R.E.M. - Disturbance at the Heron House

[travisnealtodd70]

This song has held steady in my R.E.M. top ten for, what, 25 years now? Quite an achievement, considering the body of work, which still had its moments even after Bill Berry left.

[TrevorTime24]

best song off of Document, hands down

[theqman1956]

REM officially broke up Wednesday this past week. this is definitely my all time favorite REM song. Saw them play this live in a downpour in Pittsburgh about 5-6 years ago.

[wowbobwow37]

This one if in my top 20 of REM, Love this song!!

[Yehudittx]

probably my favorite REM song. One of the greatest hooks in the world.

[TheWheels777]

Thanks for the tunes REM. Made life a lot better

[BaronOGreymatter]

Dang, I think they heard me!

[BaronOGreymatter]

SidTucker, give a listen to "Leave" from New Adventures in Hi-Fi. It's so good it gives me chills. I have to admit, though, that REM lost a lot of its magic for me when Bill Berry left.

[mrbretty5]

lifes rich pageant, "great memories.............

[mrbretty5]

please post any videos per-Mumur....

[SomethingReal1119]

Document is my favorite REM album. It is the most melodic, imho.

[KJS80s]

I meant IRS years lol

[KJS80s]

@SidTucker you say you stopped listening after "What's The Frequency Kenneth." Well I say you've missed out on a lot of fantastic music after the superb IT'S years!

[kirksbrega11]

Says who, Time or the band? What monument are they talking about. Who gathered up the courageous? Cogs, grunts, greens, and hirelings. Athens? Explain what this means then. Who's numbering the monkeys? Explain to me Jbone85. Time magazine doing a piece on bands in Athens lol. You don't get the joke do you.

[zwartepiet412]

If you were in college in the 80's you listened to REM

[SidTucker]

"Document" and "Green" are the REM I loved. After "Whats the frequency, Kenneth" I stopped listening.

[excoc]

gads - r.e.m were never "new-wavish" my theory is the fans that dig the warners bros stuff are younger than I - all I can say is that, you shoulda been there during the irs years cuz they were this scrappy, rough around the edges band w/ so much energy and every song had a personality of their own.

[Htos1]

This was the garage band at the after hours get together during the Classic city Championships skateboard contest-1977,Athens,Ga.

[Teamawesome4]

Any time you've got a line saying, "The monkeys and the monkeys", you know you've got some talent

[TheLittleginnie]

This is my favourite song on Document.

[TheLittleginnie]

This is my favourite song on Document.

[Detroit1967]

@TheLittleginnie ... yeah, good

[kirksbrega11]

The stampede at the monument means the flooding of immigrants into America. Championed by their heron (hero) the united 14th amendment holy roman empire. They gathered up monkey's and put them to work in sweat shops, built railroads like no one had ever seen before dug up the earth for minerals and oil and metals and coal who did the labor the monkey's and when their feeding time has come and gone the cogs and grunts and heirlings will go home with knowing how racist we are. Everyone allowed?

[Jbone85]

@kirksbrega11 ....you're very wrong..............Time magazine was doing a piece on bands in Athens Ga at thee time and thats what this song is about.

[codern]

damn it is not easy to get this good in music.

[Jbone85]

This album was (is) amazing.

[iwishiwas88]

it's hard to find a video with this many views and 0 dislikes. and rightfully so.

[TheEnzodriver]

Excellent song!!! I also disagree with the view that R.E.M. "sold out". I don't deny there have been some songs and moments that weren't so great, but Green, a fun record, through Up is a solid run (Automatic for the People and New Adventures in Hi-Fi rank with my favorites from the IRS era), and they seem to have gotten their mojo back with 2008's rocking Accelerate. Let's hope their new one, due out next year, has the same kind of energy as Accelerate! Fantastic band!

[JoshuaTaylor]

*sigh* The last great album before that dreaded Warner sell-out. Devoted fans like us would soon be watching Stipe singing "Shiny Happy People" with The Muppet's. One of the most painful sell-outs, EVER. I hope you guys are enjoying the money....

[portstewartsam]

@JoshuaTaylor they had a fortune when they were with IRS to be fair, they sold millions as a 'cult' band

[ltdann86]

This is were they got me hooked.......I miss the 80s

[ultramegaunknown]

What happened to them after this record??? After the I.R.S. years??? They lost this emotion, this edge, this timeless sound. Chronic Town through Document is a timeline of masterpieces.

[TheCreepsAreAlright]

@ultramegaunknown Their four best albums, listed chronologically, are:

1. Murmur

2. Document

3. Green

4. Automatic for the People

To be honest, Murmur wasn't exactly their best. I was never a fan of that very early, sort of new-wave-ish stuff.

[TheLittleginnie]

@TheCreepsAreAlright Hey I agree with you!!

[dogloverNV]

@TheCreepsAreAlright—I agree with you. Their early work is amazing! Compare it to their new stuff and it's just hands down. I miss that old sound!

[eric1012wi]

@TheCreepsAreAlright I take it you never heard "Lifes Rich Pageant"???

[noamshouseparty]

49 likes & 0 dislikes? well here comes number 50 folks

[mozfan2792]

Michael Stipe wrote this song about the time when Time magazine did an article on the Athens music scene and all these opportunist wannabe musicians rushed to the town center to get their picture taken and score a name drop for the article just so they could make get their foot in the door of fame. If you listen to the lyrics, it makes total sense i.e. "cogs and grunts and hirelings" and "when feeding time has come and gone, they lose the heart and head for home". Good song, awesome band!

