Reckoning, Remastered

R.E.M. (1980-2011)
1

A fun little project I did, the second in a non-linear series, inspired by Adam Scott Aukerman’s ‘R U Talkin’ R.E.M. Re: Me?’ podcast.

Reckoning, Remastered

  1. Harborcoat
  2. So. Central Rain
  3. Letter Never Sent
  4. Time After Time (Annelise)
  5. Camera
  6. Burning Down
  7. 7 Chinese Bros.
  8. Pretty Persuasion
  9. Little America
  10. (Don’t Go Back to) Rockville
  • “Harborcoat” is a perfect opener and doesn’t need to be moved. It establishes the guitar sound present throughout most of the album and the typical R.E.M. nonsense lyrics. It’s energetic, as any album opener should be.
  • “So. Central Rain” follows because “7 Chinese Bros.” is too much of a mood shift for my taste and as the single it gives prospective new fans what they came for. “Harborcoat” and “So. Central Rain” are two of four songs on this album I like to call ‘rain songs’, and they’re different enough to stay next to each other, whereas the other two are spread out.
  • “Letter Never Sent” comes in at number three as the beginning of a downwards energy flow.
  • “Time After Time (Annelise)” serves as a transition between “Letter Never Sent” and “Camera”, slowing things down and giving listeners something to groove to.
  • “Camera” is a sobering listening experience with its slower tempo and heavier subject matter, the heaviest on the album. The brief jam session at the end gives listeners a shot of energy before one of the best songs on the album.
  • “Burning Down” has replaced “Second Guessing”, as I believe “Pretty Persuasion” provides what “Second Guessing” contains but with more interesting lyrics.
  • “7 Chinese Bros.” is a buffer between “Burning Down” and “Pretty Persuasion” as to not have the aforementioned remaining ‘rain songs’ next to each other. They’re great and they’re too similar to be sequential.
  • “Pretty Persuasion” picks the energy back up before “Little America”.
  • “Little America” and “Rockville” need to stick together, and “Rockville” is the more effective of the two closing songs.
  • “(Don’t Go Back to) Rockville” is a fun, sweet closing song. The listeners threaten to hit the road as the band begs the audience not to leave.