Less than two months after announcing their breakup, R.E.M. is releasing the greatest-hits collection Part Lies Part Heart Part Truth Part Garbage 1982-2011, including three new tracks, “A Month of Saturdays,” “We All Go Back to Where We Belong” and “Hallelujah” (not the much-covered Leonard Cohen composition). We annotated the tracklist and made a few edits.
1. “GARDENING AT NIGHT” (from Chronic Town, 1982)
What is it? A blueprint for the band’s early sound: Byrds meet postpunk.
Does it deserve a spot here? The song does, but not this rendition, where Michael Stipe sings in a limp falsetto. When he drops his voice lower for the version on the Eponymous greatest-hits collection, the track ratchets up in potency.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No.
2. “RADIO FREE EUROPE” (Murmur, 1983)
What is it? The band’s first official single, by which point they’ve sublimated their influences; they have an alchemy all their own, and it will sustain them in seemingly endless variations for the rest of the decade and beyond.
Does it deserve a spot here? This song is bigger than any one album or band; this song is arguably the birth of “alternative rock.”
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? “The guys always said I do something harmonically here that made them all go ‘whoa,’ because it was so advanced.”
3. “TALK ABOUT THE PASSION” (Murmur)
What is it? A ballad both despairing and hopeful, ostensibly about hunger.
Does it deserve a spot here? It’s exquisite, but the other slowpoke on Murmur, “Perfect Circle,” is the masterpiece of the two — perhaps because its concerns are local, not global.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No.
(MORE: Read a Q&A with R.E.M.’s Mike Mills)
4. “SITTING STILL” (Murmur)
What is it? The B-side to “Radio Free Europe” is powerful and powerfully elusive, driven by Mike Mills’ full-throated bass line, Bill Berry’s nimble drumming, Peter Buck’s shimmering wash of guitar and Stipe’s cryptic lyrics (here and elsewhere on Murmur, Stipe’s voice is less foreground than a fourth instrument).
Does it deserve a spot here? Yes. The song is like a rambling old house in which you keep discovering new details and crawlspaces every time you visit.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No.
5. “SO. CENTRAL RAIN” (Reckoning, 1984)
What is it? A catastrophic flood, a hoped-for call that never comes, a keening apology, “rivers of suggestion,” guitars and voice chiming in a sorrowful call-and-response.
Does it deserve a spot here? There’s an instant mythos about “So. Central Rain,” as if it were not a pop song dashed off by a few twentysomethings but rather an ancient, resurrected folk ballad.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? Not really.
6. “DON’T GO BACK TO ROCKVILLE” (Reckoning)
What is it? A straightforward country ballad wherein Mills cajoles a girlfriend not to leave town.
Does it deserve a spot here? Sure, but the sped-up, punkier live versions (which Mills cites in the liner notes) are more fun where you can find them.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? He doesn’t say anything at all, presumably because Mills wrote the lyrics.
7. “DRIVER 8” (Fables of the Reconstruction, 1985)
What is it? Slower and sadder than Murmur and Reckoning and mining a deep vein of Southern Gothic, Fables is rooted in place, time and regional character, as on this plangent ode of sympathy for the workingman.
Does it deserve a spot here? I could listen to this song every day for the rest of my life and my vision would still go a bit blurry when it reaches the bridge.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? Sort of, but we’ll give him a pass.
8. “LIFE AND HOW TO LIVE IT” (Fables of the Reconstruction)
What is it? Another stellar representation of Fables’ storytelling virtues: Buck’s urgent, angular guitar propels the tale of a troubled man in the band’s hometown of Athens who split his house in half to mirror the fractured state of his own mind.
Does it deserve a spot here? Yes—and having just two songs from Fables (or from Reckoning) doesn’t seem adequate.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No.
9. “BEGIN THE BEGIN” (Lifes Rich Pageant, 1986)
What is it? An announcement, underlined by big drums and crisp feedback, that R.E.M. are scrapping the deliberate, downbeat folk-rock of Fables and making music to fill and overspill arenas.
Does it deserve a spot here? If you need a song to jump around your apartment to, clean your house to, jog to, get over a breakup to, or read about corporate malfeasance to, this song is your man.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? “I always liked opening a song with ‘a birdie and a hand.’ Two fantastically honest gestures, the f*** off and the rampant applause.”
10. “FALL ON ME” (Lifes Rich Pageant)
What is it? A cascade of overlapping Rickenbacker, chorus and descant, prayer and polemic. You could burrow inside this song and find a peaceful sleep, then dream of a beautiful apocalypse.
