Earlier entries of this series can be found here: http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/forums/vi ... ive#p45337
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“You said that irony was the shackles of youth”
76. R.E.M. – What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?
The facts:
Year: 1994.
Genre: Rock.
Country: United States of America.
Album: Monster.
Acclaimed Music ranking: #1602.
Song ranking on Acclaimed Music in the artist’s discography: 9th.
Ranks higher than Shout by Tears for Fears, but lower than Whipping Post by The Allman Brothers Band.
Place in the Acclaimed Music Song Poll 2015: Unranked.
The people:
Lyrics by Michael Stipe.
Music written by Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Peter Buck & Bill Berry.
Produced by Scott Litt & R.E.M.?
Lead vocals by Michael Stipe.
Backing vocals by Bill Berry & Mike Mills.
Guitar by Peter Buck.
Drums by Bill Berry.
Bass by Mike Mills.
The opinion:
After two slower albums, the band agreed: it’s time to get back to some up-tempo music again, if for no other reason because it is fun to play. According to guitarist Peter Buck they didn’t consciously set out to make Monster their most full-blown rock album, but that’s what it became. There are actually some more quiet songs there, but even those have a bit of noise. This isn’t Automatic for the People at all.
In 1994, R.E.M. were basically at the height of their popularity. It could have been a risk to change their sound up so much as they did, because after hits like Everybody Hurts, Shiny Happy People and Man on the Moon, scorching rock might not be what their audiences had come for. Nonetheless, they made absolutely no attempt to hide what they were going for. The lead single of the album, which was also the opening track, immediately made the intentions clear: What’s the Frequence, Kenneth? was the hardest hitting song and therefore a perfect warning of what was to come.
It worked and the single became a hit, as did the album. Of course, in some way the time was right for a song like this, as grunge had just proved that noise-driven rock could be very popular. Nonetheless, there is something old-fashioned about this song, as it really seems to be carried by its riff alone, in a way that compares more to, say, The Rolling Stones than Nirvana. The main riff is simple, as per usual with Peter Buck, but very catchy. It’s enough on its own to make you want to come back again and again. It also wastes no time to introducing itself, coming in at the first second. It makes it one of the most immediately enjoyable songs on R.E.M.’s catalogue. Not even on Monster does anything come close to its visceral pleasures.
Not everything is simple, though. I mean, try understanding Michael Stipe’s lyrics. Heck, try even to understand what he is singing. There was deliberate choice to push Stipe’s vocals back in the mix, behind the instruments. I couldn’t clearly hear most words until the moment I looked up the lyrics. And they are cryptic to say the least, which of course is not unusual for Stipe. Apparently, Stipe has said it was about an old guy who tries to understand Generation X. This makes him say weird things he doesn’t understand. He misunderstands the irony and the detachment of the generation.
I can see how most lines relate to this, although I’m quick to add that I haven’t been able to locate the interview in which Stipe explains the meaning of this song. All reviews that cite Stipe never cite the main source. Nonetheless, it makes sense with lines like “You said that irony was the shackles of youth” and “I'd studied your cartoons, radio, music, TV, movies, magazines/ Richard said, "Withdrawal in disgust is not the same as apathy"”. That Richard is director Richard Linklater, who originated the line in his movie Slacker (see clip below). Slacker is one of the more famous Gen X films, so there’s that.
There is also the matter of the lyric that inspires the title. “What’s the frequency, Kenneth?” What does that mean? Apparently it was based around a weird incident that seemed to be well-known around the time. News anchor Dan Rather was once randomly attacked and beaten by a guy who shouted the baffling question “Kenneth, what’s the frequency?” at Rather. Stipe thought it was one of the greatest surrealist acts of the century (you can hear him say so in a clip below) and used the line for the song, whose lyrics are further unrelated to the incident. Nonetheless, Dan Rather himself once did lead vocals for the song during a live soundcheck, as something of a joke. A clip of it can be seen below.
The bizarre incident also lead to some other songs. Game Theory actually opened their 1987 album Lolita Nation, with a short instrumental track named “Kenneth, what’s the frequency” and there exist two noisy, weird songs with the same name by the bands Spahn Ranch and Rova. There apparently is also a band who used the line as their name, although they only have one song on Spotify.
The real case was solved a few years after R.E.M. released their song. It turns out that a man was convinced that television networks where sending messages directly into his brain. Rather was attacked as a person of the media, because he might know the frequency (the name “Kenneth” is still something of a mystery though). William Tager, the perpetrator, eventually killed a stagehand at NBC in trying to break into that network’s office to try and stop them sending messages into his brain. Tager spend time in jail until 2010.
Such darkness, of course unbeknownst to R.E.M., does not creep into the song. After the emotional heft of much of their preceding works, this is one of their lightest songs, even if it has perhaps the heaviest guitar sound. There are definitely songs by them that show better what a unique band they are, but I’m never one to turn away a fine rock song like this and it was nice to hear them just having fun here. It’s a blast.
8/10
Other versions:
There are quite a few covers of this song, but for the most part the less said about them, the better. If the best version by a large margin is an orchestral “classical” cover by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, you might know how bad things get here. Most of the covers are slower takes with a surprising array of weak vocals. I can’t recommend any of them, but they still beat the crap out of a very lame piano-only take and a karaoke version from hell, courtesy of Karaoke Universe.
The playlist:
For once the playlist doesn’t begin with the song, but with a sort of German news item about the incident that gave the song its title. Why? Because I can.
The clip from Slacker that originates the line “Withdrawal in disgust is not the same as apathy”:
Michael Stipe on the Dan Rather incident:
Dan Rather briefly singing and dancing to What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?: