's rich pageant is amazing. My all time favorite 80s record, at least Love murmer too. The days when Michael Stipe mumbled were epic

Top 5 all time band. “Fall on Me’ ‘Don’t go back to Rockville” plus So. Central Rain ALWAYS in my rotation.

@captaintwitch

3 күн бұрын

Three of my absolute favorites.

The Flowers of Guatemala is an incredibly beautiful song. Begin the Begin is a great, fun song.

A couple years back I gave a listen to R.E.M.'s entire catalog and it blew me away. This band is one of the greatest bands to ever exist.

@MrLuigiFercotti

3 күн бұрын

Nah, I someone on the chat say they are over-rated. lol

@jckyhn7329

2 күн бұрын

One of the greatest US rock bands. Maybe the greatest?

The secret sauce in REM songs was Mike Mills' bass lines. He never just mirrored the guitar chords...he was always playing some kind of counterpoint to what Peter was playing or Michael was singing. I would love to hear Rick do a video with some isolated REM bass lines.

@Happyheretic2308

Жыл бұрын

And compare to JPJ

@brianmiller1077

Жыл бұрын

@ghost mall JPJ, like MM does a lot of counterpoint. I'd say MM is better at it but Jones does all the keyboard stuff and string arrangements. Mills is up there with McCartney and Jamerson in my opinion

@darenmanville2274

Жыл бұрын

yes, and his background vox, MM is the man!

@ue4058

Жыл бұрын

@@Happyheretic2308 Great comment, you are spot on and it's been said many times if still not enough. Mills played the same role as John Paul Jones in Zep - they were both the best all-around musicians in their respective bands, multi-instrumentalists and the "secret sauce" essential to the songwriting and arranging. No JPJ, no Zep. No Millsy, no REM.

@floridaclarinetstudio2338

Жыл бұрын

@ghost mall here's a fun fact: R.E.M. producer Scott Litt reached out to JPJ about arranging strings for "Everybody Hurts" and three other Automatic tunes: "Drive," "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" and "Nightswimming." After hearing the demos, Jones happily obliged. Great crossover, not to mention Mills was surely listening to JPJ and zeplin as well back in those 1970s:) Cheers!

“Nightswimming” is nothing short of a masterpiece. Maybe the most vulnerable lyrics since “One More Try” by George Michael. Stipe really knocked it out of the park.

@cejannuzi

5 күн бұрын

Check out UK band, Gene, and their cover of Nightswimming. It's an excellent song--both versions.

@rse1113

5 күн бұрын

@@cejannuzi Cheers for that.

@DailyMailHACK-dq4ql

4 күн бұрын

The Jools Holland Later version is the best bar none…

@rse1113

4 күн бұрын

@@DailyMailHACK-dq4ql I’ll second that.

Why has nobody pointed out the obvious choice; Country Feedback. Absolutely incredible vocals and emotional intensity. No surprise it's Michael Stipes favourite REM song

@JK_Chapman

7 ай бұрын

💯

@hawkjeff

7 ай бұрын

You nailed it. This is the only answer as far as I am concerned. That's nothing against the rest of the catalog. This is just one of my favorite songs by anyone.

@markclaxton3143

7 ай бұрын

Great to find someone on the same wavelength

@pifko87

7 ай бұрын

@@markclaxton3143 Check out the live version on the Jools Holland special 1998. THE best version. Better than the album. SO much emotion.

@brunoborela4161

7 ай бұрын

correct country feedback is the type of song that comes once in a lifetime

Might not be a popular pick, but Nightswimming is their best for me. Just simple, nostalgic, beautiful.

@RUfromthe40s

Жыл бұрын

is the favorite song for many people i know

@rake.

Жыл бұрын

Love it, my favorite for sure.

@RickMarch

Жыл бұрын

My wife's favorite for sure.

@bloffs3352

Жыл бұрын

Oh it's up with the best fir sure.

@caddisking

Жыл бұрын

Cuyahoga

As a straight ahead banger of a rock song, Orange Crush is one of my all time favorites. The bass and snare sounds are incredible.

@later_daze_4080

Жыл бұрын

Agreed!

@FrankieBag0donuts

Жыл бұрын

Yep... definitely their BEST song!

@roelhoremans5887

Жыл бұрын

Strong contender.

@jollyjohnthepirate3168

Жыл бұрын

My neighbor who is a Vietnam vet broke down in tears when he listened to this song.

@darthterror2840

Жыл бұрын

Totally…I was actually expecting to see it on the list.

World Leader Pretend deserves an Honorable Mention

"Leave" is my favorite. Probably the most heartfelt.

@Mahatma618

9 күн бұрын

Mine too.Hit me like a brick.

@johnscarr70

8 күн бұрын

​@@Mahatma618stellar song.

@agc4043

5 күн бұрын

Mine too

@billyscenic5610

5 күн бұрын

@@CompanyGhost New Adventures is the one I like.

My favorite REM song is "Me in Honey". Kate Pierson's voice just sends it over the edge for me, it's sp beautiful and sad.

@mcswilly

Жыл бұрын

One of their best grooves, my kids love that one. Good call.

@duncefunce1513

Жыл бұрын

I think I'm with you there. Definitely overlooked

@ChrisConnolly-Mr.C-Dives-In

Жыл бұрын

Good pick. All immersed in the emotional realization.

@OU8I2

Жыл бұрын

“Baby's got some new rules, baby says she's had it with me…”

@ChrisConnolly-Mr.C-Dives-In

Жыл бұрын

@@OU8I2 so much emotional pain expressed in so few words. Exploring the human condition and suffering, with music and lyrics.

"Near Wild Heaven" has harmonies that give me the chills.

@jonser20cent68

Жыл бұрын

Great song

@hrblsh

Жыл бұрын

Agreed! This is one of my favourite of theirs.

@kimdawcatgirl

Жыл бұрын

Yes!

@tinman8753

Ай бұрын

Mike Mills sang on this one. Are you saying you prefer hkm to Stipe?

@KustomConcern

5 күн бұрын

Probably the best song on Out of Time.

“The Great Beyond” is the one that does it for me like that. Hits me right in the heart. I’m pretty sure it’s about watching a loved one die as well and when I hear it it brings back a moment like that in my life and I cry.

@Downunder_Son

6 ай бұрын

Yep, me too. Love R.E.M. and so many favourites but that one puts a lump in my throat and I get me misty eyed every time. Try Not to Breathe, Perfect Circle and Flowers of Guatemala always give my heartstrings a tug also. Lots of memories associated with this band.

@dscmn

6 ай бұрын

love this song, i just wish berry had participated in it

@NotRiansLuke

5 ай бұрын

Best song by far, can't believe it wasn't mentioned. Not only beautiful melody and harmonies, but incredible lyrics. I converted an extremely talented musician friend into an REM fan with "The Great Beyond" alone.

@matsfrommusic

2 ай бұрын

Same

perfect circle is also just so lovely

Try Not To Breathe and Night Swimming are phenomenal songs . I’ve always loved them both from the first time I heard them. Automatic For The People is an incredible album.

@cipherpac

Жыл бұрын

Night swimming got me through some really tough and stressful times in 2020. Used to listen to it before bed to help with my anxiety.

@dancarter482

Жыл бұрын

Find The River is the most wonderful thing they have ever done!

@rstuartcpa

Жыл бұрын

It took me a year of sporadic listening to truly appreciate Automatic…definitely a desert island pick.

@matthewche

Жыл бұрын

@@dancarter482 I agree almost. It’s the best song on the record IMO.

@ellenmeilee

Жыл бұрын

100 per cent perfection and always loved Star Me Kitten so much too. The whole vibe of that album is utterly magical.

3 words: Fall On Me. R.E.M.'s greatest song IMO. Absolute perfection from start to finish.

@troubledjoe6201

Жыл бұрын

Agreed - until I remembered Country Feedback - which betters even that

@seanelcock

Жыл бұрын

Yes

@nathalie_desrosiers

Жыл бұрын

This was the song that started it all for me.

@randocalrissian4520

Жыл бұрын

Agreed. If it weren't for Fall On Me though, it'd be Driver 8.

@PartyThrasher118

Жыл бұрын

Absolutely! The second verse where Michael and Mike are singing separate lyrics with separate rhythms is one of the most enchanting parts of a song I've ever heard. Glad I'm not alone on this one

BEGIN THE BEGIN! my personal favorite

They really do have so many great songs. One which I think is among their greatest but least known is Find the River. Love that song. I plan to use it in the slide show at my brother's upcoming memorial.

Man, not a single mention of Life's Rich Pageant? Not just great songs on that album, but the whole album, opener to ending is amazing. Love all of these songs. Brings back so many memories. My kids, especially my 13 year old daughter, share my eclectic tastes in music and I'll catch her listening to a lot of the music I grew up with and still listen to today. And this video just reminded me that I've not purposefully exposed her to REM. Something that I'll rectify immediately. Thank you, Rick.

@ginalewis6731

Жыл бұрын

My fave R.E.M. song is Flowers of Guatemala. Second is Superman.

@hankamania

Жыл бұрын

My fave is probably These Days. Or maybe Begin The Begin.

@davidwoolbright3675

Жыл бұрын

I love Life’s Rich Pageant. Next to that my fave is Chronic Town !!

@davelogeman

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, I love I Believe and These Days

@foto21

Жыл бұрын

@@hankamania Begin the Begin is their best song by a country mile. Their later stuff got maudlin for me. They were the best at the beginning. Finest Worksong is another monster.

Lifes Rich Pageant is an incredible album. "These Days" is an unbelievable track.

@ekimp252

Жыл бұрын

That album is the one that really set the hook for me.

@riba2233

Жыл бұрын

O yeah, epic song

@mojomusica.0169

Жыл бұрын

"I Believe" is the song that made me want to learn how play guitar.

@brianroberts799

Жыл бұрын

I’ve listened to that album countless times.

@joechase283

Жыл бұрын

These Days!!!!!!!❤❤❤

Best band of the 80s by a street. Favourite songs almost too many to count. Lifes Rich Pageant is sheer perfection. These Days, Fall On Me, I Believe, Cuyahoga. Fall On Me I think is their greatest song. If you listen to it, there are THREE vocal melodies. Who else does that? It's breathtaking.

@RUfromthe40s

5 ай бұрын

fall on me is also one of their best songs ,i think after buying fables of reconstruction and later life´s reach pageant ,found it a great album ,I.R.S did had great productions in a time that each band sounded diferent from the other, mainstream albums were filled with high´s , i think i should refer to epic lp´s being so extremelly high on frequencies, the cds even more

Been watching Rick discuss great songs for years now and I don’t think I’ve seen him tear up from lyrics and melody. It’s a testament to REMs superb songwriting. They deserve the accolades now being given.

My very favorite REM song is Fall On Me and my second favorite is Imitation Of Life. I feel that Mike Mills is an incredibly underrated bassist and is an awesome background singer.

@DeeDeeRanged

Жыл бұрын

Michael Stipes fav too!