Does it deserve a spot here? We’ve reached the point in this exercise when one must concede that a true R.E.M. greatest-hits of the 1980s would be simply a box set of their first six albums, with a couple of super-subjective edits here and there.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No.
(MORE: The All-TIME 100 Albums)
(MORE: The All-TIME 100 Songs)
11. “FINEST WORKSONG” (Document, 1987)
What is it? There is power in a union!
Does it deserve a spot here? Yes, in part because it proves what a perfect jigsaw puzzle were R.E.M.: Buck writes a riff that’s just a B-string hit over and over, that’s it, no really, and the Mikes save it with a sinuous bass line and a call-to-arms melody.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? And how! “My friend Chris told me that I was our generation’s Whitman, I think because I was ecstatic, and I liked men and women, and I was a poet in his eyes, even though I hated the word poet.”
12. “IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT (AND I FEEL FINE)” (Document)
What is it? An armageddon-flavored homage to Dylan.
Does it deserve a spot here? Yup. It also made the All-TIME 100 Songs list.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No.
13. “THE ONE I LOVE” (Document)
What is it? This expertly cruel kiss-off song — and R.E.M.’s first Top 10 single — uses a total of 20 words. The chorus is just “FIRE!” and a half-heard descant; the guitar solo is borderline rudimentary for a guitarist in a seven-year-old band.
Does it deserve a spot here? Yes. Less is more.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No.
(MORE: Read St. Vincent: A New, Old-Fashioned Rock Star)
14. “STAND” (Green, 1988)
What is it? What the hell was going on with Stipe’s voice on parts of Green? It’s like his sinuses had become self-aware, acquired megaphones and collectively agreed to attack, throttle and pin to the ground every “R” and “E” sound in their territory.
Does it deserve a spot here? It’s hard to imagine leaving it off, since it was a ubiquitous semi-novelty hit, but its cultural legacy largely resides in having provided the theme song for Chris Elliott’s cult early-’90s sitcom Get a Life.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No.
15. “POP SONG 89” (Green)
What is it? A more palatable version of “Stand,” with an undulating guitar line and a thick, juicy fuzz bass.
Does it deserve a spot here? Yes — unlike most R.E.M. songs, it’s lusty and low-slung and has womanly hips.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No.
16. “GET UP” (Green)
What is it? A third Green wad of “insanely catchy bubblegum,” per Stipe.
Does it deserve a spot here? The tinkly-music-box, Tinkerbell-sets-her-alarm-clock interlude is lovely. But, hmm.
What’s the alternative? To show the scope of Green, maybe include the spooky doomsaying of “I Remember California” or the Gang of Four–inspired character vignette “World Leader Pretend.” Or just pick the yummiest bubblegum on the record: the untitled final track, an epistolary plea from a homesick lover/father/brother.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No.
17. “ORANGE CRUSH” (Green)
What is it? A lapidary guitar riff with percussive flourishes, a chilling wordless chorus, a ferocious yet wholly implicit political bent, Berry crushing his drums for once — U2 spent all of The Unforgettable Fire trying to come up with this song.
Does it deserve a spot here? I once had a semi-serious conversation with a rational person about the odds that some kind of Faustian pact was required to conjure “Orange Crush.” Bonus: when they used to play the song live, Berry would make his drums sound like machine guns!
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No.
18. “LOSING MY RELIGION” (Out of Time, 1991)
What is it? It’s the one where Stipe dances around in the little house near where they’re shooting the Derek Jarman movie. It’s also one of the last times we ever saw his hair.
Does it deserve a spot here? Like “Stand,” they couldn’t omit it, even though if you spend a half-hour in any Manhattan-area Duane Reade you can hear either this or Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds” free of charge.
What’s the alternative? No, don’t get us wrong, it’s a good song. Name just one other massive hit single that doesn’t have a chorus but does have a mandolin.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No.
19. “COUNTRY FEEDBACK” (Out of Time)
What is it? Far and away the best song on Out of Time, a palpably desperate lover’s dirge that all but self-immolates once that climactic quake of feedback kicks in.
Does it deserve a spot here? YES.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No!
(MORE: The All-TIME 100 Albums)
(MORE: The All-TIME 100 Songs)
20. “SHINY HAPPY PEOPLE” (Out of Time)
What is it? Mere prologue to the vastly superior “Furry Happy Monsters,” performed by R.E.M. on a 1998 episode of Sesame Street to illustrate the challenges facing monsters suffering from bipolar disorder.
