What's the Frequency, Kenneth?
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| “What's the Frequency, Kenneth?” | ||||||||||||||
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| Single by R.E.M. from the album Monster |
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| Released | September 21, 1994 (DE/US) | |||||||||||||
| Format | CD single, 7" single, 12" single, Cassette | |||||||||||||
| Recorded | 1994 | |||||||||||||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||||||||||||
| Length | 4:00 | |||||||||||||
| Label | Warner Bros. Records | |||||||||||||
| Producer | Scott Litt & R.E.M. | |||||||||||||
| R.E.M. singles chronology | ||||||||||||||
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"What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" is a song by the rock group R.E.M. from their 1994 album Monster. It was the first single from the album, released three weeks later. It peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number nine on the UK Singles Chart. The song was placed on R.E.M.'s Warner Bros. Records compilation In Time - The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003 in 2003 and is notable for being the first in history to debut at number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song is also included on R.E.M. Live.
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[edit] Story
The title refers to the question made by one of two assailants (one later identified as William Tager) asked of former CBS anchorman Dan Rather while assaulting him on Park Avenue in Manhattan in October 1986.
The phrase Rather reported actually hearing was "Kenneth, what is the frequency?" There is also a reference to the phrase "What's the frequency, Kenneth?" in the comic book Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron by Daniel Clowes which predates the Michael Stipe's usage of the phrase.
According to lead singer Stipe, the song is an attack on the media, who over analyze things they don't understand. said of the incident: "It remains the premier unsolved American surrealist act of the 20th century. It's a misunderstanding that was scarily random, media hyped and just plain bizarre."
On June 22, 1995, at Madison Square Garden, Rather accompanied the band during soundcheck to perform the song. The clip was shown prior to R.E.M.'s performance of "Crush with Eyeliner" on the Late Show with David Letterman the following night.
[edit] Lyrics reference to other media
- "is your Benzedrine" - Benzedrine is an amphetamine, a derivative of ephedrine, used as an inhalant to relieve nasal congestion and as a stimulant of the central nervous system.
- "an idiot's dream" - Compare Macbeth, "life is like a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
- "Richard said, 'Withdrawal in disgust is not the same as apathy,'" refers to a quote from the film Slacker, directed by Richard Linklater, which was itself quoting Brian Eno's collection of Oblique Strategies.
- "tooth for a tooth" - This is from a Leviticus Biblical saying that wrongs must be retaliated with like reaction ("an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, a life for a life").
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- In the music video, Peter Buck uses Kurt Cobain's Jag-Stang that he received as a gift from Courtney Love after Cobain died.
- The song slows down at the end because of bassist Mike Mills. They noticed he was in pain, but everyone followed him and finished the track. After they were done, Mills was taken to the hospital and it was discovered he had appendicitis. They never got back to redoing the song.
- When played live, the lyrics change slightly from those published. "Tunnel vision from the outsider's screen" becomes "Tunnel vision from the insider's screen"
- In the 2006 film "Land of the Blind" starring (Ralph Fiennes and Donald Sutherland) "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" can be seen written on a chalkboard at a post revolutionary re-education center.
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe.
[edit] 12" and CD maxi-single
- "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" (radio version) – 4:00
- "Monty Got a Raw Deal" (live)* – 4:22
- "Everybody Hurts" (live)* – 5:41
- "Man on the Moon" (live)* – 5:22
[edit] 7", CD single, and cassette
- "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" (album version) – 4:00
- "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" (instrumental version) – 4:00
*Recorded at the 40 Watt Club, Athens, Georgia on November 19, 1992. The performance, a benefit for Greenpeace, was recorded in a solar-powered mobile studio.
[edit] Sample
- Download sample of "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" from Monster.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by "Basket Case" by Green Day |
Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number-one single September 24, 1994 - October 22, 1994 |
Succeeded by "Zombie" by The Cranberries |
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