@johnfrei9057

Жыл бұрын

Yeah not even a mention of Fall On Me?!

@Ezzie0304

Жыл бұрын

Mine too

@Durmomo0

Жыл бұрын

Imitation of life is such a great song that I dont know if a lot of people even know of

@pridgeondesigngroup1479

Жыл бұрын

I agree. When I first saw this video I thought Fall on Me was going to be his pick. I like their first three albums, and I saw them live 3 times in the early years. I don’t really care for their later albums, but Fall on Me is just a perfect gem of a pop song. Beato talked of a perfect melody, well to me this is it.

REM is honestly such an insanely good band.

@bellazoe1

Жыл бұрын

Greatest band of last 40 years easily

@TainuiaKid1973

Жыл бұрын

@@bellazoe1 U2?

@RUfromthe40s

Жыл бұрын

@@TainuiaKid1973 i was a U2 follower but after Pop(which i think it´s filled with great songs and diferent versions that were released on their cd singles were also very good sounding to me) they seemed to make a change on their way to make songs, there are some i like but only a couple of them and also was surprised when they release "No line in the horizon"it had several songs that i found really good but after it become their traditional new style again which i don´t like or understand their change in playing music,so i don´t find them U2 or R.E.M the best bands on the last 40 years but only two great bands in the sea of thousands of bands that were also releasing great songs, i´m not a fan of a band only ,i like several songs of diferent bands that might not had the same impact of this two great bands but also good songs coming out of a lot of good bands albums, i also enjoy a lot hearing live concerts which i remenber driving 3.500 km with a friend only to see for the first time U2 playing live in their unforgetable fire tour concert in barcelona,Spain

@TainuiaKid1973

Жыл бұрын

@@RUfromthe40s I struggled with U2 once they released Actung Baby, took 20 years before I liked the album. R.E.M. had a shorter career. Oasis were great too. Metallica still do it. I like Shihad, a band from my country, New Zealand.

@RUfromthe40s

Жыл бұрын

@@TainuiaKid1973 i remenber when the release of acthung baby ,i enjoyed a lot of songs but there were at least 3 songs that i never heard them, maybe because they stayed some years without releasing nothing one when the album came out one would expect a great work but at the first time i liked songs like the end of the world or blindness and ultra-violect , R.E.M is still giving concerts, at least is what i know, not that well informed and Oasis were a great band but because of the two brothers having fights they also had a short living but REM and U2 have a lot more LP´s released both started more or less in early 80´s and some years ago both REM and U2 released new albums, all bands that i followed but the last U2 albums are not for my taste ,only liked the "New line on the Horison"at least 3 or 4 songs ,since "how to dismantle a atomic bomb" i stop hearing U2 the change on style destroyd their unique sound ,don´t expect nothing good in the future also they´re getting old

I can't believe that, of all the many, many REM tracks, we share the same favorite. It made me so happy to watch this. I've never met anyone else who even mentions this as a standout track and I agree that it's absolutely their best. My mind is blown!

"Country Feedback" is one of my most loved pieces of music. I know "Out Of Time" isn't as good as "Automatic for the People" or "Murmur", but it has an atmosphere and feel about it that is truely timeless. My favourote album by them.

"Talk About the Passion" and "Catapult" are two of my favorites of their early stuff.

@cynthiawhite9830

Жыл бұрын

Me too!

@karenwebster2465

Жыл бұрын

Me too! I love Pilgrimage too!

@johnnicholas2079

Жыл бұрын

Murmur is still my favorite album

@INXSFan33

Жыл бұрын

@@karenwebster2465 same here! Couldn't have picked a better list!

@wvmoonfox

2 ай бұрын

Love the bass and drum intro to "catapult"

Find the River is an often overlooked personal favourite. Vocal, Acoustic Guitar and Piano all get their place in the sun... Beautifully balanced.

@bvaljalo

Жыл бұрын

I'd put that in my top 20 for sure, maybe even top 10. It's an incredible song, esp. coming right after nightswimming, which is also breathtakingly beautiful, arguably Michael's best vocal performance. But if you pressed me, I have to give a slight edge to Hairshirt from the Green album and Country Feedback from OOT over nightswimming, but those are my top 3, and Find The River follows it so, so well. It's an amazing album closing sequence.

@kevinelliott4833

Жыл бұрын

Find the River is one of my REM favorites.

@dice1296

Жыл бұрын

terrific. but i heard 'nightswimming' come on the car radio at dusk once...it was the first time i had heard it in ages, and it blew my mind. when that oboe comes in toward the end...holy ****

@mumsie-uk2it

Жыл бұрын

I always preferred it to Nightswimming.

@jonaslunden2971

Жыл бұрын

agreed,for me Find the river is the best song,and Monty got a raw deal.

“Leave” from New Adventures is hypnotic

@generaseven

2 ай бұрын

I concur…

Some of my favorites: "Perfect Circle" "Feeling Gravity's Pull" "Driver 8" "You are the Everything" "Sweetness Follow" "Try not to Breathe"

I keep coming back to “Orange Crush.” The ethereal chorus which doubles in length on the final one with Michael going up another octave. I can’t even make out what’s being said in the chorus but the harmonies make you feel pain and sadness. Incredible.

@Weshopwizard

Жыл бұрын

Fireplace or King of Birds.

@jamese8508

Жыл бұрын

It's such a dramatic song, and every element of the band contributes to the tension. I love the incorporation of "Army sounds" into the bridge. Buck's picking is all over the scale with crazy jumps between notes - pretty amazing.

@dylanadams1455

Жыл бұрын

still my favourite album of theirs. "I Remember California" is the song for me that I just love and keep coming back to.

