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#25 R.E.M. – Document

File Under Fire. By the time 1987 arrived, R.E.M.’s sound had mutated. Stipe was enunciating, and the the band had slowly grown from playing pizza parlors to playing arenas. They were leading a resurgence of American rock bands that had remained, for the most part under the radar. Document marks an era where the band had received some mainstream exposure, both with “The One I Love” and “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) but the album does not shine just for the singles but all the album tracks in-between which expand upon the themes of Lifes Rich Pageant to make their most rocking album to date.

From it’s simplicity, “The One I Love” is fascinating for it’s dual meanings. On the surface, some have interpreted it as a love song, however, the verse “a simple prop to occupy my time” would suggest otherwise. I have looked at it from several perspectives with most recently comparing said prop to Hurricane Sandy and suggesting it was an ode to someone that had lost someone in the storm. It’s been moments like the one above that have strengthened my resolve for R.E.M. by pulling a song out of their canon of work and interpreting it the way that I wanted to.

And what was wrong with that? By 1987 Michael Stipe had become more studious about writing lyrics with meaning and multiple interpretations and not just about rhyming words or nonsense. But the prevailing opinion at the time was not to try to force feed the audience what the songs were about but rather let fans decide for themselves.

For example, “Finest Worksong”, might be considered an anthem for a Workers Party, “Oddfellow Local 151” by the title alone might suggest that it’s about unions only to realize that later the song actually refers to people drinking behind a specific Athens bar called the “Firehouse”.

The album is their angriest and loudest record. It’s an album that needs to be played in arenas but behind the music are delicate songs that were just as impressive in an acoustic setting such as “Disturbance at the Heron House”.

The subjects are political and yet, unlike many other politically motivated, socially conscious songs, they do not sound dated but are just as relevant today as the day that they were released onto record.

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