1984 Top Ten: (Don’t Go Back to) Rockville (#5)

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Oh, am I in trouble. Scar D. Cat might scratch my eyes out for ranking this song so low on the list of ten favorites from 1984. Sorry, Scar (and your hoomin). It was a great year for music, no doubt! And can you believe this is now 40 years old? Wow! Here’s today’s tune. #5: (Don’t Go Back to) Rockville - R.E.M. Oh, like R.E.M. wasn’t going to show up on this list???? If you thought that y’all just don’t know me that well. Mike Mills was primarily responsible for this song about a former girlfriend leaving to return to Rockville, Maryland. While that’s straightforward, R.E.M. had such a brilliant knack of making a simple idea massively brilliant and complex (“looking at your watch the third time, waiting in the station for the bus”). This song turning 40 also means it’s nearing the 40th anniversary of my first R.E.M. concert!! Enjoy one of my favorite songs from one of my all-time favorite bands. (Don’t Go Back to) Rockville Written by Mike Mills (credited to Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe) Recorded by R.E.M. From Reckoning, 1984 I know it might sound strange: