500 Greatest Songs of All Time
389
R.E.M., 'Radio Free Europe'
Writers: R.E.M.
Producers: Mitch Easter, Don Dixon
Released: July '83, I.R.S.
5 weeks; No. 78
"We hated it," said Peter Buck of the sound on the first version of "Europe," on indie label Hib-Tone. "It was mastered by a deaf man, apparently." R.E.M. rerecorded it for Murmur, with a richer melody and tighter rhythm — "like Motown," Buck recalled. Michael Stipe mumbled his lyrics — a vague riff on U.S. cultural imperialism — because he hadn't finished writing them when it was time to record.
Appears on: Murmur (A&M)
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