MONSTER: STAR 69

  Perhaps the most anachronistic song in the canon, STAR 69 was purposely written to energize the arena rock crowds. Anachronism aside, *69 as a function was an awesome weapon in the late 80's and 90's to call back the last number coming in on a land line and I kid you not I used it last week. I had to call someone back from work whose contact info I failed to get. It still works!
  This is a fast, upbeat throwaway song that is nigh unintelligible on the album with the echo, but becomes much clearer when Stipe sings it live. It's a fun song, but I'm afraid it leads to the dismissive tendencies fans have toward this album. This starts a string of four or five songs that are not bad, but out of character for the band in a different way than the first and last songs. There's a strange universality in the next songs that is straightforward in approach unlike any song before. Again, these are not terrible songs, but there is a departure from the standard R.E.M. tracks that is more than just the band redefining itself. The band is re-imagining itself, and setting up the rest of their career with this album. MONSTER gave them license to become a new band every once in awhile, to throw away old approaches and start fresh. I also think it's important to point out that from this album to ACCELERATE there is a 15 year gap. And it's a weird 15 years that I believe this album and tour puts us on ... in a way STAR 69 kicks the journey off.

STAR 69

You

Don't have to take the bar exam to see
What you did is ignoramus 103
What've I got to hang my hat on you don't have a pot to pee in all this just to be your friend I was there until the end
Extortion and arson

Petty larceny

I know you called, I know you called, I know you called
I know you called, I know you called, I know you hung up my line
Star 69

I know all about the warehouse fire
I know squirrelies didn't chew the wire
Three people have my number the other two were with me I don't like to tell tell, but I'm not your patsy
This time you have gone too far with me

I know you called, I know you called, I know you called
I know you called, I know you called, I know you hung up my line
Star 69
No

Why'd you put your quarter down on me?
This reads like some dork inside edition hard copy
I can't be your character witness I can't be your alibi your doorbell rings, the FBI we learned spy versus spy you my friend are guilty as can be

I know you called, I know you called, I know you called
I know you called, I know you called, I know you hung up my line

I know you called, I know you called, I know you called
I know you called, I know you called, I can’t be your alibi
Star 69

  This one has arena rock all over it and is mostly Buck style power chords. I didn't tab the fills during the verse, but it's mostly a bend of the d note of the b string on the 3rd fret--sometimes by itself, sometimes with the open b or the 5th fret note of the high e string.  For the break you kind of have to feel out the bend and release ... 

STAR 69

Verse

e|-0---0---0---0---0---0---0----|

B|-0---0---0---0---0---0---0----|

G|-8---9---6---3---8---9---6----|

D|-9---9---7---4---9---9---7----|

A|-9---7---7---4---9---7---7----|

E|-7---0---5---2---7---0---5----|

Chorus

e|-0---2---0---2---0---2---0---|

B|-0---2---0---2---0---2---0---|

G|-1---3---1---3---1---3---6---|

D|-2---4---2---4---2---4---7---|

A|-2---4---2---4---2---4---7---|

E|-0---2---0---2---0---3---5---|

Break

e|-0---0-0---|

B|-6^--6-0---|

G|-0---0-0---|

D|-----------|

A|-----------|

E|-----------|

Chorus Fill (On open A)

e|-0---0-0-------|

B|--0-0---530----|

G|---------------|

D|---------------|

A|---------------|

E|---------------|

MONSTER: I DON'T SLEEP I DREAM

  It is safe to say that this song is the departure point, the gateway if you will, from the old band to the new. Starting with this song, Stipe begins targeting sexuality in a very direct way. Even the band realized its importance when they performed the song live during their SNL preview of the Monster tour. Stipe even got a cameo playing guitar ... one chord, but still ... there is no going back from this.
  He used to begin this song claiming it was not about a bj and whatever it's story origins, what we have here is another unrequited song a la LOSING MY RELIGION, but it's lust that is not found here. Perhaps the narrator is simply narcoleptic and is lusting after the server in his local diner. I think the key to the song is the concession of coffee instead of sex at the end of the chorus. However, the narrator here could be one of those one night stand monsters who has reached some sort of existential impasse. Whatever the actual story, the dark themes and insistence of dream state consciousness permeate the world and sound of the song. Even though this is not at the height of their songwriting, one can appreciate the consistency of the message.
  As for the lyrics, Stipe is holding out 'dream' and over enunciating the end of the 'm' into an 'ah' sound. Closer to the official lyrics, but I think he's still slipping some words in there ... hence the differences.

