Song · R.E.M.
“Talk About The Passion” by R.E.M.
From the album Murmur (1983)
“Talk About The Passion” by R.E.M. appears on 11 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 1996 and 2024. It was first released in 1983 on the album Murmur. Its best result is #278 on the Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,699 alternative song of all time.
Watch
Video from YouTube (REMVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Talk About the Passion" comes from R.E.M.'s 1983 debut album Murmur, a chiming, mysterious folk-rock reverie that Michael Stipe has said is about hunger, though the words barely let on. It went out that year as a Europe-only 12-inch and didn't chart.
Don Dixon and Mitch Easter produced, and the sessions left their fingerprints all over it: an uncredited cellist from the symphony in Charlotte turns up, and the guitar break is Peter Buck, Mike Mills and both producers strumming acoustics together. Buck has said the band had never even played it through before, and Easter simply took the rehearsal take. It got a second life in 1988 as the only single from the compilation Eponymous, with a video that finally spelled out its meaning through images of homeless people and an aircraft carrier.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 278 | Q101 | Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) | 500 |
| 1999 | 554 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 2000 |
| 2000 | 554 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) | 2001 |
| 2001 | 554 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 2002 |
| 2001 | 1287 | WFPK | WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2000 |
| 2002 | 554 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) | 2003 |
| 2003 | 554 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) | 2004 |
| 2004 | 554 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 2005 |
| 2005 | 555 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) | 1994 |
| 2023 | 407 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s | 850 |
| 2024 | 671 | WYEP | WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years | 1049 |
Also listed as: Talk About the Passion.
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Talk About The Passion" by R.E.M..
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.