REM, Bad Day

REM, Bad Day is one of the best songs R.E.M. have released in a while, probably because it's not actually new. Years ago, like in the '80's they wrote a song that they lost. When they tried to reconstruct it, it became "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)." About 2 or 3 years ago they must have come across old demos or bootlegs or something because it resurfaced in their live sets and this is that song. Listen hard and you can hear the guitar hook from "It's the End of the World."

Having said that, the song itself is ace, it lambasts the news media for their practice of harassing victims of crime and disaster and generally being a nuisance. It's modern and topical and it's damned catchy too.

The video, which comes on one part of the single, features the band dressed up as newscasters and presenting the news on a CNN-style channel. It's funny and inspired.

Great band, great song, great single package.