To coincide with National Voter Registration Day, Constitution Day, and Citizenship Day, R.E.M. has today released We Are Hope Despite The Times, a digital compilation of songs aimed at encouraging their listeners to stay informed, engaged, and vote during this critical election season. The playlist brings together tracks from the band’s catalog that resonate with themes of activism and social responsibility. Fans can listen on their preferred music platform here.
The compilation title, We Are Hope Despite The Times, is drawn from the lyric, “We are young despite the years / We are concern, we are hope despite the times” from the band’s song “These Days” (from R.E.M.’s 1986 studio album, Lifes Rich Pageant). The collection features 18 politically provoking songs including “Welcome to the Occupation,” “Swan Swan H,” “Fall on Me,” “World Leader Pretend,” and “Its the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine).
Throughout their career, R.E.M. has been a vocal advocate for civic engagement, using their platform to promote voter participation and social responsibility. In the early 1990s, they were one of the first bands to partner with Rock the Vote, playing a significant role in increasing youth voter turnout for the 1992 presidential election. Beyond Rock the Vote, R.E.M. has supported voter rights and democracy globally, performing at benefit concerts like the Vote for Change Tour and addressing political causes through their music, from war and environmental justice to human rights. Their commitment to these issues was also evident at the 1991 MTV VMAs, when the band used their acceptance speech for Best Video (“Losing My Religion”) to draw attention to causes like gun control, choice rights, voting rights, and alternative energy sources—issues that remain relevant today.
With We Are Hope Despite The Times, the band continues to encourage participation in the democratic process, urging fans to register to vote, make their voices heard, and play an active role in shaping the future. Fans can get more information on deadlines, register to vote, or update their registration by visiting vote.gov or headcount.org.
Click here to stream/download We Are Hope Despite The Times.
Tracklist:
Turn You Inside-Out
Pop Song ’89
These Days
I Believe
Fall on Me
Welcome to the Occupation
World Leader Pretend
Drive
Begin The Begin
Finest Worksong
Exhuming McCarthy
Just a Touch
Cuyahoga
Disturbance At The Heron House
Swan Swan H
Ignoreland
Stand
Its the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
About Craft Recordings:
Craft Recordings is home to one of the largest and most essential collections of master recordings and compositions in the world. Its storied repertoire includes landmark releases from icons such as Joan Baez, John Coltrane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Celia Cruz, Miles Davis, Isaac Hayes, John Lee Hooker, Little Richard, R.E.M., Joan Sebastian, and Traveling Wilburys. Plus, the catalog recordings of celebrated contemporary acts including A Day to Remember, Evanescence, Alison Krauss, Nine Inch Nails, Taking Back Sunday, and Violent Femmes, to name just a few. Renowned imprints with catalogs issued under the Craft banner include Fania, Fantasy, Fearless, HITCO, Musart, Nitro, Panart, Prestige, Riverside, Rounder, Specialty, Stax, Vanguard, Varèse Sarabande, Vee-Jay and Victory, among many others. Craft creates thoughtfully curated packages, with a meticulous devotion to quality and a commitment to preservation— ensuring that these recordings endure for new generations to discover. Craft is also home to the Billie Holiday and Tammy Wynette estates which preserve and protect their respective names, likeness, and music through day-to-day legacy management of these cultural trailblazers.
Craft Recordings is the catalog label team for Concord. For more information, visit CraftRecordings.com
