“Bad Day” isn’t the most well-known R.E.M. song that Bruce has performed, but it’s probably the most fitting one.
After all, “Bad Day” evolved in true Springsteenian style, first appearing in the form of a couple of lyrics seemingly ad libbed by Michael Stipe “Drive All Night“-style in concert on August 25, 1985.
A year later, those lyrics appeared as the chorus of a demo called “P.S.A.” recorded–but not released–for the band’s Life’s Rich Pageant album.
Now, if you listened to that demo and thought it sounded awfully familiar, you won’t be surprised to learn that while the band shelved “P.S.A.,” they took the melody and arrangement, wrote new lyrics, recorded the result, and ended up with one of their all-time greatest hits.
That might have been the end of the story, but Stipe never forgot about their unreleased original version, and for their 2003 compilation album In Time the band updated, recorded, and finally released “Bad Day” officially.
For casual R.E.M. fans (like me), “Bad Day” was head-scratching–a fantastic rocker with ironically timely resonance, but one that sounded like the band was repeating themselves. (It would be a long time before I learned that “Bad Day” was the inspiration for rather than a repetition of “It’s the End of the World.”) Nevertheless, the song went to number one on the Billboard Adult Alternative chart.
When R.E.M. joined Bruce Springsteen on tour in 2004 as part of the Vote for Change initiative, “Bad Day” was still finishing its first year as an officially released song, so it’s not surprising that the band added it to their set list. But it’s a little surprising that it’s one of the songs they asked Bruce to join them for.
Bruce and R.E.M. performed “Bad Day” three times together over a four-day period. (I was fortunate to catch the first two of them.)
Did the band pick it because they knew its backstory rhymed with some of Bruce’s best songs? Stipe is a long-time Springsteen fan, so I wouldn’t put it past him. Whatever the reason, it was an inspired choice, and Bruce contributed impassioned backing vocals and a very nice guitar solo at the end.
Bad Day
First performed: October 2, 2004 (Cleveland, OH)
Last performed: October 5, 2004 (St. Paul, MN)
