I’m not sure if it’s my scratched copy of Out Of Time or the way the song’s meant to be, but there’s a slight fuzz of static as “Texarkana” opens, and somehow it fits the song perfectly. It sounds like it’s a distant radio station just coming into range on a long desert road.

The song sounds like it’s being sung from a million miles away, a ballad of loneliness in travel and the sacrifices made while running for a destination. Mike Mills provides lead vocals this time around, and his unique singing style really fits the song. Stipe comes in near the end, but rather than sounding like support, he sounds like he’s just as separate from Mills as we are  - less backup and more like convergent evolution, two people locked in the same situation but unaware of one another, singing their hearts out into the empty desert.