"SWAN SWAN H" R.E.M. (1986)

For October, the Mental Jukebox is dialing it way back to the eighties and going deep. Deep cuts have always been an important element of music listening to me because they’re often the songs that resonate with me most. Deep cuts are usually the ones that the true fans appreciate most. I like my singles and hits, but I love my deep cuts.

Life’s Rich Pageant has been described as the critical point in time when the band began to cross over to reach a wider fan base. The reality is that Document was really the album that put the band on the map with non-college rock fans. Still, you look back at Life’s Rich Pageant and see highly accessible classics like “Fall On Me”, “Begin The Begin” and “Superman” side by side with R.E.M. classics like “Swan Swan H”.

Buried deep in the back half of Life’s Rich Pageant, R.E.M. sounds more like a campfire song than a rock song, a strong veer into a more reflective, somber R.E.M. before the vibrant pop of “Superman” closes things out. Of the two tracks, “Swan Swan H” is the one that truly defines the R.E.M. sound in terms of the melody’s composition, the minor guitar chord playing and Stipe’s wailing, arching vocals. It’s a late relic of the band’s unique, original sound.

“A pistol hot cup of rhyme. The whiskey is water, the water is wine.”

"MAN ON THE MOON" R.E.M. (1992)

This month on Twitter, @sotachetan hosts #BrandedInSongs – which is a head-on collision of my personal world of music and my professional world of branding and advertising. The challenge is to simply pick a song with a brand name in its lyrics or title. I added one more criteria to my picks, which is this: the songs themselves must be as iconic as the brands they mention. No filler here.

There was plenty of buzz going around about the new R.E.M. record. Up until that point, the band had already recorded several landmark albums. But the most recent one “Out of Time” was considered sub-par by their own lofty standards. Automatic For The People was a significant return to form, widely considered to be one of their best – resolutely R.E.M. even with its wide commercial appeal. Pulling that off was quite a feat in itself. And “Man On The Moon” is one of its many standouts.

R.E.M. is in their sweet spot here. Mid-tempo, jangly pop with non-pop lyrics. Substitute Stipe for another lead vocalist, and it’s just not the same song anymore. His unique sound gives the track its character, from the verse’s doldrums to the yearning chorus refrain. Midway, Peter Buck’s guitar solo teases the listener with a potentially monstrous guitar riff that becomes suddenly subdued and snuffed out by Stipe’s vocals. And I just love how the song ends. So perfectly R.E.M. down to the last, somewhat abrupt note.

“Let's play Twister, let's play Risk, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.”

"FINEST WORKSONG" R.E.M. (1987)

For the next 30 days, I’ll be taking the #AprilAcrossAmerica challenge, picking one song a day as I make my way across the country and across genres at the same time.

Day 15: Athens, GA

This one feels less like a stopover and more like a destination. A musical pilgrimage. Document is still my favorite R.E.M. album, and Side A is one of the best sides of the decade in my opinion. Document was an about-face for the band. They found a new producer and added more muscle even while staying in their mid-tempo comfort zone. It all started with “Finest Worksong”, which did everything you want and expect from an opening track.

In just the first 10 seconds of “Finest Worksong”, R.E.M. set the agenda for Document and signaled the next stage of their evolution, led by Peter Buck’s ferocious guitar riff. It’s hardly one of Buck’s more complex jams, but it drew you in immediately and somehow the repetition doesn’t get old. At the 3:23 mark, the song peters out with power on the heels of Mike Mills’ slap and pop bass outro, leaving you wanting more.

“What we want and what we need has been confused.”

"FIREPLACE" R.E.M. (1987)

I started Mental Jukebox nearly three years ago at the beginning of the pandemic. During this time, I’ve discovered new music, rediscovered old favorites and I’ve met passionate music fans around the world. And when things opened up, I kept on blogging. This month, the jukebox goes deeper. The term “deep cut” has multiple meanings. It can refer to lesser known album tracks from well-known artists. It can also refer to tracks from lesser known artists. This month, I’ll be featuring both types. #DeepCutsFeb

It seems appropriate to end this month’s look at my favorite deep cuts with a song from an unabashed album rock band. At least that’s the R.E.M. I knew and loved. The band that focused more on albums than singles, and made a living crafting some of the finest deep cuts any vinyl record or cassette has seen on either side of the pond. Document is one of my favorite R.E.M. records and its depth can’t be denied. The back half of the album, for the most part, exists in the band’s sweet spot: mid-tempo. That’s where we find the fan favorite, “Fireplace”.

