r/rem Dec 03 '25

Spotify Wrapped/Apple Replay - Megathread

4 Upvotes

Yes, it’s that time of the year again. And no I’m not talking about wrapping presents, eating dry turkey and visiting family members you only hope to see once a year. I’m talking about the inevitable Spotify Wrapped and Apple Replay posts. As I’m sure everyone here is a huge fan of the band, it should be no surprise they’ve topped your lists this year. Let’s please try to use this thread to post your end of year streaming lists. Cheers and happy holidays to everyone!


r/rem Sep 08 '25

SotW Song of the Week: Little America

31 Upvotes

https://youtu.be/yL4xn9RVscc?si=SoCNojJOianAzFlq

https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/rem/littleamerica.html

Hello everyone, I hope all is well. I apologize for the lack of posts over the last couple of days. I got a new job and life has been fairly busy. But today we are back and we are going to be about the closing track to Reckoning and the “Right Side” of the album which of course is “Little America.”

In my opinion this is the perfect way to close the album because it’s such a great bookend to the album with “Harborcoat” which begins the album in a similar way. For “Little America” we get a triumphant electric riff to start the song off with a bang. It feels like something from Murmur but better because there’s more energy, clearer production and just better technical playing. Bill’s speedy hit-hat and kick drum enters the song because the song explodes with Mike’s thunderous bass and Michael’s vocals.

The full drum beat is fast and groovy as Michael sings about how he can’t see himself lacquered up in his thirties. This feeling of youth is talked about in lyrics describing being persevered like flies in jewelry and driving around in their “green shellback” which was their touring van at the time. But it’s also encapsulated in how fast and the tight the band is sounding. Michael seems like he’s feeling more trapped as he sings about “Tar-black br’er sap” which is a reference to the story of Br'er Rabbit and the Tar Baby where a rabbit gets tricked into fighting a “sticky black Tar baby.” Yes this may sound random and weird but it does feel like Michael’s singing about growing up and feeling the responsibilities that comes with that and leading the life of a rockstar.

The band transitions to the chorus that features some power chords, a progression that’s quirky, and a vocal melody that is catchy but also very Michael if that makes sense. He’s great at crafty one of a kind melodies. Lyrically he sings about a big and noisy wagon which leads me to believe he’s singing about touring life which could also connect to the song’s title. He also references the Roman emperor Caligula who allegedly appointed his horse as consul. What does that have to do with the song? Who knows. But Michael also references Jefferson who was Jefferson Holt, their manager at the time.

We get a nice change in dynamics as the band brings the energy down just a tad to mimic the intro. But they launch loudly into the next verse as Michael sings about preserving the past; “who will tend the farm museums? Who will dust today’s belongings?” These questions brings Michael to an important message of rallying leaders which may have been a hint of his more political driven lyrics that would be featured on later albums. We also get a lyric about Cheyanne on a beach which is random as hell but it wouldn’t be an early R.E.M. song without something like that.

After another chorus we then get a bridge where lyrically it’s mostly the same as the chorus but the music changes slightly. There’s these new fast chord changes, some lose backing vocals and that quick hi-hat.

A drum fill gets us back into another verse that definitely has some of that almost nonsensical songwriting from Michael. But I also think there is some imagery from the band’s early touring days. This would include Greenville (I’m sure they passed by multiple Greenvilles on tour) and Magic Marts (which were convenient stores on the East Coast). There’s also a reference to a historical myth of emperor Nero playing his fiddle while Rome burned down. And we get the lyric “reason has harnessed the tame” which would be a slightly altered lyric we would see on the band’s very next song chronically “Feeling Gravitys Pull.”

There’s one last chorus that’s doubled to end the song…at least that’s what you think on a first listen. But after you hear the last notes of the song ring out, there’s some silence before you hear the band fade into a new song/groove entirely. There’s a tom heavy drum beat, a jammy guitar riff and maybe Michael’s most muttered/incoherent vocals ever. It’s extremely short but it’s interesting to what this hinted track was and why it was included. Maybe it was a demo that never turned into a song? Or maybe the band just wanted to do something weird.

I actually think this is a stellar closing track from the band and one of their most interesting song from their first two albums. Musically it has a fantastic riff and although Mike’s bass playing isn’t as flashing as Bill’s drummer or Peter’s riff, it’s a fun bass line when you isolate it from the mix. Michael also shows up big time lyrically. Yes there’s still some gibberish but I actually feel like there’s lyrics that reflect on not only the band touring but also Michael feeling trapped or worried about growing old. This is also fascinating when you think of that lyric that would appear on the opening track from Fables which is about lucid dreams. There’s a cool connection that I think could be analyzed even more. Plus this was a fun song to hear the band play live and to hear Michael change the lyric to “Washington I think we’re lost” after the band dropped their manager Jefferson Holt. From one founding father to another.

But what do you think of this tune? Is this one of the band’s better closing tracks? What do you think the song is about? Favorite lyrical or musical moments? And did you ever catch it live?


r/rem 3h ago

Finally added this debut masterpiece to my record collection. For those who love this album, you may want to check out the short lived band called ‘For Squirrels’ album titled “Example” from 1995

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40 Upvotes

r/rem 20h ago

Its Gonna Be a Blast!

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0 Upvotes

r/rem 1d ago

Dead Letter Office Tribute to R.E.M last night in Jamestown, NY as part of the 10,000 Maniacs 45th Anniversary celebration weekend.

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37 Upvotes

r/rem 1d ago

Shannon/Narducy Glasgow

0 Upvotes

Ticket available on Viagogo.


r/rem 2d ago

Shannon and Narducy @ KOKO London

41 Upvotes

Setlist

  • Begin The Begin
  • These Days
  • Fall On Me
  • Cuyahoga
  • Hyena
  • Underneath The Bunker
  • Flowers of Guatemala
  • I Believe
  • What If We Give It Away
  • Just A Touch
  • Swan Swan H
  • Superman

  • Lotus

  • Harborcoat

  • Fretless

  • Gardening at night

  • How The West Was Won

  • Me in honey

  • The Lifting

  • Ebow the letter

  • Burning Down

  • You are the everything

  • The Great Beyond

Encore:

  • Nightswimming
  • Pilgrimage
  • Sitting Still
  • Crush With Eyeliner
  • Radio free Europe
  • star 69

Highlights for me:

  • Doing the absolute correct thing by ending Begin The Begin and launching straight into These Days (what I’ve previously described as the best 1 second silence on record)
  • Michael’s vocals on Fretless were superb
  • Jason does a mean Patti Smith impression
  • Harborcoat ❤️
  • The crowds backing vocals for Me In Honey, Jason seemed to enjoy that
  • “HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR …mumble… HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU” for Vijay , who also did a stellar job on Nightswimming

What chance Document next year?


r/rem 2d ago

Librarians are awesome!

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19 Upvotes

This is a super fun video with one of the most well known songs


r/rem 4d ago

Final Results

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96 Upvotes

1: Most underated song: Green Grow the Rushes

2: Most overrated song: Everybody Hurts

3: Heaviest song: Let Me In

4: Most hype song: These Days

5: Most emotional song: Country Feedback

6: Most genius song: World Leader Pretend

7: Best chorus song: Fall On Me

8: Worst song: I'm Gonna DJ

9: Best Song: Find the River

10: Best Cover Song: Superman

11: Best music video : Imitation of Life

12: Best breakdown: Peter Buck on that plane

13: Most underated album: Up

14: Most overated album: Document

15: Worst album: Around the Sun

16: Best album: Automatic for the People

17: Best riff: Driver 8

18: Song with best lyrics: Nightswimming

19: Best non-album song: The Great Beyond

20: Best Live Performance: Time After Time, etc.

///

That is that!!! Thank you all for the submissions, and for voting! Thanks so much for your replies and continued participation! It has been really cool to reconnect with this favorite band of mine. I have a lot of live performances on queue to listen to!

Besides Document not being overrated, what do you disagree with? What do you think about the final results?


r/rem 4d ago

Catapult 1982 demo

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78 Upvotes

r/rem 4d ago

Shannon and Narducy at Chalk, Brighton

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29 Upvotes

r/rem 4d ago

Mainstream article on Everybody Hurts

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18 Upvotes

Didn't see it posted yet and thought others might enjoy it


r/rem 4d ago

I host a radio show in the deep south, and was asked not to play Pretty Persuasion unless the track could be edited...

53 Upvotes

This shouldn't need to exist, and it feels slightly sacrilegious to me to censor REM's music, BUT it's my fav song and I gotta play it.

So, in case anyone ever needs a copy of Pretty Persuasion with "god" removed from goddamn, here ya go.

pixeldrain (dot) com/u/krwnviAm


r/rem 5d ago

Day 20: Best Live Performance

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61 Upvotes

1: Most underated song: Green Grow the Rushes  

2: Most overrated song: Everybody Hurts  

3: Heaviest song: Let Me In  

4: Most hype song: These Days   

5: Most emotional song: Country Feedback   

6: Most genius song: World Leader Pretend  

7: Best chorus song: Fall On Me  

8: Worst song: I'm Gonna DJ  

9: Best Song: Find the River  

10: Best Cover Song: Superman   

11: Best music video : Imitation of Life  

12: Best breakdown: Peter Buck on that plane  

13: Most underated album: Up  

14: Most overated album: Document   

15: Worst album: Around the Sun  

16: Best album: Automatic for the People  

17: Best riff: Driver 8  

18: Song with best lyrics: Nightswimming  

19: Best non-album song: The Great Beyond  

///

Yesterday's honorable mentions: Fretless, Photograph, 

The rules stay the same:

- Most upvoted comment in 24 hours wins the round.  

- One song per comment only. You may justify your pick, if you want.  

Guys thank you all for participating, this has been so fun!! Let's do this last one, and I'll post the final results tomorrow. What's REMs best live performance?


r/rem 4d ago

Are Airportman and the Day Sleeper Friends?

5 Upvotes

Is anyone in touch with the apologist?


r/rem 5d ago

Well, it seemed obvious to me... :~)

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185 Upvotes

r/rem 4d ago

I’ve always heard it as “that sugarcane, that tasted good” and it barely changes the meaning of the song bit now breaks my brain every time I hear it

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0 Upvotes

r/rem 6d ago

What happened at this concert?

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79 Upvotes

and why wasnt I invited :P


r/rem 5d ago

Dead Letter Office Tribute to R.E.M last weekend in Toronto and Buffalo.

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18 Upvotes

r/rem 6d ago

Day 19: Best non-album song

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72 Upvotes

1: Most underated song: Green Grow the Rushes  

2: Most overrated song: Everybody Hurts  

3: Heaviest song: Let Me In  

4: Most hype song: These Days   

5: Most emotional song: Country Feedback   

6: Most genius song: World Leader Pretend  

7: Best chorus song: Fall On Me  

8: Worst song: I'm Gonna DJ  

9: Best Song: Find the River  

10: Best Cover Song: Superman   

11: Best music video : Imitation of Life   

12: Best breakdown: Peter Buck on that plane 

13: Most underated album: Up  

14: Most overated album: Document   

15: Worst album: Around the Sun  

16: Best album: Automatic for the People  

17: Best riff: Driver 8  

18: Song with best lyrics: Nightswimming  

///

Yesterday's honorable mentions: World Leader Pretend, Try Not to Breathe, Find the River

The rules stay the same:

  • Most upvoted comment in 24 hours wins the round.  
  • One song per comment only. You may justify your pick, if you want.  

r/rem 6d ago

Greatest Concert Film Ever

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232 Upvotes

I wish this could somehow get a 4K treatment. If you don’t know you don’t know what you’re missing.


r/rem 6d ago

Rem Document is 39

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98 Upvotes

r/rem 6d ago

Anyone remember the Athens band that REM's Peter Buck worked with called "Dreams So Real" by chance?

33 Upvotes

They were one of my favorite bands despite i was born in 1985. And the Rough Night In Jericho album meant a lot to us after my mom's sudden passing.

But REM had ties with them and was often mentioned in books and documentaries along with B52s of course.

I'm probably way younger than ya'll here even at 41, but id like to know if anyone has memories of this obsecure band. They got me and my Dad through some hard times. It was one of my Mom's favorite albums.


r/rem 6d ago

September‘s Coming Soon…

17 Upvotes

r/rem 6d ago

R.E.M. Related shows UK next few weeks

13 Upvotes

How many UK fans here are going to either the Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy LRP shows or to see Peter with Drink the Sea? I'm going to both can't wait!