Also notable is that the lyrics for that song originally included the sardonic twist, "I delight in "your" despair." "Choose a Side" incorporates synths (played by Huntley), and "Over There" features an ironic military trumpet counter-melody. Closing ballad "I Suppose" was a haunting tribute to the Raleigh upper class neighborhood of Boylan Heights. Although the band shopped "Boylan Heights" to various labels, the major record companies, including Columbia Records, which expressed some mild interest, passed on it. The record was ultimately released in 1987 on mid-major TVT Records, which had made its name releasing a series of "Tee Vee Toons" television theme song compilation CDs. TVT would prove to be no commercial match for R.E.M.'s own mid-major label, I.R.S. Records, and over the next decade, The Connells would engage in a series of disputes with the label, on at least one occasion suing, unsuccessfully, to break their recording contract. "Boylan Heights" was a substantial college radio hit, and The Connells continued to tour relentlessly. During this period, both Connell and Huntley began to move away from their twelve-string Rickenbackers towards six-string Fender and Gibson guitars, leading to a heavier, less folky sound, although elements of the band's patented jangle were still audible on "Hey Wow", the lead single from "Fun and Games", the 1989 follow-up album. Other songs, such as "Something to Say" and "Upside Down" were heavier, featuring power chords, as well as the most self-lacerating lyrics to date from Connell. "Fun and Games" also saw Huntley's role as a songwriter grow; after contributing one song each to "Darker Days" and "Boylan Heights", Huntley wrote or co-wrote five tracks on "Fun and Games", with the anthemic "Sal" quickly becoming one of the most popular songs in the band's live set. CD pressings of "Fun and Games" included a bonus track, "Fine Tuning". "Fun and Games" was quickly followed in 1990 by "One Simple Word", which was recorded in Wales with U.K. producer Hugh Jones. Jones had previously produced various British bands that the band had admired. Despite the high quality of the songs and improved playing by the band, notably on the Connell-MacMillan collaboration "Stone Cold Yesterday" and Connell's own "Get a Gun" which were both college radio hits with videos, the band struggled to reach a higher level of success, although "Stone Cold Yesterday" notched the band a No. 3 hit on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, where "Get a Gun" also reached No. 24.