I DON’T SLEEP, I DREAM

I'm looking for an interruption
Do you believe?
You looking to dig my dreams
Be prepared for anything
You come into my little scene
Hooray hooray hip hip hooray
There's one thing I can guarantee
You won't have to dig

Dig too deep

Said

Leave me to lay, or touch me deep
I don't sleep, I dream

I'll settle for a cup of coffee

But you know what I really need

Are you looking to drive my dreams?
You here to route my schemes?
You come deliver my demons?
Hooray hooray hip hip hooray
Are you coming to ease my headache?
Do you give good head?
Am I good in bed?

I don't know, I guess so
I don't sleep, I dream

I'll settle for a cup of coffee

But you know what I really need

I'm looking for an interruption
Can you believe?
Some medicine for my headache
Hooray hooray hip hip hooray
I'm pitching for a new direction
Pinch me when I wake
Don't tell me my dreams are fake

You

Leave me to lay, or touch me deep
I don't sleep, I dream

I'll settle for a cup of coffee

But you know what I really need
Leave me to lay, or touch me deep
I don't sleep, I dream

I'll settle for a cup of coffee

But you know what I really need

   I used to believe that this riff was some elaborate sliding chord, but as it turns out it is an extremely static picking pattern with little movement. The equivalent of a three chord song. For the final chord, simply play the D of the picking pattern, but add your thumb to the E string, 5th note ... in true Buck style.

I DON'T SLEEP I DREAM

Verse

e|----7--0-0------0----|

B|--5--5----5-0-5h-5---|

G|---7--7-----------7--|

D|-7--7----------------|

A|---------------------|

E|---------------------|

Chorus

e|-3-0----|

B|-3-0----|

G|-0-0----|

D|-0-2----|

A|-2-2----|

E|-3-0----|

MONSTER: KING OF COMEDY

  Some amazing changes take place during the course of MONSTER and the next few songs force fans of the band to change their equilibrium as well as their preconceptions.  KING does not sound like an R.E.M. song. In fact, this is where my friend cashed in her devotion to the band as it was too much of a departure for her. The track combines their intimate knowledge of the recording studio with their new rock aesthetic. It's slick and it is specific to the song, but I'm not sure if the song fully succeeds. KING OF COMEDY is a term that Stipe here uses to demonstrate the sensationalist tendencies of the media ... not exactly news and since this song the internet has taken speculation to a whole new level.  Stipe uses KING as a title that is fleeting and laments the need for showmanship to make money. People are not commodity, but there is a double standard here. In order to make your mark there needs to be an artistic risk or splash first. There are many forms of greed that Stipe talks about here, but his insistence that people are not commodity--while true--misses the point. Stories ARE commodity. And the more Stipe obfuscates his ambiguous sexuality the more interesting the story becomes. Most media outlets jumped on the line "I'm straight, I'm queer, I'm bi." The argument can be made that this is Stipe in his own voice, but the other opposing argument is just as valid. He has found a way to nestle this song in an album about characters, talk about sexuality directly (which he had never done before), and still create an air of obsequiousness. Textbook Stipe. Also textbook is the lyrics from the 25th Anniversary release, he's clearly saying what I have below, but in the notes changes a couple of words (Clear to Shrewd, Fly to Ply, and the to your in the chorus). Again, Michael controls the authorship, but in performance on the recording he is saying different words and the Scott Litt's Remix bears it out.
  Although the song is slicked up, there are still some great things happening. The addition of female background is really the peak of this songs' irony. It's almost funny. The band has lived this story to the fullest extent with their last two albums being their biggest hits while doing no touring to promote them. Stipe is saying: do whatever you want to get to where you want to be, but don't forget to be true to yourself." So, are we finally meeting the real Stipe during this album? Or is the band falling for their own cautionary tale?

