28 replies to this topic

[rocket21]

I was listening to Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I and noticed a similar vibe and sound to that of On the Fly (unreleased song from the Accelerate era)...is it a rewrite (a la PSA-End of the World)?

[beatadrum]

rocket21, on 06 March 2011 - 12:10 PM, said:

I was listening to Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I and noticed a similar vibe and sound to that of On the Fly (unreleased song from the Accelerate era)...is it a rewrite (a la PSA-End of the World)?

PSA / ITEOTW was a fairly blatant rewrite on Peter's behalf as far as I recall, as far as the choruses go, the PSA chorus of F-C-Gm being pushed up a tone to G-D-Am.

To me though, MMBMB&I and OTF musically have nothing in common bar a melancholy mood.

[xumiking]

I cannot remark on the musical similarity of the two songs because I am not sufficiently knowledgeable, however I did comment in another thread that I personally feel that On The Fly would have fit that place in the album perfectly.

On The Fly is very good, whereas Brando is my least favourite from CIN, which in any case is a fantastic piece of work.

[zapiekanki]

rocket21, on 06 March 2011 - 12:10 PM, said:

I was listening to Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I and noticed a similar vibe and sound to that of On the Fly (unreleased song from the Accelerate era)...is it a rewrite (a la PSA-End of the World)?

Do you think part of the song's appeal is because it has the name 'Marlon Brando'? If instead it was called, 'Me, Jack Palance and I", or "Jules Dassin and I", would it be as effective?

In the occasions I have seen Stipe discussing his work, I've noticed that he never shies away from calling REM songs "pop songs" (whereas some murmurs users describe the songs as 'artsy'). To me "pop" music is what we hear on the radio, what we play on our ipods while on the trolley, and music that is relatively easy to find in music stores. Therefore the Marlon Brando choice versus other more or less obscure, less popular actors.

Anyway, it's just a trivial observation.

[MurmursAdministrator]

zapiekanki, on 06 March 2011 - 01:20 PM, said:

Do you think part of the song's appeal is because it has the name 'Marlon Brando'? If instead it was called, 'Me, Jack Palance and I", or "Jules Dassin and I", would it be as effective?

In the occasions I have seen Stipe discussing his work, I've noticed that he never shies away from calling REM songs "pop songs" (whereas some murmurs users describe the songs as 'artsy'). To me "pop" music is what we hear on the radio, what we play on our ipods while on the trolley, and music that is relatively easy to find in music stores. Therefore the Marlon Brando choice versus other more or less obscure, less popular actors.

Anyway, it's just a trivial observation.

The use of Marlon Brando is not just off the cuff. It relates to a Neil Young song, an incident at the Academy Awards, and to me the fall of an uberminch. Two songs on the record reference heroes. One of how heroes are made, and one about how they fall. I think the narrative between those two tent poles is not incidental either.

Musically, Brando is the most similar to You're in the Air I think.

[Sweden]

Now I'm gotta get crap for this, but I could just take in once...twice became too much. It's "Übermensch". I like "uberminch" though. It's like an "ubermink", one of those minks that ain't gonna accept being turned in to no fucking fur...  

On topic, I don't hear any thematic similarity between On the fly and Brando. I always took On the fly to be much more about personal emotions and possibly a relationship.

[fairytale]

Sweden, on 06 March 2011 - 02:49 PM, said:

Now I'm gotta get crap for this, but I could just take in once...twice became too much. It's "Übermensch".

Thanks for the, um, translation! I was left wondering and already thought about an online dictionary...

[wagtail]

MurmursAdministrator, on 06 March 2011 - 01:42 PM, said:

The use of Marlon Brando is not just off the cuff. It relates to a Neil Young song, an incident at the Academy Awards, and to me the fall of an uberminch. Two songs on the record reference heroes. One of how heroes are made, and one about how they fall. I think the narrative between those two tent poles is not incidental either.

fallen hero?  just so we are clear what exactly are you referring to?  the Academy Awards of '73, which seems to be what the NY song is about?  When you talk of fallen heroes it infers something different, can you be specific?

[MurmursAdministrator]

pelagius42, on 06 March 2011 - 07:18 PM, said:

I think Brando ended up as a kind of tragic figure.  An actor of great skill who ended up a shadow of his former self: was more notorious than famous, more known for his obesity, eccentricity and personal tragedy than for his talent.  
While the 73 Oscar incident was I believe noble in intention, it came to symbolize his descent from great actor to object of fun.

^ this

[wagtail]

MurmursAdministrator, on 06 March 2011 - 08:59 PM, said:

^ this

oh okay.  

I guess I see it as someone rejecting all of the superficiality of Hollywood, and so I don't see him as a fallen hero.  I rather think he was extremely brave.  Much like Lenny Bruce was not afraid.

[Driver Nate]

zapiekanki, on 06 March 2011 - 01:20 PM, said:

In the occasions I have seen Stipe discussing his work, I've noticed that he never shies away from calling REM songs "pop songs" (whereas some murmurs users describe the songs as 'artsy'). To me "pop" music is what we hear on the radio, what we play on our ipods while on the trolley, and music that is relatively easy to find in music stores.

I don't think that's what he always means by "pop". It can also refer to tunes with a very catchy hook that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with popular music such as the "power pop" made famous by the likes of Nick Lowe.

pelagius42, on 06 March 2011 - 03:15 PM, said:

I didn't realize the conscious lyrical connection between "Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I" and "Pocahontas" (meaning Stipe meant to reference the Neil Young song, rather than using Brando as a symbol separate from it).  That's very neat.

I still haven't heard the song yet but Stipe explains it a bit in that recent interview from The Guardian.

[Pflanze]

Not bad but this is my least favourite of CIN!

[rocket21]

It may be the pedal steel (slide guitar on the On the Fly I've heard) that's throwing me off, but I do find the accoustic version of On The Fly to be a similar sound.

[Sweden]

I think soundwise it's more reminiscent of Tired Pony (not very surprising).

[xumiking]

Just to slightly correct an earlier post where I said:

xumiking, on 06 March 2011 - 12:49 PM, said:

On The Fly is very good, whereas Brando is my least favourite from CIN, which in any case is a fantastic piece of work.

It's probably more accurate to say "..whereas Brando is my least favourite from CIN this week,.."

Feelings about an album like this change over time. For example, I am starting to really like Every Day is Yours to Win, which wasn't a favourite after only a few listens.

[old archibald yates]

This song pleasingly reminds me of P's Michael Stipe, with it's refrain 'Michael Stipe and I and I ... cried tonight', and hollywood theme

[Milsean Cady]

I dunno why this keeps coming up as people's least favortie on the album. It's my top track.

[heavensgate2024]

Milsean Cady, on 22 March 2011 - 08:31 AM, said:

I dunno why this keeps coming up as people's least favortie on the album. It's my top track.

It grows on you big time. Unlike Accelerate, which was great, a lot of my favorites reveal themselves over time on Collapse. My Accelerate favorites pretty much stayed constant from the first few listens on, whereas tracks like "Marlon Brando," "Walk It Back," and "Everyday" are definite slow burns that take time to sink in.