R.E.M. Retrospect

Well, it’s official, a piece of my soul has died today. R.E.M. officially announced that they have disbanded and it made me think a lot about my youth. Now, I have not been a massive fan of their later work, with the exception of Accelerate, but I have definitely enjoyed reflecting on those early memories and albums. I don’t want to write a diatribe on here about how and/or why they were so important to me but, rather, I would like to include a list of songs that allows a nostalgic revisit to that old fanatic fan.

I really will miss that Reichenbacher twang, those imaginable bass-lines, dreamy beats, and, of course, the Stipe-induced mumbles.

Is it a burnout or a fade away?

My personal Greatest Hits will come in two sections. Chronic Town through Document in the first installment and Green through Collapse Into Now in the next. These songs deserve a good re-listen!

1. 1,000,000 - Chronic Town
2. We Walk - Murmur
3. Laughing - Murmur
4. Harbourcoat - Reckoning
5. 7 Chinese Brothers - Reckoning
6. Second Guessing - Reckoning
7. Maps and Legends - Fables of Reconstruction
8. Driver 8 - Fables of Reconstruction
9. Old Man Kensey - Fables of Reconstruction
10. Green Grows the Rushes - Fables of Reconstruction
11. Cuyahoga - Life's Rich Pageant  
12. Swan Swan H - Life's Rich Pageant       
13. Crazy - Dead Letter Office (Pylon Cover)
14. Welcome To The Occupation - Document       
15. You know what, let's just say anything off Document. The album is incredible and a absolute force in just under a 40 minute running time. 

... There will be more to come tomorrow.