Skip to main content

R.E.M. - Begin the Begin

Let's start 2018 with a bang.

R.E.M.'s Begin the Begin, a musical manifesto for personal activism, is a great place to start this year sonically. This was the lead song from 1986's Life's Rich Pageant and the first time that listeners could really discern Michael Stipe's lyrics. His eccentric mumble emerged from its abstract cocoon and transformed into something more pronounced, confident and explosive. Along with Stipe's strengthened howl, the band's music took on a more muscular tone. Bill Berry's drums rocked harder and Peter Buck cranked up the distortion.


The album was the first time that R.E.M. addressed political and environmental issues lyrically (Fall On Me, Flowers of Guatemala, Cuyahoga). Begin the Begin doesn't try to plant the seeds for a bloody revolution or take sides politically. Even Stipe recognizes his own inability to articulate solutions:

"Answer me a question, i can't itemize
I can't think clearly, look to me for reason
It's not there, i can't even rhyme, begin the begin"

Instead, Stipe warns of the danger of blindly following leaders and encourages us, as individuals, to recognize the power we have to make change.

"Silence means security, silence means approval
On Zenith on the TV
Tiger run around the tree
Follow the leader, run and turn into butter"

"Let's begin again like Martin Luther's zen
The mythology begins the begin...
Example, the finest example is you"

Maybe 2018 will be the year when many of us emerge from our cocoons and realize the power we have to create positive change in our communities, even as the world around us teeters on the brink of destruction. It's never too late to begin the begin.




Comments

Post a Comment

Trending Tracks

Sweetbottom - Shrapnel In My Ankle

Sweetbottom -  Angels of the Deep . I can provide a totally valid explanation for the existence of this record in my collection. You see, I'd been eyeing this peculiar 12" at my favorite little hole-in-the-wall record shop for about a month. It was in the $5 box. After a few weeks it finally landed in the $1 bin. For the album artwork alone, I thought, this is worth a buck. Four late-70s dudes clad in white, cotton shirts and pants, hairy chests and... white shag carpet. Sweetbottom indeed. Adding to the allure, the notes revealed that the album had been recorded at the Shade Tree Resort Studio in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin between 1977-78. Could this be like the Great Lakes version of Yacht Rock? Could I be holding some long-forgotten, Midwest soft rock obscurity? I was tempted to cheat and pull out my cellphone to Google them, but then I paused. This is $1 we're talking about. Let's take the risk and live dangerously. As I approached the register, I noted that the ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Jules & the Polar Bears - Good Reason

Jules & The Polar Bears is one of those bands that you want to like, but continue to remain on the fence about even after a decade of failed listens. Recently, I've been sampling bands from the late 70s and early 80s who released fake new wave albums -- major label acts who played middle of the road rock, but disguised it in skinny ties, brightly colored sweaters and catchy, Cars-y keyboard riffs. Jules & The Polar Bears are a good example. Their first record, 1978's Got No Breeding, was compared to Dylan, The Kinks and Springsteen. Personally, I hear a quirky Jackson Browne in the songwriting. Everything sounds bearded and mid-tempo, except Jules Shear, the singer. He gives the band a distinct sound with his "singing at the top of my range" yelp. But even with Shears' interesting squelch, the songs never break out of 70s rock conformity. The guitarist's resemblance to a member of Orleans or Doobie Brothers is telling. Enter 1979's "Fenêt...
Post a Comment
Read more