REM: A Deeper Look At A Local Fave

You can't live in Georgia without being a fan of REM. Well, maybe you can, but it's downright un-Georgian. But I wonder how many of us forget some of the great songs the band put out after years of only hearing the tunes that made the charts? I thought I'd share some of my favorites with you, and hope you'll let us know about your favorites. REM is a part of the national music scene, and very deserving of some love from their home state.

REM performed Radio Free Europe for David Letterman on October 6, 1983. It was the band's first television appearance.



Driver 8, a song about a train engineer who is over-worked and urged by the conductor to take a break,uses a series of minor chords that guitarist Peter Buck would use again on "The One I Love," "Losing My Religion," and "Bang and Blame," among others. It's a fan favorite at concerts.



"Cuyahoga" is the name of the river in Northern Ohio that the city of Cleveland was built around. There were many tribes of Indians which used to live in the region ("This is where they walked, swam, hunted, danced and sang"), and they simply called the river the Crooked River due to its zig-zag nature and many U-shaped turns. "Cuyahoga" is an Indian word meaning "crooked." It's also a little-known commercially, but well loved by fans, favorite.



If I had to name my number one, you can only listen to this one song for the rest of your listening days, tune by REM, it'd be King of Birds. I can't find much info on the writing and recording of the song, but it's on my favorite album, Document. Enjoy!