# R.E.M. Fans Unite (Or, Help Me Make a Playlist) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 18, 2006, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-e-m-fans-unite-or-help-me-make-a-playlist/345113 "2006-02-18T19:54:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![usar\_jag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@usar\_jag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usar_jag)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-e-m-fans-unite-or-help-me-make-a-playlist/345113/1 "2006-02-18T19:54:34Z")
I am going back and forth on creating a playlist for R.E.M. Part of my problem is that I want a playlist with only one song from each album. This is what I have so far: Chronic Town - **Gardening at Night** Murmur - **Sitting Still** Reckoning - **(Don’t Go Back to) Rockville** Fables of the Reconstruction - **Can’t Get There From Here** Life’s Rich Pageant - **Superman** Dead Letter Office - **Voice of Harold** Document - **Disturbance at the Heron House** Eponymous - **It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)** Green - **Untitled (Track 11)** Out of Time - **Country Feedback** The Best of R.E.M. - **Radio Free Europe** Automatic for the People - **Nightswimming** R.E.M. Singles Collected - **The One I Love** Monster - **What’s the Frequency, Kenneth** New Adventures in Hi-Fi - **Electrolite** R.E.M: In the Attic - **Time After Time Etc. (Live Medley: Time After Time/Red Rain/So. Central Rain)** Up - **Lotus** Reveal - **Imitation of Life** In Time: Best of R.E.M. 1998-2003 - **Animal** Around the Sun - **Leaving New York** As you can tell, I sort of “cheated”, using the “Best of” albums to pick up tracks, so I could select deeper cuts from the original release. Any suggestions, or tunes that I overlooked? This was a really tough exercise–try picking only one song from “Automatic for the Peop.e”–I’m still not a happy camper with that one… Thanks for your input. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-e-m-fans-unite-or-help-me-make-a-playlist/345113/2 "2006-02-18T20:12:53Z")
Personally, I would have to include _Everybody Hurts_ on any REM compilation. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-e-m-fans-unite-or-help-me-make-a-playlist/345113/3 "2006-02-18T20:13:04Z")
I have to have **Fall on Me** from _Eponymous_ so if I’m gonna keep **ITEOTWAWKI(AIFF)** it’ll have to come from _Document_ which means I have to lose **Disturbance at the Heron House**. But I’ll take **Radio Free Europe** from _Murmur_ so that frees up a track selection from a greatest hits disc. I’d take **Shiny Happy People** either from _Out of Time_ or from a greatest hits CD (if it’s on a greatest hits CD, then I’ll take **Losing My Religion** ); I’m a sucker for Kate Pierson’s voice. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-e-m-fans-unite-or-help-me-make-a-playlist/345113/4 "2006-02-18T20:15:40Z")
I’d have to figure out a way to get **Losing My Religion** , **Everybody Hurts** , and **Man on the Moon** into the playlist. ---
**Author:** ![JDeMobray](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@JDeMobray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JDeMobray)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-e-m-fans-unite-or-help-me-make-a-playlist/345113/5 "2006-02-18T20:24:50Z")
Interesting. By which I mean different than mine, and therefore wrong on a fundamental level. 😉 Here is how I would go: Chronic Town - Gardening at Night Murmur - Perfect Circle Reckoning - (Don’t Go Back to) Rockville Fables of the Reconstruction - Maps & Legends Life’s Rich Pageant - Superman Dead Letter Office - Voice of Harold Document - Finest Worksong Eponymous - Fall on Me Green - You Are The Everything Out of Time - Losing My Religion The Best of R.E.M. - It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) Automatic for the People - Find the River Non Album Tracks - First We Take Manhattan R.E.M. Singles Collected - The One I Love Monster - What’s the Frequency Kenneth New Adventures in Hi-Fi - Leave R.E.M: In the Attic - Driver 8 (Live) Up - Hope Reveal - Imitation of Life In Time: Best of R.E.M. 1998-2003 - The Great Beyond Around the Sun - Leaving New York This was really hard, and fun at the same time. I’m probably going to put this CD together later tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-e-m-fans-unite-or-help-me-make-a-playlist/345113/6 "2006-02-18T21:47:19Z")
I’ve never been crazy about Superman. For the _LRP_ track, I’d go with Cuyahoga, or maybe The Flowers of Guatemala. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-e-m-fans-unite-or-help-me-make-a-playlist/345113/7 "2006-02-18T21:53:36Z")
CT: Stumble Mm: Moral Kiosk Rk: Harborcoat FotR: Auctioneer (Another Engine) LRP: Begin The Begin Dm: Fireplace DLO: Crazy Ep: Radio Free Europe (original version). But I would cheat and also include Romance. G: Orange Crush OoT: Near Wild Heaven AftP: Try Not to Breathe Mt: I Took Your Name NAiH: Binky The Doormat Up: At My Most Beautiful Rv: Imitation of Life IT: Bad Day I haven’t heard AtS. Count me in as one of those who feel that the band lost the plot after Bill Berry hopped on the tractor… I haven’t enjoyed an R.E.M. album all the way through since. Up damn near alienated me from them! ---
**Author:** ![JDeMobray](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@JDeMobray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JDeMobray)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-e-m-fans-unite-or-help-me-make-a-playlist/345113/8 "2006-02-18T22:09:38Z")
> [@Hippy Hollow](#): > > I haven’t heard AtS. Count me in as one of those who feel that the band lost the plot after Bill Berry hopped on the tractor… I haven’t enjoyed an R.E.M. album all the way through since. Up damn near alienated me from them! I’m kind of in the same boat, but I really did enjoy Around the Sun. It seemed like kind of a throwback to some of their older stuff in parts. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-e-m-fans-unite-or-help-me-make-a-playlist/345113/9 "2006-02-18T22:41:33Z")
> [@Hippy Hollow](#): > > I haven’t heard AtS. Count me in as one of those who feel that the band lost the plot after Bill Berry hopped on the tractor… I haven’t enjoyed an R.E.M. album all the way through since. Up damn near alienated me from them! I remember an interview with Berry where he said that _Up_ was the band’s best album. He should save manure like that for his farm. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-e-m-fans-unite-or-help-me-make-a-playlist/345113/10 "2006-02-18T22:47:51Z")
