Tuesday October 19, 2021 “Orange Crush” R.E.M.
“Orange Crush” written by R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe refers to the chemical defoliant Agent Orange manufactured for the U.S. Defense Department and used in the Vietnam War. Stipe opened the song during the Green World Tour by singing the U.S. Army recruiting slogan, "Be all you can be... in the Army." Stipe's father served in the Vietnam War.
R.E.M. released their first single “Radio Free Europe” in 1981 shortly after the band was formed by Mike Mills and Bill Berry who both attended the same high school in Athens Georgia and had played in a number of bands together. Michael Stipe was enrolled in the University of Georgia in Athens and while there he began hanging out in a local record store where Peter Buck, who was learning guitar, was a clerk.
Buck and Stipe began playing together and they ran into Mills and Berry through a mutual friend and R.E.M. became complete. The band is named after the dream state condition of rapid eye movement.
“Shiny Happy People”, one of R.E.M. 's early signature songs was originally slated as the theme for the TV series “Friends” but the band turned it down and “Shiny Happy People” ultimately became a song that lead singer and songwriter Michael Stipe said he hated.
Stay safe and well...and in today’s video, the soldier is only wearing one dog tag which could suggest that he was already dead as servicembers typically have two, one to stay with the deceased and one used for record keeping.