R.E.M. Share Band-Curated Playlist of Their Favorite R.E.M. Songs

A week of welcome R.E.M. reunions — which began with their first interview together in nearly 30 years and followed by a surprise performance at the Songwriters Hall of Fame — continued Saturday with a new playlist curated by the band highlighting their favorite R.E.M. songs.

“The R.E.M. TOP 40 — according to the guys themselves — is out now wherever you stream music!” the band’s social media said Saturday. “Michael’s are #1-10, Peter’s 11-20, Mike’s 21-30, & Bill’s 31-40.”

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While some hits like “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” and “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?” pop on the playlist — Mike Mills’ picks especially leans toward the singles — the R.E.M. Top 40 puts the spotlight on the lesser-know selections from the band’s catalog.

In the case of Michael Stipe, his personal picks range from Lifes Rich Pageant’s anti-war song “The Flowers of Guatemala” to Out of Time Side B standouts “Country Feedback” and “Half a World Away” to “Oh My Heart,” off the band’s final LP Collapse Into Now.

Not making the band’s cut are some of their most signature songs, like “Everybody Hurts,” “Radio Free Europe,” “The One I Love,” and “Losing My Religion,” which the band played at their Songwriters Hall of Fame induction, the core four’s first performance together since 2007.

Despite claiming that the band would never reunite because “it would never be as good,” as Peter Buck said in the first half of their CBS Mornings interview before the Songwriters ceremony, the foursome reconvened onstage for the one-off performance. Still, don’t expect a full-on reunion. “I just don’t know what I’d be trying to accomplish if we got back together,” Buck said in the post-Songwriters portion of the interview.

Stipe added, “There’s no one last time,” and Mills stated simply, “All the reasons you don’t want to do it are still in place. We are lucky to have — I don’t really love the word — a legacy that we can leave in place and not mess. And you get that opportunity one time. Once you change that, you can’t go back.”

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