10 Incredibly Successful Tracks Their Creators Actually Hate

5. R.E.M. - "Shiny Happy People"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCQ0vDAbF7s&feature=kp To be fair, who doesn't hate "Shiny Happy People"? R.E.M.'s catalog is arguably the most respected and critically-acclaimed of any band formed after the 70s, and records like "Murmur," "Reckoning," "Lifes Rich Pageant," "Document," and "Automatic for the People" are all considered classics. However, even the biggest R.E.M. fans on the planet would have few positive things to say about this treacly tragedy of a track. If you look up "sell-out" in the dictionary, "Shiny Happy People" is the song that should be used as an example. It's a blatantly hollow attempt at mainstream radio success, slinging heavy-handed lyrics that would have sounded better on an episode of "Barney," and a built from a musical template that allowed the band no room to shine (awful pun truly not intended; I'm so sorry). R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe put it best in 1995: "I hate that song." Thank God "Losing My Religion," the other single from 1991's "Out of Time," became the band's signature hit instead.