Feel the love: Peter Buck, Michael Stipe and Mike Mills of R.E.M.
(Credit: Cass Bird)
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Michael Stipe, no stranger to the nexus of politics and art, discussed by phone why R.E.M. isn't going into its good night gently, and why he believes that we'll come through the chaos of today into a better tomorrow. But only if we’re capable of—despite the title of his band’s new album—slowing things down.
R.E.M. has always had voter registration tables at its concerts. How do you feel about involvement in the primary so far?
I'm thrilled with the number of people of that have turned out to vote, especially since this is the decade that everyone folded their hands and let everything happen. I'm interested in what this decade will represent, 30 years from now? What's an 18-year-old's take on it?
That would add perspective.
Perspective is needed: my grandmother told me in my teens that they faced diseases and natural disasters decimating their population, as well as leaders who were driving them into the ground. And what she was largely saying is that every generation has these obstacles that we have to address and overcome.
Future generations are about to face some crazy climate changes, from what I'm reading.
I'm worried about global warming too, yet I think I can optimistically look ahead. I think we're smart enough to turn this around. I probably read the same things about it that you do. In the end, you have to weigh what's accurate and what's guesswork and what someone is trying to ram down your throat. But I am alarmed at the rate it is happening.
Which is where the title of R.E.M.'s new release comes in.
It's that millennial angst, the velocity at which we're moving. That sentiment is shared with people in my life, and from my generation, from Patti Smith's generation. Things are moving way too fast, even though you feel like you have one foot nailed to the floorboard.
It's the loudest album I've ever heard from the band. It reminds me of "These Days" from "Life's Rich Pageant."
"'These Days" was a clarion call for me, one of the only autobiographical songs I ever wrote.
Are any of the new songs autobiographical?
All of the new songs are fictional. "Mr. Richards'" could be about any member of the current administration. "Living Well Is the Best Revenge" is about the 24-hour, personality-driven news media. "Until the Day Is Done" is about how the idea of America is so much greater than where this country has gone.
How about the title?
The title of the album is tied to my conception of the 21st century as it has unfolded. I just thought we would have solved these problems by now. So here we sit, even as people feel, as I do, that things are moving way too fast. We are out of control.
If only the music industry moved that fast.
It's already proven in my mind to be fan-driven. So I do feel that the future of music has more to with music, and much less to do with industry.
