[Cover photo of R.E.M.’s Michael Stype with Debbie Harry, which Stype captioned: “NYC stepped up big time for Kamala Harris, Kamala HQ, and Tim Walz and the amazing Debbie Harry of Blondie cohosted with me”]
To coincide with National Voter Registration Day, Constitution Day, and Citizenship Day, R.E.M. has today released We Are Hope Despite The Times, a digital compilation of songs “aimed at encouraging their listeners to stay informed, engaged, and vote during this critical election season.” The playlist brings together tracks from the band’s catalog that “resonate with themes of activism and social responsibility.”
The compilation title, We Are Hope Despite The Times, is drawn from the lyric, “We are young despite the years / We are concern, we are hope despite the times” from the band’s song “These Days” (from R.E.M.’s 1986 studio album, Life’s Rich Pageant).
The collection features 18 thought-provoking songs, including “Welcome to the Occupation,” “Swan Swan H,” “Fall on Me,” “World Leader Pretend,” and “Its the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine).
R.E.M. has often promoted voter participation and social responsibility. In the early 1990s, they were one of the first bands to partner with Rock the Vote, increasing youth voter turnout for the 1992 presidential election. Among other things, at the 1991 MTV VMAs, the band used their acceptance speech for Best Video for “Losing My Religion” to draw attention to causes like gun control, choice rights, voting rights, and alternative energy sources.
With We Are Hope Despite The Times, the band “continues to encourage participation in the democratic process, urging fans to register to vote, make their voices heard, and play an active role in shaping the future.”
Fans can get more information on deadlines, register to vote, or update their registration by visiting vote.gov or headcount.org.
Tracklist:
1. Turn You Inside-Out
2. Pop Song ’89
3. These Days
4. I Believe
5. Fall on Me
6. Welcome to the Occupation
7. World Leader Pretend
8. Drive
9. Begin The Begin
10. Finest Worksong
11. Exhuming McCarthy
12. Just a Touch
13. Cuyahoga
14. Disturbance At The Heron House
15. Swan Swan H
16. Ignoreland
17. Stand
18. Its the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
