Shiny, Happy, Gay People
Filed under: Gay Gay Gay
R.E.M. have a new album coming out. The boys old men grace the cover of the new issue of Spin magazine, and frontman Michael Stipe spends some time talking about his own coming out.
On His Sexuality:
“It was super complicated for me in the ’80s. I was totally open with the band and my family and my friends and certainly the people I was sleeping with. I thought it was pretty obvious.”
Going public was a little easier when he realized it might inspire people to change their views about homosexuality:
“I didn’t always see that. But I see now, of course that’s the case, of course that’s needed. I’d just never felt strongly enough about a particular relationship to say, ‘Yeah, he’s my boyfriend, that is what it is.’ Now I recognize that to have public figures be very open about their sexuality helps some kid somewhere out there.”
On his songwriting:
“There are songs I wrote in the past that were gender-specific. ‘7 Chinese Brothers’ was about me breaking up a couple—and then dating both of them, a man and a woman, which is a terrible thing to do, but I was young and stupid….At the time I was writing about what I knew, and what I knew was myself. I found out I’m not that kind of writer. I think I’m better when I write about things that are not me."
uhh…ok??
1st
1st
HEY! i was actually FIRST for once!!!
[i was hgdf]
YAY!
top ten
worst
haha knew it
wtf, he's gay? oh
possible first!
FIRST!
first
FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
FIRST BITCHES!
is anyone really surprised by this….really?
FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
haw haw
30th?
Michael Stipe is the opposite of what Perez is, a gay who's respected and succesful. Perez is gay but in general hated and despised, so single that you can even wonder if a masturbation-only gay has the right to call himself gay.
interesting.
why are the comments being deleted??
first?
I think it is a good thing that he has elected to be more straightforward about his sexuality. He will help a lot of confused kids realize that being gay is not a stigma. Good for him.
i love them!
YES for a southern college band it probably did suck for Stipe!
good for him
FIRST!
Oh Please, that coward used to say that he THOUGHT he was bisexual. What a tool.
yayyyy
Who cares!!!!
I dont care if he bends Rush Limbaugh over his couch in his own home. REM will never fail to disappoint
Perez,
For all of your amazing qualities you seem to have a problem with age. You constantly harp on about ageism. When you get older, it will probably be really hard on you. All I can say is that it, (growing older), happens to everyone and IS a part of life. Please do yourself a favor Perez and stop being so ageist! Why don't you try bolstering those people; artists, musicians, actors who are getting older and praise them for their longevity instead of deprecating them for their age. Not cool, Perez, not cool!
Well said, Mona! Jeez Mario. Lurves ya ass, but don't be mean.
Homo says what?
ESPECIALLY
MICHAEL
STIPE…
(REALLY)…
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.
.
..
…
….
…..
Re: Mona – YEAH
…………………..Re: Mona – ………………………
.
.
.
.UH HUH
Mike Stipe needing to "come out" is about as necesary as Clay Aiken needing to as well.
Whats next Ryan Seacrest is going to admit he is gay too?
NO KIDDING
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If you've heard one REM song, you've heard them all.
Yay! Michael Stipe ROCKS! (and so does REM).
REM is one of the best bands ever…Losing my religion is an awesome song, but can anyone tell me what they are talking about in that song? lol….and i laughed when he said 'and of course people i was sleeping with knew i was gay'…obviously! lol..but Go Michael Stipe, your an awesome artist!
I have been an R.E.M. fan for many, many years and I'm so excited about a new album! I must say, I'm sad to finally hear those words from Michael Stipe. I've always had a little crush
I knew this for years. When I was in college we took a road trip to Athens, Ga. Late 80's and there was some drama about his girl friend finding out. It was before they really got big and we met them. Cool times.
great freakin' band!! great freakin' picture too!!
Wow didn't know he was gay. There were signs of course, but I didn't know. Too bad people are too afraid of these things that they feel the need to hide them.
Great band, and good people, no matter what Michael's sexuality is.