[RockBottomRiser21]

IRS REM > Warner REM > Everything Else

[klausegeist]

The call came in to party central

[eli9594]

there's no other like REM

[uclrichard]

the best american band of all time (apart from the beach boys and velvets) but how did they function without a rhythm guitarist...buck played both parts in the studio - but surely they should have employed a fulltime fifth member for live and backing vocal duties? just a thought...my favourite album of theirs is probably reckoning - simply gorgeous.

[SnoopytheBandit]

@uclrichard Peter Holsapple from the DB's always toured with them to provide rhythm guitar and keys.

[HankLafayette]

@uclrichard Mike Mills carried the backing vocals live (still does?). I have seen a second guitarist on some of R.E.M.'s television appearances but I'm not sure if it was ever a lineup they took on tour. I think a lot of fans like a bare bones, stripped down lineup for live work. Zeppelin did the same thing; Jimmy Page had many overdubs creating sonic textures for the albums and live he just found a way to strip the songs down to their essential rawness. Perhaps Buck enjoys the same challenge.

[kakashi76767]

when feeding time has come and gone, they'll lose their hearts and head for home, try to tell us something we dont know

[santanaincubus]

REM > U2

[ivorbigonee]

perfect

[mouser98k]

this song is a call to anarchy...

first heard it when i was in the army in the 80's and trying to woo a young nurse...

had no clue what it was about then, just knew i liked it..

artists always lead the revolutions

[uclrichard]

@mouser98k good post

[Mozzer232]

My favorite R.E.M. record. I bought it in 92 when I was 11 years old and it's still one of my favorite albums of alltime. I still love R.E.M. even though the only 2 albums following the IRS years that I really listen to are 'Automatic for the People' and 'Reveal'. Still I always think they are due for their next masterpiece...

[pitchfork1972]

Yp...lie #2 on my all time list

[Moveontonumber2]

I haven't thought of this album for 20 years. It brings me back. I'm glad you posted the lyrics. As it was true for the resistance then, it is true to the resistance now.

[jeffreyhsykes]

Same here. I got this album when it came out my senior year in high school and forgot about it when I went to college. Just remembered it like three months ago. Been stuck on Life's Rich and Dead Letter Office. I love this song.

[funkydafunker]

REM still ass relevant as ever.I'm glad I grew up to their music and still they wake my senses.

[MJJ1Redd]

Greatest group of all time.

[txeire]

one of the greatest American groups of all time. Brits had some good ones..

[sheckybish]

Yay lyrical thoughts matter and so do you.

[Picnicl]

If I picked just one song from Document I'd probably pick this one. Some things that stand out are the (relatively) rare guitar solo at 1.44 , the lovely backing vocals that say 'and head for home' at 2.48 and 'Everyone allowed' sounds good too.

[caudillo1]

Couldn't agree more. Sounds as good as it did back then.

[badass0cinematic]

funny how this song was written more than 20 years ago but perfectly represents the contemporary society.

[deweypug]

Michael Stipe wrote this as a contemporary response to George Orwell's book,' Animal Farm', so it is additionally poignant that not only this song has staying power, but also the book. Love it.

[REMmnant]

it's so vague it will be 'true' a hundred years from now. Nice try at using this worn-out cliche, though ;-)

[deweypug]

Imagery and metaphorical prose always has staying power due to it's 'vagueness', just ask Shakespeare, Dylan, Brautigan, etc. You sound a little bitter, (ha)

[REMmnant]

a little? (HA!) ;D nah just slightly cynical actually :P

[deweypug]

Yeah, I guess without a little cynicism, we would have gained very little ground... Cheers.

[AlbinusMakedonion]

MY FAVOURITE IN "DOCUMENT"! One of the greatest albums from the greatest band ever!

[Issicra]

Document is still my fav REM record.

[sogood53]

one of the best!

[greghammond2]

favourite rem song! a true classic

[danbit5]

followers of choas i think someone said that

[wellspout]

you people are my friends, and we haven't even met, yet

[rossboss1]

i gotta dig this out again and stick it in the car! great album...great song. seriously ahead of its time...not gonna hear music like this again

[black1582]

document must have been a december driving tape my sister just started driving and i remember listning to it and seeing empire of the sun

[johnnecron]

if the men with the power cant keep it under control.

Some heads are gonna roll!!!

[ratstarspace]

i.e 'the green and simple', 'try to tell us something we dont know.' The whole thing tries to explain hoe revolutions fail. The reaoning is that as a long as the people with power hold a segregatory view. Acceptance of change and therefore change itself is impossible.

[ratstarspace]

Its loosely tied to animal farm. The animal references do hint at the have nots within a communist revolution. However the song is more of a 'documentation' of a paricular event within a revolution. The narrator of the song is the upper class elite, giving an interpretation of the revoultion and a particular event. The opinion of the elite comes across as patronizing, diminutive and superior

[uclrichard]

as good at it gets - (at least almost as good as it got in the 80s. only the smiths could better this classic, and that's debatable)...

[simonturner73]

Great song

[misszooniverse]

"The followers of chaos out of control"

All of the lyrics on this album are genius; simply brilliant.

[Chr0nict0wn]

A guitar solo (1:45-1:59) out of Buck's guitar?? Mindblowingly rare! Great song.

[lizardale]

a great,great song from a simply great album.

[GinAndChess]

I remember listening to this while driving through Kansas in December. It never sounded better.

[geejeek]

never been to kansas (but would love to) and this reminds me of being there as well

[deffdumb]

Michael Stipe's take on George Orwell's Animal farm.

[deweypug]

The cages and courageous...