Search Results for: michael stipe

R.E.M. have set an October 28th release date for their second compilation, In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003. The collection will feature two new tracks, “Bad Day” and “Animal.” The former will also be released as the album’s first single; the band shot a video for the track last month in Vancouver. The compilation will be released on the heels of the first leg of R.E.M.’s world tour, which launched last Saturday in Holland. North American dates for the tour, the band’s first in four years, will begin August 29th in Vancouver, British Columbia, and several dates have been… Read more »

R.E.M. is in the midst of preparations for its upcoming world tour, and according to a post by frontman Michael Stipe on the group’s official Web site (http://www.remhq.com), the band has already rehearsed 70 songs. The tour starts June 27 at the U.K.’s Glastonbury Festival and will wrap Oct. 11 in Atlanta, about 70 miles west of the group’s Athens, Ga., homebase. R.E.M. is working with new drummer Bill Rieflin, an industrial/metal stickman who has manned the kit for the likes of Ministry, KMFDM, and Nine Inch Nails. R.E.M.’s three original members – Stipe, bassist Mike Mills, and guitarist Peter… Read more »

A veritable who’s who of the pop music world are urging federal regulators to give the public and lawmakers a chance to review any changes made in the regulations that govern media ownership. In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, 34 recording artists ranging from Jimmy Buffett to Michael Stipe said the changes should be fully vetted before they win final approval. “A refusal to allow Congress and the public to view and debate your specific proposal would be a tremendous disservice to the American public and the citizens who depend on these media structures for their livelihoods,” the… Read more »

R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe, Matt Damon, Kim Basinger and Samuel L. Jackson, along with 100 other celebrities, have signed a letter urging President Bush not to go to war with Iraq. “We feel that military action in Iraq will allow the terrorists to fan the flames of anti-American sentiment and further destabilize the Middle East,” one of the letters signatories, actress Janeane Garofalo (“Reality Bites”), told CNN. The letter’s contents were announced in a press conference Tuesday (December 10). “War talk in Washington is alarming and unnecessary,” reads the letter, which was put together by Artists United to Win Without War,… Read more »

R.E.M.’s Peter Buck was cleared of all charges alleging he behaved badly on a trans-Atlantic flight last April. An Isleworth Crown Court in London found the guitarist not guilty Friday (April 5) of assault, being drunk on an aircraft and damaging airline dishes, plates and other meal-service items, according to a court spokesperson. Buck waited with wife Stephanie and bandmates Michael Stipe and Mike Mills for the jury to render its verdict, which came after a five-and-a-half-hour deliberation. Buck, 45, was aboard a British Airways flight from Seattle to London on April 21 when he was accused of displaying drunken… Read more »

R.E.M.’s Peter Buck says he has no recollection of behavior on a Seattle-to-London flight that now finds him facing charges, including assault, in a London court, the BBC reports. Testifying on Wednesday (March 20), Buck claimed that after taking a sleeping pill on the April, 2001 flight, he felt “woozy” and “fear[ed] I had had a heart attack and was in a weird hospital in Disneyland.” When asked if he remembered details for which he is charged, the guitarist told the jury: “None whatsoever.” What Buck does remember is being in a police cell at London’s Heathrow Airport, saying he… Read more »

For what was supposed to be a valentine to Bono (“Bahn-o”), there sure were a lot of references to Bono (“Bone-o”) Thursday night. First, on the red carpet leading into the new Kodak Theatre, Evan and Jaron joked that they thought the inaugural “Love Rocks” concert was honoring the late Sonny Bono. Then, R.E.M. carried on the joke by bringing out Cher during their four-song set to duet with singer Michael Stipe on “I Got You Babe,” after which Cher said, “I’ve never done that song without my Bono, so that was for you, Bono.” Finally, when accepting his Heart… Read more »

“How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” Michael Stipe asked the crowd soon after R.E.M. took the stage Thursday night at the venerable venue. “Practice,” the crowd blurted in unison. “Well, we didn’t,” Stipe responded. “So if you hear a bum note or something that doesn’t sound right, I urge you to sing louder in your head.” The tour-shy Athens rockers and granola-pop folkie Jewel were among those on hand for an evening of spirited entertainment at “You Gotta Have Friends: Partners in the Fight Against AIDS,” a benefit for the Gay Men’s Health Crisis. ( from the event.) Judging… Read more »

The air-rage trial of American rock star Peter Buck collapsed after the judge discharged the jury, court officials said Tuesday. Buck, guitarist for renowned rock band R.E.M., was due to begin the second day of his trial for an alleged drunken attack on a plane in April. No reason was given for the dismissal of the jury. Buck, 44, had pleaded not guilty to charges of assaulting cabin crew, being drunk on an aircraft and damaging property on board a British Airways flight from Seattle to London. The prosecution will return to the court at a future date to say… Read more »

British prosecutors described the guitarist for renowned rock band R.E.M. as having acted like a naughty child on a plane in April during the first day of his air-rage trial in a London courtroom. Peter Buck, who avoided photographers and fans at the entrance to the court, pleaded not guilty to charges of assaulting cabin crew, being drunk on an aircraft, and damaging property on board a British Airways flight from Seattle to London. Prosecutor Edward Lewis told the court the 44-year-old Buck began drinking with his tour manager in the first-class cabin soon after boarding the flight. When crew… Read more »