Wednesday, September 5, 2018
Mid-Week Orange Song
Still reflecting on the "orange jumpsuit" story (see below), we're reminded that almost exactly 30 years ago, the iconic alternative rock band R.E.M. had a hit with "Orange Crush," off of their landmark album "Green." The song was about a young man leaving the comforts of home for the Viet Nam war (Stipe's father was a veteran of the war). The song's title refers to the chemical defoliant Agent Orange which was used to devastating effect there, especially on soldiers that came in contact with it. These days, we have another orange, toxic agent to deal with.
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4 comments:
REM is my favorite band of all time. I'm afraid their hit song, “It's the End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine)” is more appropriate, only we don't really feel fine.
donnah -- We love all of their music, and "It's the End of The World...." is right up there. So many great great tunes. We'll have them back again in the months & years ahead.
Funny story: I travel and teach all over the country. I had a workshop in Athens, GA and told my students (mostly older women) that it was cool to be where REM got started. They had no idea what I was talking about, except one gal, who said she'd take me on an REM tour of Athens. And she did! I saw some of the locations where they photographed album liners, we drove along the UGA campus, and we got to eat at Weaver D's restaurant, where they have REM posters hanging everywhere. I even got a t-shirt autographed by the owner.
So I was telling the ladies about my day, and one of them asked if Michael Stipe was in the band. I said yes, and she told me she goes to church with his mother! I told her that REM is my favorite band and that I have loved them for years. I told her she could tell his mother that his biggest fan was in town and was sorry they had retired.
All was fine, I went home and a week later I got a package in the mail. It was an REM t-shirt from Michael's mom.
Now, how cool is that!
donnah -- What a great story! We're jealous of your contact with his mom and the gift she sent. The B-52s were another Athens, GA band of the same era, and were friend with R.E.M. We miss R.E.M., but they left us a terrific body of work to enjoy. Thanks for sharing your memories.
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