NEW ADVENTURES IN HI-FI: BINKY THE DOORMAT

   The title of this song allegedly comes from the film 'Shakes the Clown' with Bobcat Goldthwait. Somewhere in the movie the character of Binky says he shouldn't be called Binky the Clown, but Binky the Doormat. The connection? The film was in part produced by IRS and Miles Copeland, REM's old record company. The title and movie have no bearing on a song full of kink sex and loathing, the lead character seemingly fed up with going along with the kinks of their partner who is identified as a female--a rare gender identifier for Michael. The song itself was one of my favorites from the album early on, but I believe this is more indicative of the turn the album takes next into the three strongest songs. I like BTD, but it has some troubling aspects--not least of which is the slam the door 'Go away' finality of a relationship. It's difficult to go zero to angry in a short pop song without the emotions feeling reactionary, plus whenever it comes to pleasure it's a larger leap to have erotic kink become the straw that breaks a relationships back. That aside it's a rock song made for arenas to take advantage of the sound on the tour, it works well as a performance most audiences can appreciate when they don't know the song.

BINKY THE DOORMAT

This is horror movie stuff
The muffin is peach, you're makin' love
You mean this opera involves handcuffs?
I, I lay defeated
Yeah, sour milk mouth horseradish sweet
She's a girl and she's loving me
Distance is my tendency
I am defeated

Have you lost your place?

(Go away, go away)
I wore my doormat face

(Go away, go away, go away, go, go, go)
I hung my this or that

(Go away, go away, go away, go away)
I laid my welcome mat

(Go away, go away)

If I'm your oyster, where's the war?
You leave me gasping tattered and torn
I know you can't find a fork
I am just a little acorn
Well acorns grow to mighty trees
You've got sauce, but you don't have knees
And look who's asking pretty please
I lay defeated

Have you lost your place?

(Go away, go away)
I wore my doormat face

(Go away, go away, go away, go, go, go)
I hung my this or that

(Go away, go away, go away, go away)
I laid my welcome mat

(Go away, go away)

Wow


Call your bathroom friends around
I will fake a little frown
I will be your little clown
Easily defeated
Yeah, you shut the door and open wide
Seconal and astroglide
You fuck with me and traumatize
Don't you see I love your hide?
All the beauty that's trapped inside
Can't you see I love your hide?
Can't you see I love your hide?
Can't you see it?

Have you lost your place?

(Go away, go away)
I wore my doormat face

(Go away, go away, go away, go, go, go)
I hung my this or that

(Go away, go away, go away, go away)
I laid my welcome mat

(Go away, go away go away, go, go, go)

I hung my this or that

(Go away, go away, go away, go away)
I laid my welcome mat

(Go away, go away go away, go, go, go)

Go away

Go away

Go away

Go away

Go away

Go away

  Fairly easy riff on this one with a second guitar in the verse background. The middle bridge is mostly making use out of the fuzzed guitar by raking the strings while muted.

BINKY THE DOORMAT

Verse

e|--4-4-4-4---4---2-2-2-2---2----|

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

G|-4---4---3>4---2---2---1>2-----|

Verse Guitar 2

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

B|-5---7-5-3----|

G|-4---4-4-2----|

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

Chorus

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

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

G|-2---0---0---7---6-4-0-2---0---0---|

D|-2---2---0---8---7-5-0-2---2---0---|

A|-----3---2---8---7-5-0-----3---2---|

E|-----0---3---6---5-3-0-----0---3---|

Middle Bridge
(Play loosely and scratch those strings!)

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

B|-3---------3---5------|

G|-2---5-4-5-2---2------|

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

NEW ADVENTURES IN HI-FI: BE MINE

Michael has said "I have written songs that are I think bordering on creepy or questionable, Be Mine topping the list." However, I think this is one of the strongest songs on the album and one of my favorites. It's also the first one I learned to play. You might recognize the guitar style as Mike Mills from his go on LET ME IN. In a documentary where Thom Yorke chose this song to sing with the band Mike admits the song is one he wrote and in a short clip on YouTube it is him on the guitar. There's a lovely version on youtube that is just Mike with a different, but similar Michael vocal that is very lovely. But it's the kicking in of the drums and orchestrations that move this song to the next level IMO. The song is beautiful if a little possessive.

