The most frequently asked question to a R.E.M. member might be whether they have any regrets about disbanding. Well, even though the former bandmates deny regretting their decisions for the most part, during a chat with Departures over some nice dinner, frontman Michael Stipe admitted feeling vulnerable after the band quit.
“When the band disbanded,” answered Stipe when he was asked if he ever thought of walking away from music entirely after R.E.M.’s dissolution. “I couldn’t imagine continuing with music, and it took five years before I could come back to the idea of it. And it came back completely by accident with a Fischerspooner project, which I loved.”
He continued by mentioning working with Fischerspooner and producing the duo’s fourth album, ‘Sir.’ Michael Stipe said, “I’m still blown away at how good the material was that we worked with on that record, which was called ‘Sir.’ And it established a long-standing working relationship with myself and producer Andy LeMaster, which is really important.”
Michael was then asked if leaving the safe confines of R.E.M. and sailing into a new individual path made him feel vulnerable. He was candid when he answered, “Extremely vulnerable. But that’s my superpower. I fall on my face very well. And then sometimes it’s quite beautiful. Also, the idea of vulnerability, humanness, humanity.”
When R.E.M. decided to disband for good, the band members were probably a bit hesitant about starting new projects after leaving a band that was a major commercial success. However, in the end, Stipe made peace with feeling vulnerable and remarkably embraced the human side of things.
