Red Mosquito

vote

These are pretty evenly matched. Both good songs that don't hit the top tier. Vote for Low Desert for doing something a bit different. I love the bassline

Bittersweet Me is outstanding!

Bittersweet Me has a decent riff, but it's otherwise uninspiring. Low Desert is REM deciding they wanted to record an americana song and doing it really fucking well. I can taste the dust in my teeth and feel the sun on my neck.

bittersweet me was never performed live. that's kind of astounding to me.

AndySlash wrote:bittersweet me was never performed live. that's kind of astounding to me.

This. Never realized that was the case, especially since it was (mostly?) recorded in a soundcheck. Of the "live" tracks on Hi-Fi, it always sounded the least "live" to me - for a long time, I thought it was a studio recording. I thought it sounded great on the radio, too.

Low Desert easily - love the 'The mountains yawn, the clouds let out a sigh. "Tricked again." Let go, okay.' line

This one hurts. "Low Desert" is wonderful, and I agree with everything Kaius said about it. I especially like the moment when Stipe jumps the octave ("say you'll leave it all behind...hey!") -- to me that's the breaking point of the song, and it's beautiful. But I love "Bittersweet Me" more -- I think it captures a similarly dusty, atmospheric vibe, but with a more pronounced sense of melancholia and a slightly richer melodic palette. Some of my favorite lyrics on "Hi-Fi," too.

Bitersweet Me is fucking great, easy vote.

I like Bittersweet Me but Low Desert is a personal favorite. I love it.

UglyRedHonda wrote:

AndySlash wrote:bittersweet me was never performed live. that's kind of astounding to me.

This. Never realized that was the case, especially since it was (mostly?) recorded in a soundcheck. Of the "live" tracks on Hi-Fi, it always sounded the least "live" to me - for a long time, I thought it was a studio recording. I thought it sounded great on the radio, too.

How is it possible that this was never played. They had at least three major tours since hi-fi

Kevin Davis wrote:This one hurts. "Low Desert" is wonderful, and I agree with everything Kaius said about it. I especially like the moment when Stipe jumps the octave ("say you'll leave it all behind...hey!") -- to me that's the breaking point of the song, and it's beautiful. But I love "Bittersweet Me" more -- I think it captures a similarly dusty, atmospheric vibe, but with a more pronounced sense of melancholia and a slightly richer melodic palette. Some of my favorite lyrics on "Hi-Fi," too.