Oct/13/11
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REM – Five Riffs

It’s a shame to see REM splitting up. But looking at the age of most of these songs suggests it’s a good move on their part.

All these riffs are in the original key. If you’re looking for the chords for these I suggest looking on Ultimate Guitar.

Losing My Religion

It makes a nice change to be reworking a mandolin riff.

The g-string, 7th fret can be replaced with A-string 5th fret if that’s more your taste.

Riff

Shiny Happy People

Riff

Pop Song 89

Riff

Driver 8

Riff

Pretty Persuasion

I’m playing this one with a capo at the 7th fret. You can play it without one if you don’t mind being in a different key to the original.

Riff

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9 Comments

  1. Carrie Griffin October 14th, 2011 12:11 am

    You playing the Shiny Happy People riff is wonderful ringtone material if I do say so myself!

  2. The Captain October 14th, 2011 5:27 am

    I was thinking about playing Driver 8 on my uke; now I know how. The riff sounds mighty fine. Nice work!

  3. Ambient Doughnut October 14th, 2011 11:26 am

    Surprising! I’ve played all of these on guitar/mandolin in the past and was a bit sceptical how they’d work on a uke. I think driver 8 is a bit of a stretch without any bass notes but losing my religion sounds great and pretty persuasion could have been written for the uke – lovely!

  4. karl October 14th, 2011 9:48 pm

    Oh, this made my week! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Al!

    I remember being 16, knowing not alot about music besides the cheesy things my dad knew, and taking the plunge in buying a cd box with the first four or five R.E.M. albums, and memorizing them bit by bit as an introduction to seriously moving music.

    Come to think of it, I also have Underneath the Bunker for ukulele somewhere, and So Central Rain.

  5. freackykit October 23rd, 2011 3:17 pm

    ‘Losing my Religion’ Great stuff and it’s about that time I did!

    Glad to see there are other old ukers out there who remember and appreciate this stuff,

    Chris

  6. Woodshed October 25th, 2011 11:22 am

    freakykit: Does remembering Losing My Religion make me old? That’s worrying!

  7. freackykit October 25th, 2011 12:27 pm

    Thank goodness age is relative – only to my godkids Al and what do they know!

  8. Albert September 6th, 2012 4:34 am

    Thanx great version of losing!

  9. Woodshed September 6th, 2012 10:20 am

    Albert: Thanks!

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