New Test Leper

Album: New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This was recorded at Bad Animals Studio in Seattle, Washington, four months after the band completed their Monster world tour. Like many other songs that would become part of the Hi-Fi album, this song debuted during the tour, but none of the guys remembered playing it until frontman Michael Stipe found a cassette of them performing it. "I remember writing it, but I don't remember showing it to anybody," Peter Buck recalled for the compilation Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage.
  • '"New Test Leper' might be the only song on this entire collection that wasn't actually, to my knowledge, released anywhere as a single," Stipe noted. "It is, however, the song I think of when people who wrote maybe four good songs get big heads [Brit pop anyone?]. I always feel like when they write a 'New Test Leper,' then I will listen to them."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song Titles

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song TitlesMusic Quiz

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have some rather unusual song titles - see if you can spot the real ones.

Mike Campbell

Mike CampbellSongwriter Interviews

Mike is lead guitarist with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and co-writer of classic songs like "Boys Of Summer," "Refugee" and "The Heart Of The Matter."

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete BlondeSongwriter Interviews

The singer/bassist for Concrete Blonde talks about how her songs come from clairvoyance, and takes us through the making of their hit "Joey."

Corey Hart

Corey HartSongwriter Interviews

The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."

Dean Friedman - "Ariel"

Dean Friedman - "Ariel"They're Playing My Song

Dean's saga began with "Ariel," a song about falling in love with a Jewish girl from New Jersey.

Jimmy Jam

Jimmy JamSongwriter Interviews

The powerhouse producer behind Janet Jackson's hits talks about his Boyz II Men ballads and regrouping The Time.