Night Garden: Berry, Buck, Mills, Stipe [R.E.M.]1981-1996 Song-by-song*

Cuyahoga

I liked this one really quick, but once I figured out what Stipe was saying it transcended the track a bit more - take a picture here, take a souvenir: seven words that say so, so much

Mills on lead bass is a nice change - comes in right when the record needs to slow down a little - thankfully the record stays nearly perfect for it's duration - thinking ahead it might be the strongest record for me if I go track for track.

5/5

 

Haha, with every day that goes past I come that much closer to my eventual role on this thread as "Debbie Downer."

 

Get in line, we are all taking turns here and my chance is coming up soon.​

 

100% this made me stop and think “yeah, that’s true”.

And this is the coolest thing I read today. I have not had any luck getting cats or dogs to respond to a name of more than two syllables myself.

 

Yes! Pulse!! I knew Paste wasn't right, but there was a P. I miss Tower. Lots of memories there, lots of good purchases...especially when they were closing down. But I'd rather them still be around. A lost era.

 

Cuyahoga - 4/5

nicely played & sung, but a little plodding & listless in the verses; the melody peters out rather than arriving anywhere. Fortunately saved by a soaring chorus and some stunning lyrics (although I sometimes feel like they’re just a little too on the nose maybe).

Nice call. You could pretty seamlessly insert the chorus for MOTM instead, and it works just fine.

 

My cats are Suki and Leo, inspired by another artist's song from the 80s.

 

Hyena

A lesser song, but it serves sort of the same function as "Life and How to Live It" on the last album. An uptempo number to kick the momentum up again, only this one has even more pep in its step. Love the big reverby sound on the piano. It's not one of the best on the album, but I still like it quite a bit. Serves its function well.

4/5

 

Our votes for "Cuyahoga"

1-0
2-0
3-0
4-9
5-22
Average: 4.6077

 

Today's song is "Hyena", written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe; produced, recorded and mixed by Don Gehman.

Lyric.

Background Notes
"Hyena" was first debuted live on June 9th, 1984, alogn with "Driver 8" and "Old Man Kinsey". It was recorded for the Fables Of the Reconstruction, but left off the album -- that version was released on And I Feel Fine...The Best of the IRS YEars 1982-1987 in 2006, as well as on Rarities: The IRS Years 1981-1987.
Peter Buck

Mike Mills:

The band re-recorded the song for Lifes Rich Pageant. In the Guitar World magazine article on "who-wrote-what", I don't think Peter mentioned "Hyena": I realized only today that I think he only talked about the songs from Lifes Rich Pageant that had been newly written post-Fables of the Reconstruction.

This was a song Joe Boyd mentioned in one of the biographies that he had challenged Michael about regarding the lyrics on this song, which he didn't understand.

Line Up:
Michael Stipe: lead vocals
Peter Buck: guitars
Mike Mills: co-lead vocals, bass, keyboards
Bill Berry: drums, percussion

Michael Stipe:

Live Versions:

• Live At the Aragon Ballroom - Reckoning Deluxe 2009, recorded 1984
• R.E.M. At the BBC - 2018, recorded 1984

 

Fables of the Reconstruction outtake:

 

Athens demo recorded in March 1986:

 

Live on German TV, 1985:

 

Hyena
After my intial teenage non-plussedness over first hearing the album, this was actually one of the first songs I was able to latch on to, because the hook is so clear and obvious. And whatever else the song may be about, at least we all know what a hyena is. Though what the backing vocals in the chorus were saying I still have no idea.

I like this song. I like the different versions of the verse: it's not just the same melody each time. Excellent guitar arrangement (no doubt the bass too, but I'm less smart at picking that out).

4/5

 

"Hyena" is another good song that's just not as good as some of the other songs. Still 4.5/5.

 

I can't tell which way you're using that word. In the original way (to mean bewildered), or the way that's become popularized in recent years (to mean unaffected). Either would make sense in context. Such a strange word, as those two meanings are antonyms.

 

I had no idea of the modern use (or mis-use if you ask me) of the word. Damn, I can't keep up. Literally. And by literally I mean, "not actually literally."

 

Watch Norm school James Corden on national television.

 

Cuyahoga makes my R.E.M playlist 4/5
Hyena not 3/5. I do like Peter's riff in the verse and agree with Joe Boyd challenging Michael on the lyrics.

 

Remember seeing him once, just him and his acoustic. He broke a string, then restrung his guitar while telling stories and having me wish he'd just carry on making us laugh rather than going back to music.

Then he started up again and played a song where he was kind of playing rhythm and lead at the same time (and singing) and thought, ah yeah, this is really why we're here! At the end of the gig I thought we were going to get a a real, proper encore (not one of those obvious "scripted" ones) as nobody moved for ages. I think it was a mini festival and they had to get the next act on though.

If you've not read his autobiography, Beeswing, I'd definitely recommend it. Especially if you like Fairport.

 

I've always found Hyena, These Days and Just a Touch to be songs that are quite different to the rest of Lifes Rich Pageant and don't quite hit the heights of everything else. (Not to say I dislike them.)

As usual I have no idea what Micheal's singing about, but I always loved the line "The only thing to fear is fearlessness", always thought that was a clever line.

In the end I think this is my least liked song on the album, I think I prefer the demo version. (I'll take the Debbie Downer hat for a short while, thank you!)

 

Bewildered (because I had only previously heard the early 90s stuff.) I don't know the other meaning.

 

Hyena is cool, and it seems like the last of a dying breed of R.E.M. songs: like “Pretty Persuasion” it features dual lead vocals and that’s cool, the guitar riff also recalls “Pretty Persuasion.” It’s got great energy and Mike’s keyboard touches and background vocals really add a lot. I don’t mind the lyrics, and think line by line they are pretty cool, even if I can’t quite suss the global meaning.

4.2/5

 

Hyena

Kind of annoying, actually.

3/5

 

Hyena is fun but a bit inconsequential. Definitely doesn’t hit the heights of the previous 4 songs, but that’s kind of an impossible bar to reach anyway. The “fearlessness” line is the high point of the song for me.