WWR.E.M.D?

In case you're wondering, the track list for the R.E.M. live album due out Oct. 26. Recorded in Dublin. It includes one of Michael Stipe's favorite songs, "New Test Leper," from their 1996 album (to me, their best) "New Adventures In Hi-Fi." Here's a performance from 1998:



Lyricist Stipe's reference to Jesus and his teachings has always intrigued me, as does his song "Let Me In," which, though generally taken to be about Stipe's friend the late Kurt Cobain, includes this allusion to the post-Resurrection events described in John 21:1-13:

I only wish that I could hear you whisper down,
Mister fisherman, to a less peculiar ground.
He gathered up his loved ones and he brought them all around
To say goodbye, nice try.