@samgod

Жыл бұрын

I was thinking either "Orange Crush", "Electrolyte" or "E-Bow the Letter."

@markc824

Жыл бұрын

I love that bass line.

“Fables of the reconstruction of the fables” love that album and Driver 8 especially

@yellowjackboots2624

Жыл бұрын

100% agree with both

@davidweiss7411

Жыл бұрын

Good Advices could be my favorite REM song, but when combined with Wendell Gee, well, that is just too much. Green Grow the Rushes followed by Kohoutek ... just great. My favorite album.

@stevenhines5550

Жыл бұрын

Life And How To Live It and the ascending bass line in the chorus

@joycehall4866

Жыл бұрын

The album that introduced me to R.E.M Maps and legends, Old man Kensey

@nalunoa

Жыл бұрын

I agree with you and everyone in this thread. Definitely my favorite of their albums, although I love everything up through Monster end to end. That said, this is an album I've never stopped playing regularly since I got it the day it came out. Every song... the feels and lyrics, is to me a masterpiece. If I had to pick a favorite, though nearly impossible, it would be Old Man Kensey followed closely by Wendel Gee. But really, I can't imagine skipping any track on the album really. And what an opener in Feeling Gravity's Pull. Whew! You know you're about to go on quite a journey, and so I have time after time. Simply brilliant all through.

100% agree. "Try Not to Breathe" is just perfection.

As a blues rock guy, it took me a while to get into R.E.M. Then I got a mandolin. The first thing I figured out was-you know what’s coming-Losing My Religion. It’s perfect. I like most types of pop/rock music, being a ‘50s kid who always had “big ears,” so I began listening to more R.E.M. Losing My Religion is tops in my book, but Everybody Hurts and This One Goes Out To The One I Love are right up there. When I began teaching guitar, lots of my students (both kids and adults) wanted to learn R.E.M. songs. I happily obliged. Great song writing and creative instrumentation, too.

“South Central Rain” is probably my favorite REM song. ❤

@cdavidlake2

6 күн бұрын

As a kid back in the day, I thought it was, "So" Central Rain (they way it appeared on the CD). Chalked it up to the inscrutable enigma of REM.

For me the best REM song is ‘Nightswimming’ That simple piano and Michael Stipe’s haunting voice and emotion. Amazing song!

@dice1296

Жыл бұрын

that oboe!

@PaulMurphyMusic

Жыл бұрын

@@dice1296 Yes! The Oboe is amazing in it.

@user-io3th6lo9t

Жыл бұрын

There's something eerily relatable in that lyric, I remember vacationing one time and looking at photographs while riding in the passenger seat illuminated by street lights and everything.

@dinoforced

Жыл бұрын

Nightswimming has always been my favorite song by them as well, perfection

Man on the Moon sounds so sad to me. It hits me straight in the heart all the time. So amazing...

“A simple “PROP” to occupy my time” The One I Love is a misunderstood masterpiece

"Don't Go Back to Rockville" is my favorite REM song, I think it combines the great jangly early REM with concrete lyrics (probably because they were written by Mike Mills, instead of Michael Stipe) . In particular I love the line "At night I drink myself to sleep and pretend I don't care that you're not here with me"

@barrymilligan8086

Жыл бұрын

That's a great song!

@seeburg220

Жыл бұрын

Always been my favorite song by them. Bought the album when it came out.

@michaelrouthier8491

Жыл бұрын

And I think I read somewhere that they couldn’t get the original arrangement to work so they played it more “countrified” almost as a send-up…but it worked so well!

@Durmomo0

Жыл бұрын

This is probably my favorite REM song as well.

@Durmomo0

Жыл бұрын

@@michaelrouthier8491 Im a sucker for countrifired rock songs.

Driver 8 is still one of my favorites!!! Graduated from high school in 82 and college in 86...REM was king...love them!!!

@daverobinson6110

11 ай бұрын

Driver 8 is my all time favorite followed by I could turn you inside out and So Central Rain

@yellowjackboots2624

8 ай бұрын

I love Driver 8 but think Beat City by The Flowerpot Men does the same thing only better

@dashx1103

8 ай бұрын

Love Driver 8 ... easily my top 5, maybe top 3.

@petertracy3622

8 ай бұрын

sky blue bells ringing...

@JeffBGroover

7 ай бұрын

Great call out - love Driver 8 - still listen to it..

REM and The Smiths in the mid 80’s were just so unique and cool. Love the alternative scene from then! Radio Free Europe made me discover REM, Fall On Me made me fall in love with the band…been a fan ever since!

Automatic For The People is my favourite album of theirs. There is not one song on it that I skip. Try Not To Breathe is amazing. And Find The River is sublime.

My favorite song on Automatic is "Find the River" occasionally I'll listen to it alone, and it's very personal to me where my mind goes to. Try not to Breathe is an amazing choice though.

@AdamPasztory1

Жыл бұрын

Find a River is a beautiful, hopeful, healing song.

@dorland3

Жыл бұрын

I think it’s their most beautiful song and on my top ten list, probably number one. Heard back-to-back with “Nightswimming,” you have two of the loveliest, most depressing songs ever written.

@SYPCWAK

Жыл бұрын

Find the River is a beautiful song

REM was the soundtrack of my college years. So nostalgic.

@themydnighthour

Жыл бұрын

I get it, but I missed it. For me, it was the kinda nasal, annoying dude that sang Losing My Religion on MTV and eventually grew on me. I got their contribution to rock much later.

@TheRealMrAndrew

Жыл бұрын

No love for What’s the Frequency Kenneth? I think Strange Currencies is definitely underrated.

