What’s your favorite R.E.M. single (across all eras)?

(I’d type them all out and make it a ~POLL~, but I’m way too lazy for that...)

They’re listed here, chronologically and w/peak chart positions (for convenience): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.E.M._discography

The One I Love is how I first learned about R.E.M. and is still an undeniably great song. So that.

it's between The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite and Fall On Me

Currently- “Near Wild Heaven” but on any given day could go for “So. Central Rain,” “Fall On Me,” “Nightswimming,” or “Electrolite.”

^These are all good but what about “The Lifting”?

Probably 'Radio Free Europe' or 'So. Central Rain.'

"Radio Free Europe," though I confess to being worn out on most of their big singles at this point.

I’m gonna go with “Get Up” — surprised it didn’t chart! Was everyone tired of Green by the 4th single?

Not me. Green is their best record imo.

But the public at large? Who knows.

Definitely "Radio Free Europe."

huh, surprised "Harborcoat" was never released as a single. would've thought that and "Pretty Persuasion" were obvious singles tracks.

Agreed about “Pretty Persuasion.” Interestingly – “Although not released as a single, it reached number 44 on Billboard's Rock Tracks chart.”

The One I Love, but I'd like to give a shout to Man the Moon

Losing My Religion

E-Bow the Letter. Or Imitation of Life. Or Fall On Me. They had an awful lot of good singles, now I think about it.

I'd also like to give a shout out to Man the Moon

at this moment « Bang and Blame », especially the single version which cuts the irrelevant soft funk jam at the end

Probably "Driver 8"/"Imitation of Life". Almost the same song! I quite liked the corresponding music videos too, come to think of it.

very tempted to go for one of their mid-late period ballads like Electrolite or At My Most Beautiful to be honest

‘I’ll Take The Rain’ was one of the first songs to emotionally move me. One of those ones where I still remember where I was the first time I heard it - in a friend’s kitchen listening through an ancient PC on a Friday afternoon, a half day at high school, with a pizza in the oven. We both just kind of sat there and appreciated the impact of it. It’s bizarre how clear that memory is. It just hit me as raw and beautiful.

The next day I walked into Avalanche Records to buy Reveal, took it home and just played that song over and over.

'Orange Crush'

Pretty Persuasion wasn't a single? It had a video.

"Fall on Me"

building towered foresight isn't anything at all

Drive

When I compiled my favorites a couple years ago, "Fall on Me" and "Pretty Persuasion" were the highest singles.

Find The River is probably my pick as Harborcoat and Laughing weren't singles.

Radio Free Europe

Pretty Persuasion wasn't a single? It had a video.

Well, so did “Wolves, Lower”...!

xpost I really love Harborcoat. I would probably go with Radio Free.

It has changed many times. Last time I made a favourite-songs-ever list, about 10 years ago, I listed "The Great Beyond." That's probably still the one--other than the radio, I don't listen to them anymore.

So wait, "Pretty Persuasion" charted but wasn't a single? That Wikipedia page is confusing to me ... what's the difference between Singles and Other Charted Songs?

"Pretty Persuasion," even more than "Radio Free Europe" or Chronic Town, catches the sound of the band pre-Murmur, so that's always been a favorite, but it's hard to choose from this list. I've never thought of them as a singles act but they had a lot of good singles!

I guess “singles” were released as singles, and “other charted songs” were the result of radio stations playing the album tracks...

"Daysleeper" was the first non-ubiquitous R.E.M. single I ever picked up on and I still have a huge soft spot for it

(Btw - I’ll allow “other charted songs” for purposes of this thread!)

(melt the statues in the park)

"Rockville" is the one I keep going back to. Probably kick-started alt-country as we know it. Good bar sing-along track.

Everything up to and including "Fall on Me" + "Losing My Religion" is fantastic. I'll pick "So. Central Rain" since it was the first that really stopped me in my tracks (if one can be stopped in one's track when watching music videos as a 10-year-old).

Fall On Me or Near Wild Heaven

lol Harborcoast as a single. as bad as their single choices have been, they at least knew enough in '84 not to release a single with the weird modulation in the bridge, or put another way, wtf is a harborcoat.

Radio Free Europe

Jeez when you start to think R.E.M. were a little overpraised, a scan of this thread will set you straight. A very long strand of gems.

They just went on way. too. long. Which is hilarious because they could see it coming in the early '90s and had plans to dissolve the band at the turn of the century

Yeah, I'm disappointed they didn't honor that idea. There's not a single post-1998 track I couldn't happily live without.

Surprised to see so little love for Green-era singles!

I like Accelerate despite its try-hard rockness, but I was bored silly by the final album

RFE just never clicked with me, though Murmur is a desert island disc

^ same

I think Reckoning is on par with Murmur, otherwise yeah

Going by the metric of which one would I most like to turn on right now, "Driver 8."

electrolite otm

It's just so good. REM were great at those kinds of ballads and that one is a peak of sorts. it also comes at a very welcome point right at the end of a fairly long and meandering album, feels like a respite, a sanctuary

a glass of white wine after a morning's hike

"Finest Working" is a pretty pivotal, stadium sized lead off track. It was a huge, announcing song for a bad that was ready for the big time.

What do y’all think of “Shiny Happy People”? It was oddly divisive/controversial at the time, but I don’t have the sense that anyone’s thought of it in 20 years...

i think it's fine

"It's the End of the World As We Know It" came on the radio the other weak and i was like, this is shit, this is painful to listen to.

