Yesterday morning I picked up a copy of In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003. I like R.E.M. and I've always respected them, but I don't own all or even half their albums, so In Time is perfect for people like me. It's chock full of great songs, including a couple of new tracks. "Bad Day" has been stuck in my head since I first heard it yesterday morning. It's a brilliant R.E.M. single -- instantly catchy, with those "It's the End of the World" style vocals that are distinctly Michael Stipe's. I've also been recaptured by the beauty of "Everybody Hurts." It's such a perfect song of hope for the hopeless:

If you're on your own in this life, the days and nights are long,
when you think you've had too much of this life to hang on.

Well, everybody hurts sometimes,
everybody cries. And everybody hurts sometimes.
And everybody hurts sometimes. So, hold on, hold on.
Hold on, hold on. Hold on, hold on. Hold on, hold on.

In Time is not only full of great songs, but the limited edition packaging is incredible. The booklet has a brief commentary on each song on the best of cd and the rarities cd by Peter Buck. His comments are as revealing as they are entertaining. A couple of highlights to whet your appetite:

On "Stand":
Without a doubt, Stand is the, um, how shall I say this? It's the stupidest song we've ever written.

On "Orange Crush":
The funny thing is, every time I play it, it means something different to me, and I find myself moved emotionally...

A couple of chords, a good melody, and some words can mean more than a seven hundred-page novel...

I guess I've found a good way not to talk about a song that means something dark and mysterious to me.

Selah.

R.E.M. has a rich legacy of beautiful, heartfelt, and utterly singable songs. If you're like me, and you've found yourself singing along with them on the radio as long as you can remember, but you never jumped on the bandwagon, buy a copy of In Time. You won't regret it.