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BIZARRE: 2 | Mind Blowing Facts

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

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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

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…

The Independent UK

"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

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"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

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

Louder

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...

Evening Standard

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

The Independent UK

“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

MusicRadar

‘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

The Guardian - UK

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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

Guitar World

“He was strumming this C chord and as he leaned over to get his beer on the amp, he moved his hand…” Peter Buck's stately guitar work defined R.E.M.'s Man on the Moon – and it all started when his bandmate fell off a chair

Michael Stipe's ode to the late comedian Andy Kaufman is driven by a riff of unusual origin, and some reluctant slide work

The Guardian - UK

‘They taught me how to dress’: Michael Stipe on Limbo District, the greatest band you’ve never heard of

The wild art-rockers influenced REM and the B-52s, but burned out without making it big. As old recordings resurface, ex-members and fans recall their unorthodox brilliance

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Louder

"Michael Stipe? Never heard of him.": the time an overzealous security guard almost scuppered R.E.M.'s Glastonbury headline set

The R.E.M. frontman had some trouble being let into the festival site when the alt-rock titans headlined back in 1999

Louder

"We pulled ourselves back to the front of the line and proved, ‘This is what we’re capable of'.": revisiting R.E.M.'s iconic Glastonbury set 25 years on

The Athens, Georgia trio's post-Bill Berry era began in earnest with a triumphant headline slot at Worthy Farm

Louder

"We're all sitting here friends again." Watch R.E.M. reunite for first performance with their full, original line-up since the mid '90s

R.E.M. surprise audience at the Songwriters Hall Of Fame with one-off performance

The Independent UK

Original REM line-up perform together for first time in almost 30 years

Frontman Michael Stipe said the band had remained ‘dear friends’

The Independent UK

R.E.M. reunite at Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony also honoring Timbaland and Steely Dan

A reunion of R

Louder

“It might be as close as we came to being a four-piece rock band and I say that with no regret”: Michael Stipe on his favourite R.E.M. album

The R.E.M. frontman has two records he holds closest from the 17 that the Athens, Georgia alt-rockers released

Louder

R.E.M.'s Reckoning: raw, mysterious and strangely melodic, refracting their influences through a murky Southern prism

How the melodic sophistication of R.E.M.'s second album Reckoning served as a pre-echo of their 90s success

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