When the session was over, I walked out into the night high as a kite, completely transported.

He also makes a terrific point about how songs can take on a life of their own when he speaks of "Everybody Hurts":

This song doesn't really belong to us anymore; it belongs to everybody who has ever gotten any solace from it."

It's not all serious though (ain't rock supposta be fun?) On "Orange Crush":

I must have played this song onstage over three hundred times, and I still don't know what the fuck it's about.

I don't know that I believe him, but it's still pretty danged funny.

Buck also talks about the ease with which "Losing My Religion" came together:

When I think about Losing My Religion, I think about the process of writing and recording it, and how dream-like and effortless it was. The music was written in five minutes; the first time the band played it, it fell into place perfectly. Michael had lyrics within the hour, and while playing the song for the third or fourth time, I found myself incredibly moved to hear the vocals in conjunction with the music. To me, Losing My Religion feels like some kind of archetype that was floating around in space that we managed to lasso. If only all songwriting was this easy.

So, for "REM, The Adult Years", this is a pretty good set. The big hits are here, some good tracks from the most recent records (which stand up quite well), soundtrack items, and even a couple of new tunes (more can be had on the enhanced bonus CD).

And what's next? Dunno. I was surprised when they moved on after what happened on the Monster tour, and after Bill Berry's retirement. Up wasn't one of my favorite releases, but Reveal showed some real promise. The cool "Animal", with its "Tomorrow Never Knows" vibe, leads me to believe (or hope) that there's something to look forward to in "REM, The Middle-Age Years".

Other Blogcritics reviews of In Time here and here.

(First posted on Mark Is Cranky)