Six Degrees of R.E.M.

It's been awhile since I blogged and I've lost a lot of the playlists I didn't post yet - oopsie! So we'll just pick up now as if my set at the Velvet last night was my first in forevers.

I put together a six degrees of R.E.M. set - they're one of my favorite bands and with the release of Accelerate, I thought perhaps this would be a good time to examine their influence on music in their 25+ year history, as well as the music that influenced them.

1. R.E.M. "It's the End of the World As We Know It" Document 1987
2. R.E.M. "Accelerate" Accelerate 2008
3. The National "Lit Up" - touring with R.E.M. on Accelerate
4. Modest Mouse "Dashboard" - touring with R.E.M. on Accelerate
5. R.E.M. "Driver 8" Fables of the Reconstruction 1985
6. U2 "The Unforgettable Fire" - longtime R.E.M. friends, recommended they work with Jackknife Lee on Accelerate
7. R.E.M. "Can't Get There From Here" Fables of the Reconstruction 1985
8. The B-52's "52 Miles West of Venus" - fellow Athens band, toured with R.E.M., Kate Pierson has appeared on their records
9. The Replacements "Within Your Reach" - toured with R.E.M.
10. R.E.M. "Drive" Automatic for the People 1992
11. Led Zeppelin "Rock and Roll" - John Paul Jones scored the strings for several songs on Automatic
12. R.E.M. "Band and Blame" Monster 1994
13. Radiohead "Black Star" - toured with R.E.M. on Monster
14. 10,000 Maniacs - Natalie Merchant is a long time friend, recorded a song with Michael Stipe, and the bands toured together
15. R.E.M. "Wolves, Lower" Dead Letter Office - however this is the band's first single from 1981
16. The dB's "Amplifier" - fellow jangle pop band
17. David Bowie "Suffragette City" - Bowie is an influence on the band and Stipe produced "Velvet Goldmine" which was based on a fictional take on his life during glam.
18. R.E.M. "E-Bow the Letter" New Adventures in Hi-Fi 1996
19. Patti Smith "Because the Night" - Patti is a longtime hero to Stipe and sings on "E-Bow the Letter"
20. R.E.M. "Exhuming McCarthy" Document 1987
21. Hoodoo Gurus "I Want You Back" - Australian college rock band, often grouped with R.E.M. in the early years
22. Camper Van Beethoven "Pictures of Matchstick Men" - toured with R.E.M. and were on the I.R.S. label together
23. Let's Active "Every Word Means No" - North Carolina jangle pop band, member Mitch Easter produced several early R.E.M. albums.
24. R.E.M. "Turn You Inside-Out" Green 1988
25. Throwing Muses "Counting Backwards" - toured with R.E.M.
26. R.E.M. "Country Feedback" Out of Time 1991
27. Nirvana "Come as You Are" - Stipe and Cobain were close friends and Stipe planned a band for the two of them to get Cobain out of an unhealthy environment in Seattle that never came to fruition
28. Hole "Asking for It" - Stipe and Love are still close friends.
29. R.E.M. "Laughing" Murmur 1983
30. The Feelies "Fa Ci-La" - R.E.M. have sited Crazy Rhythms as a major influence on them
31. R.E.M. "Fretless" Losing My Religion single b-side/"Until The End of the World" soundtrack 1991
32. Screaming Trees "Nearly Lost You" - toured with R.E.M.
33. R.E.M. "Lotus" Up 1998
34. Wilco "Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway (Again)" - toured with R.E.M. on Up
35. R.E.M. "Pretty Persuasion" Reckoning 1984
36. Sonic Youth "100%" - toured together
37. Idlewild "These Wooden Ideas" - toured together, R.E.M. are a huge influence on Idlewild
38. Beck "Think I'm In Love" - Beck's longtime drummer Joey Waronker began touring with R.E.M. when Bill Berry left the group
39. Joseph Arthur "Honey and the Moon" - Stipe is a big fan, has toured with R.E.M.
40. R.E.M. "Nightswimming" Automatic For The People 1992