@michaelmcgrath5876

Жыл бұрын

Great you tackled R E M Next time The Replacements ?

@herrent

21 күн бұрын

@@themydnighthour you were a little younger then. The 5 albums prior were amazing. When everyone poored onto the Bandwagon , pun intended of loosing my religion its was a real eye roller 🙄, with the radio play all the sudden. We felt like we lost our private band.

@themydnighthour

20 күн бұрын

@@herrent understood.

Reconstruction of the Fables is my favourite REM album. It has such a warmth and flow to it. Produced by the legend Joe Boyd.

@johnharvey4448

Ай бұрын

Fables of the Reconstruction*

"Driver 8" does it for me. I was in art school at UGA during the early 80s and frequently ran into them in the department. I saw them many times at Legion Field and/or 40 Watt. Stipe would eat lunch sometimes at The Grill, a local joint, and was a pleasant soul. I sold a camera to Pete when I worked at a local store, part time, in Athens in 1985. I think I made $3 in commission....lol. I have several drawings of the lady featured in "The One I Love" as she was a frequent model in our art classes. Fun times that I never realized were significant at the time.

Their secret weapon was Mike Mill’s’ backing vocals. I love the Reckoning album, and got to see them front row on the Document tour in ‘87.

@captaintwitch

9 күн бұрын

Me too! Front and center.

During my time as a VP of A&R at Epic Records I tried to sign REM on two separate occasions, once in 1987 when their deal ran out at IRS (just after The One I Love came out) and a number of years later when Automatic For The People came out and their deal with Warner Bros was over. The first time I was quite disappointed that I wasn't able to however, As it happened in 1988 I signed their friends, The Indigo Girls whose debut LP with us produced by Scott Litt had REM playing on almost every track and went on to be nominated for Best New Artist Grammy and won in the category of Best Folk Record and ended up selling more than 3M albums. All told, they've sold over 15million LPs .

@ryanpatrickpreston

Жыл бұрын

Cool. I was working at Tower Records when REM inked that mega deal with WEA.

@rogerklein1007

Жыл бұрын

@@ryanpatrickpreston The 2nd time I tried to sign them was when their WBR time was up. They were at their absolute peak and I along with label head, Richard Griffiths had one secret meeting with them at a suite in the Four Seasons Hotel in NYC. We didn't even tell anyone else at the company and the deal memo was under the name of The Roses( we wanted people to think we were trying to sign Guns and Roses) The deal was for one record and the advance would be $25,000,000. Just for the one record and then they would be free to go wherever they wanted to. It would've been a great deal for everyone. However, they turned it down and stayed at Warner's as they would gain control of their catalogue. A few days later Tommy Mottola found out about the offer that he knew nothing about and went absolutely beserk! lol

@IndigoJo

Жыл бұрын

They were on two tracks off the self-titled Epic debut: Kid Fears (Michael Stipe doing the guest vocal) and Tried To Be True (the rest of the band). Peter Buck appeared on a couple of tracks off the album following it, Nomads Indians Saints, also produced by Scott Litt.

@Almost_Famous_Ryan

Жыл бұрын

Losing My Religion was released in '91.

@charlesbolton8471

Жыл бұрын

@@rogerklein1007 Losing My Religion didn’t come out until 1991 and it was on Warner Brothers. I think you mean their biggest hit on IRS which was It’s The End Of The World As We Know It.

Impossible to choose a favourite. Love so many - they make me cry - pure poetry. Be Mine is one of their greats. Beautiful lyrics. 🥰

Lots of great songs. My favorite to play is "Can't Get There From Here". So much fun!

Fall on Me has one of the greatest examples of counterpoint vocal arrangements (chorus) in pop music. I like their lesser known early songs, especially the dreamy, ethereal/psychedelic Flowers for Guatemala.

@autk

Жыл бұрын

Most of the "harmony" is unison singing in different octaves, doubled and tripled, an REM staple.

@fusiliers

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, I was a little disappointed that Rick didn't dig into "Life's Rich Pageant". It's one of their best albums.

@scottsnothome5649

Жыл бұрын

My 2 choices exactly. Was about to post this exactly. That is just their greatest album.

@scottsnothome5649

Жыл бұрын

@@fusiliers it's their best album.

@ambientideas1

Жыл бұрын

@@autk I hadn’t listened to the song for about 15 years, gave it a quick listen just now and you’re right about that unison/octave thing. Mind you, I was stoned most of the of youth listening to it, so…. 😂

Here is my REM's 8 favorites songs. - Radio Free Europe - So Central Rain - Driver 8 - Fall on me - World Leader Pretend - Losing my religion - E-Bow The Letter - Walk Unafraid (live version)

@bubbleshughes6169

Жыл бұрын

Great list

@stephen9302

Жыл бұрын

GREAT LIST!! 👍👍

@jackwezesa1081

Жыл бұрын

Pilgrimage.

@d1p70

Жыл бұрын

country feedback???!

@eocha24

Жыл бұрын

You are missing some Automatic songs

I find "What's The Frequency Kenneth?" infectious.

@pagetkidd1993

3 ай бұрын

I had to scroll way down in the comments to find someone mention this song. I often play it before I sit down to work, just to kick off my day on a good note. :)

@CCGNZ65

3 ай бұрын

Well I'm a lefty,often not in step w/the group,I'm not a huge REM guy,but that song always grabs me,it has an infectious energy to it that inspires.@@pagetkidd1993

@fuckamericanidiot

3 ай бұрын

Uhhhh huh!!

