It's not Friday and it's not random...

Last Friday, I'd intended to post a Not-So-Random Ten list of songs that make me feel upbeat and happy (because, as you all know, I was elated about selling my house, did I mention that ever!?!), but then Scrivener posted a list of REM songs, which, given that i totally love REM, inspired me to do the same. Except that I didn't finish it, and now I'm in trouble with Scrivener. Ooops! :) So feeling like a naughty student who hasn't done her homework, here's my list. Okay, it's late, but do I get extra credit for writing a little explanation of why I picked each one?! ;)

• Find the River - Automatic for the People My. Favourite. Song. Ever.
• I've Been High - Reveal This is a song that I've always really liked, but fell for even more after hearing it live for the first time. The lyrics take my breath away, especially the final line: 'Make my make believe, believe in me.'
• At My Most Beautiful - Up I used to think this song was beautiful, now it makes me cringe a bit. I can't blame REM for that, rather the complete lack of coordination that both LLH and I possess on the dancefloor. We chose this for the first dance at our wedding, without considering how difficult it would be to dance to, and how long it would leave us in the spotlight, flailing around in front of a couple of hundred of our family and friends. *shudder*
• E-bow the Letter - New Adventures in Hi-Fi This summer, I got to hear Patti Smith sing this live with REM. Need I say more?
• Electrolite - New Adventures in Hi-Fi. In my humble little opinion, New Adventures is such an under-rated album. In fact, it's my favourite, and Electrolite is my favourite song on it. I think the lyrics are uplifting and light, yet powerful at the same time: 'Don't be scared, you are alive. You are alive. You are the star tonight. Your sun electric, outta sight. Your light eclipsed the moon tonight...'
• It's the End of the World as we know it (and I feel fine) - Document Because it's just so much fun to sing out the lyrics and yell 'LEONARD BERNSTEIN' with thousands of other sweaty REM fans, right?!
• Permanent Vacation - Available on itunes LLH thinks this should be the theme-song for academics and research students. Funny? No, I don't think so either. Grrrr!
• Country Feedback - Out of Time LLH's favourite REM song, and I can't dispute that it's awesome. At bad times in my life, I've cried buckets over the song's bleakness and lost hope, at other times, I've been oddly inspired by it.
• I Wanted to be Wrong - Around the Sun For me, the lyrics (and also the lyrics of Final Straw, also on this album) capture so much of what so many are feeling about the way the world is going right now.
• These Days - Life's Rich Pageant It was in Summer 2003 that I first realised that REM fans are getting quite old. I'd never really noticed it before, but when I went to a pretty small concert at the Brixton Academy (which was mainly REM fan club members), it dawned on me that it wouldn't be a million years before we were heading for all-seater concerts. ;) Such a hardcore audience really appreciated the band's opening medley from Life's Rich Pageant, and the many balding heads and rounded stomachs really seemed to feel the line 'we are young despite the years'.