Song · R.E.M.
“Ignoreland” by R.E.M.
From the album Automatic for the People (1992)
“Ignoreland” by R.E.M. appears on 10 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 1999 and 2021. It was first released in 1992 on the album Automatic for the People. Its best result is #550 on the 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #2,549 alternative song of all time.
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Tucked away as the eighth track on R.E.M.'s 1992 album Automatic for the People, "Ignoreland" is the band at its angriest: a muddy, stomping protest song that started life under the working title "Howler Monkey". Michael Stipe aims it squarely at the America of the Reagan and Bush years, a country he paints as cold and uncaring; he called it a barely adult response to the Iran-Contra scandal, and Mike Mills summed it up as Stipe railing against Republican politics.
Scott Litt, who co-produced with the band and mixed it with Clif Norrell, sits in on clavinet and harmonica, and Stipe's vocal comes smeared and half-buried, like a rant through a bullhorn. It only went out as a promo single, yet it still found its way onto the Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1219 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 2000 |
| 2000 | 1220 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) | 2001 |
| 2001 | 1223 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 2002 |
| 2002 | 1222 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) | 2003 |
| 2002 | 1455 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 1207 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) | 2004 |
| 2003 | 1836 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2004 | 1207 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 2005 |
| 2005 | 1207 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) | 1994 |
| 2021 | 550 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s | 908 |
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