Tongue (song)

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“Tongue”
“Tongue” cover
Single by R.E.M.
from the album Monster
Released October 21, 1995 (1995-10-21)
Format CD single, 7" single, Cassette
Recorded 1994
Genre Rock
Length 4:08
Label Warner Bros.
Producer Scott Litt & R.E.M.
R.E.M. singles chronology
"Crush with Eyeliner"
(1995)		 "Tongue"
(1995)		 "E-Bow the Letter"
(1996)
Monster track listing
"Strange Currencies"
(6)		 "Tongue"
(7)		 "Bang and Blame"
(8)

"Tongue" was the fifth and final single to be released by R.E.M. from the band's ninth studio album Monster. It was only released in the UK. In the song, lead singer Michael Stipe performs in falsetto; he has stated several times he is in fact supposed to be a girl in the song. Stipe has also said the track is "all about cunnilingus."[1] However, in July 1995 at the National Bowl, Milton Keynes, England, Stipe said "This song is not about giving head to a woman..." before the performance.

On March 1, 1995, Bill Berry had to leave the stage during a performance of this song complaining of a serious headache. It in fact turned out to be a brain aneurysm, and is the likely reason for his leaving the band in October 1997. On subsequent dates Berry admitted that it gave him an eerie feeling every time the band performed "Tongue".[citation needed]

The single's video, directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, shot during the soundcheck prior to the band's June 20, 1995 performance at the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, New York,[2] shows a group of teenagers in a living room watching the band perform on TV. It was included as a bonus video on the DVD release of In View - The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003.

The three live songs that make up the CD single's B-sides were performed on Saturday Night Live.

Contents

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe

[edit] UK/DE CD Single

  1. "Tongue" – 4:08
  2. "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" (Live) – 4:04
  3. "Bang And Blame" (Live) – 4:52
  4. "I Don't Sleep, I Dream" (Live) – 3:48

[edit] 7" US Single

  1. "Tongue" (Album version) – 4:09
  2. "Tongue" (Live) – 4:34

[edit] 7" and Cassette UK Single

  1. "Tongue" (Album version) – 4:09
  2. "Tongue" (Instrumental version) – 4:09

[edit] References

  1. ^ Black, Johnny (2004). Reveal: The Story of R.E.M.. London: Backbeat Books. ISBN 0-87930-776-5. 
  2. ^ R.E.M. Timeline - 1995 Concert Chronology

[edit] External links

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R.E.M.
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Bill Berry
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