Out Spotlight XX

As requested, this week's Spotlight is on Michael Stipe, leader singer for the band R. E. M. R. E. M. formed in 1980 when Michael Stipe met Peter Buck in an Athens, Ga. record store. They recruited Mike Mills and Bill Berry to form a quartet and all four dropped out of college to focus on the band. R. E. M. soon found acceptance in the indie music scene, playing colleges and small venues. I saw them several times when I was at Rutgers in the mid '80s.

In the early '90s, R. E. M. began to find mainstream success. They began to have hit songs on commercial radio. Stipe also began working with other musical collaborators. He had a planned collaboration with Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, which unfortunately did not happen before Cobain died. Incidentally, Stipe is the godfather of Cobain's daughter, Frances. He also collaborated with Natalie Merchant, with whom he had once been romantically linked. There had been rumors for a while about Stipe's sexuality, and in 1992 a rumor that he had AIDS began to circulate. Stipe did not address this rumor, feeling it was ridiculous to do so.

In Time magazine in 2001, Stipe said he was "a queer artist," and that he had been in a relationship with a man for three years. In previous interviews, Stipe had referred to himself as "an equal opportunity lech," said he did not use labels such as straight, bi, or gay, and said that he had been attracted to and had relationships with both men and women. Recently, Stipe has come out as gay, saying that he now feels, "I recognize that to have public figures be very open about their sexuality helps some kid somewhere out there."

Stipe's contribution to R. E. M. is lyrics and melodies. When R. E. M. first formed, Stipe sang in an incomprehensible mumble. It was a sort of game among fans to try and figure out what he was saying! In the mid '80s, he began to sing more clearly. Now his singing style is much more understandable. Stipe still has one of the most recognizable voices in rock. Recently, Stipe has gotten into movie production, and has been executive producer for movies such as Being John Malkovich, Velvet Goldmine, and Man on the Moon.

Michael Stipe comes out

Official R. E. M. website












Recent picture of Michael Stipe.
















Michael Stipe as he looked when I first saw him!