Michael Stipe of R.E.M. recently made a statement regarding the band’s status after being split for nearly a decade. The band decided to part ways in 2011 and exactly 10 years on the day of their break up, Stipe stated that they will not be getting back together.
“That’s wishful thinking. We will never reunite. We decided when we split up that that would just be really tacky and probably money-grabbing, which might be the impetus for a lot of bands to get back together,” said Stipe according to Consequence of Sound.
In 2014, Stipe went on CBS This Morning to discuss his time with R.E.M. and elaborated on how although he loves his previous band mates and respects them as musicians and songwriters, he does not want to go back to making music years after a break up. “I despise nostalgia. I’m not good at looking back,” he stated.
Despite having no intentions on reuniting, R.E.M. has released reissues of previous albums over the course of the last few years. In late August, they announced a 25th anniversary reissue of New Adventures in Hi-Fi. The 1996 album reissue is due to be released on October 29 under Craft Recordings. In past years, R.E.M. has also released reissues of Monster, Out of Time and Automatic for the People.
Stipe has kept himself busy by publishing a photograph book, creating solo music and collaborating with other artists. He has also made himself well known in political stances. Alongside Kathleen Hanna, Hayley Williams, Phoebe Bridgers and more, Stipe participated in an “Honor Her Wish” live stream rally that was against filling Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat in the Supreme Court.
In early 2020, Stipe appeared as a guest on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Stipe went on to eventually tell about personal interaction that he previously had with Donald Trump. Stipe stated that Trump was “very disruptive and loud,” which eventually led him to tell Trump to shut up.
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