105 replies to this topic

[High_Speed_Train]

Robyn Hitchcock is performing in Spain's largest cities: Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia, late this month. In anticipation of those shows, the website Muzikalia.com is running an interview with the British musician.

The interview is signed by Fidel Oltra and it's dated February 12. I translated a passage of the conversation where Hitchcock talks R.E.M and The Venus 3. The link to the full interview (in Spanish) is below.

Quote

How do you see the current state of the music industry? Your friend Peter Buck once said that the record labels needed to be ran again by music people and not by accountants. What's your opinion? How do you see the relationship between the Internet and the industry?

Music and industry do not make good bed partners. Peter managed to get the industry to work for him, with R.E.M. If you help the people running the business make money then there will be something for you, that's how capitalism works. I never made them earn too much, so they didn´t give me much either.

The Internet is undermining the careers of the biggest and rendering obsolete the art of recording physical CDs. There are pros and cons. I´m thankful to have worked, for a long time, in the era of physical recordinds, but I also have to be flexible in the immediate future. I've always been more interested in creating music than in selling it, as you can see Peter and I will get back together soon, with Scott and Bill.

http://muzikalia.com...robyn-hitchcock

[High_Speed_Train]

A Cindy Sherman retrospective opens at New York's Museum of Modern Art. Michael Stipe attended Sherman's opening party, some photos from the soiree appear today on the website of art info.com: http://artinfo.com/n...s-opening-party










There's another R.E.M. related event going on at this year's South by Southwest, it's a conference scheduled for Thursday, March 15, and it's called "Doing Good, Only Better".

This is moderated by Erin Potts, with Mike Mills credited as member of Big Star Third Concert (not R.E.M.) participating as one of four panelists.

Quote

"When done right, artist-cause collaborations can raise vital funds, energy and awareness for an issue or non-profit organization, and can help to bring new audiences to musicians", reads the brief event's description on sxsw.com: http://schedule.sxsw...s/event_MP10928

There's a curious review of the recently released Perfume Genius album, it's on the website of Time Out Chicago, Brent DiCrescenzo says that track #5 of the CD, "Take Me Home, is what Michael Stipe would have done had he not met Mike and Peter and Bill. Simple and lovely."
http://timeoutchicag...kie-rose-sleigh






The Todos Santos "Buckfest" (as some have baptized it) may have ended a few weeks ago, but down there in Baja California there's a great deal of activity still going on. A Film Festival has opened today, according to the official Festival schedule, all films are in Spanish with English subtitles.

info about this photograph here: http://www.todossant...l_painting.html







Finally, there's a review of Automatic for the People on The Welsh Gull blog: http://welshgull.wor...for-the-people/  

[High_Speed_Train]

More reports and chronicles of the Cindy Sherman reception are surfacing across the Net. There's, for instance, this article on artforum.com where Michael Stipe appears in a photograph with Stefan Kalmar, director of Artists Space: http://www.artforum.com/diary/id=30390







More on Michael Stipe's New York activities, according to this report he was in the audience of a Sinead O'Connor concert that took place on Thursday. (O'Connor's new album streamed last week as part of NPR's first listen series).

Quote

On February 23, 2012, Sinead O’Connor played her first of two sold out shows at New York’s Highline Ballroom. (…)  The packed house also had some stars in the audience including former REM lead singer Michael Stipe, The Smiths’ Andy Rourke and singer Jay Brannan.  What we witnessed and heard was the unmistakable voice that belongs to Sinead O’Connor.  
http://www.zimbio.co...ghline Ballroom

There's a cover of "I'm not Over You" by musician Blake Ian. According to this description on his website, Mr. Ian "is a New York born singer/songwriter/producer. As a recording artist and performer (he) has released 3 full-length albums and 5 singles of his own original work. He has toured the country and opened for Donovan, Kenny Loggins, Eric Burdon and The Animals, Leon Russell, Duncan Sheik, Jeffrey Gaines and Christopher Cross."







For the eleventh time, Automatic for the People has made it into a best-of-the-nineties list. This time is Paste Magazine's "The 90 Best albums of the 1990s".

Quote

To many pop music obsessives, picking the finest R.E.M. album is like picking one’s favorite child. It’s no easy task by any stretch of the imagination, but 1992’s track-by-track melodic goldmine, Automatic for the People, is surely the most logical choice. The album title was oddly prophetic—where previous R.E.M. efforts wore their college-rock obscurity like badges of honor, Automatic seemed destined for something bigger—something destined to reach more ears, and to do so in a more direct fashion. With instant pop classics like “Everybody Hurts,” “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite,” and the Andy Kaufman-referencing “Man on the Moon,” this was [and still is] the R.E.M. album made for everybody.—Ryan Reed
http://www.pastemaga...-the-1990s.html

This tumblr has posted a photo of "David Foster Wallace and Jonathan Franzen auditioning for the role of Peter Buck in ReR.E.M., an R.E.M. cover band": http://magneticsympa...onathan-franzen

[kizmatica]

James Franco talking about Michael's involvement with

"My Own Private River"

[stipeeyes]

Michael was quoted in an article about Davy Jones' death.