KING OF COMEDY

Make your money with a suit and tie
Make your money with clear denial
Make your money expert advice
If you can wing it
Make your money with a power fly
Make your money with a buyout bribe
You can lie 
As long as you mean it

I'm not the king of comedy
Grease the pig and give a squeeze

(Squeeze me)

Make your money with exploitation
Make it holy illumination
Say a prayer at every station
Don't forget to ask for mercy
Make your money with a pretty face
Make it easy with product placement
Make it charged with controversy
I'm straight, I'm queer, I'm bi

I'm not the king of comedy
I'm not your magazine
I'm not your television

Make your money, make it rich
Make it young and make it quick
Make your money on the jukebox, baby
It's pick-up sticks
Make your enemies make your moves
Make your critics fumble through
Make it smart and make it schmooze
And make it look easy

I'm not the king of comedy
I'm not your magazine
I'm not your television
I'm not your movie screen

I'm not commodity

(All together now)
I'm not commodity
I'm not commodity

I'm not commodity

I'm not commodity

I'm not commodity


  The guitar on this is fairly simple, but there are still a couple of cool tricks from Peter. Of particular note is the return of the open b and e string power chords. A staple of the band's early sound. For the chorus the key is in how the G5 is played, it's imperative to get that high D note in the G chord, when paired with the open e, you get a minor chord feel. Almost a Bm without the B or the minor.

KING OF COMEDY

Verse

e|-0-0-0---0-0-0-------------0-0-0---|

B|-0-0-0---0-0-0-8-8-0-------0-0-0---|

G|-7-7-7---7-7-7-------6-6-6-6-6-6---|

D|-7-7-7---7-7-7-------7-7-7-7-7-7---|

A|-5-5-5---5-5-5-------7-7-7-7-7-7---|

E|-0-0-0---0-0-0-------5-5-5-5-5-5---|

e|-----------0--0--0---0-0-0-----------|

B|-----------0--0--0---0-0-0-----------|

G|--9--9--9--9--9--9---4-4-4---6-6-7-6-|

D|-10-10-10-10-10-10---5-5-5---7-7-7-7-|

A|-10-10-10-10-10-10---5-5-5---7-7-7-7-|

E|--8--8--8--0--0--0---3-3-3---5-5-5-5-|

Chorus

e|-0---0---3------------------------|

B|-3---0---3------------------------|

G|-0---5---0------------------------|

D|-5---5---0------------------------|

A|-5---3---2------------------------|

E|-0---0---3------------------------|

Bridge

e|-------------|

B|-------------|

G|-12----------|

D|-12----------|

A|-10-10<------|

E|-------(x8)--|

Outro Pick (G5-D-G)

e|----3-------3------3------3-----|

B|--3--3-3--3--3-3-3--3-3-3--3-3--|

G|---3--3----5--5---4--4---4--4---|

D|-5-------3------5------5--------|

A|--------------------------------|

E|--------------------------------|

MONSTER: CRUSH WITH EYELINER

  As I mentioned in the intro to this album, my friend and I picked up Monster during a midnight sale. I remember popping in the cassette and before this track saying: "And now an R.E.M. song we've never heard." The thing about CRUSH is that it is the gateway to the album. KENNETH is a great opener and tells you what you need to know about the changed sound of the band, but it's CRUSH that tells you everything you need to know about the theme of the album and the characters contained within. In MONSTER, Stipe has mastered the creation of a persona. He dabbled with characters singing from a point of view in the past--particularly in FABLES--but on MONSTER he does something he had never done before, he gets personal.
  In CRUSH, the infatuate narrator is smitten with a female. This is all new ground for Stipe who never dealt so directly with lust and passion as he does here, not to mention his actual identification of a gender. In a bold move, Stipe directly addresses gender and sexuality throughout the entire album in a way he never had before. The safe, top 40 warbling from OUT OF TIME and AUTOMATIC are gone, but it has bought him the opportunity to actually speak his mind through his characters. The song is also an examination of what we individually and differently find attractive as these are not your cookie cutter, Jack and Diane style lovers. This is the counter culture. The underbelly of lust, but Stipe is not only deeming this lust okay, he is specifically saying that it exists, it's normal, and it's beautiful.
  In true T. Rex style, Stipe is using the rock and glam platform to talk about the emotional struggle we deal with just to connect with someone. The idea of having to invent a person that another would be attracted to, who do we make ourselves in order to be attractive? But what if the other person is not faking? What does that say about how we see ourselves? Are we at face value not attractive enough to catch the eye of our crush? These are the characters of MONSTER, the people whose stories you don't hear often enough, the off kilter personages that shamble through the world and also need love. Once upon a time, Stipe said in an interview that the reason his lyrics were so distancing and non specific was because the world might not be ready for him. Well, starting here we get him and it puts R.E.M. on a completely different path musically and thematically. Some were not ready for it.
  The only real change below from what you can find in line is the word 'inventive' substituted for invented. The singer is specifically referencing the line before about convincing her as she had convinced them and often live, Stipe would change the word 'that' to 'well.' In the video link, I've posted the official video because it's hilariously karaoke in a nod to Stipe not liking to lip sync in his videos, keep an eye out for cameos of the band. There's also a great performance of them on 'Top of the Pops' where he really can't lip synch the song ...

