“Cuyahoga (Live in Mansfield, MA – 13 June 2008)” – R.E.M.
(Words/music: Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe, originally appears on Lifes Rich Pageant, IRS 1986)
When I saw R.E.M. this past June, Michael Stipe offered this song to Barack Obama. The choice is interesting because aside from the opening lines (as his dedication suggests), it doesn’t seem like an obvious choice; if I were to have guessed which song they dedicated, I would have probably guessed one of the more recent Bush-fueled political rants (like the ho-hum “Final Straw”) or one of the more overtly political songs (like “These Days” from the same album). The ban even played “I Believe” (key line: “and change is what I believe in”) in South America the night of his election. Sure, the song references the polluted Cuyahoga river - a cause that the environmentally friendly candidate would emphasize with, buy it still seemed like an odd choice (one I didn’t complain about that night, however, as it’s one of my favorites).
Thinking about it months later, I’m immediately drawn back to the lines that Stipe highlighted in his introduction – “Let’s put our heads together / and start a new country up.” It captures the sentiment of Obama’s “change” mantra as well as his message of unity. After watching the sea of humanity in Washington, D.C. this morning, it seems that his message of unity, hope, and yes, “change,” enticed millions of Americans. Appropriately, Obama’s inaugural address hit on the theme of working together – it’s not Obama or his party creating the “new country,” but everyone in America. It’s a refreshing change of message for someone like me, who has heard nothing but partisan dogma for almost a quarter century of life.
So as I thought about this earlier today, it seemed more and more appropriate. After all, many of R.E.M.’s songs blurred the lines between the personal and the political, as the Obama administration at least begins by stressing the individual’s role in government. “Cuyahoga” isn’t just about the death of a river, but about the narrator’s personal memories attached with the river. The song’s filled with “we” and “our,” to the point that the Cuyahoga is less a call to recycle more but a symbol of a proud and highly personal past that’s been corrupted (as the river now “runs read over it”). Even more importantly, the song focuses on gathering friends and moving towards reclaiming their pride rather than lamenting the death of their icon. It’s an appropriate song to dedicate to a man who wants to promote community, even at the national level.
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PS – Even though R.E.M. is one of my favorite bands (and, if pressed, probably the most important band to me), this will probably be the only post on one of their songs (I might pick one more at some point, but that would be it), in part because of Matthew Perpetua’s wonderful Popsongs 07-08 project, where he writes about these songs with eloquence and insight that I could only dream of possessing. I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that this site (along with the other excellent work he does on the web and in print) is a major inspiration for what I want to do over the next eleven and a half months. Here’s a relevant quote from Matthew’s entry on “Cuyahoga” from July ’07:
“Cuyahoga” may be a lament, but it’s also one of the most optimistic politically themed songs in the R.E.M. songbook. Even better, its optimism is not cheap and facile. The lyrics make a point of acknowledging the fact that we need to collaborate and work hard for change, because without that effort and emphasis on community, we stand to lose so much.
More on R.E.M.: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm
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