There’s a lot of #REM in the second half of my year, tickets all sorted for @stiperemtribute.bsky.social in November & Drink The Sea in December. Really looking forward to both. Now all I need is Shannon & Narducy to announce some LRP Irish dates 😎🎶🙌

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge The gold medal goes to this one. The first single release from LRP & a longtime favourite of mine, one of REM’s most singable songs with its infectious chorus, fantastic harmonies & superb melody. 1. Fall On Me (Life’s Rich Pageant) youtu.be/lf6vCjtaV1k?...

#REMtop30 #MusicChallnge The debut single from REM. Less polished than the subsequent album version, but displaying the spiky energy of early REM, with its punk/new wave influences evident, this is some way to announce yourself… 2. Radio Free Europe (Single Release) youtu.be/okCDUzPeFIE?...

Super Furry Animals to play first tour in a decade www.bbc.com/news/article...

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge Largely inspired, it seems, by the 1983 floods in the Georgia area, a song about the difficulty in staying connected to those at home while on the road for long periods. 3. So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry) (Reckoning) youtu.be/msWi0c4tHV8?...

'Primal and sexual': Wuthering Heights director on bringing Brontë to life www.bbc.com/news/article... #FilmSky

A magnificent afternoon of cinema with @staggerlee42.bsky.social & @trishisreading.bsky.social & the new PTA. A darkly comedic, pacey, thriller that feels very relevant. Superb casting and brilliantly shot with some genuinely laugh out loud moments. Definitely worth a watch.

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge Michael Stipe has described this as a kind of tribute to Leonard Cohen. Using the militaristic imagery to describe a personal battle. A masterpiece of songwriting. This is still the definitive performance of this. 4. World Leader Pretend (Green) youtu.be/WwS9_vqdHcQ?...

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge The second single from 1985’s Fables. With its distinctive guitar riff and storytelling lyrics this is a great example of the Southern Gothic vibe that epitomises this album. 5. Driver 8 (Fables Of The Reconstruction) youtu.be/wuFId1RYSZE?...

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge One of my favourite bands meets one of my favourite authors. REM’s take on Orwell’s Animal Farm. 6. Disturbance At The Heron House (Document) youtu.be/DsQRD8V54hQ?...

Another great thread, well worth a few minutes of your time.😎🎶👍

Happy 5th Birthday to The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists graphic novel! 🎁

Share your favorite black and white film

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge This is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard… 7. Hairshirt (Green) youtu.be/BNkr95LMXnY?...

You see this, post a concert pic you took

Claudia Cardinale, the 1960s cinema icon, died on Tuesday aged 87 at Nemours near Paris. Born in Tunis, Cardinale worked with some of Italy's greatest filmmakers, including Luchino Visconti and Federico Fellini. www.france24.com/en/live-news...

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge Recorded live during soundcheck in Altlanta on the Monster tour. It begins with Bill Berry’s gentle acoustic guitar intro before exploding in a riot of sirens, guitars & Stipe’s haunting vocal. 8. Leave (New Adventures In Hi-Fi) youtu.be/tXj6_-UwkOU?...

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge In addition to great album openers REM also have some absolutely wonderful album closers. This is one of their finest… 9. Find The River (Automatic For The People) youtu.be/KIJGlTu5sEI?...

Hamnet to Sinners: 12 films to look out for as Oscars race begins www.bbc.com/news/article...

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge Into the top 10 now with another big shimmering slice of summer, a song that always put a smile on my face. The ghost of the Beach Boys looms large in this one… 10. Near Wild Heaven (Out Of Time) youtu.be/oC7er_6dpsI?...

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge Reveal is a great summer album and nothing sums it up better than this song for me. I’ve can imagine this demo being recorded on glorious summers day, in a big, bright, airy room overlooking Dublin bay… 11. Beat A Drum (Reveal) youtu.be/U1bmdVGx90s?...

15 miles to the…

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge Vintage REM, perfectly capturing the vocal interplay between Stipe & Mills with some classic Buck guitar & Bill Berry’s frenetic drumming. 12. Harborcoat (Reckoning) youtu.be/iQzIRqo2P20?...

With the release of sophomore albums by NewDad and Sprints this month, here’s a piece about second albums by other Irish acts such as Just Mustard, The Cranberries, Mexican Pets, & others www.rte.ie/culture/2025...

#REM #MusicChallenge Who else would write a song about Wall St workers who work night shift covering the Far Eastern money markets? The video perfectly captures that seasick, off-kilter feeling of being up all night. 13. Daysleeper (Up) youtu.be/uUcKeKt8C1k?...

