Fans can stream the song for free on Bandcamp and download it for a minimum donation of $2 or an amount of their choosing. Proceeds will go directly to Mercy Corps’ emergency response and recovery efforts in the Bahamas.
“Fascinating” first appeared on the original master of 2001’s Reveal before being cut last minute, and, in fact, was singer Michael Stipe’s favorite song from the Reveal sessions (according to guitarist Peter Buck’s recollection, as chronicled in David Buckley’s R.E.M. biography, Fiction).
“It’s really beautiful,” bassist/keyboardist Mike Mills told Buckley. “It has a flute, oboe arrangement, but it made the record too long… and something had to go.” R.E.M. rerecorded the track in Nassau for 2004’s Around the Sun (co-produced by Pat McCarthy and R.E.M, and engineered by Jamie Candiloro), but the lush ballad ultimately didn’t jibe with that spare, atmospheric album. Now this poignant outtake finally finds its fitting moment, as a means to aid the country where R.E.M. enjoyed over two months of creative retreat.
“I have been fortunate to spend many weeks working and playing in the Bahamas, making friends and lots of music there,” reflects Mills. “It breaks my heart to see the damage wrought by Hurricane Dorian. Please help us and Mercy Corps do what we can to alleviate the suffering caused by this catastrophe.”
Hurricane Dorian hammered the Bahamas’ northwest islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco for 48 hours in early September 2019, causing widespread destruction and leaving 76,000 people homeless and in need of lifesaving assistance. Mercy Corps mobilized immediately and are committed to reaching 3,000 families with emergency kits including mosquito nets, tarps, jerrycans, water-purifying tablets and rope. Given the extensive electrical blackouts, the humanitarian aid organization is also distributing solar lanterns equipped with USB chargers so that survivors can charge essential devices and stay safe after dark.
“The Bahamas faces a long road to recovery after this devastating hurricane,” says Neal Keny-Guyer, CEO of Mercy Corps. “We’re grateful to have R.E.M. in our global community of humanitarians, sharing their song with the world to help the people of the Bahamas recover and build back even stronger.”
In 2005, following a visit to Mercy Corps’ Hurricane Katrina recovery program in New Orleans, Stipe released a six-song EP that raised nearly $100K for Mercy Corps’ relief efforts along the United States Gulf Coast. The band also generously supported Mercy Corps’ Katrina relief efforts.
About Mercy Corps:
Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action – helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.
The song "Fascinating” is written by Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe.
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