By David Cavanagh 11.27.98 Q Magazine Bill Berry has left and R.E.M. are different, yet somehow the same. Welcome, then, Stipe, Buck, Mills, a drum machine, a new album and an invisible fourth member, Mr. Eerie Ambience. “It’ll be really druggy, really great,” they promise David Cavanagh. Messrs J. Michael Stipe, Mike E. Mills and [...]
By Bill Forman 11.27.98 Pulse Magazine “It’s ‘Heaven’,” says Michael Stipe with a wry grin as he contemplates the label on a designer scented candle. Returning the sacred object to the hotel coffee table, the R.E.M. frontman lights his cigarette, then sets “Heaven” ablaze. “The record was–as records are–difficult to make,” says Stipe, his voice [...]
By Gianni Sibilla 11.19.98 Sonicnet R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe is known for his flashy, style-conscious wardrobe and giddy demeanor onstage, so it comes as little surprise that he would executive-produce “Velvet Goldmine,” a film about the over-the-top era of ’70s glam-rock. For him, in fact, it was a natural progression artistically, he said. “The movie [...]
By Darrin Keene 11.13.98 Windsor Star 4.5 out of 5 stars From college-rock critic’s darlings to arena-packing superstars, R.E.M. have now come full circle. After a decade spent building a massive fan base on the Warner label, they have parted ways with producer Scott Litt and drummer Bill Berry and rekindled their experimental edge. This [...]
By Ann Powers 11.12.98 Rolling Stone 4 out of 5 stars Rock ballads are the songs you play after the night has burned itself out. Soft music takes you down from the party, filling the dawn’s empty breathing space with forgiving beauty. “As the sun comes up, as the moon goes down, these heavy notions [...]
By Steve Ciabattoni 11.09.98 CMJ Magazine The album’s name says Up, but R.E.M. also seems to be traveling outside its realm, inside itself and beyond expectations on its 14th album. The record’s dense, often dark layers signal that the band has chosen this moment as a career crossroads to rethink its sound. The departure of [...]
By Adam Sweeting 11.09.98 The Age ‘Michael is giving a mad fantastic performance…he is mister cool super everything. He is full of super smooth energy…sexual…affectionate…tender…gentle…playful… sensual…” Or so it says in the production notes for the video of REM’s next single, Lotus, which the band is shooting in a barn-sized studio in Hollywood. To anybody [...]
By Angela Ashman 11.08.98 SLAMM Magazine 3 out of 5 stars Without drummer Bill Berry, R.E.M. had a gap to fill and decided to make a few changes to do it — think slowed-down, musically complex arrangements with strings, percussion and a wide array of electronic experimentation. That may sound good, but sadly, on Up, [...]
By James McNair 11.08.98 The Independant Michael Stipe, 33, is the lead singer with multi-million-selling rock band REM, which formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980. He is also executive producer of Todd Haynes’ glam-rock film, Velvet Goldmine. REM’s new album, Up was released last month and is at number 2 in the album charts. Natalie [...]
By Chris Pace 11.07.98 Plug Magazine 3 1/2 out of 5 stars R.E.M.’s latest album, “Up”, ironically finds the band in the same pensive mood that produced their midcareer masterpiece “Automatic for the People”, which is the closest they’ve come to the quiet, soft-spoken gem of their first album, “Murmur”. They’ve got a lot of [...]