Favorite "Country" Songs #3 - "Country Feedback"

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Unable to finish yesterday's four-part discussion (I am counting down my favorite songs with "Town," "City," "State," and "Country" in the title,) I'm playing catch up. This is the "Country" portion, and we are at #3: "Country Feedback" by R.E.M. You might have noticed that R.E.M. seems to show up quite frequently in various MyLot music-related discussions. Well, they were pretty good, I guess. Started out as an alternative college band in Athens, Georgia, and went on to become international superstars and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's (and MyLot Music Hall of Famer's as well!) So yeah, they were okay. Vocalist Michael Stipe has been known to declare "Country Feedback" his favorite R.E.M. song. And I'd think he knows a thing or two about R.E.M. songs, wouldn't you? Kind of a neat story to "Country Feedback." Stipe didn't bother writing lyrics, rather, came in with a few words on a piece of paper, started freestyling around them (giving them a bit of a stream of consciousness feel,) and did one take, which was considered good enough to use. "Country Feedback"'s sad, lonesome steel guitar and overall "tear in your beer" sound, was not released as a single from the band's 1991 album, Out of Time. This was, keep in mind, the "Losing My Religion" and "Shiny Happy People" album, both huge hits with massive radio and MTV play. "Country Feedback" might very well have confused the people that were purchasing those songs (hell, even that album's minor hit, "Radio Song," a brilliant collaboration between the group and legendary hip hop artist KRS-ONE, probably left casual fans scratching their heads!) If you are most familiar with the hit song side of R.E.M., "Country Feedback" might sound a little out of place to you, but damn, what a beautiful song! (Info verified by Wikipedia)