03 January Is For Videos: R.E.M. – What’s The Frequency Kenneth?
My First Music Video Growing up in rural Indiana my family didn’t have cable or satellite until I was in high school, so we didn’t get MTV or VH1 until after both channels stopped airing music videos. Thankfully, YouTube can help to fill that void now – though at lower resolution. At any rate, because [...]
My First Music Video Growing up in rural Indiana my family didn’t have cable or satellite until I was in high school, so we didn’t get MTV or VH1 until after both channels stopped airing music videos. Thankfully, YouTube can help to fill that void now – though at lower resolution. At any rate, because we didn’t have cable until I was a freshmen, this music video was my first glimpse into the visual side of pop music culture. I didn’t really know who R.E.M. was at the time, but I knew that they were obviously famous, successful, and most importantly: connecting with somebody somewhere, which I thought was cool. The Dan Rather Mugging
I also didn’t know that this song was referencing some odd bits of pop culture trivia involving time travel, media mind control, a street mugging, and Dan Rather. I’m not making this stuff up. Here are some links:
R.E.M. – What’s The Frequency Kenneth? As for the video itself, I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either. Here was just a group of fairly normal looking guys playing a straight-forward rock song, synced to strobed lights, in some kind of warehouse/airplane hangar. In that way, it has always been reassuring to me, that an average looking fellow like myself could still be a successful musician some day. Thanks R.E.M.! And because this music video was the first one I had ever seen, it has stuck with me over the years as a kind of archetype for what music videos maybe ought to be: the artists playing their song for you like it was a private concert. The band, you, a garage, and a song. Nice and simple. The R.E.M. Effect Since 1994, I’ve seen countless bands attempt to do R.E.M. covers. Sounds like it would be an easy thing to do, right? WRONG! Lots of people make this mistake. Today, I am officially going public with my “R.E.M. Effect” theory. To me, it seems that the only people capable of playing R.E.M. songs are R.E.M. themselves. The songs are not particularly hard to play, but there’s just something about playing an R.E.M. tune that makes the performer sound like a so-so college band doing a so-so cover. I don’t know what it is really that creates this effect, so if anyone has an insight into this, please shed some light on the subject. BONUS VIDEO!
Today is a twofer deal. This clip below is from Letterman. Dan Rather actually *sings* with the band live. That Rather… he’s such a wild card!
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