Imitation of Life

charades, pop skill
water hyacinth, named by a poet
imitation of life
like a koi in a frozen pond
like a goldfish in a bowl
I dont want to hear you cry

thats sugarcane that tasted good
thats cinnamon thats hollywood
c'mon c'mon no one can see you try

you want the greatest thing
the greatest thing since bread came sliced.
you've got it all, you've got it sized.
like a friday fashion show teenager
freezing in the corner
trying to look like you dont try

thats sugarcane that tasted good.
thats cinnamon thats hollywood
c'mon c'mon no one can see you try

no one can see you cry
thats sugarcane that tasted good
thats freezing rain thats what you could
c'mon c'mon no one can see you cry

this sugarcane
this lemonade
this hurricane, i'm not afraid.
c'mon c'mon no one can see me cry
this lightning storm
this tidal wave
this avalanche, i'm not afraid.
c'mon c'mon no one can see me cry

thats sugarcane that tasted good
thats who you are, thats what you could
c'mon c'mon no one can see you cry

thats sugarcane that tasted good
thats who you are, thats what you could
c'mon c'mon no one can see you cry
 
"Imitation of Life" is my favorite song of R.E.M.'s 12th album, Reveal.  It was the first single released from the album in 2001 and I have always liked it.  The song is accompanied by what I believe is R.E.M.'s most underrated video.  What makes the music video unique is that it took only twenty seconds to shoot.

Here is Michael Stipe's explaination of how the video was made.

"The entire video took twenty seconds to shoot. What you're watching is a loop that goes forwards for twenty seconds, backwards for twenty seconds, forwards for twenty seconds, backwards for twenty seconds, with one camera, static, and then using a technique called 'pan and scan', which is a technical thing that is used when they go from a widescreen format and reformat to fit your television or DVD, moving in on certain parts of the entire picture. And you'll see that we do that picking up various people within the frame."

Pretty cool.