Below is a transcript to the background of the R.E.M. song, “Live and How to Live It” from an unknown bootleg that I used to have. I can’t even begin to recall how many times I listened to this show (and specifically the intro into this song) during my college years…

“A man had a house, he built a wall down the middle of it, he had an apartment on this side, he had an apartment on this side. In this apartment he had furniture, clothes, food, books… a cat. In this apartment he had different food, different clothes, different furniture, different books. And a gerbil. He would live over on this side for a while, until he got tired of it, then he would take off his clothes and put his books down on the counter, and he’d move over to this side for a while until he got tired of it and then move back over to this side and he flip-flopped back and forth until he died.

When he died they went back in this part over here and in the closet they found these books piled up, from the floor to the ceiling, packed in, and it was this book that he wrote and every single copy of the book that was ever printed was in there, he never gave one away or showed it to anybody so nobody ever knew that he wrote it. He just kept it there. And the name of the book was Life and How to Live It.”

and here are the lyrics…

Burn bright through the night, two pockets lead the way
Two doors to go between the wall was raised today
Two doors remain before your others and your own
Keep these books well stocked away and take your happy home

(chorus)
My carpenter’s out and running about, talking to the street
My pockets are out and running about
Barking in the street to tell what I have hidden there

Burn bright through the night, two pockets lead the way
Two doors to go between the wall was raised today
Raise the walls and shout its flaws, a carpenter should rest
So that when you tire of one side the other serves you best

(repeat chorus)

The hills ringing hear the words in time
Listen to the holler, listen to my walls within my tongue
Can’t you see you made my ears go tin?
The air quicken tension building inference suddenly
Life and how to live it

Raise the walls and shout its flaws, a carpenter should rest
So that when you tire of one side the other serves you best
Read about the wisdom lost, a knock, a knock, a knock
A secret knock one hammer’s locked the other wisdom lost

(repeat chorus)

My carpenter’s out and running about, barking in the, listen to the holler
My pockets are out and running about
Barking in the street to tell what I have hidden there

Listen, listen to the holler,

If I write a book it will be called “Life and How to Live It”

Oh well.

Being up early, I started getting philosophical on things. It’s something I do when I’m deprived of sleep (or have drank too much wine ~ today, it’s the sleep). What I was thinking about this morning was how the next generation of people are going to have such a different level of knowledge and research capabilities because of the internet. Yeah, yeah I know. “No shit”, right?

The example that made me think about this was the R.E.M. kick that I’ve been on lately. They used to be my absolute favorite band when I was in high school (and into my early college years). Being young, dumb and from a small town, it was a huge breakthrough when someone explained to me what their name meant. Today, if you don’t know something you don’t have to worry about trying to find the answer deep inside of a library or running into someone that may know it offhand. All you need is a search engine and you can have your answer in seconds.

What I’m typing here isn’t anything earthshattering. In a way, I’m pointing out the obvious. I guess it just hit home with me (of course, it could be the hour of the day here and my lack of sleep playing with my head). It’s just that we have the capability of answering pretty much any question that comes across our minds.

We are all researchers now. Ten years ago, I never would have thought of myself in that way.

“Strange” by R.E.M. (off of the Document album)

There’s something strange going on tonight
There’s something going on that’s not quite right
Michael’s nervous and the lights are bright
There’s something going on that’s not quite right

There’s something going on that wasn’t here before
Keep your eyes glued to the floor
There’s something strange going on tonight
There’s something going on that’s not quite right

There’s something going on that wasn’t here before
Keep your eyes glued to the floor
No one’s going to say goodnight
There’s something going on that’s not quite right

Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad. Just weird (or should I say, “Strange”).