Does it deserve a spot here? Without monsters? Hell, no.
What’s the alternative? Out of Time is R.E.M.’s spottiest mid-period record, but the heartsick wayfarer’s lament “Half a World Away” is non-negotiable.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No.
21. “THE SIDEWINDER SLEEPS TONITE” (Automatic for the People, 1992)
What is it? A rewrite of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” with goofy-kid lyrics and soaring strings, it’s the most joyous song on the death-shrouded Automatic, R.E.M.’s last great — and arguably greatest — album.
Does it deserve a spot here? Excerpting Automatic is a strange project, because with the exception of the stiff, strained “Everybody Hurts” and clunky anti–Bush 41 stomper “Ignoreland,” it all feels of a piece: an aching, ethereal immersion in loss, mourning, mortality and bruised nostalgia. In context, “Sidewinder” is an escape from the twilight and funeral black of the known world into candy-colored 2-D landscapes of comic-book panels and morphine dreams. Out of context, it’s something less.
What’s the alternative? Download Automatic, edit out “Everybody Hurts” and “Ignoreland,” put on your Bose and lay down in a darkened room.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No.
22. “EVERYBODY HURTS” (Automatic for the People)
What is it? It’s a lighter held aloft. It’s a bouquet left on a dead celebrity’s doorstep. It’s a song Mariah Carey could have sold.
Does it deserve a spot here? No comment.
What’s the alternative? Any other song on Automatic except for the one about Republicans.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? “I still kind of can’t believe my voice on this recording, it’s very pure.”
(MORE: Read The Otherworldly Charms of Florence + The Machine)
23. “MAN ON THE MOON” (Automatic for the People)
What is it? Their first Andy Kaufman song.
Does it deserve a spot here? It’s a grade-A singalong.
What’s the alternative? The Bose. The darkened room.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No.
24. “NIGHTSWIMMING” (Automatic for the People)
What is it? A piano loop and a stunned backward glance.
Does it deserve a spot here? Apparently this song gets played at lots of weddings.
What’s the alternative? Sometimes, the bride even walks down the aisle to it. To a song about skinny-dipping.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No.
25. “WHAT’S THE FREQUENCY, KENNETH?” (Monster, 1994)
What is it? The rusty, lumbering lead single off R.E.M.’s return-to-the-Rock album.
Does it deserve a spot here? Only as a milestone: R.E.M. shuts the door on their acoustic, introspective early-’90s period, not to open it again until their valedictory Collapse Into Now.
What’s the alternative? The reverb-heavy glam-rock posing of “Crush with Eyeliner” would be a wittier, more satisfying emissary of Monster.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No. Instead he sings the praises of the song’s inspirations, Dan Rather and filmmaker Richard Linklater.
26. “NEW TEST LEPER” (New Adventures in Hi-Fi, 1996)
What is it? Built on an arpeggio-ladder chorus and amorphous Biblical impressionism, it splits the difference between Monsters of Semi-Rock R.E.M. and Acoustic Sad-Hobo R.E.M. (cf. “Half a World Away” on Out of Time).
Does it deserve a spot here? The band members really seem to like it.
What’s the alternative? There are tighter, more exciting songs on New Adventures, including “Binky the Doormat” and “Bittersweet Me.”
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? “[This is] the song I think of when people who wrote maybe four good songs get big heads (Britpop anyone?). I always feel like when they write a ‘New Test Leper’ then I will listen to them.”
27. “ELECTROLITE” (New Adventures in Hi-Fi)
What is it? It’s zither and banjo and plink-plonk piano. It’s a perfectly proportioned dessert sampler, and spices Stipe’s tendency toward trite Hollywood mythology.
Does it deserve a spot here? “Stand on a cliff and look down there. Don’t be scared. You are alive.” Awesome, thank you!
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No.
28. “AT MY MOST BEAUTIFUL” (Up, 1998)
What is it? A prettily arranged but cloying love song.
Does it deserve a spot here? Not as the sole representative of Up, an overlong, meandering and occasionally brilliant record (the band’s first after Berry’s departure) that experimented with electronica and ambient sounds.
What’s the alternative? “Daysleeper,” a gorgeous evocation of scrambled circadian rhythms.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No. But he did call the song “At My Most Beautiful.”
29. “THE GREAT BEYOND” (from the soundtrack to Man on the Moon, 1999)
What is it? Their other Andy Kaufman song.
