“So. Central Rain” is one of those songs, like The Clash’s hit “Train in Vain,” where the words in the title don’t actually occur in the song, but you certainly know the song when you hear it. Remember Michael Stipe’s plaintive, powerful voice singing, “I’m sorry…I’m sorry”? Now you remember.

It’s not easy to put a finger on exactly what made R.E.M. so different, so great and so influential when this song became their first full-fledged hit in 1984. They had no…