Music of the Moment: R.E.M. - “Man-Sized Wreath”
It’s still not my favorite song on the record, but for some reason it’s what I woke up singing this morning.
Comparisons are only helpful to a point, but this one really does have the feel of songs from Monster and New Adventures in Hi-Fi, particularly the fuzzed, distorted rhythm guitar of Peter Buck. The keyboard accents are probably more a product of what they’ve been doing recently, so it’s a nice hybrid of the old and the new.
It’s not a champion lyric and I don’t like Stipe’s buried, spoken word “breaks” in the chorus, but the song manages to be greater than the sum of its parts. I bet this will be even better live than it is on the album.
It’s a good song to start the morning. It’s not so loud and abrasive that it hurts, but it’s up and energetic enough to help kick the week in gear.
Filed under: Tags: Music of the Moment, R.E.M.
