"What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" is a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M. from their ninth studio album, Monster (1994). The song's title refers to an incident in New York City in 1986 in which two then-unknown assailants attacked journalist Dan Rather while repeating "Kenneth, what is the frequency?"
The song was the first single taken from the album and was released by Warner Bros. on September 5, 1994. It peaked at number 21 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number two in Canada, number four in New Zealand, and number nine on the UK Singles Chart. In Iceland, it peaked at number one for four weeks. It was the first song to debut at number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. Its music video was directed by Peter Care.
"What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" was placed on R.E.M.'s compilation albums In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003 in 2003 and Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011 in 2011, the only track from Monster to feature on either. The song was one of the band's most-played songs at live gigs, and was played at every show on their 2008 Accelerate tour. A live version was released on R.E.M. Live in 2007.
History
Background and recording
R.E.M. began work on Monster in August 1993 and "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" was realized about two months later in October. This song was written and recorded at Kingsway Studio, New Orleans, where the band also wrote and recorded "Tongue" and "Crush with Eyeliner". Lead singer Michael Stipe has said in interviews that the lyrics are about the Generation X phenomenon in contemporary mass media, sung in character as an older critic whose information consists exclusively of media products.
Guitarist Peter Buck explained why the song slows towards its conclusion in an interview with Guitar World magazine:
Post-release
"What's The Frequency, Kenneth?" made its first live television debut on November 12, 1994, for Saturday Night Live, recorded at NBC Studios in New York City. The set on the show opened with "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" and was followed by two other songs from the new album, Monster, "Bang and Blame" and "I Don't Sleep, I Dream". The following year, on June 22, 1995, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Dan Rather accompanied the band during a soundcheck performance of the song. The clip was shown prior to R.E.M.'s performance of "Crush with Eyeliner" on the Late Show with David Letterman the following night.
Critical reception
Steve Baltin from Cash Box named "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" Pick of the Week, saying it's "a strong song, but it’s not as much a single as the introduction to the most eagerly anticipated record of the fall. On that level, it’s a smashing success. The song literally explodes onto the airwaves with an updated version of classic guitar rock before the booming of the drums takes the song into Michael Stipe’s unique vocals. From there, the track weaves its way through various rock tempos without ever losing the momentum from its initial burst of energy." Chuck Campbell from Knoxville News Sentinel remarked that Buck's "powerful-but-not-grungy guitar" is the centerpiece on the "satisfying" first single. Dave Jennings from Melody Maker named it Single of the Week, adding, "It's a breezy, upbeat slice of whimsy that'll undoubtedly be filling rock club dancefloors for months to come; similar in mood and tempo to "Stand", and featuring a truly glorious psychedelic backwards guitar solo. It's R.E.M.'s back-to-basics record, reviving a few tricks from their early days — notably a great, grimy, garage-band guitar sound and half-buried vocals."