Pretty Persuasion

Album: Reckoning (1984)
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Songfacts®:

  • R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe talked to Rolling Stone, November 12, 2009, after releasing their album Live at the Olympia, which included this track. Said Stipe: "It's about a couple of swingers, a straight couple who employ younger men and women and seduce them. I did not succumb. But I was aware of the danger and electricity they created. The reason I said 'Not quite a family story' was three of my goddaughters, all under 14, were in the audience. This was not appropriate for them to hear from their godfather onstage."
  • This song, and others from the album, is part of a short film called Left of Reckoning, directed by James Herbert. The four-minute clip has the band wandering around folk artist R.A. Miller's Whirligig Farm in Rabbittown, Georgia.

Comments: 1

  • Jim from Long Beach, CaGreat song! I love all of early R.E.M..This is a timeless classic!!
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