Videos by American Songwriter
In a new interview with Salon, R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe opens up about his band’s surprise retirement. R.E.M. put out a well-received album earlier in the year, Collapse Into Now, which as Stipe points out, was a veiledĀ goodbye.
Well, we can all Monday morning quarterback the theme on that record and whatās running through it. There was one reviewer who said āthereās something missing in this record that I canāt put my finger on,ā and it was about themes. I think he was saying that consciously or unconsciously, R.E.M. records always have a theme ā fire and water, sex for āMonster,ā theyāre obvious ā but this time the theme wasnāt immediately identifiable to him. I always think Iām incredibly obvious and Iām not. (laughs) For me, it was the biggest, the most obvious farewell album thematically.
Read the full interview here.