“E-Bow the Letter” by R.E.M.

"E-Bow the Letter" was R.E.M.'s odd, brave choice to lead off New Adventures in Hi-Fi, their tenth album, released as a single in August 1996, the same month the band signed a then record-setting five-album deal with Warner Bros. Instead of a hook, they sent out a murmur: Michael Stipe muttering a confession while Peter Buck's ebow and electric sitar hum and drone, Mike Mills layers bass, mellotron, Moog and organ, and Bill Berry handles drums and percussion. Scott Litt produced it with the band.

The secret weapon is Patti Smith, the punk godmother Stipe and Buck counted as a major influence, singing backup like a ghost in the next room. The song is dedicated to River Phoenix, Stipe's friend, who died in 1993. Critics loved it even as some wondered why something so inward and gloomy was the lead single. Britain got it, sending it to number four; in America it stopped at 49 on the Hot 100. Jem Cohen's video caught the band in Los Angeles and Smith in Prague.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.