You Are the Everything:
An Original R.E.M. Cybernovel
This is going to be a mini-cybernovel starring R.E.M. I have another online novel which is based upon the members of this Athens, Georgia band, but that was posted over four years ago, so it's time that I started another. The main difference is that the members of R.E.M. will play themselves as they really are---or at least, what I know of them and what can be gleaned from some of their complex lyrics. Don't hesitate to write to me or leave a message in my Guestbook.
The working title of my cybernovel is ""You Are the Everything" and is, of course, the title of the number one single from R.E.M.'s huge "Monster" CD, which came into being in 1995. That year was right there in the middle of the decade that would change the face of music and find people everywhere vacillating and trying to find some semblance of meaning in a world left in emotional ruins by the elder members of our society.
What is it about Stipe, Peter Buck and Mike Mills that keep us waiting for the next big album---eager for the entrance of May to be regaled by R.E.M.'s latest effort? Well, the answer has six letters: T-A-L-E-N-T. It also doesn't hurt that these three musicians, and Bill Berry, who left the band on Halloween of 1997, are so incredibly charismatic, not to mention sensitive, caring and eager to help the disadvantaged. They are such good souls that I just know in my heart that they want the best for all of us. This world is not an easy one in which to live---there are potential tragedies everywhere we look. Young children are becoming suicidal and even going so far as to kill themselves, not to mention the drug problems that have plagued our society since the 1960's show no signs of abating.
So how do we all hang on with the world seemingly disintegrating before our eyes? How do we forge our own lives and destineys when our parents struggle with divorce and young people don't know who to trust. Families are not the nuclear, tightly-knit units that they once were and people of all ages walk around feeling listless and uninspired. The AIDS epidemic is getting more and more alarming and female actresses on television are starving themselves to death. Where does it end?
Now, before you all decide that this is going to be one downer of a novel, let me take a minute to tell you that, although parts of this novel will be sad, the overall message will be one of hope and rebuilding that which has been struck down. I thought of this when I heard about the Broadway musical entitled, "Mama Mia," which is based on a group of songs by the Swedish rock band of the 1970's, ABBA. Now don't groan---it was an ingenious idea to weave an entire tale around such numbers as "Take A Chance On Me" and "Dancing Queen." I have the CD and play it on a regular basis, particularly when doing housework. But I've digressed here.
As the title of my work-in-progress suggests, the main plot concerns itself with the members of R.E.M. trying to reach the younger members of their fan base before stories are sad and depressing. As a matter of fact, some even go so far as to have a happy ending. For R.E.M. don't want to paint themselves as harbingers of angst. They have a lot of fun and can really let loose sometimes, as we all can. I think the word that best sums up everyone's attitude in this new millennium is "surviving." I am certainly not referring to that lame series, "Survivor," but rather it is the art of getting through life's hardships with a determined smile, not taking each and everything seriously and, most significant of all, we are here to help one another.
I love to write and listen to R.E.M.'s music, so what could be better than penning tales based on these fantastic musicians, while listening to every single CD that I own. I call it my little corner of cyber-heaven.
Who's your favourite member of R.E.M.? I have to say Michael, for he just seizes me, emotionally and puts me right when things look grey and foreboding. As I feel a creeping sense of despair washing over me, I listen to "Everybody Hurts" and say to myself, "I'll put in one more day---one more day for Michael." It works.
I used to post quite a bit in rec.music.rem but have only been lurking for over a year now. I like to keep on top of what's going on with these guys and that's the best way to find out important information. I really made a mess of that newsgroup six years ago when I posted a long-winded diatribe on my many emotional problems. I have long since learned that this was totally inappropriate for Usenet and have really toned things down since. The Internet was brand new back in February of 1995, to me anyway and I had no inkling of what was good nettiquette and what was not. Let's just say that I learn everything the hard way.
But through it all, the good and the bad, I still love R.E.M. as much as, or even more than ever. I get excited when our video station plays one of their many videos and I just love singing their songs as I work. I hope everyone reading this will enjoy this fan fiction. If any of you have any stories to post here, please send them to the address provided below and I will take a look at them. If they are used on this site, you will get full credit, of course. Don't worry---I'm not into plagiarism.
Along with the three members of R.E.M., my little novella will include some pretty familiar faces. Some of these individuals are, David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Claire Danes and the ghost of Kurt Cobain. No, this will definitely NOT be in poor taste---rather, the late rock star who died so tragically in April of 1994, had a profound influence on the music of that time. He continues to, as grunge has faded somewhat into a more mainstream version of rock (that has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the pop stars of the moment----poor Kurt would have a fit if he knew that Britney Spears and *NSYNC are ruling the airwaves and show no sign of slowing down). I love the music of Nirvana and it keeps Cobain alive. It was so very sad that this gifted young man had found life so unbearable that he took his own life, but in the cybernovel on which I am working now, his spirit figures prominently. I hope you will like it. Here's a picture of him:
Somebody asked me, not too long ago, if R.E.M.'s popularity was waning. I responded in the negative, citing the fact that they haven't put out any new material since "The Great Beyond." As singles from their upcoming CD hit the airwaves, you can bet your fortunes that these guys will soar into the dizzying heights of mega-superstardom once more. This has been an R.E.M. drought for awhile, but it's a temporary state of things. I hope there will be a tour next year----I hope I get a great seat again for it!
In the first two stories I'm posting here this evening, you will meet a girl and a boy (in separate works) who are about to take their own lives. I have selected those to begin things, because suicide is such a terrible epidemic these days, as more and more people find that they can no longer function in a world that seems to be spinning wildly out of control. Will we all end up in "The Great Beyond" before we reach the end of our lives? I guess only God knows that and He isn't telling us, apparently.
REMember everyone: Life is sweet. Don't give up before your time is through.
This site has a lot of growing to do before it's even close to being completed. I have another site with an R.E.M.-inspired cybernovel, which you may or may not have read. The address for it is here:
Have any of you seen the theatrical production of "Mama Mia," featuring many songs from the 1970's supergroup ABBA? Well, I wasn't fortunate enough to go, but my mother did and she brought me back a CD containing all of the songs that were sung during the show, along with snippits of dialogue. When I found out about this project---that it was a musical based on ABBA's hit songs all strung together in a story about a troubled wedding, a metaphorical lightbulb went off in my head. What if I constructed a site which contained a full-length novel that gets its theme, plot and characterizations from R.E.M's famed songs? Could it work? Well, along with short stories, I will be hard at work with the book and I am, I must say, quiet psyched for it. So. I'll leave you here with a link to my other R.E.M. site while I get the paragraph summaries done. They will be posted in a week or so. I hope you will keep coming back. Well, here's the site where you will be able to read selected chapters of another R.E.M. site:
Holding On Through:
The Stories Of Oxymoron
I think I've rambled on enough. I've inserted some cool pictures oh this page to brighten it up somewhat. Please keep coming back as the site comes into fruition. This is a true labour of love for me. R.E.M. have literally saved my life, several times over.
If you wish to contact me, here's my address:
Stipe Salvation Haiku
Beautiful MichaelYou brought me back from the dark.
With your healing soul.
Enigmacat.
Last Updated:
May 32rd, 2004.