@willsee8391

3 ай бұрын

That is by far my favorite. I can just visualize a man listening to this with a coffee, sitting at a computer in is home buisness from his garage... Womdering where the youth will be in 20 years, whilst plotting to take over the world with windows 95.

I loved a lot of their late stuff too, especially At My Most Beautiful.

"Half a world away" is one of my favorite songs.

@MM-Iconoclast

Жыл бұрын

Half a World Away,Swan Swan H and Losing My Religion - I play them all on acoustic guitar, my slightly different (but very similar) arrangements.

@anniemccowan9902

Жыл бұрын

Oh yeah... SUCH a beautiful song

@danwiegand5386

6 сағат бұрын

Great vocals

Near Wild Heaven is one of my top favorites. Clean jangly guitar riffs, melancholy lyrics, hits the spot

@dorland3

Жыл бұрын

Beautiful, haunting song. Definitely a night song.

@Shelsight

Жыл бұрын

Love it… And Mike Mills vocals are beautiful. That plus Find The River…

Kurt's song gets me every time. "Let me in" and Michael's favorite song "Country feedback" are simple musical daggers. "Find the river" gives life struggles a silver lighting. My brothers favorite band.

Wow. Try Not to Breathe. Rick … Amen. Going back to 1984 or 5 I think, and a show called 120 minutes (alt MTV show? Other?) hearing “Fall on Me.” I hustled my Midwestern mind to the mall to buy Document (yes?). Life was teen-tough at 14 but I was unknowingly walking toward a life of mental health management. It had already unknowingly begun. No person, poetry, book or music spoke to me like REM. From then until now, that band held, protected and exalted my heart, musically and lyrically and showed light on the fundamental need for fragility and strength (and shiny happy ppl) within us all. Thank you Rick. I am reminded, touched and see you (and now many others) in a kindred light with regard to this beautiful group of musicians. “And what if there were two, Side by side in orbit, Around the fairest sun? That bright, tight forever drum, could not describe nightswimming.” - REM. They described my nightswimming and I was rescued repeatedly by these cherished men I never met. I’ve always wanted to thank them. Thank you for the opportunity, Rick. Peace. Love. Music.

No song captures the essence and spirit of REM any better than Fall On Me IMO. Hauntingly beautiful and fully immersive in its REMness.

@SailaV1

Жыл бұрын

I have to agree with Fall on Me…Being from Ohio Cuyahoga is the next in line

@daflotsam

Жыл бұрын

Agreed. Fall on Me, Driver 8, Man on the Moon, and Rockville always put me where I want to be.

@ChrisConnolly-Mr.C-Dives-In

Жыл бұрын

Yeah. Its a well crafted piece.

@streetspirit956

Жыл бұрын

Yeah surprising this didn't get a mention. Phenomenal song

@petemohan

Жыл бұрын

Agree. Immediately was my favorite upon release and it still is. Cut out that rectangular cd cover and taped it over my bed. They took themselves seriously but tried to be self-effacing to undercut themselves, just like I always do. Fall On Me is serious. It is heavy. The band marries an Americana soulfulness sound with lyrics that hint at the dark complexity of the land. No easy feat.

"Orange Crush" for me all the time. That wave of slighty distorted arpeggios on guitar plus that syncopated bass and easy to sing lyrics still their song that makes me wish to travel back in time.

"Try not to breathe " is one of the best songs to sing along to imo.

Maybe the main inspiration for my first band. All such great picks. You Are the Everything is one of their songs that gets me everytime.

One of my favorite bands. So many great songs. I prefer the I.R.S. years, but they had great albums after that period too. I’d say Fall On Me, Find The River, Radio Free Europe, King Of Birds, World Leader Pretend, Begin The Begin, So. Central Rain, (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville, and Perfect Circle are amongst my favorite songs of theirs.

@LongplayCentral

Жыл бұрын

All great choices!

@ryanpatrickpreston

Жыл бұрын

Find the River is an incredibly beautiful song.

@batteryacidbabies

Жыл бұрын

Perfect Circle always makes me cry for some reason lol

@SmashedBottleMan

Жыл бұрын

So I wrote my list of favorite R.E.M. songs before I actually watched Rick's video. I absolutely LOVE Try Not To Breathe. Nice pick, Rick!

Speaking of perfect songs, Perfect Circle from Murmur was the song that made me an REM fan. Mike Mills' piano line, the haunting chorus and the slow build of the arrangement sold me on this great band.

@scottmcrae3355

Жыл бұрын

Beautiful song and such a strange, circular piano figure with a melody that never really resolves. I guess interesting things happen when a drummer writes a song on piano haha

@johncrawford

Жыл бұрын

My all-time favorite song by them. Glad I’m not alone!

@philipmoss4027

Жыл бұрын

I wondered where Rick was going to land, but this was the song that kept coming into my mind. It was like a craving to hear it again. So fine.

@andyroid5028

Жыл бұрын

*_Perfect Circle is... perfect._*

@user-io3th6lo9t

Жыл бұрын

That entire album is a miracle the playing may be somewhat amateurish but the songwriting and song structure are very complex in the production of it is both dreamy and haunting, a perfect album. I remember first picking it up in 1983 and marveling over its quality.

Agreed. I grew up with the early stuff but Automatic For The People is my favorite album. I listen to it a couple times a year when I need a reset. It rips my heart out and gives it back to me fresh and clean. I weep as I stitch my chest back together and I’m ready to face the world again for a while longer.

Yes, Try Not To Breathe is awesome. Sweetness Follows. Feeling Gravity's Pull. Fall On Me. Find The River. So, so many...