BE MINE

"a speed zone up here too"

I never thought of this as funny
It speaks another world to me
I want to be your easter bunny
I want to be your christmas tree

I'll strip the world that you must live in
Of all its godforsaken greed
I'll ply the tar out of your feathers
I'll pluck the thorns out of your feet
You and me
You and me

You and me

And if I choose your sanctuary
I want to wash you with my hair
I want to drink of sacred fountains
And find the riches hidden there

I'll eat the lotus and peyote
I want to hear the caged bird sing
I want the secrets of the temple
I want the finger with the ring
You and me
You and me

You and me

And if you make me your religion
I'll give you all the room you need
I'll be the drawing of your breath
I'll be the cup if you should bleed

I'll be the sky above the Ganges
I'll be the vast and stormy sea
I'll be the lights that guide you inward
I'll be the visions you will see

The visions you will see

You will see
You will see
You and me
You and me
You and me

You and me

You and me

You and me



    As with most of the other tab you can find online for R.E.M. people just plain have it wrong, particularly the chorus. Mike is just as fond of open chords as Peter, but in a slightly more traditional power chord type of way. The highlights are the sliding E to B, the G#m set up for the F#m to F# open, and of course the switching from the D string riff to the A string riff to open the verses. A very well thought out and easy song to play once you get it.

BE MINE

Verse

D|-9-11h-11-11-9-11-13-14-14-13-0---|

A|-0--0---0--0-0--0--0--0--0--0-0-9-11h-11-11-9-11-11-11-11--|

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

Verse Interlude

(Start with the A string part of the verse above after this interlude)

e|-5---2-|

B|-7---4-|

G|-7---4-|

D|-7---4-|

A|-5---2-|

E|-5---2-|

Chorus

e|-0---0---0---0---0---0---0---2>4---2-0---|

B|-0---0---0---0---0---0---0---2>4---2-0---|

G|-1---8---4---6---2---3---4---2>4---2-0---|

D|-2---9---6---7---4---4---4---------------|

A|-2---9---6---7---4---4---0---------------|

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

End on E

NEW ADVENTURES IN HI-FI: BITTERSWEET ME

Michael has noted that this song is about an 'unformed desire' or a teenage desire, something he comes back to multiple times in the band's later albums. The narrator of the song seems lost in their own thoughts and deeply upset about the wasted time. Some more great imagery from Michael, candy floss (cotton candy), pattern shirts, the mental image of chewing one's leg off is very distancing--there's something very foreign about this desire, almost ugly. The song was released as the second single from NAIHF, but didn't chart very high and the strange video that went along with it tried to do too much. Maybe just be the short film or the band shots, but both? Michael was having some lip synch fun with a microphone, but the band collectively look like making videos is their least favorite pastime. It's a good song, maybe a little crunchy in the chorus, but catchy and a fun and recognizable Buck style patented riff that reminds the listener of his singular brilliance.

BITTERSWEET ME

I move across

Innocence lost
All flesh and pulsar
I move across the earth in my new pattern shirt
I pass satellite

‘You're so bitter’

Your complaint
I can't give you anything
I don't know who you're livin’ for
I don't know who you are anymore

I'd sooner chew my leg off
Than get trapped in this
How easy you think of all of this as bittersweet

Me

I couldn't taste it
I'm tired and naked
I don't know what I'm hungry for
I don't know what I want anymore

I move across

Candy floss
I move like a tank
I move across the room with a heart full of glue
I’m stronger than you think

Oh my peer
Your veneer is wearing thin and cracking
The surface informs the underneath
The underneath is lacking

I'd sooner chew my leg off
Than get trapped in this
How easy you think of all of this as bittersweet

Me

I couldn't taste it
I'm tired and naked
I don't know what I'm hungry for
I don't know what I want anymore

You move across

Innocence lost
All static and desire
You're blue in the face from navel gaze
You set yourself on fire

You strip down and lay yourself out
I know you can't fake it
Are you tired and naked?
Are you tired and naked?

Yeah

I'd sooner chew my leg off
Than get trapped in this
How easy you think of all of this as bittersweet

Me

I couldn't taste it
I'm tired and naked
I don't know what I'm hungry for
I don't know what I want anymore

I couldn't taste it
I'm tired and naked
I don't know what I'm hungry for
I don't know what I want anymore

I couldn't taste it
I'm tired and naked
I don't know what I'm hungry for

I don't know what I want anymore


  The key to this song is the held Dm in the bridge to the chorus. Other than that It's really straightforward ... I've added the bass line on guitar for the middle eight ... it also sounds like there's an e-bow there for atmosphere. Maybe NAIHF should be called E-Bow the Album. I also added an unbarred F to the end of the chorus which sounds cool, but only works because of the elongated open chord press Peter does there.

BITTERSWEET ME

Intro/ Verse

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

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

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

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

A|-0-5h----3---|

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

Bridge

e|-1---1---1---0---1---1---1---3---|

B|-1---3---3---1---1---3---3---3---|

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

D|-3---0---0---2---3---0---0---0---|

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

E|-1-----------0---1-----------3---|

Chorus

e|-0---0---3-----------------1---0----|

B|-1---1---3-----------------1---0----|

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

D|-2---2---0--0-2h-2-0-------3---3----|

A|-0---3---2-----------------3---3----|

E|-0---0---3----------(x3)---1---0----|

Middle Bridge (Bass Line)

A|-5-5-7-10-12-5-7--|

E|----7-------------|

End with Intro Riff on the open G string.