10 Legendary Rock Songs That Feature Weird Instruments

When R.E.M. first got started in the early '80s, they were always a band of misfits. Aside from becoming the darlings of college rock radio off the back of albums like Murmur, they never really fit into a neat package even when they were in their prime, always trying something new and looking to have a gradual career taking any risk they wanted to. Things hit a turning point with Losing My Religion though, complete with a mandolin leading the charge.

Since Peter Buck was always known for his harsh guitar playing in the early days, it was definitely a surprise to see him taking up the mandolin for this outing, an instrument which is a lot more indebted to the likes of country music. This isn't the kind of hootenanny that the instrument promises though, instead bringing a little bit of levity to the song's lyrics, as Michael Stipe opens up about becoming conflicted about the relationship he has with this nameless person in the lyrics.

While this may have just sounded like a one off thing for this one song, the mandolin actually managed to stick around in pop culture because of its use in this song, roping in a lot of the country audience into R.E.M.'s sound and becoming a go to choice for people like Hootie and the Blowfish once the '90s scene opened up a little bit. And it's no question that a band like Mumford and Sons probably owes their career to this song paving the way for more bluegrass instruments in the world of rock.