Kenneth, what is the frequency?!
I have always hated R.E.M.
Blame it on Mtv and terrestrial radio playing their songs non-stop and the fact that most of their music sounds like shoving a truckload of chickens through a wood chipper, but I can’t stand them.
To be honest, I wouldn’t even know what to categorize their music as. ‘Shit rock’? Is that a thing? If not, it should be. Probably the only other band that comes close in terms of pure shittiness is The B52s, but it’s close.
Why am I writing about R.E.M. you ask? Good question.
Did you know that the band’s name, R.E.M., stands for nothing? They chose it at random and have said that it does not, in fact, stand for ‘rapid eye movement’. They also almost named their band “Negro Wives.” Do with that information what you will.
Anyway, reasons I can’t remember, their 1994 song, “What’s Your Frequency, Kenneth?” got stuck in my head to the point that it was driving me nuts.1 So, me being me, I decided to look up the lyrics and see what the song is actually about.
The lyrics, despite singer Michael Stipe’s explanation, are complete nonsense. The title of the song, however, is a different story.
The title “What’s Your Frequency, Kenneth?” is a tongue-in-cheek reference to an incident that took place in 1986 with then CBS Evening News anchor, Dan Rather.
On October 4th, 1986, while walking home to his NYC apartment, Rather was attacked by a man who demanded to know “the frequency.” While punching Rather from behind he shouted: “Kenneth, what is the frequency?"
“You have the wrong guy,” Rather replied.
During this exchange, a second attacker chased Rather into the apartment lobby and beat the shit out of him.
As the pair pummeled Rather with kicks and punches, one of them kept repeating the question: "Kenneth, what is the frequency?"
They only stopped when a doorman and supervisor came to Rather’s aid.
The attackers got away and Rather was quite clueless and nonchalant about the incident which prompted people to question if he was telling the truth or not.
The assault remained unsolved for years and the phrase, “What's the frequency, Kenneth?" became a pop culture reference.
In 1994, R.E.M. released the song "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" on their album Monster. Oddly enough, despite the song title, the song isn’t about Dan Rather’s attack.
It wasn’t until 1997 when a TV critic for the New York Daily News solved the mystery by publishing a photo of one of the assailants, William Tager.
Consequently, Tager was convicted for killing NBC stagehand Campbell Montgomery outside The Today Show studio in 1994 - the same year that R.E.M. released their single. Coincidence?
During the investigation, Tager admitted that he believed television networks were beaming signals into his brain. He said he murdered the stagehand while trying to force his way into an NBC studio in an attempt to locate the frequency so that he could destroy it.
After seeing his photo, Rather said that he had no doubt that Tager was one of the men who assaulted him.
Tager received a 12.5 to 25 year prison sentence and was convicted of manslaughter. Interestingly enough, he was paroled in 2010.
There is no further information about him and the second assailant was never identified.
It is alleged, that Tager admitted to prison officials that he was, in fact, a time traveler sent back in time as an experiment in exchange for his freedom. He said he originally attacked Dan Rather because he looked like the vice president (a man named Kenneth Burrows) in his future time.
No further explanation was given and people continue to theorize about Tager’s motives and “the frequency.”
Being a good sport, Dan Rather sang with R.E.M. in 1995 during a sound check at Madison Square Garden, which was shown the following night Letterman.
They performed "What's the frequency, Kenneth?"
Despite hating the song and the band, the song itself and the incidents around it are infinitely more interesting than I ever imagined. Who would have thought…?
The entire story has parallels to several films including “They Live,” and “12 Monkeys.”
I find it particularly curious that Tager only served 15 years for murder and is still out there, today, possibly still hearing the frequency.
S/C
This was an unintended pun. Nonetheless, it works considering the topic.