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A Very Special Announcement From R.E.M.

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Posted on Mar 22, 2008
stipe
youtube.com

Veteran rocker and self-described “queer artist” Michael Stipe has made a startling announcement about his two bandmates, Peter Buck and Mike Mills, ending, as Stipe put it, “years of awkward speculation” about their sexual orientation. 

Watch the clip:

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By Conservative Yankee, March 26, 2008 at 10:50 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Who or what the fuck are REM?

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By Joe Smith, March 26, 2008 at 10:38 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

For years I have been a closet r.e.m. fan because all of my burly hetero pals consider it “fag music”. Does this mean I can come out of the closet now too?

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By ignatzh, March 25, 2008 at 2:53 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Wow, what a daring stunt to pull, you reified, self aggrandizing putz. Couldn’t you do something else with your millions and your time…oh, that’s right, they have a new record out, not a very good one, that needs as much publicity as it can get.

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By TinAngel, March 24, 2008 at 11:58 am Link to this comment
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Not funny. Michael Stipe is f’ing lame.

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By John Wright, March 23, 2008 at 7:03 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Knew or suspected what? That they were straight? I think this bit was great, highlighting the idiocy of announcements regarding someone’s sexuality. Unless you want to have sex with someone what does their sexual “orientation” have to do with anything?

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By lornejl, March 23, 2008 at 9:43 am Link to this comment

Michael Stipe of REM, who referred to The Beatles music as “elevator music”. “Maybe it was ground breaking at the time, but it doesn’t hold up.”

Some people really should STU.

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By Maani, March 23, 2008 at 6:34 am Link to this comment

I think the best response to this is: who cares?!  Anyone who knows the band either knew or suspected this, and it had zero bearing on their feelings for the band or its music.  Anyone who doesn’t know the band is not going to either start or stop buying its records as a result of this “very special announcement.”

A non-story if ever there was one.

Peace.

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By itchy, March 23, 2008 at 2:43 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

What is so “funny” and “hilarious” about that clip? I’m a straight female who couldn’t care less about someone’s sexual orientation, but to me the clip belittles the real challenges facing gays and lesbians who decide to go public about their sexual orientation. Or am I missing something here?

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By 1twenty1, March 22, 2008 at 9:12 pm Link to this comment

“Straight” out of an SNL script it would seem.

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Outraged's avatar

By Outraged, March 22, 2008 at 3:23 pm Link to this comment

But do you think “they’ll” get it?  Watch out R.E.M. you’ll probably start receiving cards and letters thanking you for endorsing the “proper arrangement” of things…..LOL

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By cyrena, March 22, 2008 at 1:15 pm Link to this comment

This is too funny. (Even if I didn’t know who R.E.M. was before now).

OK, time for all the rest of you STRAIGHT folks to come out of the closet now. There’s no stigma, and you won’t be shunned by society.

This makes me think about the ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ rule that Bill Clinton came up with for military personnel.

Now, did that mean that one simply could not ask about this AT ALL? Like did that prevent all personnel (homosexual as well as heterosexual) from revealing their sexual orientation, one way or the other?

Anyway, I’m happy for these guys.

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