📺 Make plans to watch The Late Show with Stephen Colbert this Thursday (4.23) for a guest appearance by @michaelstipe.bsky.social !!

#colbert

🔨 🔥 The time to rise has been engaged…

“Finest Worksong” was released as a single in the UK on April 18, 1988. The video was directed by our very own @michaelstipe.bsky.social

“Did you never call? I waited for your call…”
On this day in 1984, “So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry)” was released as the first single from Reckoning. The video was directed by Howard Libov and filmed at Reflection Studio in Charlotte.

Murmur, the band’s debut studio album, was released 43 years ago on April 12, 1983. Produced by Mitch Easter & Don Dixon, Murmur remains, according to music journalist Tim Peacock, “one of the most compelling and otherworldly debut albums in rock history.” Share your Murmur memories in the comments.

Reckoning, the band’s second album, was released in the UK on this day in 1984. Like Murmur, the album was produced by Mitch Easter and Don Dixon (recording sessions took place at Reflection Sound Studios in Charlotte). What’s your favorite Reckoning song?

“No, this isn’t a game of which one of these guys is unlike the others. I’m posing with a great Brazilian band named Colomy. I played on their forthcoming album last year & I recently filmed a video for a song. I’ll write in more detail closer to release date.”
              
📷 Carol Siqueira

April 8, 1985, photographer Paul Natkin came to Athens for a photo shoot. Paul’s blog has a great account of the day— natkin.net/rem-calls-it...

46 years ago on April 5, 1980, the band played their first show. Sandra-Lee Phipps took these photos that historic night in Athens at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church on Oconee Street.

“Strange Currencies” was released this week in 1995 as a single (7”, Cassingle & CD Single formats). The song gained renewed popularity in season two of FX series, The Bear, where it was heavily featured.

R.E.M. - "Living Well Is The Best Revenge" from Live At The Olympia Theatre, Dublin YouTube video by remhq

A blistering early version of “Living Well Is The Best Revenge” from Dublin 2007–the song would go on to become the opening track on Accelerate, the band’s 14th studio album, released on April 1, 2008 in N America. www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4uR...

Profoundly influential and we were there as babies opening for them in the early 80’s, Go4 return with this banger 💪✊👊

R.E.M. love Gang of 4

@michaelstipe.bsky.social

It was a show, and her birthday party. She put on a great performance, ended by a chaotic version of The One I Love. - Peter

Drink The Sea finished our South American tour with a riotous three hour show in Sao Paolo, featuring Nando Reis. We then went into a studio in Sao Paulo to work on our next record. Saturday night after work, Barrett and I played with the great Silvia Machete.

World leader pretend, for now anyway…. No Kings 3 in your town today.

🌖 Man On The Moon checks in at number 20 on The Guardian’s list of “Songs about the Moon—Ranked” 🤔 Read below…

www.theguardian.com/music/2026/m...

Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, Michael Stipe & more played Democracy Now's 30th anniversary (pics, video) Hurray for the Riff Raff also performed at the event, which happened at Riverside Church.

Michael sang at Democracy Now's 30th Anniversary show in New York last night. Check out Brooklyn Vegan's photo journal from the show & watch the archived live stream.

www.brooklynvegan.com/bruce-spring...

and for keeping the joy of our music alive for us, and for our fans.

-Mike

They were kind (or foolish) enough to have me onstage to sing some of these songs with them, and it was more fun than I've had doing almost anything in quite a while.

Thank you, guys, for being so much more than a mirror, for being a great band,

but gave me an idea of the power, and the joy, of an R.E.M. show.

These guys are not imitators. They are not copycats. They are seriously talented musicians, and a real band who loves our music as much as we do, and that love shows in their performance.

Mirrors are strange things; when we look at ourselves, what do we really see? Probably not what others see, but at least you can tell if your hair needs combing. This band is much better than that. This band not only reinforced what I thought we sounded like,

But thanks to Jason Narducy, Michael Shannon, John Wurster, John Stirratt, Dag Juhlin, Vijay Tellis-Nayak, and their excellent crew, I was able to get an idea of what it might have been like to see R.E.M. perform.

Post from Mike: “One of the ironies about being in R.E.M. is that I could never see my band play. I could never truly know the effect our music had on our fans, or what it might have felt like to see us at any point in our musical journey, especially the early days.” (More in comments)

R.E.M. collapsed the boundaries of alt-rock on 'Out of Time' Paste Magazine is your source for the best music, movies, TV, comedy, videogames, books, comics, craft beer, politics and more. Discover your favorite albums and films.

A good read from Paste on Out Of Time.

www.pastemagazine.com/music/r-e-m/...

These Days - Live At The Olympia Theatre, Dublin, Ireland / 2007

open.spotify.com/track/5IYtvB...

☘️ Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Here’s something (listen in the comments) from Live at the Olympia in Dublin 🇮🇪 to commemorate today and the affinity the band always had for the great people of Ireland. Slainte!

R.E.M. - Losing My Religion (Perfect Square '04) YouTube video by remhq

“Losing My Religion” live from Wiesbaden, Germany as featured on Perfect Square, released on March 16, 2004

youtu.be/BLhD-h1LRQs?...

Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy on Accidentally Starting the World's Greatest R.E.M. Tribute Band Actor Michael Shannon and musician Jason Narducy are playing R.E.M. deep cuts and re-creating whole albums, keeping the band's songs alive.

From Rolling Stone

www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...

Michael Stipe: ‘I love fame… It wasn’t always easy, but it’s fun’ As frontman of REM, he sold 85 million records. Now working on a solo album, he talks about being a fashion ‘fanboy’ and his friendship with Kurt Cobain

“There is always hope in my writing. I am an optimist, ultimately — even if it’s a realisation in one’s last breath that they blew it. At least they are aware they blew it. To move through a life not recognising one’s mistakes or regrets is pretty sad.” - Michael
www.thetimes.com/life-style/c...

Out Of Time turns 35! The band’s 7th studio album was released this week in 1991. What’s your favorite Out Of Time song?