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| I like the cover, for some reason it reminds me of Titus, the dog. |
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| Titus, the dog. |
1. Form band
2. Release irritating ear worm of a song
3. Break up
4. Profit
I'm pretty sure I've seen a business plan like this hanging in Bernie Madoff's office, sans the 30 year wait time for completion.
In September 2011, R.E.M., a band that actually put together a real career, released a simliar statement of 'calling it a day.' The major difference between the R.E.M. statement and the Chumbawumba statement is that R.E.M. actually accomplished a few things in their 31 years as a band. Fifteen studio albums, four live albums, sixty singles, and over 25 million albums sold. Oh, and an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame....take that Rush!
Today's album is their 1994 release "Monster," a personal favorite of mine. After the hugely popular "Automatic for the People," R.E.M. decided to plug the electric guitar in and really go for a rock sound. That was the beauty of this band, they really could do anything they wanted to. For some bands, that's a horrible concept. For R.E.M. it totally worked...set the speed to 33 1/3 and lets go!
The album starts with the nasally distorted guitar of Peter Buck on "What's the Frequency Kenneth?" most likely produced with a Rickenbacker through a Vox AC-30. I've found the album's tone on my own Vox amp, and use it quite frequently. The lyrics are...well...odd. Nothing new really, Michael Stipe has always been odd. His lyrics don't really make much sense and he's even admitted that early on they changed with each performance. When Stipe had hair back in the 80's he did seem a little normal. You know the kind of normal I'm talking about...he's a musician, so of course he's odd, but as long as you don't have to meet him in person there's always reasonable doubt. Maybe he's normal. Then for this album he shaved his head...at that point all doubt was successfully removed. Lyrically its about a strange event from the early 90's. Apparently, Dan Rather was jumped in New York City by some nutcase who kept repeating "What's the Frequency Kenneth?" I'm not sure what Stipe's whereabouts are on the evening in question, but seriously, that show 'Cold Case' should look into this. The guitar solo uses a great backwards recording technique which will make it very difficult to replicate without doing the same. Trust me, I've tried, its possible, but difficult to get it just right. The Vox and Rickenbacker tone continues for the next song "Crush with Eyeliner." This time though, the Tremolo effect pays us a visit. I love this effect on an amp. I'm never sure what to do with it, and this song is a great excuse to play with it. Mike Mills and Bill Berry, who probably won't get much mention in this blog, provide a good rhythm for the song as they always do. They're not quite as buried in the background as Larry and Adam in U2, and without them, R.E.M. would be without a vital component. The next track "King of Comedy" is Stipe using his best uninterested style of vocals. His delivery is pretty flat, but with the way the rest of song is written, it works well. The style is somewhat...well, I don't know, I can't really place it. It is a style, there's no doubt about that. Next up is "I Don't Sleep I Dream," a song that is very true to its title. The dreamy sound comes from the use of a tom based drum beat, arpeggio guitars and piano. The chorus uses sweeping sustained guitar chords and high, almost falsetto vocals. After remaining in a dreamy like state for a little over three minutes, the song abruptly ends, like being suddenly woken up. The next track is an ode to the phone company and one of its revolutionary and now obsolete features, "Star 69." Hmm...I wonder if Star 69 still works? Someone that actually cares should look into this. The song takes a fast pace, with loud guitars, quick drums and a driving bass line. The vocals use multiple tracks which means you hear 3-4 Michael Stipes at any given moment. The chorus brings it all together with one vocal track and the same rock sound of the verses. The second verse continues the vocal chaos, this time with more Stipe vocal tracks. After a quick guitar breakdown the track continues as programmed until the finish. It is a brief one, but a very good rock song. Side one ends on a high note, "Strange Currencies." This song is all about great guitar work. It features several guitar tracks...one whining with feedback, one playing sparkling arpeggios, and finally a nice overdriven chord strummer for the chorus. All these tracks coming together makes a great wall of guitar sound that really makes the song. The lyrics work well, it seems to be a simple love song. The writer wants his feelings to be reciprocated by his partner...and it seems like he's got to talk her into it. I don't like where this is going, but right when you think he's walking into a land mine, the song ends and its time to flip the record. Whoa...that was close.
The second side begins in complete opposite style of side one. "Tongue," starts out very quiet with a simple piano introduction. The song itself includes an organ, light falsetto vocals and very sparse drumming. The bridge of the song also brings in a little distorted guitar, just to remind you that is a rock album by R.E.M. The lyrics are more Stipe oddity, its not really worth commenting what the song is about, because...well, who cares. Moving on we get to "Bang and Blame." This song continues the mysterious sound we heard on "I Don't Sleep I Dream" and "Tongue." It uses subtle wavering guitar and a strong rhythm of drums and bass. The bass line is pretty interesting, simple, yet efficient. The lyrics seems to be about another couple, or perhaps the same one heard in "Strange Currencies," this time in an argument about something X-rated. On "I Took Your Name," the tremolo effect is back on the Vox amp and we're rocking out again. The verse is pretty simple musically, but when the chorus sets in, it gets good. Very grand chords with less tremolo effect ring out and a guitar with a sitar like sound plays a simple riff. The solo of the song features a far off guitar sliding notes down the neck. It was probably mic'd in a hallway of some kind given the echoey sound of it. As for drums, Berry uses a cowbell in the mix. So...that's...special, I guess. The next track is a sad, sad song. "Let Me In" is about a good friend of Stipe's, a man who even called on Stipe to be the Godfather of his first and only daughter. The friend, who Stipe was planning a collaboration with was Kurt Cobain. This song, written after his suicide, is pretty emotional and seems to be Stipe wishing he'd done more to help Cobain. Lines like "I had a mind to try and stop you" are particularly hard hitting. The planned collaboration Stipe had in mind was an effort to get Cobain out of his depressed state. Well, you know the rest this story, and like the song, its pretty depressing for music fans. Okay, this next track better be pretty peppy, because we could use something uplifting. The song consists of several guitar tracks...one that's pure fuzz and one that is the standard Peter Buck overdriven tone. The pure fuzz track continues to get more intense as the track goes on, by the end its basically just noise. With all this noise going on, Stipe's lyrics sound fairly normal and subdued. The album concludes with one last noise rock song. Taking a familiar sound heard on several other tracks on the album, it uses fuzzed guitar, overdriven guitar, feedback, simple tom based drums, and casually delivered lyrics. Apparently R.E.M. was really into that kinda stuff in 1994. The chorus of the song is particularly well done. Starting from the low point of the verse, it slowly climbs in intensity. The vocals get higher, the guitar gets more fuzzed out and there's a great tolling bell booming over everything. The conclusion of the song is a very evil sounding final chord, it sounds to me like the use of the locrian mode, the same mode that creates the British police siren...very eery.
Overall, "Monster" is a lot of things. A great rock album, a dreamy musical experience, and a lot of non-sensical lyrics that upon closer examination, actually have a few things to say. R.E.M. Would roll on for another 17 years before calling it quits and ultimately I think 'Monster' would be their peak of rock and roll. In the years that following they continued to make excellent music, but that guitar tone and driving rhythm just never seemed to reach this level again.
Strongest Song: Strange Currencies
Weakest Song: Circus Envy (maybe)
Song You Know: What's the Frequency Kenneth, Star 69
Why You Might Hate It: Its not your standard R.E.M. album, if there is such a thing.
Buy It? Yes...I randomly found it at a shop on 14th street in D.C. and I don't expect to see any others just sitting around for sale. Go for the CD or MP3's...just easier to find.
Crush With Eyeliner. That's a song right there.
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