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge A song about Mike Mills (alleged) habit of sleeping in & arriving late to the Green recording sessions. The middle 8 came to Bill Berry in a dream continuing the sleep theme. 14. Get Up (Green) youtu.be/rPIEBohSojI?...

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge 15. Exhuming McCarthy

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge Opening with the click-clack of Michael Stipe typing out lyrics on his typewriter, then 1950s paranoia meets 1980s Reaganomics. I read somewhere that Mike Mills bass breakdown & ‘it’s a sign of the times’ vocal was a little nod to Prince 😎 youtu.be/gZDGkqXCkSA?...

Michael Shannon & Jason Narducy Announce 2026 Tour Celebrating R.E.M.’s ‘Lifes Rich Pageant’

www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c0...

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge American comedian Andy Kaufman joins Elvis, Moses, Darwin & Mott the Hoople amongst others in one of REM’s best known songs. Live this is a rousing set closer. 16. Man On The Moon (Automatic For The People) youtu.be/gwg8Lt7_fE4?...

Check out this film on MUBI: Megalopolis. This afternoon’s watch, not sure what to say really. It’s all over the place, part Shakespearean Roman tragedy, part futuristic sci-fi, part morality tale & never really convinces at any of them. Looks spectacular in places but feels thrown together #FimSky

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge From the bands first album for a major label, an anti war song that takes aim primarily at the use of chemicals, principally the use of the defoliant Agent Orange in Vietnam. 17. Orange Crush (Green) youtu.be/Sbvv2fDCeFg?...

#REMtop30 Forgot the full hashtag again 🤦

Keeping the local angle going, next up it’s this… #NowReading #BookSky

Just finished reading this, a fascinating & insightful journey with one of Northern Ireland’s best known journalists, a man who’s pretty much seen it all over the last 50 years or so. Definitely worth a read if it’s the kind of thing that interests you #BookSky

#REM #MusicChallenge The song that gave the EP it’s title. I seem to remember reading that Michael’s childhood bout of scarlet fever influenced the lyrics, maybe, they’re certainly surreal enough… 18. Carnival Of Sorts (Boxcars) (Chronic Town) youtu.be/FLujYDzXZo8?...

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge Described by Michael Stipe as their first real song, written according to Peter Buck, using their preferred method of ‘Three chords & a six pack of beer.’ 19. Gardening At Night (Chronic Town) youtu.be/rl5TdBcAUts?...

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge A beautiful song originally written by Bill Berry. A simple piano motif & a gorgeous vocal and you have one of the greatest REM songs… 20. Perfect Circle (Murmur) youtu.be/3beIARLRdZY?...

Tributes paid to legendary Belfast record store owner after death aged 92 tinyurl.com/2s36hcxc

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge Forgot the hashtag 😁

#REM #MusicChallenge REM have some great album/show openers, this is no exception. A real highlight for me was watching the band walk on stage in Marlay Park, Dublin in 2003 and launch into this… 21. Begin The Begin (Life’s Rich Pageant) youtu.be/IfVvgQb6MC8?...

CMAT and Fontaines D.C. among Mercury Prize nominees www.rte.ie/entertainmen...

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge What is there to say about this blistering Chronic Town track? 22. 1,000,000 (Chronic Town) youtu.be/LrtA2Ci3QHI?...

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge The b-side of the bands first single, appearing on the subsequent debut album. One of the classic ‘guess what Michael’s singing’ songs of REMs early career… 23. Sitting Still (Murmur) youtu.be/-sqpF-Si4o8?...

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge Swirly keyboards and a killer guitar riff, second song on the album but a brilliant set opener for the subsequent tour… 25. Lotus (Up) youtu.be/vu2jN3d2zzU?...

Check out this film on MUBI: Parthenope mubi.com/films/parthe... #FilmSky

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge The first single from the last great REM album, a perfect summer album. Title borrowed from the Douglas Sirk film of the same name… 🎶You want the greatest thing since bread came sliced🎶 25. Imitation Of Life (Reveal) youtu.be/udn8Nj_7zjg?...

Thank you to everyone who has participated in the #REMtop30 so far. Six days in now but it’s not too late to join in if you haven’t already. Just post one song per day counting down from 30-1. If you aren’t ranking them in order please state unranked in your posts. 😁🎧💿👍

#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge By mid-1994 word was REM has decided to go back on the road & the new album would be a return to the guitar driven sound of the 80s. This was our first taste of that new sound… 27. What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? (Monster) youtu.be/jWkMhCLkVOg?...