Man, I love this song. There’s an intensity and urgency with its prodding pace and emotive minor chords. The lyrics and melodies are Stipe to the core. But the saxophone comes out of nowhere, doesn’t it? This isn’t a cheesy eighties’ sax solo though. It’s much more experimental. It wears its emotions on its sleeve. No apologies. Nothing contrived. “Fireplace” does what the best deep cuts do. It gives us something different, something a bit more daring.

“Crazy, crazy world. Crazy, crazy times.”

"FINEST WORKSONG" R.E.M. (1987)

I generally gravitate to the music first before the lyrics. But as a writer, I still marvel at well-spun verses and choruses. This month, I’m joining the music Twitter community in #SeptSongLyricChallenge

Day 29

I miss 80’s R.E.M. It seems the band has seen a recent resurgence. And as music fans recall some of the band’s greatest moments, I’m reminded how deep and prolific their catalog was. Murmur, Reckoning, and Fables of the Reconstruction are all classics. But my favorite album from the band is Document – and “Finest Worksong” is my favorite track from the record. Up until Document, R.E.M. made a name for themselves on college rock radio stations as mid-tempo rockers. But on Document, they expressed that mid-tempo agenda with a variety of intensities and sonic power. “Finest Worksong” is an ode to doing what we gotta do, and sometimes that’s all you can ask for in a rock song.

“Take your instinct by the reins. Better best to rearrange. What we want and what we need has been confused, been confused.”

"GET UP" R.E.M. (1988)

It’s time to get back to my favorite decade. For the month of March, I’ll be looking back at some of my favorite jams from the 80s. These songs often came to me via MTV or the radio. NYC-area stations WDRE, WPLJ, WNEW, K-ROCK and Z100 introduced me to everything from irresistible pop confections to under-the-radar post-punk anthems. I would not be who I am today if it weren’t for the 80s. It was the decade when I discovered music can be a truly powerful thing. #31DaysOf80sSongs

Green isn’t the prototypical R.E.M. album. Coming off of Document, one of my all-time favorite records from the band, Green felt a bit disjointed and uncharacteristic. But some of my favorite R.E.M. songs hail from this album. “Orange Crush”, “Turn You Inside-Out” and “You Are the Everything”. The album also included the band’s first big mainstream hit in the States with “Stand”. Green showed that R.E.M. was still evolving, still experimenting, but still staying true to who they are as a band. “Get Up” is an undisputed case in point.

The song sorta sounds like an R.E.M. song, but it also sorta doesn’t. It plays that pivotal role of being Track 2, where its continued momentum coming off Track 1 is mission critical. “Get Up” begins like it’s missing a few opening bars and is already midway through an intro. That unique character continues with the song composition, where verses sound like choruses and the chorus sounds like a verse. The song’s title is sung out loud incessantly in rounds. The dreamlike state mid-slumber is brought to life by what sounds like wind chimes. This was a song Michael Stipe wrote about bandmate Mike Mills, who was sleeping in and having trouble arriving at work on time during the album’s recording. Mills didn’t even know it was about him until nearly ten years later. Can’t help but wonder how many R.E.M. fans thought it was a song about themselves.

“Dreams, they complicate my life.”

"DRIVE" R.E.M. (1992)

Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.

A new, evolved side to R.E.M. emerged on Automatic for the People. The mid-tempo pacing that was the band’s longstanding sweet spot was quite suddenly replaced with slow tempo-driven songs which, in my opinion, were the best songs on the album, including “Nightswimming”, “Everybody Hurts” and the most underrated track of the bunch: “Drive.”

On “Drive”, R.E.M. hopped in the car and took us on a slow, prodding journey through a myriad of musical expressions. Its pit stops were western, taking us through a landscape of cactuses, tumbleweeds and abandoned drive-in theaters. But the destination was orchestral, featuring some of the band's most iconic symphonic moments. What makes “Drive” one of the best R.E.M. songs are the lyrics. Stipe’s poeticism is on full display with lyrics that don’t require musical accompaniment.

