NEWS
R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe has shared fresh details about his long awaited first solo album, revealing that the process has taken more time than he originally planned.
Since R.E.M. officially went their separate ways in 2011 on good terms, Stipe has only put out a small number of tracks under his own name. Among them is ‘I Played The Fool’, which he recorded with Andrew Watt, Josh Klinghoffer and Travis Barker for the recently released series Rooster earlier this week.
Even so, he has quietly been developing his debut solo record for quite some time. Speaking recently with The Times, he offered fans a clearer picture of how the project is coming along.
“I’m working on a solo album,” he said. “But it’s taken longer than I wanted.”
Talking about what slowed things down, he explained: “Covid didn’t help, but I’m finishing it. When the band split, I just needed a break. I took five years but I got pulled back into music. It’s been a struggle. That’s the main thing. I want it to be great, but I’ve got the pressure of having been in R.E.M. and it’s a high bar, because I want this to be as good as that, and that’s near impossible.”
“So it’s fucking exciting but also terrifying, and I’m doing the music for the first time too, and I think I’m good at it but not great,” he added. “But I love my voice. I don’t like my speaking voice but I love my singing voice, and I so want to immerse myself back into offering music to the world.”
The conversation also confirmed that Stipe still has eight tracks left to complete before the album is finished. He mentioned that he is now working toward a target date and is aiming for a release sometime before the end of 2026. He also joked that the project could possibly carry the title ‘Meet THE Michael Stipe’.
Earlier solo material from Stipe includes the 2019 release ‘Your Capricious Soul’, followed by ‘Drive To The Ocean’ in 2020. That same year he also collaborated with Aaron Dessner’s Big Red Machine on the track ‘No Time For Love Like Now’.
Reports suggest that Stipe continues to have a positive relationship with his former R.E.M. bandmates Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry. The group reunited publicly in summer 2024 when they were honored with induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
During that event, the four musicians surprised the audience with an acoustic performance of their 1991 hit ‘Losing My Religion’. It was the first occasion they had performed together since their appearance at the 2007 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony.
Earlier this month, Stipe also made a guest appearance with Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy during one of their ‘Lifes Rich Pageant’ 40th anniversary shows in Brooklyn. Together they performed R.E.M. songs ‘These Days’ and ‘The Great Beyond’. The previous year he had also joined them for a performance of ‘Pretty Persuasion’.
Recently, Stipe has also been revisiting the lyrics of ‘It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)’ on Bluesky, pointing out that listeners have misunderstood several of the words for many years.
Morrissey has written an emotional tribute to his former manager Peter Katsis, remembering him as “a very unusual star” and declaring that “a world has ended”.
Peter Katsis passed away last Thursday, August 6, aged 69. His death was reportedly caused by complications linked to congestive heart failure.
Born in Chicago, Katsis became a respected name within the music world, working as a manager for artists such as the Smashing Pumpkins, Backstreet Boys, Snoop Dogg and Jane’s Addiction. After news of his death emerged, the former Smiths singer initially responded by posting a picture of Katsis.
Morrissey has now published a more detailed remembrance, accompanied by an image showing Katsis dressed in drag while attending a New York Dolls concert in Chicago in 1973.
Looking back at the picture, Morrissey said: “He certainly got into the spirit of things. Given his bustling masculinity, he would roar with laughter to know that I have used this shot in summation of his life.”
“I am justifiably glum this week, and it has taken me several days to even face writing this because PK was a very unusual star: an adventurer who enjoyed biting off more than most people could collectively chew,” he continued. “He was very much liked – which was unusual in a music manager. In a way, a dreamy-eyed romantic, but when necessary, a trick octopus.”
Sharing more memories of Katsis and his larger than life personality, Morrissey added: “All liberties were taken; all fun encouraged and consumed. He knew how and when to give momentum another good shove. Sometimes his Chicagoan knuckle-district dialogue was slightly comic strip, but it was all part of his self-destructive charm… taunting an overdose of Dom Perignon because… well, why not?”
The singer also recalled how the pair viewed the music industry in much the same way. “We were similar in that we were both correct too early – on all predictions. He knew that most modern bands contained neither danger nor mystery, but he gritted his teeth and dealt with the platitudinous industry gabble of Los Angeles.”
Turning to a deeply personal moment in their friendship, Morrissey continued: “When my mother died in 2020, he raced to my side. He knew I couldn’t deal with it. He immediately introduced me to Andrew Watt and we recorded “Bonfire Of Teenagers” faster than the speed of sound – an undreamed-of rescue at a time when another day, for me, might not have come.”
Morrissey ended his message by writing: “The future is now merely the remainder of life. Dead brother buried. A world has ended.”
“Bonfire Of Teenagers” was created across 2020 and 2021 with Watt handling production. The record features appearances from Miley Cyrus, Iggy Pop and musicians from Red Hot Chili Peppers, although the album has still not received an official release.
Several other music figures have remembered Katsis since his passing, including Smashing Pumpkins vocalist Billy Corgan. Corgan described him as “a dear friend and extended member of our family” and praised his role in helping to “usher in the alternative revolution of the ’80s and ’90s and beyond”.
More messages honouring Katsis can be viewed here.