― Hazy Maze Cave (Adam Bruneau), Saturday, June 2, 2018 3:21 PM (one hour ago)

This is wrong.

Good song. There's not a REM single I dislike until E-bow.

Monster has only grown on me with time. I still wouldn't rank it ahead of Green, Automatic for the People or New Adventures in Hi-Fi (which is their best LP, IMO) but I definitely think it's stronger than Out of Time or any of the post-Berry albums with the exception of Accelerate.

'Shiny Happy People' has always been a great song.

i like accelerate a lot but monster is way way better than it imo, like just from looking at the tracklistings next to each other

Not sure I agree with that...

"Supernatural Superserious" so freaking good

If you call out safe then I'll stop right away
When premise explodes and the room starts to shake
The details shift
And the stories the same
You don't have to explain
You don't have to explain

Looking at the charts, kind of interesting that 'Everybody Hurts' only hit #29, I recall it being masssive, but I guess that was informed by MTV.

There's not a REM single I dislike until E-bow.

I loved E-bow! I remember when the video premiered that summer, and I was like – I can’t believe it, they’ve done it again...

i was listening to the adam scott aukerman REM podcast mentioned above, and when they started talking about where they first heard REM it reminded me that the first time i ever heard of them was this really strange kid in 5th grade who would whisper the lyrics to "everybody hurts" in people's ears and run away

I cant think of any other band I like that causes so much disagreement and such baffling disagreements.

Not sure I agree with that...

― timellison, Saturday, June 2, 2018 10:09 AM (thirty-eight minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

"Supernatural Superserious" so freaking good

― timellison, Saturday, June 2, 2018 10:10 AM (thirty-seven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

the first side is great

I cant think of any other band I like that causes so much disagreement and such baffling disagreements.

― Robert Adam Gilmour, Saturday, June 2, 2018 10:38 AM (nine minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

imo the b**tles

but also i'm not like super invested in my rem opinions, they were my favorite band in high school and i like almost all of their records to varying degrees

Plus Brad "Mr. Richards" is almost as good as "Ignoreland"

that's... ok idgi

but i made myself like around the sun so to each their own

I think I think of post-Berry R.E.M. as an entirely different band.

michael stipend
buck berry
mike miller
peter dollar

Love Around the Sun

I think "Mr. Richards" hits on some kind of '60s archetype I can't put my finger on

So you're the one. xp

Like Arthur Lee could have written something like that for Four Sail or Out Here

i think around the sun would be a great if somewhat dour 40 minute record, unfortunately it is 55 minutes long

i gave up on around the sun after two listens. life is too short

After the release of their following album, Accelerate, guitarist Peter Buck said that for him Around the Sun "... just wasn't really listenable, because it sounds like what it is, a bunch of people that are so bored with the material that they can't stand it anymore." [13] The album's songs were largely excluded from the band's live setlists after the release of Accelerate

E-BOW THE LETTER IS GREAT, FUIUD

otm

smith's vocalizations at the end of e-bow >>>>>

some of stipe's best lyrics too

actually now i'm remembering: it's my favorite r.e.m. song of all time

my first kiss/makeout sesh started during that part and slobbered its way onto leave

10.0

Haha gross ;P

lol

the siren going off in "leave" is like "STOP MAKING OUT KARL"

;P ;p :b :p ;P ;p ;b woo-woo-woo-woo-woo-woo lol
god this is depressing, sorry

but i've enjoyed the revived r.e.m. chatter. i've been listening to tons of them recently, especially LRP and Document.

a great if somewhat dour 40 minute record

Well if you're cutting some combination of "High Speed Train"/"Boy in the Well"/"Worst Joke Ever," that's a less dour record. Those songs might be the most like Up, by the way!

really, the only albums that have NOT been my favorite at some point are: Green, Monster, and everything from Around the Sun on

and of those, Green and Monster are both very solid (i've been inspired by other people here to give Monster more listens and i've really grown to like most of it)

Well if you're cutting some combination of "High Speed Train"/"Boy in the Well"/"Worst Joke Ever," that's a less dour record. Those songs might be the most like Up, by the way!

i'm not! i'd be cutting "leaving new york" (the lyric ruins it) "final straw" (extremely one-note) and "wanderlust" (not horrible but.. the muted sunshine on this record is better represented by "aftermath") and q-tip

"high speed train" "boy in the well" and "worst joke ever" are all v good songs that prob shouldn't be sequenced together

people listing Sidewinder is the most surprising.

Nescafé product placement.

"Wanderlust" another '60s archetype!!!

I don't have to pretend it's Bev Bevan on drums because it's Bill Rieflin

<3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUj76nv_9u0

Aluminium, it tastes like fear

The only REM I can't stand is Around The Sun and the re:me? podcast.
Live at the Olympia is kind of a disaster too. like that version of 'feeling gravity's pull'. ugh.

Yeah, when it comes down to it I like all of the records from Murmur to New Adventures in Hi-Fi and, even if Out of Time isn't my favourite albun of the bunch, I'd be happy to listen to any of them at any given time.

Of the post-Bill albums, I'm happy to listen to Up or Reveal when I'm in the mood for them, and Accelerate is a personal favourite.

Apart from one or two tracks, I can happily pretend Around the Sun doesn't exist.

I quite like 'All the Best' and 'Uberlin' from Collapse Into Now ...