# What's the best song off of "Automatic for the People"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 27, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-song-off-of-automatic-for-the-people/555229 "2010-09-27T15:41:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-song-off-of-automatic-for-the-people/555229/1 "2010-09-27T15:41:24Z")
The last truly brilliant album they did, IMO, though there were still a couple more great ones to come, and among the best albums of the 90s. The only real weak spot for me is “Everybody Hurts” - musically I don’t mind it, but the lyrics are so soggy and teen-angsty I can’t take it seriously. I voted for “Nightswimming”, because I think it’s one of the most beautiful pop songs ever, but “Drive”, “Try Not To Breathe”, “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite”, “Man on the Moon”, “Find the River” - I can’t really argue with anyone’s pick. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-song-off-of-automatic-for-the-people/555229/2 "2010-09-27T15:48:52Z")
I’ve been waiting for this poll, because I feel that “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite” is the most underrated song in the entire R.E.M. discography. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-song-off-of-automatic-for-the-people/555229/3 "2010-09-27T15:50:41Z")
Nightswimming is one of my favorite songs. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-song-off-of-automatic-for-the-people/555229/4 "2010-09-27T15:52:29Z")
As I know that “Nightswimming” will (deservedly) walk away with this one, I decided to go with the other song that I adore equally from this excellent, excellent album: “Find the River”. It almost as easily could’ve been “Try Not to Breathe”, “Sweetness Follows”, “Monty Got a Raw Deal”, or “Man on the Moon”. ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_Cello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Clark\_Cello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_Cello)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-song-off-of-automatic-for-the-people/555229/5 "2010-09-27T15:57:50Z")
Lots of good choices here. I think this is their best album. I picked “Man on the Moon” because it has so much going for it; original topic, great melody, interesting imagry, etc. I think “The Sidewinder Sleeps”, “Drive”, “Nightswimming” and “Find the River” are all contenders as well. The maudlin side of me wants to put “Everybody Hurts” in there as well, but it is just a bit trite for my liking. ---
**Author:** ![MilTan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@MilTan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MilTan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-song-off-of-automatic-for-the-people/555229/6 "2010-09-27T16:05:41Z")
Nightswimming is probably in my top 5 songs of all time, so this one was easy for me. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-song-off-of-automatic-for-the-people/555229/7 "2010-09-27T16:10:41Z")
This was REM’s best album. It says a lot when Man On The Moon was the WORST song on the album, but I still enjoy it. I went with Sidewinder, mainly because I can’t listen to that song and NOT feel totally cheered up, but any song on that album (even Moon was pretty popular, especially after the Jim Carrey movie came out) is worthy of the title. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-song-off-of-automatic-for-the-people/555229/8 "2010-09-27T17:50:29Z")
The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite is in fact a great song. But Nightswimming is absolutely brilliant on a whole other level, and gets my vote. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-song-off-of-automatic-for-the-people/555229/9 "2010-09-27T17:58:11Z")
I have particularly fond memories of this album. I was in junior high when it came out, and it was one of the first CDs I ever bought. It’s probably the oldest album I bought that I still listen to. (Meaning, I have oldies that predate it, but I consider them music that predates my own adolescence.) I must have listened to this a trillion times. I really do love the entire album, as much for the music as the nostalgia factor, but Nightswimming has always been my favorite. It is an absolutely beautiful pop song. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-song-off-of-automatic-for-the-people/555229/10 "2010-09-27T18:46:39Z")
I voted for Sidewinder because it means a lot to me personally. It doesn’t have the complexity or emotion of some of the other songs, but it’s evocative and Stipe evidently had fun writing and singing it. If it’s fluff, it’s joyful fluff, and that makes it an important piece of a very serious album. And it’s not without some emotional power of its own. I see it as a very romatic and playful song. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-song-off-of-automatic-for-the-people/555229/11 "2010-09-27T19:55:52Z")
Wow, I love this album. It’s also one of those fantastic things where listening to it takes me back to a very specific, positive time in my life. There aren’t any songs I don’t like … _Man in the Moon_ got a bit overplayed so that’s the only one I skip occasionally. It was a tough call for me between _Nightswimming_ and _Sidewinder_ for best. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-song-off-of-automatic-for-the-people/555229/12 "2010-09-27T20:06:48Z")
I voted ‘Drive’ because of the memories I have associated with that song. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-song-off-of-automatic-for-the-people/555229/13 "2010-09-27T20:23:40Z")
‘Nightswimming’ is one of the greatest songs ever written. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-song-off-of-automatic-for-the-people/555229/14 "2010-09-27T21:02:10Z")
**Nightswimming** is unbeatable. However, I have a soft spot for **Try Not to Breathe** because I was dealing with the death of a parent the year this album came out, and that song really spoke to me. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-song-off-of-automatic-for-the-people/555229/15 "2010-09-27T23:06:41Z")
YOU’RE ALL CRAZY!!! Monty. Or Drive. Or Try not to Breathe. Nightswimming?! Sidewinder? Bahhhhhh! (I’m surprised by my violent reaction to this) ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-song-off-of-automatic-for-the-people/555229/16 "2010-09-27T23:51:37Z")
Wow. I voted Nightswimming, but I thought I’d be well in the minority. I guess it’s a hell of a lot more popular than I thought. Everybody Hurts certainly got a lot more exposure. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-song-off-of-automatic-for-the-people/555229/17 "2010-09-28T00:58:23Z")
It had to be Monty for me, my band used to play it. Other candidates were Man on the Moon (some silly lyrics though), Ignoreland, Drive, and Sidewinder. Nightswimming, Everybody Hurts and Find the River are undoubtedly beautiful but just don’t grab me, they come across as a little studied. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-song-off-of-automatic-for-the-people/555229/18 "2010-09-28T01:00:54Z")
I think this is the first one of these polls that a radio single isn’t winning. I voted for Nightswimming too, but Try Not to Breathe is a favorite as well. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-song-off-of-automatic-for-the-people/555229/19 "2010-09-28T01:09:49Z")
_Everybody Hurts_ had a great video but I also voted for _Nightswimming._ Every single time I hear that song I’m transported back to the hot, happy summer nights in my late teens/early twenties. We went night swimming all the time, sneaking in to the little lake in the town park. There _was_ the fear of getting caught and everyone was always naked. For recklessness, we’d swim the giant lifeguard chair out to a floating dock and dive off it. I don’t remember having a photograph on the dashboard, but when I hear the song I swear there had to be one. Maybe the best REM album overall…the only song I’m not crazy about is _Ignoreland._ When lyrics became easy to find on the web, the first thing I looked up was _The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight_. Hmmm, nothing at all about Jamaica. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-song-off-of-automatic-for-the-people/555229/20 "2010-09-28T01:29:39Z")
Nightswimming is such a beautiful, elegiac song, it saddens me that in the half a dozen times that I’ve seen REM live they’ve never played it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-song-off-of-automatic-for-the-people/555229.md?page=2)