R.E.M. mentioned the Monkees quite often in the past. And the course the band covered "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone".

R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe once famously said that he could never take seriously the Rock & Hall of Fame until it inducted the Monkees, who were heaped with plenty of critical accolades in the wake of Wednesday’s sad news.

Here's the article.

http://www.minnpost....ourn-davy-jones

[Driver Nate]

Yet another sign that Murmurs has pretty much gone down the tubes since the initial rush of posts following their disbandment. You'd think there would be a thread here about the passing of Davey Jones, especially considering how many times Stipe has mentioned the Monkees in interviews over the years (even as recently as the Jo Whiley interview on the BBC). Even though that was conducted last year it apparently didn't air until just recently. Still, I hope Murmurs will continue as a place for us to discuss future archival releases as well as the individual band members' ongoing projects. On that tip, it's cool to see that Peter Buck will be taking part in the upcoming Big Star Third/Sister Lovers concert during SXSW. So far, that's all of them (except for Bill Berry) that have taken part in the tribute concerts.

[stipeeyes]

I know Jonathan.  It's as if the band broke up 5 years ago instead of 5 months ago.  Did most of the fans stop being fans because the guys broke up?  Peter and Mike are still doing things musically.  Michael hasn't stopped being famous or anything.
I'd imagine maybe Michael was a bit bummed out by the news of Davy Jones passing.  Like our R.E.M. guys Davy was really nice to the fans and didn't mind coming out after gigs to spend some time with them.

Well here's a new picture of Michael.  Look he's wearing an earring.   I haven't seen him with an earring since the early 90's.  I thought it was a blur on the picture at first.
He was at a screening of Being Flynn starring Robert Deniro last night in the usual NYC.

[Driver Nate]

I don't think it really has anything to do with R.E.M. hanging it up. Traffic was slow here prior to the break up too.

[stipeeyes]

Driver Nate, on 02 March 2012 - 09:41 AM, said:

I don't think it really has anything to do with R.E.M. hanging it up. Traffic was slow here prior to the break up too.

True it was.  I miss the old days when you couldn't keep up with the new threads and the posts.  And I admit I miss the old drool pool  threads.  Maybe it was too teenage but it was fun.  When I first joined I was like wow all these people feel the same about this band I love.  I didn't get a computer until 2001. Those 11 years flew by.

Michael mentioned what he was up to on tumblr yesterday.


WHAT A GIRLPOWER COUPLE OF WEEKS!!!!  (A man who says girlpower )

SINEAD O’CONNOR AT HIGHLINE BALLROOM
FRANCES STARK AT GAVIN BROWN’S ENTERPRISE
CINDY SHERMAN AT MOMA
BJORK AT ROSELAND
SSION AT HIGHLINE BALLROOM
I LOVE MY LIFE AND INFLUENCES, PHOTOS COMING SOON

[Pale Blue Eyes]

stipeeyes, on 02 March 2012 - 05:18 AM, said:

Well here's a new picture of Michael.  Look he's wearing an earring.   I haven't seen him with an earring since the early 90's.  I thought it was a blur on the picture at first.
He was at a screening of Being Flynn starring Robert Deniro last night in the usual NYC.

Nice picture, thank you   Do you think the earring is part of the midlife crisis??? lol!!!

[stipeeyes]

Pale Blue Eyes, on 07 March 2012 - 08:56 AM, said:

Nice picture, thank you   Do you think the earring is part of the midlife crisis??? lol!!!

No because he used to wear earrings before.  As we know when Michael had hair he was always changing the style and color of it.  So the only thing he can do to have a different style is jelewry and facial hair.  I think to add to the earring he should do a nice trimmed goatee.

[High_Speed_Train]

Jessie Wender of The New Yorker magazine has written an article on music videos directed by photographers. 10 videos are reviewed by the author, with commentary from their creators. Two of these videos ("The One I Love" and "UBerlin") are R.E.M.'s.

Quote

Wender writes:

“With this video, I wanted to make pictures that looked like the music,” (Robert) Longo told me. “There are no actors, just friends and family of the band. I went down to Athens, Georgia, to film it. They didn’t want to lip sync, which was fine with me, but other than that they really gave me free reign with the project. It all came about because Michael Stipe knew my art, and had seen the other videos I’d done for Golden Palominos (“Boy [Go]”) and New Order (“Bizarre Love Triangle”). We became friends, and he asked me to do the project with him.”

