Miles Standish Proud: R.E.M.'s "Begin the Begin"

Birdy and a hand for #2 in the RT/R.E.M. countdown: “Begin the Begin”

With a tightly-wound riff, a burst of feedback and locomotive-like drums, “Begin the Begin” came roaring out of our hi-fi speakers in August, 1986, heralding a bold new era for Rock Turtleneck honoree J.M. Stipe and his R.E.M. co-horts Berry, Buck & Mills.

The opening track on R.E.M.’s fourth LP Lifes Rich Pageant, “Begin the Begin” sounded like nothing the band had done before. Confident and uncompromising, it rocked with nary a trace of the band’s “college rock” modesty. And the whole album had a bigger, more open sound, thanks to producer Don Gehman, who had helped John Cougar Mellencamp rain on the scarecrow.

After almost breaking up during the recording of the impressionistic Fables of the Reconstruction, with its maps and legends of auctioneers and local eccentrics, “Begin the Begin” and other Pageant tracks like "Fall on Me," "I Believe" and "Cuyahoga" showed a band with newfound purpose and commitment, a band who had begun to take a look at the world beyond Athens, GA.

The title was a takeoff on the famous 1938 Irving Berlin song “Begin the Beguine,” beguine being a spirited type of ballroom dance.
Yet the lyrics - which Stipe actually enunciated clearly - were closer to the agitprop one might find on a Soviet propaganda poster: "Silence means security/Silence means approval”; “Life’s rich demand creates supply in the hands of the powers.”

Perhaps R.E.M.’s best all-out rocker, “Begin the Begin” still sounds thrilling and fresh. When it gets to the bridge, a point where many songs stop for a breather, it manages to pick up in intensity.

“Begin” has begun to be an anthem for the band itself, a call to get back to where they once belonged. It was track one of 2006’s perfectly compiled …And I Feel Fine: the Best of the IRS Years and the first song they played at last year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction (with much-missed Bill Berry back on drums). Let’s hope they can indeed begin again.

Herewith, studio and live versions of “Begin the Begin” in mulitple formats, plus a little “Begin the Beguine.” It’s not just for the Greatest Generation anymore.

YouTube: R.E.M., "Begin the Begin," Dekalb, IL, 10/21/86


YouTube: R.E.M., "Begin the Begin," w/Eddie Vedder, Washington DC, 10/11/04 Vote for Change Tour


YouTube: R.E.M., "Begin the Begin," 2007 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony, New York


mp3: R.E.M., "Begin the Begin," Lifes Rich Pageant
mp3: R.E.M., "Begin the Begin," 2007 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony, NYC

YouTube: Artie Shaw,"Begin the Beguine," 1938