Song · R.E.M.
“Bittersweet Me” by R.E.M.
From the album New Adventures in Hi‐Fi (1996)
“Bittersweet Me” by R.E.M. appears on 8 radio countdowns from 8 stations between 1996 and 2022. It was first released in 1996 on the album New Adventures in Hi‐Fi. Its best result is #47 on the WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1996. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #85 alternative song of 1996 and #7,525 alternative song of all time.
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R.E.M. worked up "Bittersweet Me" on the road during the Monster tour, and it landed on New Adventures in Hi-Fi in 1996 as the follow-up single to "E-Bow the Letter". It's an odd sort of road song, though: the band ran it at soundchecks but never once played it at a proper concert.
What the crowds missed is a lean, restless rocker. Peter Buck's guitar chews on the riff, Mike Mills stacks up bass, organ and mellotron, Bill Berry drives the kit and Scott McCaughey adds piano, while Michael Stipe sings it with a sly, weary drawl. Scott Litt produced it with the band. Critics liked it, it outdid "E-Bow the Letter" on most American charts, and the CD single threw in a live run at Jimmy Webb's "Wichita Lineman". The video borrowed the look of an Italian film called Stanco E Nudo.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 88 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1996 | 107 |
| 1996 | 74 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1996 | 91 |
| 1996 | 95 | Q101 Chicago, IL | Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1996 | 101 |
| 1996 | 47 | WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD | WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1996 | 99 |
| 1996 | 60 | 107.7 The End Seattle, WA | The End Top 107 Songs of 1996 | 107 |
| 1996 | 72 | Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) | Radio & Records Top 96 Songs of 1996 | 96 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 1940 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2022 | 352 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s | 900 |
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