vote

These are pretty evenly matched. Both good songs that don't hit the top tier. Vote for Low Desert for doing something a bit different. I love the bassline

Bittersweet Me is outstanding!

Bittersweet Me has a decent riff, but it's otherwise uninspiring. Low Desert is REM deciding they wanted to record an americana song and doing it really fucking well. I can taste the dust in my teeth and feel the sun on my neck.

bittersweet me was never performed live. that's kind of astounding to me.

This. Never realized that was the case, especially since it was (mostly?) recorded in a soundcheck. Of the "live" tracks on Hi-Fi, it always sounded the least "live" to me - for a long time, I thought it was a studio recording. I thought it sounded great on the radio, too.

Low Desert easily - love the 'The mountains yawn, the clouds let out a sigh. "Tricked again." Let go, okay.' line

This one hurts. "Low Desert" is wonderful, and I agree with everything Kaius said about it. I especially like the moment when Stipe jumps the octave ("say you'll leave it all behind...hey!") -- to me that's the breaking point of the song, and it's beautiful. But I love "Bittersweet Me" more -- I think it captures a similarly dusty, atmospheric vibe, but with a more pronounced sense of melancholia and a slightly richer melodic palette. Some of my favorite lyrics on "Hi-Fi," too.

Bitersweet Me is fucking great, easy vote.

I like Bittersweet Me but Low Desert is a personal favorite. I love it.

How is it possible that this was never played. They had at least three major tours since hi-fi