What if you did? What if you walk?

R.E.M. - Drive
from the album Automatic for the People (Warner Bros., 1992)


This song has appeared from out of nowhere twice on my iPod the last week. Well, maybe not completely out of nowhere since my iPod has been on shuffle, but still. Not that I am complaining in any way. This is one of my absolute favourite R.E.M. songs, at least from the Automatic for the People album. The production are so understated and at the same time really big. A great start-stop rhythm-arrangement driven forward by Michael Stipe's vocals and Peter Buck's guitar. I especially love it when the electric guitar countermelody comes in halfway through the song. And also the way it builds along with the electric guitar with louder drums and the more prominent string section before it mellows down again at the end. Quite haunting actually. Sounds best in a dark room played loud.

Great song, great album, great band.

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