So glad you highlighted So. Central Rain and Driver 8. Those are two I play to this day. Fall on Me deserves a mention as well. Good stuff, Rick.

Try Not to Breathe is my favorite. It digs into emotions.

Thank you for spotlighting REM. One of the great bands of all time. Beautiful songs.

"Maps and Legends" besides other 75 or 80 REM songs, that go from beautiful to masterpiece. Simply the most important alternative rock band of all times. And, IMO, the best American band too.

Yes! Driver 8! Man I listened to that song thousands of times. Also love Mike Mills counter melody vocals!

REM does my most fave song ever in my life SWEETNESS FOLLOWS. I noticed so by the fact that whenever it sounds every now and then, that organ, bigger than the universe, makes me close my eyes and just transports me outside my body, no matter if the song is 30 years old. Sweetness Follows made me realize a favorite song is not one you choose but one that causes this high, almost like the song chooses you

@originalindiechick7999

Жыл бұрын

Agree! 😍🎶👌🏻

@micheleparker3780

Жыл бұрын

YES.

@johnsoninc602

Жыл бұрын

Also agree on this one. Haunting.

@loosilu

Жыл бұрын

YES!

@akselbierman6288

Жыл бұрын

This song is amazing.

I have always been amazed at REM, and their music. It’s versatile and has great depth. The melancholy of everybody hurts… wow…. Stunning song, just no razor blades please nightswimming with all its forbidden adolescent references is just the best…. It’s like one of those ballads to summer anyone can relate to

What's the Frequency Kenneth has always been my favorite, but I love all of the tracks here, and indeed all REM tracks! Nightswimming is so good too. Their instrumental tracks are also amazing! I love REM!

The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite is my favorite REM song. The upbeat tempo, the lyrics, the melody all just speak to me.

@karenwebster2465

Жыл бұрын

I am obsessed with everything about the Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight -- Loved it years ago, but recently came upon it ...and I cannot get enough. Even the video, so creative!

@robertrhode675

Жыл бұрын

I always think Michael is challenging the listener to "Sing along with this one!"

@swayback04

Жыл бұрын

I always loved that Michael laughs while singing at one point for no reason that I could figure out. It was like a happy little outtake that made it on the record.

@karenwebster2465

Жыл бұрын

@@swayback04He says..." Dr Zeus" instead of Seuss

@thatfelladownunder9396

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, great song! 👍

I've always been a huge REM fan, and Rick really nailed so much of what is so great about this band. The truth is it would be hard to pick a bad REM song, their albums were among the most consistently great since something from Dylan or the Beatles. And they did it over and over again, album after album. Just when you thought they couldn't get any better, they would come out with another level of artistry, another level of sophistication, another masterpiece. All while still sounding like themselves. Truly an amazing catalog. I really hope the band members hear about this video and take Rick up on his invitation for an interview - I can't imagine it getting any better than that! Oh wait - that's what they DO - make you think it can't get better and then blow you away again. ;-) But seriously, that would be a treat for fans everywhere, especially with a guy like Rick who actually knows, loves, and respects the music.

@shinyeesiek3357

Жыл бұрын

Some one tell Berry Mill, Buck, or Stipe to do the interview. Someone on here must know one of them.

@Ninevolt69

Жыл бұрын

@@shinyeesiek3357 I would want Rick to interview Mike Mills. I believe he has the most insight into the music for REM. We would probably learn the most from him. No slight on the others of course...

@billcook4768

11 ай бұрын

@@shinyeesiek3357I’d be damn impressed if Rick scored an interview with Bill Berry :)

Life's Rich Pageant is my favorite album and I Believe is my personal favorite song. Country Feedback is a close second.

REM has always been a favorite of mine, glad to see someone share the love. Try not to breathe is a classic!

REM are one of those bands that you can't explain how good the albums are to people, yes the classics are good and most people have heard them, but the songs that never got radio play need more love. I'm glad Rick explored the whole back catalogue.

@ElectroTherapyFTSoul

Жыл бұрын

Agreed, but I feel that way with almost all artists. The songs picked to be singles are usually picked because they're often safer pieces of music. You get some outliers, but singles almost never reveal the artist's true talents. Take Blur for example. Listen only to the singles, and you'd think they're a pretty good pop/rock band. Listen to their albums, and you'd realize how bloody effing weird they are... and it's brilliant!

@lm1314

9 ай бұрын

Thankfully Sirius Radio plays some older REM from Murmur or Reckoning.

@gm3043

8 ай бұрын

Michael Stipe described the band as an alternative band, who occasionally wrote hit songs.

"Fables" was such a great record! My favorite? "Green Grow the Rushes." Breathtakingly beautiful song, and so wonderful to play.

@aaronbechtel389

Жыл бұрын

Yea! and Kahoutek as well, SO cryptically beautiful and melancholic

@padreemiliobortolinineto4358

Жыл бұрын

So, I'm not the only one :)

@mattgilbert7347

Жыл бұрын

I learned guitar playing along with the first 4 albums.

Favorites... Perfect Circle, Cuyahoga, just for the atmosphere they create.

I love seeing you moved while listening to try not to breath. Great pick❤️✌🏻

Fall on Me, South Central Rain , Talk About the Passion and Near Wild Heaven are my favorites. Tremendously underrated band these days

@RUfromthe40s

Жыл бұрын

shiny happy people is maybe one of their most underrated songs ,at the time the B52´s was one of the best alternative bands and the voice of Kate Pierson sounds great with Michael Stype voice in the mix also have a positive kind of lyrics that with the music feels what´s great in this bad world it´s a great dance song at the same time very simple, just my opinion

@surfohio

Жыл бұрын

Near Wild Heaven is almost a perfect song for me...like some beautiful chemical mixing of the Beach Boys and Byrds, but new sounding.

