R.E.M. have released today (Friday) Radio Free Europe 2025, a five-track benefit EP featuring a never-before-released 2025 remix of their 1981 debut single, "Radio Free Europe," by the band's longtime collaborator Jacknife Lee.
Available to download or stream, this release celebrates the 75th anniversary of the “OG” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), and arrives just ahead of World Press Freedom Day tomorrow (Saturday).
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty was established by the United States 75 years ago and currently broadcasts news and information in 27 languages to 23 countries where a free press is either banned by the government or under threat. Throughout the Cold War and continuing today, RFE/RL is often the only lifeline to the outside world for people living under extreme censorship.
R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe and Mike Mills say this mission of promoting free expression has always resonated with them.
Michael Stipe: “Whether it’s music or a free press – censorship anywhere is a threat to the truth everywhere. On World Press Freedom Day, I’m sending a shout-out to the brave journalists at Radio Free Europe.”
Mike Mills: “Radio Free Europe’s journalists have been pissing off dictators for 75 years. You know you’re doing your job when you make the right enemies. Happy World Press Freedom Day to the ‘OG’ Radio Free Europe.”
And Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty President and CEO Stephen Capus adds, "To me, R.E.M.’s music has always embodied a celebration of freedom: freedom of expression, lyrics that make us think, and melodies that inspire action. Those are the very aims of our journalists at Radio Free Europe -- to inform, inspire, and uphold freedoms often elusive to our audiences. We hold dictators accountable. They go to great lengths to silence us -- blocking our websites, jamming our signals, and even imprisoning our colleagues.”
A limited-edition 10-inch orange-vinyl pressing of the EP will be available on Record Store Day -- September 12th -- with proceeds going to RFE/RL.
In 2009, “Radio Free Europe” was inducted into the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry for “setting the pattern for later indie-rock releases.”
Radio Free Europe 25 track list:
Radio Side
- Radio Free Europe 2025 (Jacknife Lee Remix) -- never released before
- Radio Free Dub (Mitch Easter 1981 Remix) -- never released before
Liberty Side:
- Radio Free Europe (Original Hib-Tone Single)
- Sitting Still (Original Hib-Tone B-Side)
- Wh. Tornado (From Cassette Set) -- first time on digital and vinyl