Can anyone explain that weird 4/R thing on the cover of Green?
75662...@compuserve.com
On the back of my Green CD, where it's listing the songs, instead of a '4',
there's an 'R'. Also, if you take the book out of the jewel case and hold it at
a certain angle to the light, you can see '4's superimposed over the 'R's in
'Green' and 'REM'. Does anyone have any idea what this means?
Jed Aronson
Douglas R. Hallett
: On the back of my Green CD, where it's listing the songs, instead of a '4',
: Jed Aronson
--
I asked the same question last week, and have yet to hear a response. If
Green is "4", then Document is "5". It plainly says on the CD insert
"No.5". If you take that and extrapolate it, you get:
Document =5
Green =4
Out of time =3
Automatic for the People =2
Monster =1
Is it appropriate to extrapolate this infor?? Does it mean anything at all?
Doug.
Michael Baer
Douglas R. Hallett <d...@freenet.vancouver.bc.ca> wrote:
>75662...@compuserve.com wrote:
>
>: On the back of my Green CD, where it's listing the songs, instead of a '4',
>I asked the same question last week, and have yet to hear a response. If
>Green is "4", then Document is "5". It plainly says on the CD insert
>"No.5". If you take that and extrapolate it, you get:
[Insert countdown theory]
Okay, the reason the question was not answered is because it is on the
R.E.M. FAQ, which is periodically posted here. If you want a copy,
I'll e-mail you one, though really Ron Henry, rg...@cornell.edu, is the
man to get it from. There's also the Fables server, but I'm not sure
whether or not its still/back up.
Anyway, there are a few theories as to the 4-R thing. The first and most
prevalent one (since it was the one told by R.E.M =) was that Michael,
infamous for his bad typing, accidentally typed "4" instead of "R" (note
close proximity of the two keys), and liked how it looked. Other people
say that "R" is for "Reject" since song #4 is "Stand," which people
(including the band) eventually got sick of. Finally, there's the countdown
theory alluded to, which members of the band call just a silly coincidence.
There are many takes, but mine is that on all original works of more than
10 songs, R.E.M. has been subtly counting down (and this in no way
constitutes an imminent break-up):
Murmur: 9-9 (there's also a 7, but it's in the inner flap, not as obvious
as a song title)
FOTR: Driver 8
LRP: SEVEN (as in, continents as one, in the sleeve)
DLO: Well, there are the six members of R.E.M. (4+Downs and Holt), and
"portraits" (actually totally unrelated pictures of four of them)
I know, it's weak, but if it weren't, *everyone* would believe it (;
Docum: No. 5
GREEN: G4EEN
TourfilmThere are three "rules" at the beginning of the concert and Stipe
emphasizes that "These Days" is about 3 things, going so far as to
count them on his fingers.
OOT: Of the four digits in the album folder, 2 are 2's. (Plus, 20,000
miles and time (seconds) imagery...)
AFTP: New Orleans Instrumental #1
Monster:Star 69; 6 and 9 both contain the digit 0
Not that I'm expecting anyone to believe it. Though if think it's
ludicrous, please keep it to yourself; we all know you're out there....
Michael
Kevin Eber
> On the back of my Green CD, where it's listing the songs, instead of a '4',
> a certain angle to the light, you can see '4's superimposed over the 'R's in
> 'Green' and 'REM'. Does anyone have any idea what this means?
I think there's a FAQ out there somewhere that says,
despite all the rumors to the contrary, Stipey accidentally
typed it that way one day and thought it was cool-looking,
so it became part of the cover design. No meaning, just cool.
It's what artist's call a "design element" meaning they can't
really explain it.
On the other hand, there was an "REM A to Z" all-day jam fest on KBCO,
Boulder's "we can't figure out our format, but we're cool" radio
station, where they were giving out tix for answers to trivia
questions. The DJ threw out that question, admitting he didn't
know the answer. Someone got the tix for saying "R.E.M. is the
fourth state of sleep, that's why it's there." Pissed me off.
Oh yeah, KBCO now has a promo clip from Bill Berry (isn't he dead?
..just kidding.), calling it "Boulder's alternative rock station."
So I guess that's what it is. Don't know what all those folk songs
are about, though. :)
--kev
Peter Johnson
On the FAQ it say's Michael was typing out GREEN and he hit the 4 button
instead of the R and he liked it...so he did that. (cue Bill Berry smile.)
{=)...hehehe
Jaye A
> On the back of my Green CD, where it's listing the songs, instead of a
'4',
> there's an 'R'. Also, if you take the book out of the jewel case and
hold it at
> a certain angle to the light, you can see '4's superimposed over the
'R's in
> 'Green' and 'REM'. Does anyone have any idea what this means?
the numbers are there to guide the u.n. troops when they come to take over
the u.s. <g>
don't you think this question has been beaten to death by now?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Geraldo: Holly, are you like, a man who should be a woman, or are you a
woman who was a man, or are you a man/woman?
Holly Woodlawn: Oh--who cares? As long as you look FABULOUS!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Out, damned spot, out, I say!"--Lady Macbeth
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LI W
: the numbers are there to guide the u.n. troops when they come to take over
: the u.s. <g>
: don't you think this question has been beaten to death by now?
I think the UN troops are having enough trouble in Bosnia without us
making fun of them, dont you?
-william li
consultant-in-exile
rh3d...@swansea.ac.uk
>
>>
>> On the back of my Green CD, where it's listing the songs, instead of a
>'4',
>> there's an 'R'. Also, if you take the book out of the jewel case and
>hold it at
>> a certain angle to the light, you can see '4's superimposed over the
>'R's in
>> 'Green' and 'REM'. Does anyone have any idea what this means?
>
It was due to a fault on the typewriter!
Paul
Chunk
albums have stuff like that hidden around. like the file under water on
reckoning. and the file under grain on eponymous. I read that in a book
somewhere
--chunk
Christopher Thompson
: Paul
I once heard that if you look VERRRRRY closely at the period following
the "mistyped" R, it is infact a tiny 4! Looking at the CD, I can see
that that period is larger than the others...but I don't knoww if it is
actually a 4. Any comments?
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BHarmon
has/had something to do with their label at the time. I think it was some
kind of countdown for the number of albums left in their contract. I
don't know if this is right, but that is what I was told. (by a close
source) It doesn't seem to match up actually.....
B
=)
Josh Brown
In the newgroup FAQ, this myth is explained as false. According to M.
Stipe, he was typing something about the album and typed G4een instead of
Green (note their proximity on the keyboard) and he thought it was cool so
they did it throughout the album's coverwork.
- Josh
BHarmon
for?
-----------------------------------------------
B
Josh Brown
like "If it's a countdown, I guess we'll go into negative numbers next."
Dennis Santillan
>that he said he just mistyped the listing for Green (The 'r' is
>immidiately below the 4), thought it was cool, and left it. I also recall
>him saying that he stopped once he heard that people thought the numbers
>meant something.
> --
> ..........
> Andrew Sempere
> asem...@max.tiac.net
I heard that it was the secretary that made the typo...
I don't know if you noticed it, but on the Green CD cover, if you look at
the "R" in R.E.M., there is a "4" that is transposed above the "R".
Heard that on the radio. Thought it was interesting.