How Michael Stipe Overcame Writer’s Block and the Death of River Phoenix

Michael Stipe once described Automatic for the People as a “punk rock record that’s very quiet.”

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With songs like “Drive” and “Everybody Hurts,” R.E.M. used delicate instrumentation to say something powerful. But on the follow-up Monster, the Athens, Georgia, band chose to get loud.

R.E.M. hadn’t toured since 1989 and were eager to perform live again. As guitarist Peter Buck said at the time, they dared “to be really dumb.” Musically, Monster is driven by volume and simplicity. Released in 1994, it both fits in with and stands apart from the decade’s grunge records.

However, for Stipe, things weren’t so easy. He struggled with writer’s block and the death of a close friend. But as he gained his footing, tragedy arrived once again.

River Phoenix

Actor River Phoenix’s death in 1993 prevented Stipe from writing for nearly five months. The first songs to appear during this difficult period were “Crush With Eyeliner,” “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?” and “Circus Envy.”

Then came yet another numbing and heartbreaking loss.

Midway through recording Monster, Kurt Cobain killed himself. Stipe had tried helping his friend but felt overwhelmed when his efforts failed. You can hear the anguish in Stipe’s voice in “Let Me In.”

At times, Buck’s wall of guitars drowns out the singer, like he’s falling into the utter blackness of an abyss.

I had a mind to try to stop you
Let me in, let me in
And I’ve got tar on my feet
And I can’t see all the birds
Look down and laugh at me
Clumsy, crawling out of my skin

Reinventing the Band

It’s impossible to separate the deaths of Phoenix and Cobain from the making of Monster. But Stipe told the BBC in 1994 the band had already dealt with time and mortality on their previous album, the blockbuster Automatic for the People.

“We really covered that pretty well, and we needed to do a record that was really different from that,” he said.

Monster was a sonic reinvention for R.E.M., most notably in Buck’s loud, distorted guitars. The familiar layers of acoustic instrumentation and folk leanings gave way to cranked fuzz and tremolo guitar pedals.

Still, it wasn’t a complete reinvention. In many ways, R.E.M. had returned to their early days writing songs around Buck’s chords and loud amplifier. Drummer Bill Berry said R.E.M. had always been a live band that happened to make records.

But Monster holds a unique space in R.E.M.’s catalog. The glam edges on “Crush With Eyeliner” and “Star 69” are equally propelling and unsteady. Stipe’s voice sounds beamed in from another dimension, a disoriented dream, or some other time.

Ultimately, Stipe absorbed the death of two close friends. Though profound loss may cast a shadow over Monster, the rampant joy of a loud rock band also marks a celebration of their lives.

I am smitten
I’ll do anything (I’ll do anything)
A kiss breath turpentine
My crush with eyeliner

Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic