I was met with a challenge by a fellow co-worker the other day, a challenge I haven't had the opportunity to take advantage of in some time. She asked me to make her an R.E.M. CD. Talk about pressure. I haven't made an R.E.M. CD for anyone in a long time. I stopped my personal crusade to spread the music to unsuspecting souls long ago. Just because they are my favorite band, doesn't mean they have to be everyone else's. But, when asked, I couldn't pass up the opportunity.
I wanted the CD to be a good representation of the band, highlighting some of my favorite songs mixed in with some "classic" R.E.M. sounds. It was quite hard to narrow down my favorites to fit on one CD and then to arrange then in order so that the music flowed; something my mom taught me. Eighty minutes of music is not much to convert someone into an instant R.E.M. fan, but this is my best attempt.
After I chose the songs for the CD, I realized a lot of them were some of my first favorites. I still remember playing Donkey Kong Country in the basement with Angela with "Driver 8" blaring away. We had a five disc CD changer and it was usually filled with only R.E.M.; at least if I had my way. That's probably why I am so fond of the alternate versions of "Gardening at Night" and "Radio Free Europe"; because Eponymous was always in the mix.
The songs I chose are a representation of the best of what R.E.M. has given us so far. I made the playlist in iTunes and remembered a feature called an iMix that allows one to share any given playlist with the world. I thought it would be neat to post my playlist as an iMix and post it here on latent chestnut. Now everyone knows my favorite R.E.M. songs. I feel so exposed. Below I posted the cover art I made for the disc, so if anyone feels so inclined to create this CD for themselves, go right ahead. I hope you enjoy the music!
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