Michael Stipe Appreciation Thread

Moderately talented songwriter, smug toad.

The end.

I've never been a big R.E.M. listener so I've never really followed his career to be honest. I am/was a big fan of Hole and I know that he has been close friends with Courtney Love for decades now. I always thought that was a strange pairing, but Courtney is a bit of a fag hag and I can sort of see him being drawn to her brand of nuttiness. She has claimed for years now that "Crush with Eyeliner" was written about her, but she's not exactly a reliable source.

I love a lot of REM songs - and I think they were a unique band with lots of quite catchy songs. Michael was always weird, but seemed harmless enough.

He is the epitome of what the British call a "pseud."

REM was magic in the early to mid-eighties.

Diminishing returns thereafter, with occasional bursts of brilliance, as in Adventures in Hi-fi.

He seemed kind of brittle after the heyday ended.

But what a heyday it was.

"Monty Got a Raw Deal" is a fantastic song.

Now that the 90s are over and I no longer see five copies of Monster in used CD bins all day, I was able to actually listen to it. It’s not terrible!

OP, thanks for starting this thread. I love REM, Michael Stipe, and Natalie Merchant.

I do think MS and NM are sometimes a bit pretentious. That’s a quality I normally hate, but somehow I find it slightly endearing with those two.

Also, I think they’re both genius artists.

He was a goodlooking and talented nerd when his band started to become big, but he aged badly and he took himself far too seriously.

r8 People throw around the word "genius" rather freely. I do think they both were/are very talented, but... genius?

In the early 1980s I was a big fan of both REM and The Smiths, each since their very first single releases. Both were very unique and different, and they ushered in what would later on be termed as indie rock. I loved the early REM music best, their Chronic Town mini-album, and their first albums on IRS. They were still pretty good even after changing record labels from IRS to Warner Bros, and having big break out hits and multi-platinum selling albums. The members were always close knit without the typical big-ego issues, they kept each other grounded. And they shared all the songwriting royalties equally, which was in retrospect the best decision.

Have met him around New York City. Total asshole. Irritable, condescending, and actually kind of homophobic.

Maybe the partner is more pleasant? But I bet that is not the case.

He was never “good looking” R9.

r12 He used to post nudes on guyswithiphones

His brain must have to work overtime to prevent him from remembering Shiny Happy People and Radio Song while he is swanning about the art scene.

Take your pick, R14.

He was attractive in his twenties. The hair loss and acne scars became prominent once in his thirties.

I liked him and early REM. As I also liked early 10000 Maniacs.

But it was well known that Michael and Natalie were snooty fucking cunts together. They played mind games with a lot of people. It was all very Mean Girls/Heathers, or as someone I knew said, very Dangerous Liaisons/Cruel Intentions.

I liked some later REM (a few songs on Reveal are gorgeous) but like Morrissey, learning about their cuntiness sort of dampened my appreciation.

Do tell

I once confused him with John Malkovich. That never happened again.

He dated a cute twink roommate of my husband's and pretty much stalked him. When I recounted the story to another Athens denizen, he had an almost identical story. He was a chicken hawk. At least until the early 2000s

I put "Automatic for the People" on my list of most favorite albums. "Find the River" one of the best songs.

He’s about on the J Mascis level of lyric writing, and needed Peter Buck for the tunes. The bass player had a stronger voice.

Spectrum kinda guy.

This long ago video made me wonder if Stipe preferred poultry.

I still want to hear what Michael and Natalie did to people. Threatened PDA? Demanded all-vegan craft services?

His vocals were rarely as plaintive as on their cover of Syd Barrett's "Dark Globe":

R27 From what my friend told me, they'd just play mindfuck games with people. Sometimes feigning romantic interest, sometimes pretending to fight with each other to see who the person would side with, and then once they were bored with someone they were all, you may GO now......just really bitchy sort of stuff like that.

One game they'd play was to go to a club or bar and pick someone and see who would make out with them first, almost always a him.

They also had a habit of going out late and then pulling a dine and dash - and mind you, this is when both REM and the Maniacs were high on the charts.

Questionable personal hygiene?

Was Merchant really such a hypocrite? She used to support just about every charity going.

[quote]The charitable organizations she's supported include Greenpeace, Tibet House, Scenic Hudson, Riverkeeper, Planned Parenthood, PETA, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Doctors Without Borders and the Southern Center for Human Rights.