Does it deserve a spot here? “Man on the Moon” is already here.
What’s the alternative? “Man on the Moon.”
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? “Revisit a character that you’ve written a classic song about, and try to one-up yourself…It is a stunner.”
(MORE: The All-TIME 100 Albums)
(MORE: The All-TIME 100 Songs)
30. “IMITATION OF LIFE” (Reveal, 2001)
What is it? Musically, a middle-aged amalgam of “Driver 8” and “The One I Love”; lyrically, it includes the lines “That sugarcane / That tasted good / That cinnamon / That’s Hollywood!”
Does it deserve a spot here? “You want the greatest thing / The greatest thing since bread came sliced.”
What’s the alternative? Reveal is a gauzy, sometimes haunting summer dream, with layers of warm watercolor textures and spiked-lemonade wistfulness. If it comes down to one song, we’ll take the lush, eerie “Disappear” — which, admittedly, sounds like a song left off Out of Time.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No. Fun fact: this song was huge in Japan.
31. “BAD DAY” (In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003)
What is it? The first draft of “End of the World,” with updated lyrics for the Bush 43 era.
Does it deserve a spot here? It’s for completists.
What’s the alternative? “Daysleeper” was on In Time.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No.
32. “LEAVING NEW YORK” (Around the Sun, 2004)
What is it? R.E.M.’s 9/11 song.
Does it deserve a spot here? It’s the best song on their worst album.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No.
33. “LIVING WELL IS THE BEST REVENGE” (Accelerate, 2008)
What is it? A studiously raucous declamation from the band’s return-to-the-return-to-the-Rock album.
Does it deserve a spot here? “Angry Rich Celebrity” is not Stipe’s most flattering look.
What’s the alternative? One song off Accelerate will suffice.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? “I tore into this vocal because someone I really really admired forever kind of publicly bad-mouthed R.E.M., and I was like, ‘F— you! Sing like this, you talented f—.’ It felt so good and sounded so great…”
34. “SUPERNATURAL SUPERSERIOUS” (Accelerate)
What is it? “A teen séance gone horribly wrong,” according to Stipe. Sign us up!
Does it deserve a spot here? It’s exemplary of the Accelerate project to create fast, simple, electric-guitar-driven songs that you’d imagine appearing on a band’s first album, not their fourteenth.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No.
35. “ÜBERLIN” (Collapse Into Now, 2011)
What is it? It’s something out of a fan’s wildest imagination: after more than a decade of patchy, desultory or downright dispiriting records comes Collapse Into Now — not a perfect album by any means, but one with a handful of canonical R.E.M. songs, including this bittersweet acoustic sprint toward a beckoning, backtracking horizon (“I know, I know, I know what I am chasing”).
Does it deserve a spot here? Like the best early R.E.M. songs, it creates a specific mood — of hope, nostalgia, time slipping through your fingers — out of mysterious means and high-lonesome harmonies. (It also inspired R.E.M.’s best video, wherein Aaron Johnson enacts youthful urban discovery through a modern-dance-meets-Parkour-101 performance that twins the ridiculous and the sublime.)
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No.
36. “OH MY HEART” (Collapse Into Now)
What is it? An accordion-laced paean to post-Katrina New Orleans (“We were looking for a Civil War, marching-band kind of feel,” writes Buck in the liner notes).
Does it deserve a spot here? The song earns its title. It’s an oxytocin trigger.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No.
37. “ALLIGATOR_AVIATOR_AUTOPILOT_ANTIMATTER” (Collapse Into Now)
What is it? A catchy speed demon in the Accelerate mode, but lighter and more mischievous on its feet, thanks in part to the vocal presence of the provocative electro-performance artist Peaches.
Does it deserve a spot here? The name alone would carve out a niche. Another fantastic video, too.
Does Michael Stipe say anything immodest in the liner notes? No.
38. “A MONTH OF SATURDAYS”
What is it? It’s a — forget it, it doesn’t even matter.
Does it deserve a spot here? Let’s not even talk about it.
What’s the alternative? Rebecca Black’s “Friday”?
No, seriously. […]
Does Michael Stipe say anything—STOP. Let’s move on. Actually, let’s not.
We still have two songs to go. Yeah, but you know, Collapse Into Now was a terrific album and there’s no reason not to wrap up with that one. Thanks for everything, R.E.M.!
(MORE: The All-TIME 100 Albums)
(MORE: The All-TIME 100 Songs)