Commenting UBerlin she writes:

Quote

“I don’t like making music videos per se, but I don’t feel that any videos that I’ve made have been ‘music-video-like,’ ” Taylor-Wood told me. “I tend to see them as a scene from a film. I don’t really differentiate music videos from the films that I’ve made—it’s just that music videos are much quicker!” This video stars Taylor-Wood’s husband, Aaron Johnson, who also played the young John Lennon in Taylor-Wood’s first feature film, “Nowhere Boy,” from 2009.

Read the complete blog post here: http://www.newyorker...sic-videos.html





Michael Stipe attended the 3rd Independent art fair which took place in Chelsea, Manhattan. The website artforum.com describes the good mood that reigned during the event's first day of activities.

Quote

Most everyone at the opening that afternoon was in an unseasonably good mood, especially on the roof terrace, where visitors were too busy basking in the sun to take particular notice of fairer fair-goers like James Franco or Chelsea Clinton. Was the outbreak of solar flares to blame? “I’ve been nervous about the extra radiation,” Michael Stipe confessed, with a wary glance at his cell phone. “But what if it’s a good thing? I mean, look around: Everyone you see is smiling.”

http://www.artforum.com/diary/id=30493

To learn more about the Independent art fair you can read this short article on The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.c...in-chelsea.html





There's an interview with James Walsh, former lead singer of Starsailor. Speaking to BBM, an Australian site of Entertainment and Music news, Walsh recalled an early encounter with Michael Stipe.

Quote

Any big names that you were star struck by?

At one gig in Dublin we were supporting REM and Michael Stipe knocked on our dressing room door and thanked us for supporting them. I was incredibly flattered that someone who has done so much would be polite enough to come to the support bands dressing room just to thank them.

http://www.bbmlive.c...starsailor.html

Here's the flyer of the event that's taking place in Israel, next week, which will see Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 playing at a Tel Aviv club.



Apropos, the website I googled Israel.com has published this small feature titled: "REM's Peter Buck coming to rock Tel Aviv!": http://igoogledisrae...-rock-tel-aviv/

[Remixomatosys]

Many thanks.
I look forward to a new starsailor album

[stipeeyes]

Quote

At one gig in Dublin we were supporting REM and Michael Stipe knocked on our dressing room door and thanked us for supporting them. I was incredibly flattered that someone who has done so much would be polite enough to come to the support bands dressing room just to thank them.

This is what southern Gentlemen do.  

Some people seem surprised that Michael is so nice.

[High_Speed_Train]

On the last day of February Bertis Downs was in Barcelona, the capital of Catalunya, attending the Mobile World Congress.

This is an annual reunion of CEOs representing various vendors, suppliers, operators and providers of mobile technologies. Mr. Downs was invited to participate at a panel called "Media and Entertainment: the future of mobile Music". There's a brief report of that panel, written by Jason Ankeny. Here's a passage where the R.E.M. manager is cited:

Quote

Premium mobile services also can help artists monetize their music far more quickly than alternative revenue channels like licensing tracks to movies or television commercials. "It's a matter of fast cash versus slow cash," said Bertis Downs IV, who manages R.E.M., which split last fall. "It can take 18 months for money to flow through the conventional system. The mobile operator community can help drive fast cash."
http://www.fiercemob...bile/2012-02-29

     








Ken Stringfellow has published on his website his full SXSW Schedule.

Quote

"Mostly I will be debuting the songs from my upcoming album “Danzig In The Moonlight” he writes on kengstringfellow.com, "but I will also be doing some Big Star related activity."
http://www.kenstring...om/archives/867

The 40 Watt Club organises an "Athens in Austin" party, in the context of South by Southwest. This year's event takes place on Saturday, March 17 at Austin's The Side Bar. There's a review at the Atlanta Music Guide: http://www.atlantamu...iversary-party/   








Robyn Hitchcock had a Facebook interview with Canadian rock critic Roch Parisien. At some point during the live chat, several of the participants asked Hitchcock about The Venus 3 touring this year.

• 
  
  
  Roch Parisien's Rocon Communications Janice Holden asks:
  Will you be touring Ontario, Canada with the Venus 3 this year? (fingers crossed....)
  ...and Jörg Nic Breu asks:
  Why you don´t play in Germany?
  ...and Alberto Guiraldelli asks:
  Have you ever thought about touring in South America?
  (Robyn: others ask about touring various points in the US, South Africa, Antarctica, the dark side of the moon...in other words - what are the upcoming touring plans?)
  March 4 at 1:04pm
  
• 
  
  
  Robyn Hitchcock I don't think we are touring this year I am afraid, sorry Janice. I think we are playing a few shows but not touring as such.

