King of Birds

The lyric that hit me this morning was:

A thumbnail sketch, a jeweler's stone
A main idea to call my own

...though the rendering in this video, and most commentary on the web tells me the word is "mean" and not "main." Other fans have made the same mistake, and there is interesting commentary over at Pop Songs, as usual.

Artist: R.E.M.
Year: 1987
Rating: Hot!