yeah, i’ll admit, until i heard them on the college radio, i didn’t give r.e.m. much of a chance. before i even listened to one of their songs, i decided they were just as sleepy as their name suggested, since they were considered folk rock (funny part is, i like the microphones). well, this song proved me wrong, and this is why you don’t judge a band by their cover! or their name?
anyways, “Orange Crush” sits at an interesting intersection between dark and upbeat, and the lyrics mirror it pretty well: there are clear references to the Vietnam War-era agent orange even if the song appears to be about the cocktail, and the melody stays enthusiastic and pleasant. i took the AP U.S. History exam just two weeks ago, and history being my favorite subject, i thought it would be appropriate to write about a song that reminds me of history.
the most interesting parts of this song are michael stipe’s mysterious and catchy vocals and the energetic, jangly guitars. for most of the song, stipe seems to do an interesting back-and-forth between the melodies of “follow me, don’t follow me” and the other lines, almost like a mix between verse and chorus. the midsection has some distorted spoken words that bring to mind wartime radios which make the song quite haunting (if it wasn’t already). it’s a bit strange how this song was released more than a decade after the war ended, because this is a thoughtful, subtle anti-war song. give it a listen if you haven’t already!
q-street 