@007ndc

Жыл бұрын

@@surfohio absolutely. A beautiful melody tinged with a bit of melancholy

@wildcombinationrecordings9380

Жыл бұрын

Great selection. Would add Cuyahoga

@BigTyronie

Жыл бұрын

@@RUfromthe40s how can rem songs that were singles and charted hits be underrated. Thats not what underrated defines. I loathe the use of that word. Naked “manns chinese” is underrated. The Toadies “when im awake” is underrated.

Great choices, Rick! As a massive fan of R.E.M., I really appreciated your breakdown. Automatic, to me, is a perfect album, and 'Try Not to Breathe' is a long-time favorite of mine.

That you had so many songs to choose from shows how remarkable this band was. Many of them still get to me after all these years. Maybe more than ever.

Fall on me has always been a fave of REM fans 💕 Exquisite 3 part harmony and incredible lyrics

@aaronbechtel389

Жыл бұрын

Came to basically say this.👆🏻

@loreman7267

Жыл бұрын

Yes! Interweaving vocals and lyrics, no flash-bang, no grind and roar, almost meditative.

@fionadalia

11 ай бұрын

True!

@dawnkindnesscountsmost5991

11 ай бұрын

Fall On Me was my first REM song, _knowing_ it was by REM, and fell in love. A little while later, I realized I'd heard Radio Free Europe & Driver 8 a few times each, 2 or 3 years before '86, but didn't know who the band was, just really liked the songs. I had a similar experience with the Psychedelic Furs, with Love My Way & Ghost in You; liked the songs in '82 or '83, didn't discover who the band was until a few years later. Surfing the radio dial will do that, I guess. 😊

@louisewills2446

11 ай бұрын

Mine too. I also love the "South Central Rain," which has a similar vibe.

Driver 8 live at the Olympia in Dublin is my most beloved R.E.M experience. I was there at this special evening. But you are right, try not to breathe is so underrated

Entire album got me through period of depression and anxiety in the early nineties, I still listen and I can identify with the motion that you showed, thank you for being open.

"What's the frequency Kenneth" is one of my favorites. I didn't expect it on this list due to the litany of iconic REM songs. Yet, it just strikes cord with me.

@brucellosis9887

Жыл бұрын

Me too

@johnnyoldham847

Жыл бұрын

Me too. The most perfect guitar sound ever

@micheleparker3780

Жыл бұрын

Me too!!! It's my FAVORITE REM song!

@Gasp526

Жыл бұрын

Love this song…

As a long-time REM fan, It's my opinion that their greatest ALBUM is Lifes Rich Pageant. I think lyrically, it is REM's best work. Musically, the band was playing at their peak performance. I also think the album was produced very well. Beautifully balanced arrangements and Stipe's voice is not mixed too loud or muffled under the instruments. Given that, in my opinion, Begin The Begin is my favorite REM song on that album followed closely by Fall On Me, These Days and I Believe...🙂

@ekimp252

Жыл бұрын

The whole album is just on a different level than anything else. Cuyahoga does it for me. So freaking good.

@seanelcock

Жыл бұрын

Great album and songs!

@paulg123

Жыл бұрын

@@ekimp252 Great song, yes!

@ryanpatrickpreston

Жыл бұрын

They brought in Don Gehman (Mellencamp's producer) who worked hard to convince Stipe to enunciate more and to become less cryptic in his lyric writing. To be honest, I'm rather fond of Stipe's poetic word pictures which prevailed from Chronic Town to Fables.

@marcusscrafton535

Жыл бұрын

Agree, Pageant is their best

"Daysleeper" just never gets any love

Agree with you 100 %. Try not to breathe is a masterpiece. Moving and sad yet beautiful.

Automatic for the People is a great album. It’s been a favorite of my wife and I since college days, when it was new.

@AlisongsLA

Жыл бұрын

That's my favorite!

@diogenesagogo

Жыл бұрын

Ignoreland, Monty Had A Bad Deal, Sweetness Follows ... three of their best, & that's saying something.

@dexraikkonen7

Жыл бұрын

Great album; weird flex to brag about having a wife though.

@badrogue66

Жыл бұрын

@@diogenesagogo Ignoreland is really underappreciated

@troubledjoe6201

Жыл бұрын

Loved it at the time but for me it has aged really badly and sounds dated,whereas Out of Time still sounds fresh

Murmur is my favourite. Discovered it at 16. I’m 50 next year. Still play it regularly front to back. 👌🏼

@lizzy-wx4rx

9 ай бұрын

Same here--had Murmur on one side of a tape and Fables on the other, listened to it on a loop when I was 16. I think Murmur might be the best album of the 80s and that's saying a lot!

@lm1314

9 ай бұрын

I was in the car with my older brother at Christmas time 1983. He was in college, and I was in 6th grade. He was playing Murmur, and We Walk just stuck with me. He also played Chronic Town and Gardening at Night also got stuck in my mind. I think I was the only kid around who liked R.E.M. for others always thought I meant REO Speedwagon. About a month later, I had to buy the records and have been a fan ever since. I like early work the best. Murmur is also my favorite.

@lizzy-wx4rx

9 ай бұрын

Nothing after Green holds a candle to either Murmur or Chronic Town. The early records were magical.@@lm1314

@bjorn2run

7 күн бұрын

I'm 69 and bought Murmur when it came out in '83. Played it to death and still listen to it regularly.