Songfacts®:

• R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe takes unrequited love a step further in this yearning track as he begs his indifferent crush for multiple chances to prove himself worthy. Stipe confirmed the song's meaning in the 2004 book Reveal: The Story Of R.E.M. by Johnny Black:
  
  "It's about when somebody actually thinks that, through words, they're going to be able to convince somebody that they are their one and only."
• This almost didn't make the album because the rhythm was too similar to "Everybody Hurts," but the rest of the band loved Stipe's melody too much to let it go, so they slightly reworked the original rhythm.
• To muster the right level of passion, Stipe said he tried to emulate Michael Hutchence, who sang sexy tunes like "Need You Tonight" as the lead singer of the Australian rock band INXS.
  
  "He raised the bar for both myself and Bono," Stipe told The Guardian in 2018. "The middle eight of that is completely taken from INXS and from Michael. He was such an amazing rock star."
• This was the third single from Monster, the band's ninth studio album. Like the previous singles "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" and "Bang and Blame," it was a Top 10 hit on the US Mainstream Rock chart.
• After releasing two consecutive slow-paced albums, Out Of Time (1991) and Automatic For The People (1992), R.E.M really wanted to rock out on Monster. They were also trying to find their place in the alternative landscape as the early '90s saw grunge explode out of Seattle, and U2 reinventing their sound with the theatrical Achtung Baby.
  
  "We went for something completely different, something more circus-like and over the top. It was glam rock, basically," Stipe told The Guardian. "It was going back to T Rex and Mott the Hoople and pulling it forward into where grunge was, post-Achtung Baby. Those are movements and records that really impacted me, and made me think: Who are we within all this? The landscape has shifted, and where do we stand?"
• In the black-and-white music video, directed by Mark Romanek (Madonna, Nine Inch Nails), the band cruises around rain-slicked streets in search of a girl whose photograph is taped to the dashboard of their car. In the meantime, they perform in front of an abandoned warehouse, lit by the harsh glow of headlights.
  
  The clip features appearances by a pre-fame Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead) and actress Samantha Mathis (American Psycho). Mathis was dating Stipe's close friend River Phoenix at the time of his fatal drug overdose in 1993, when the band was just starting to work on Monster.
• This was remixed for the 25th anniversary edition of Monster, released in 2019. According to producer Scott Litt, the new version contains a couple different vocal takes.
• The remix was used in the trailer to promote season 2 of the FX series The Bear, which follows Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), a fine-dining chef who returns home to Chicago to run his family's seedy sandwich shop. Showrunners Christopher Storer and Josh Senior are both longtime R.E.M fans and incorporated the band's music throughout the series (including "Oh My Heart" in episode three). "Strange Currencies," in particular, is used prominently throughout the second season, including a never-before-heard demo version, in scenes between Carmy and his love interest.
  
  It helped that R.E.M. were also fans of the show. Stipe said ahead of the new season: "The Bear is hands down my favorite show of last year - I cannot wait to dive into episodes for Season 2. Having incorporated R.E.M. songs into their universe makes it even sweeter."
  
  To celebrate the premiere in June 2023, the band released a new music video for the remix, which featured footage from their Road Movie documentary of their 1995 tour combined with behind-the-scenes clips of The Bear's new season. A digital EP was also released containing three versions of the tune: the original version, the 2019 remix, and a live version from Road Movie.
• This was also used in the movies Under The Silver Lake (2018) and Moonlight And Valentino (1995), and the TV series Party Of Five ("Grownups" - 1994).