Tuesday, May 16

EDITORS, R.E.M., AND... WAR


Editors' solid, if unexceptional, cover of R.E.M.'s "Orange Crush" sent me running back to 1988's Green to partake of the original. These days, it's easy to forget what a great, dynamic band R.E.M. was back then (and before then) (and even for quite a while after then).

Of course, Stipe's typically oblique lyrics don't have anything to do with the soda pop; they allude to the United States' use of Agent Orange in Vietnam (Stipe's father was a pilot during the war, though I have no idea if he ever dropped that particular chemical).

What with American deaths in Iraq nearing 2,500, it seems reasonable to blast a few more R.E.M. songs that are more than a little bit apt, considering the current circumstances...

[MP3] [SaveFile] Editors/"Orange Crush"

From the LP Green, 1988 >>>
[MP3] [SaveFile] R.E.M./"Orange Crush"

From the LP Document, 1987 >>>
[MP3] [SaveFile] R.E.M./"Welcome to the Occupation"

From the LP Around the Sun, 2004 >>>
[MP3] [SaveFile] R.E.M./"Final Straw"

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