Stipe to Trump and Cruz: "Go fuck yourselves, you sad, attention grabbing, power-hungry little men"
That's a quote.
Go get em, Michael. 
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/rem-michael-stipe-trump-cruz
R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe blasted Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) for using the song at their rally in a Wednesday email to The Daily Beast.
"Go fuck yourselves, the lot of you—you sad, attention-grabbing, power-hungry little men," Stipe told The Daily Beast, referring to Trump and Cruz. "Do not use our music or my voice for your moronic charade of a campaign."
The band also noted that the two Republican presidential candidates did not have permission to use the song in a Wednesday post in the R.E.M. Facebook page.
"While we do not authorize or condone the use of our music at this political event, and do ask that these candidates cease and desist from doing so, let us remember that there are things of greater importance at stake here," the statement reads. "The media and the American voter should focus on the bigger picture, and not allow grandstanding politicians to distract us from the pressing issues of the day and of the current Presidential campaign."
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What kind of an idiot would think to play that at a right-wing rally and not expect to get crap from the band for it? But then Trump and particularly Cruz don't strike me as the brightest bulbs in the chandelier.
Sort of typical, too. Chris Christie and Reagan both used Springsteen, and Bruce made it perfectly plain he didn't appreciate it.
Says something, though, that there's not a line out the door of talented right-wing musicians to use. No one seems to want to play "Cat Scratch Fever" at their rallies. 
And yes, how funny is it ole Teddy boy cant GIVE away his music 
Does Captain Poopypants even have any other songs? 
for that tune being ruined. I can't listen to it any more. Makes me want to wretch. 
The staccato way they're spit out makes them well nigh impossible to understand. 
Last edited Thu Sep 10, 2015, 07:37 PM - Edit history (1)
& the reverent right in the lyrics includes those creepies too in the chaos . I forgot book burning was in the lyrics .....anyway each to his own reflection on it but REM teapartiersnotevenclose
At the time of its release, R.E.M. hailed Document as a major departure, being more aggressive (previously releases had depended more on setting a mood) and "modern sounding," with clearer vocals. The intention of Document was to produce a "snapshot of what we see is going on around us… a picture of a chaotic time." The band was particularly affected by Ronald Reagan's turbulent second term and especially U.S. interference in central America (as is evidenced in the song "Welcome to the Occupation"
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Lyrics
One could write a PhD dissertation on the lyrics for "It's the End of the World As We Know It". The words are spit out quickly and rhythmically, with no narrative connection between phrases. The result is a chaotic sequence of images and ideas that demonstrate in sound and content the chaos of the times, a "brilliant Gatling-gun litany of cheap clichés and TV newspeak". 3
As such, any detailed analysis of the lyrics is probably doomed to fail, and certainly beyond the scope of this paper. But there are some recognizable themes which seem to run through the song:
The End of the World - Images from the end of the world: earthquakes, birds, snakes, hurricanes, fires, population overflow, burning automobiles, geographical motion (continental drift, mountain ranges lining up)
Rampant Nationalism - vitriolic, patriotic, lock him in a uniform, book burning, blood letting, symbiotic, patriotic
Governments run amuck - government for hire, combat site, don't get caught in a foreign tower, slash and burn
News Media - Teams of reporters, six o'clock TV hour, a tournament of lies
Personal Selfishness - world serves its own needs, save yourself, serve yourself
Cultural Icons - Lenny Bruce, Lester Bangs, Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Breshnev (according to an anecdote on the internet, these names come from a dream of Michael Stipe, in which he attended a party where everyone had the initials 'L.B.') 4
them.
I remember reading some sort of inane piece by a right-winger many years ago, after the obligatory pissing and moaning about 'why can't they leave politics out of it', basically saying how R.E.M. was horribly overrated, getting into "Fall On Me" and saying how they heard it as this profound and deep song and then they found out it was "about acid rain" and that meant that now it was just a lame song about acid rain, or something.
Which is a stupid way to approach music, or poetry, or art, or anything. One of the genuises of creating good art, good music, is to do it in such a way as to leave it open enough for the audience to interpret. To evoke, rather than invoke. To shed light, not to master.
Easier said than done.
The Grateful Dead have a song called "Bertha"- it's "about" a fan.. not a fan like a zealous listener of their music, rather a fan like the thing that blows wind around the room. This fan was broken and used to translocate across the floor as it would run.
So is that all "Bertha" is about, to my subjective interpretation? Hell, no.
Fall On Me is a great song, and just because talking about Acid Rain is in there and was probably the genesis of the writing of the song, doesn't mean that's all it's about either.
Sorry to digress, not directed at you btw.