CRUSH WITH EYELINER

I know you
I know you've seen her
She's a sad tomato
She's three miles of bad road
Walking down the street
Will I never meet her?
She's a real woman, child
Oh my kiss breath turpentine

I am smitten

I'm the real thing

(I'm the real thing)
Have you seen her come around?
My crush with eyeliner

I'm in like
I'm infatuated
It's all too much, the pressure
She's all that I can take
What position should I wear?
And cop an attitude

(Faker)
How can I convince her?

(Faker)
That I'm invented too

Yeah

I am smitten

I'm the real thing

(I'm the real thing)
We all invent ourselves and

Uh, you know me

Yeah

She's a sad tomato
She's three miles of bad road
She's her own invention

(She's her own invention)
That gets me in the throat
What can I make myself be?
Uh, life is strange

(Yeah, life is strange)
What can I make myself be?

(Faker)
To make her mine

I am smitten

I'll do anything

(I'll do anything)
My kiss breath turpentine
My crush with eyeliner

I am smitten

Uh, you know me

(Yeah, you know me)
I could be your Frankenstein
My crush with eyeliner

I am smitten

I'm the real thing

(I'm the real thing)
Won't you be my valentine?
My crush with eyeliner

  Peter here is back on the delay/echo train, again it feels like he bought the guitar center and tried every effect he could think of.  The result is pretty cool. There are two main guitars here. In my tab I've eliminated the high e string from the D and G chords, but you could easily play it with, it sounds better on its own without it. I've also added the fills that Peter used live because they were part of the song almost immediately after the album came out.

CRUSH WITH EYELINER

Verse (Strum and hold A for intro)

e|-0---0---0---|

B|-2---3---3---|

G|-2---0---2---|

D|-2---0---0---|

A|-0---2-------|

E|-0---3-------|

Verse Fill #1 (Live)

e|----------|

B|----------|

G|-4b-4-0---|

D|----------|

A|----------|

E|----------|

Verse Fill #2 (Live)

e|-----------------------|

B|---7---7--7--7---------|

G|->9-9b--9b-9b-9b-------|

D|-----------------------|

A|-----------------------|

E|----------------0-3b---|

Bridge

e|-2---|

B|-2---|

G|-4---|

D|-4---|

A|-4---|

E|-2---|

Chorus

e|-0---0---0---0---0---0---0---|

B|-0---3---3---2---0---3---3---|

G|-1---2---0---2---1---2---0---|

D|-2---0---0---2---2---0---0---|

A|-2-------2---0---2-------2---|

E|-0-------3---0---0-------3---|

Lead

e|---7------0-------7------0-------|

B|---------------------------------|

G|-9b-9<7-7b-5----9b-9<7-7b-5------|

D|------------7-5------------7-5---|

A|---------------------------------|

E|---------------------------------|

e|->10-10---10----->12-12---12------15---|

B|->10--10---10-10->12--12---12--12-15---|

G|->11---11---11--->13---13---13---------|

D|->12---12---12--->14---14---14---------|

A|---------------------------------------|

E|---------------------------------------|

End on E.