See: http://www.facebook....id=208757673971

[High_Speed_Train]

It's the twentieth anniversary of an album produced by Peter Buck: Uncle Tupelo, March 16-20, 1992.

There's a brief recollection of the event by the staff of 3 minute record: "20 years ago today, the three members of Uncle Tupelo stepped into John Keane Studios in Athens, GA to begin recording their third album with producer Peter Buck, best known as the guitarist for R.E.M. Five days later they had a finished record. Over the next few days the owners of 3 Minute Record will give our thoughts on how that album changed our musical landscape."
http://3minuterecord...o-recollection/






There's a new Swans record in the works. Their last album featured Bill Rieflin on drums. Here's an excerpt of an interview with multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira.

Quote

Sam Lefevbre: It's the same lineup on the newest Swans record as the last. I particularly liked the percussion on the last record. Bill Rieflin's drumming on the instrumental ending of "You Fucking People Make Me Sick" is really eerie and amazing. Can you tell me about writing or recording that intense instrumental passage?

Michael Gira: Oh, absolutely. They all sat patiently and listened to my directions. I said, "Bill, let's make a series of numbers here and I want you to go whhhaaa for four beats and then go whhaaa on a different chord for a series of arbitrary notes." He developed a score that way and it was the same with the piano. It wasn't a rhythm, we made specific segments that are in a rhythm but didn't create rhythm. It was just these pumps of sound that kept building and changing, and he did the same thing with the drums.
http://blogs.sfweekl...time.php?page=2

Gallerist NY has a list of celebrities that attended the Armory Show, last week in New York. There are many familiar names like: Matt Dillon, Paul Rudd, Michael Stipe, John Waters, Björk, Bill Powers and Cynthia Rowley, Narciso Rodriguez, Tiki Barber, Patty Smyth and John McEnroe, James Franco... This link to the complete list: http://www.gallerist...tend-2012-fair/

[High_Speed_Train]

A new book just printed in Germany, Die Sache mit dem Ich contains a posthumous selection of Marc Fischer's reports.



The book, according to this review (in German) has "a beautiful portrait of Michael Stipe" written by the journalist, who passed away in 2011. Fischer was a regular contributor to various German-language media, including Der Spiegel, Stern and Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Vincent Moon is in Croatia attending the Dorf film festival, held each year in the town of Rijeka and specializing in music documentaries. Today, there's an interview with the French cinematographer on the Zagreb-based Jutarnji list newspaper, written by Luka Benčić. Here's an excerpt, via google translate, of that conversation:

Quote

True to his beliefs, (He) did not ask for a fee, dismissed the hotel and asked for a bed in a hostel, and he wants to eat lunch where people generally (eat), so no fancy restaurants do not come into consideration (sic).
http://www.jutarnji....ustoru/1015458/

Saint John and the Revelations announced on his website a free song to download, it's called "Mercy", which he recorded last year with Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey and Bill Rieflin: http://www.sjatr.com...download-mercy/

[Sweden]

High_Speed_Train, on 19 March 2012 - 11:40 PM, said:

Saint John and the Revelations announced on his website a free song to download, it's called "Mercy", which he recorded last year with Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey and Bill Rieflin: http://www.sjatr.com...download-mercy/
sjatr.jpg

A decent song, and apretty obvious Peter Buck involvement (and presumably composition). Sadly, it shows what an outstanding melody writer Michael often was. This song could obviously have been on an R.E.M. album, but the melody would have been much less apparent and much more interesting.

/D

[stipeeyes]

Michael hosted the Luncbox Auction last night.

Here are two pictures.

MARCH 21: Salman Rushdie and Michael Stipe attend the 2012 Lunchbox Fund bookfair auction at Del Posto on March 21, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

[fanfan]

High_Speed_Train, on 19 March 2012 - 11:40 PM, said:

A new book just printed in Germany, Die Sache mit dem Ich contains a posthumous selection of Marc Fischer's reports.



The book, according to this review (in German) has "a beautiful portrait of Michael Stipe" written by the journalist, who passed away in 2011. Fischer was a regular contributor to various German-language media, including Der Spiegel, Stern and Süddeutsche Zeitung.

buch.jpg

Better don't buy this book because of the "portrait". I just read the review and remember the interview from when it was published in a magazine at the time. It was horrible and it had nothing to do with Michael. It's all about the reporter asking himself if Michael Stipe is gay. Horrible interview, definitely not worth buying. I have no idea why the TAZ recommended it. But then, they published a very negative review of the Berlin 2008 R.E.M. show, written by a very untalented German female musician.