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The Latest Breaking News from Michael Stipe

“I told Kurt Cobain that I was going to write a song that had more 'yeahs' in it than anything he’d written.” How a joke between R.E.M. and Nirvana's mercurial frontmen resulted in a 90s classic

Stipe had writer’s block on this Automatic For The People standout until a stroll round Seattle opened the floodgates for one of his band’s biggest anthems

Louder

“People talk to me on the street about it and say, ‘That song was really there for me when I needed it’”: the stirring 90s anthem inspired by Nazareth and featuring strings arranged by a member of Led Zeppelin that made this band absolutely massive

How a stirring 90s anthem made these alt-rock trailblazers huge, was inspired by Nazareth and featured strings arranged by a member of Led Zeppelin

Louder

"War On Drugs, suck my ****": Six classic indie diss tracks you never knew about

The genre is way behind pop and hip hop when it comes to diss tracks but here's six cuts that prove indie is not immune to a bit of sonic argy-bargy when the need arises

Louder

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Revealed! (Some of) the lyrics to REM's It’s The End Of The World As We Know It

By none other than Michael Stipe

MusicRadar

“The band provided me with this ridiculous music and I had to, of course, kind of step up to it”: The enduring appeal of the REM radio smash that Michael Stipe hated

The song was inescapable in the early 1990s, yet the shifting dynamics and sunny lyrics of REM's upbeat smash continue to provoke questions about its true meaning

MusicRadar

"We were sunbathing together outside of the dressing rooms": Thirty years ago, R.E.M. befriended a young British band and helped steer them on the path to greatness

The Athens, Georgia quartet had hand-picked a stellar support bill on the UK leg of the Monster tour, but there was one group to which they became mentors and friends

Louder

“It’s just a little bit embarrassing that it became as big a hit as it did”: The joyful REM classic that many believe contains a darker meaning

The song was inescapable in the early 1990s, yet the shifting dynamics and sunny lyrics of REM's upbeat smash continue to provoke questions about its subtext

MusicRadar

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The Oasis Effect: Which bands should reunite next?

Call it a comeback. If Oasis can heed their own advice and not look back in anger, then anything’s possible... Here are the musical acts we’d love to see reunited. And the odds we'll see them together again.

Euronews

“Nothing in this band does what it's supposed to do”: how R.E.M. showed the world they were the real deal on 1985’s Fables Of The Reconstruction

The story of Michael Stipe & co.’s strange and brilliant third album.

Louder

The ones we love: all 16 of REM’s albums – ranked!

As their album Fables of the Reconstruction turns 40, we assess REM’s hugely varied discography, from mysterious masterpieces to commercial failures

The Guardian - UK

That’s me in the spotlight: Michael Shannon on swapping Hollywood for an REM covers band

The two-time Oscar nominee has teamed with indie rocker Jason Narducy to reconstruct REM albums in full. But can Shannon compete with Michael Stipe, who he calls rock’s most ‘efficient and direct’ frontman?

The Guardian - UK

REM re-release debut single Radio Free Europe to aid threatened news service

REM were behind numerous alt-rock hits such as Everybody Hurts and Losing My Religion.

Evening Standard

Watch Bruce Springsteen unleash his inner guitar hero, and jam with Flea, Johnny Depp and R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, in powerful tribute to Patti Smith at New York's iconic Carnegie Hall

"If I had sung this song, it would not have been a hit" Springsteen says, before passionate performance of Because The Night at Patti Smith tribute gig in NYC

Louder

“Use your voice”: Patti Smith issues call to arms as she's honoured by Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Depp, Michael Stipe and many more at an all-star tribute gig

Horses, her groundbreaking debut album, turns 50 this year

MusicRadar

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The Independent UK

Patti Smith’s Horses at 50: How a reluctant musician made a punk-rock classic

IN FOCUS: Patti Smith’s groundbreaking debut has influenced generations of musicians. But it took a producer four years to persuade Smith to enter the studio. As the album approaches its 50th birthday, Fiona Sturges reflects on how Smith overcame the misogyny of the time and pays tribute to a masterpiece…

Louder

"Michael, come out and sing one with me please." Watch American icons Bruce Springsteen and Michael Stipe collaborate on a cover of Patti Smith's Because The Night and perform R.E.M. deep cut Bad Day together back in 2004

The all-star Vote For Change tour might not have made much impact upon the result of the 2004 US presidential election, but it did throw up some heavyweight collaborations

Louder

"Or are we too addicted we can’t log off even for one week?": R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe encourages fans to stay off social media in protest of the "gross" far-right

R.E.M frontman Michael Stipe is calling for a boycott of all Meta-owned social media platforms due to policies allegedly enabling a rise of far-right content across America

Louder

“I become a Colossus of Maroussi, I can do anything!”: Michael Stipe on the period when R.E.M. became a stadium band and he embraced his inner showman

It’s 30 years since the Athens, Georgia legends began a huge tour to support Monster and frontman Stipe had no choice but to up the flamboyance in his frontman game

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Louder

“All you have to do is turn on the TV and you’re inundated by complete lies from people who are supposed to be running this country”: How distortion, chaos and a world gone mad shaped R.E.M.’s game-changing album Document album

On 1988’s Document album, ‘the thinking person’s rock band’ ditched the jangling guitars for distortion, power chords and arena rock singles

Evening Standard

Courtney Love: 'I may not love Taylor Swift musically, but her angry lyrics resonate with me'

Courtney Love tells us about her new collaboration with 070 Shake... and gives a few thoughts on Lamar, Taylor Swift, Billy Corgan, Lana Del Rey, PJ Harvey and more...

The Independent UK

19 hit songs hated by the musicians who wrote them

THE LIST: We all have those tunes that just get under our skin, but what happens when it’s one you came up with in the first place? Kevin E G Perry and Roisin O’Connor take a look at artists who’ve come to loathe their own creations

MusicRadar

“Michael Stipe said it was his favourite dance album – he used to put it on and then write his lyrics for REM to it”: Rave icons Utah Saints on their legacy, sampling Kate Bush, and the challenges of making their debut album

“Sometimes it would take three of us to make little adjustments as the track was going down live – we all had to get our cues in the right place”: The UK duo look back on their debut as it’s reissued over 30 years on

The Guardian - UK

‘My whole life’s interconnected’: Neneh Cherry on the relationships that inspire her, leaving home at 15, and the joy of a trashy box set

The celebrated musician answers questions from Observer readers and famous fans including Michael Stipe, Bernardine Evaristo, Questlove and Sadiq Khan

Louder

“It was very bittersweet and not an easy decision for us to arrive at”: Michael Stipe looks back on the day that R.E.M. split up

The R.E.M. frontman has had a lot of time to reflect on his band's work in the years since and here's what he thinks

Louder

“The phrase ‘What’s the frequency, Kenneth?’ represents inscrutability”: Michael Stipe on the story behind an R.E.M. classic

The lead single from Monster is about to turn 30 - and its title has got a crazy back story

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