No love for _Oddfellows_? This saddens me. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2006, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-e-m-fans-unite-or-help-me-make-a-playlist/345113/11 "2006-02-19T01:08:36Z")
It’s an interesting exercise, but I find it impossible to choose between “Drive,” “Everybody Hurts” and “Monty Got a Raw Deal” from Automatic for the People. As good as REM has been, that album was a cut above, one of the truly great albums in rock history. My choice from “Out of Time” would be “Shiny Happy People.” A very underrated song. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2006, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-e-m-fans-unite-or-help-me-make-a-playlist/345113/12 "2006-02-19T03:04:40Z")
You gotta have \*\*Texarkana \*\* from Out of Time. You just gotta. “20,000 miles to an oasis…” ---
**Author:** ![ayalabmaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@ayalabmaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ayalabmaj)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2006, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-e-m-fans-unite-or-help-me-make-a-playlist/345113/13 "2006-02-19T03:32:49Z")
Chronic Town: Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars) Murmur: Perfect Circle Reckoning: Harborcoat Fables of the Reconstruction: Feeling Gravitys Pull Lifes Rich Pageant: Begin the Begin Dead Letter Office: Bandwagon Document: Oddfellows Local 151 Eponymous: Radio Free Europe (Hib Tone Single) Green: I Will Turn You Inside Out Out Of Time: Near Wild Heaven R.E.M. Single Collected: Fall On Me Automatic For The People: The Sidewinder Sleep Tonite Monster: Let Me In New Adventures In Hi-fi: Be Mine In The Attic: Gardening At Night (Other Vocal Mix) Up: At My Most Beautiful Reveal: Imitation Of Life Best of R.E.M.: Nightswimming Around The Sun: Leaving New York I avoided most of the biggest hits. Does anyone _really_ need to hear “Losing My Religion” again? And, am I the only person who thinks that “Everybody Hurts,” while an OK song, is the weakest track on Automatic? And that included the New Orleans instrumental. ---
**Author:** ![\_Ava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/43a26b/32.png) [@\_Ava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Ava)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2006, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-e-m-fans-unite-or-help-me-make-a-playlist/345113/14 "2006-02-19T07:09:21Z")
> [@Frostillicus](#): > > You gotta have \*\*Texarkana \*\* from Out of Time. You just gotta. > > “20,000 miles to an oasis…” Probably ties for my favorite, along with All The Right Friends from the Vanilla Sky soundtrack. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2006, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-e-m-fans-unite-or-help-me-make-a-playlist/345113/15 "2006-02-19T07:25:39Z")
> [@ayalabmaj](#): > > …am I the only person who thinks that “Everybody Hurts,” while an OK song, is the weakest track on Automatic? And that included the New Orleans instrumental. You can count me in on that one. As for my playlist, I’m still stuck on Reckoning. I’ll need more time. ---
**Author:** ![JDeMobray](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@JDeMobray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JDeMobray)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2006, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-e-m-fans-unite-or-help-me-make-a-playlist/345113/16 "2006-02-19T16:41:37Z")
> [@ayalabmaj](#): > > I avoided most of the biggest hits. Does anyone _really_ need to hear “Losing My Religion” again? And, am I the only person who thinks that “Everybody Hurts,” while an OK song, is the weakest track on Automatic? And that included the New Orleans instrumental. I left “Everybody Hurts” off of my playlist, but “Losing My Religion” was the song that really introduced me to R.E.M. way back in high school, so it has a special place in my heart. I know that it has been played to death but I still enjoy it every time that I hear it. ---
**Author:** ![marymargaret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@marymargaret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marymargaret)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-e-m-fans-unite-or-help-me-make-a-playlist/345113/17 "2006-02-19T17:06:46Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > I’d have to figure out a way to get **Losing My Religion** , **Everybody Hurts** , and **Man on the Moon** into the playlist. Ditto. ---
**Author:** ![usar\_jag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@usar\_jag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usar_jag)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-e-m-fans-unite-or-help-me-make-a-playlist/345113/18 "2006-02-20T07:14:37Z")
Thanks for all your help, everyone. It’s almost an impossible exercise–in fact, I had to make several different versions of my playlist, just to capture all of the good stuff that I missed out on the first time around. ---
**Author:** ![spiralscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@spiralscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spiralscratch)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-e-m-fans-unite-or-help-me-make-a-playlist/345113/19 "2006-02-22T01:06:16Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > I’d have to figure out a way to get **Losing My Religion** , **Everybody Hurts** , and **Man on the Moon** into the playlist. If you’re willing to fudge a bit, counting the _Man On The Moon_ movie soundtrack gets you the song of the same name. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-e-m-fans-unite-or-help-me-make-a-playlist/345113/20 "2006-02-22T02:38:55Z")
You have to get ‘All The Right Friends’ on there as well. I only know the song from In Time, a compilation/best hits album, but it’s wonderful. I second the love for ‘Shiny Happy People’. If you happen to live by the right kind of radio station, you’ll never have to put ‘Losing My Religion’ on a mix CD. Ditto ‘Man on the Moon’, although probably not so much. Beyond that, everyone else has mentioned everything I was going to. Including ‘Don’t Go Back to Rockville’. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-e-m-fans-unite-or-help-me-make-a-playlist/345113.md?page=2)