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"