Pickin' a winner

William Claxton

Sting and swing: Thanks to CMH Records, they do more than just rhyme.

Anton Corbijn

The String Quartet does R.E.M. a favor by performing questionable material such as "Crush With Eyeliner" as if it were a Bernard Herrmann score.

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More About

• Sting (Musician)
• R.E.M.
• David Haerle
• Classical Music
• Chamber Music

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Thanks to CMH, we can continue to listen to background music until what passes for foreground music nowadays improves. And should I find myself shmendraked back into a dentist's chair sometime in the next millennium, I think I'd rather hear the String Quartet performing its musical root canal on R.E.M. than hear the genuine Georgian article. Because no one should have to hear "Everybody Hurts" sung at excessive decibels seconds before molar-induced agony. Even if the singer is a mumbler.