Green Songs Ranked
Green is the sixth studio album by American rock band R.E.M., released on November 7, 1988 by Warner Bros. Records. Produced by the band and Scott Litt, it continued to explore political issues both in its lyrics and packaging. The band experimented on the album, writing major-key rock songs and incorporating new instruments into their sound including the mandolin, as well as switching their original instruments on other songs. Upon its release, Green was a critical and commercial success. To promote Green, the band embarked on an 11-month world tour and released four singles from the album: “Orange Crush”, “Stand”, “Pop Song 89”, and “Get Up”. Here are all of Green songs ranked.
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10. The Wrong Child
“A strange, swirling, rather disorienting tune but quite pretty. Sung from a child’s point of view, this song conveys a sort of dreamy innocence and fits in perfectly with the album’s theme (the color green representing youth, inexperience, etc.)”
9. You Are the Everything
“This is one of the songs that feature Mandolin by Peter Buck. This song almost as a feel from the underground days of the album “Fables of the Reconstruction” – namely the feel of traveling across the Southern United States.”
8. Untitled
“There is an eleventh track with no name on it, although there it is listed on the disc label (without a title). This song has less of a haunting feel compared to the other tracks.”
See more: R.E.M. Albums Ranked
7. I Remember California
“This song is a tribute to the State of California. The geographic aspects of this song also remind me of “Fables of the Reconstruction”. Bill Berry’s drums help contribute to the haunting feel of this song.”
6. Pop Song 89
“Two of the characteristics of this album are shown loud and clear. The title of the song is indicative of the mainstream sound this song has – and of what this album has. There are also political undertones with the line “Should we talk about the government?”
5. World Leader Pretend
“As the title indicates, there is a political message in this song. However, there is so much to this song – this is a powerful song not just lyrically, but musically. It represents a great cross between the underground sound and mainstream sound of R.E.M. Stipe provides haunting vocals that really give this song an edge.”
See more: R.E.M Songs Ranked
4. Turn You Inside-Out
“I would also say this song has a mainstream feel to it. Like “Orange Crush”, it are the vocals by Stipe and company that really are the song’s strong point.”
3. Get Up
“This song also has a nice mainstream feel to it. In particular, there are some nice background vocals from the band that compliment lead vocalist Michael Stipe perfectly.”
2. Stand
“This was probably one of the more popular songs from this album. While it wasn’t one of my favorites, I can’t knock the song. Lines such as “Think about direction” to some extent carries a political undertone.”
1. Orange Crush
“Awesome song. This song probably falls more on the mainstream end thanks to the catchy melody and lyrics. The title references “Agent Orange” from Vietnam thus having a political undertone. However I feel it is the vocals again by Stipe and company that really are the strong point of this track.”