“Maybe I ride, maybe you walk. Maybe I drive to get off, baby.”

"GET UP" R.E.M. (1988)

Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.

R.E.M.’s ascent or descent (depending on how you look at it) into the mainstream was building slowly with singles like “It’s the End of the World” and “The One I Love”, but by the time Green came out, it seemed like there was no turning back. “Stand” established the band as a household name, which makes it easy to overlook the fact that some of the band’s best songs are on this album, including “Get Up”.

Michael Stipe names it as one of his favorite R.E.M. anthems. And it’s one of mine as well for a few reasons. First, it’s compact. I think the band’s best songs are all under three minutes. Second, here was an example of the band taking proprietary elements like their mid-tempo melodies, backing vocal chants and Buck’s signature riffs and combining them with brand new elements, most notably the use of music boxes to create a vivid dream world for its fans.

“Dreams, they complicate my life. Dreams, they complement my life.”

"FINEST WORKSONG" R.E.M. (1987)

Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.

Document is still my favorite R.E.M. album, and Side A is one of the best sides of the decade in my opinion. Document was an about-face for the band. They found a new producer and added more muscle even while staying in their mid-tempo comfort zone. It all started with “Finest Worksong”, which did everything you want and expect from an opening track.

In just the first 10 seconds of “Finest Worksong”, R.E.M. set the agenda for Document and signaled the next stage of their evolution, led by Peter Buck’s ferocious guitar riff. It’s hardly one of Buck’s more complex jams, but it drew you in immediately and somehow the repetition doesn’t get old. At the 3:23 mark, the song peters out with power on the heels of Mike Mills’ slap and pop bass outro, leaving you wanting more.

“What we want and what we need has been confused.”

"SO. CENTRAL RAIN" R.E.M. (1984)

Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.

Over a 25-year period, R.E.M. went from under-the-radar college rock band to Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees. It’s a rare story in rock & roll. And it’s a band that I listen back to fondly. In truth, this is a band that I got bored with after the early 90’s. But I would be lying if I said those early 80’s records didn’t mean something to me. Listening back to Murmur, Reckoning, Lifes Rich Pageant and others, I can’t imagine what alternative rock music would be like without them. Just beneath the holy grail of “Radio Free Europe”, “Everybody Hurts” and “Losing My Religion” is a massive catalog of masterpieces, including an early college rock staple called “So. Central Rain”.

This is Thom Yorke’s favorite R.E.M. song. The Radiohead frontman once praised Michael Stipe for being able to surface an emotion and then take a step back from it to give it more power. This is certainly true of Stipe, of R.E.M. and the song “So. Central Rain”. Only I would phrase it this way. I think what R.E.M. has done masterfully on this track and on so many others is have a laser-focused consciousness of emotion that seems to get stuck on repeat. Why? Because that’s how it often plays out in our lives. We say sorry. But then somehow saying it once doesn’t always seem to be enough.

“Go build yourself another dream, this choice isn't mine. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.”

"EXHUMING MCCARTHY" R.E.M. (1987)

You’d be hard-pressed to find a bad song on Document. There are songs here that are legendary. Everyone will remember “It’s the End of the World as We Know it” and “The One I Love”. But “Exhuming McCarthy” is absolutely unforgettable with its driving beats, bass hooks, and unique musical personality. It was distinctly R.E.M. in sound, but it also had its own identity. It sounded like it was a blast to perform and record - and it’s still a blast to listen to over 30 years later.

“You're sharpening stones, walking on coals to improve your business acumen.”

"NIGHTSWIMMING" R.E.M. (1992)

For the bulk of “Nightswimming”, there are just two musicians: Michael Stipe on vocals and Mike Mills on piano. The fact that this song came out in the height of grunge is telling. It flew in the face of the times. But it’s remembered fondly by many. “Nightswimming” went in circles, but had intrigue through its story. For those of us who have skinny-dipping nights etched into our memory, this song brings us right back to those moments.

“Nightswimming deserves a quiet night. The photograph on the dashboard, taken years ago. Turned around backwards so the windshield shows. Every streetlight reveals the picture in reverse. Still, it's so much clearer. I forgot my shirt at the water's edge. The moon is low tonight.”