I hope it helps other kids to know that they are important and they matter in this world
I love Michael and I love the band. I'd go straight or gay for him any day of the week! Can't hear the new album.
No, he's straight.
yheah so i saw rem at langerado last weeks
suckerrrsss
I LOVE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What blind person on the planet didn't know???? they all look awful too.
One of the most talented groups ever. Love their work.
I lived in athens for years and you would always see him around town with a teenage boy
Love, love LOVE REM!!!!
I'll never tire of them. Can't wait for the next tour!
I spy Panic at the disco
like duh. we always knew that his aids patient look was a slight giveaway.
It WAS SOOOOOOO obvious! My gaydar went off the charts whenever that dude was on tv!
Anybody who lived in Athens, Georgia, in the 80s & 90s knows Michael Stipe is not just gay, but an absolute flaming, promiscuous queen! EVERY gay man in Athens during that period of time who wasn't severely deformed slept with Michael Stipe! I knew this guy who was dating Stipe during the "Green" tour….Stipe flew him all over the world to see him on weekends. I used to see Stipe at this bar called The Globe just about every time I went there. He was a pompous ass. But, if you walked around the corner to another bar called the Georgia Bar, you would see the other three guys (Peter Buck, Bill Berry & Mike Mills) and they were the nicest, most normal guys you would ever meet. And from what I understand, they still are. I have also *heard* through the rumor mill that Stipe is HIV+. But I haven't heard anything official yet. I hope it's not true. I mean, the guy may be a prick, but he doesn't deserve that…nor do the hundreds of men he has slept with, either!
Re: jomamma – Then that MUST mean your mother's a WHORE!
OMG- I thought the guy on the left was Clay Aiken!
Stipe is 100% irrelevant. When he was famous he could have come out—but No!–he Stayed in The Fucking Closet with the rest of the Hollywood phonies. Michael, go away.
P.S. We all knew when we heard you and Natalie Merchant rode on your own little bus together on tour. yuck! You Should Have Stood Up For Gay People When You Had The Chance. NOT NOW when you are nobody!!!
And when the hell was SPIN relevant?? In the last century???
duh…? didn't he come out like 10 years ago? now that they have a new record coming out he has to come out? WHY NOT 25 YEARS AGO WHEN PEOPLE WERE LISTENING? and of course he has to mention he was bi .REMEMBER WHEN ELTON WAS BI? HA.
wow think of all the 50 year old sexually confused closet queens he'll be helping now.thanks mike
Its always been obvious that Michael is gay or bi altleast. So for anyone to bitch over the fact that he hasnt spelled it out is just idiotic. I`m straight and I havent spelled it out for anyone. I don`t have to come out as straight. So why the hell do gay people have to anounce, to an ignorant audience what their prefrence is? Gay/straight who cares!? Who he sleeps with is his bussiness. He doesnt have to be a activist. He doesnt represent the entire gay community, nor should he have to. As long as he is true to himself and those around him, the rest of us should STFU!
I applaud the people who come out and make a statement. But I it shouldnt be a must. I think being gay is normal, therefore its not something that has to be made a big deal about.
GAY? I DIDN'T KNOW THAT. ANOTHER REASON TO LIKE THEM
Didn't even know he was gay. I'm not gay but Stipe is an interesting creature. If I were gay, I'd probably find him attractive.
greatest band ever!
by the way, this isn't michael officially coming out, kids. hasn't he been candid about his sexuality for the last few decades? also, i'm pretty sure he doesn't like to be labeled as gay, straight, or bisexual. he has dated both men and women (but does prefer men).
Re: jimmyjazz – BABY! I KNOW I'M AN "OLDER" WOMAN BUT MIKEY'S BEEN OUT (AT LEAST PEEKING OUT) FOR YEARS! MY BROTHER WAS LICKING THE TV SCREEN WHEN R.E.M. HIT MTV IN THE 80'S! MAJOR TEEN CRUSH! NOT TO MENTION MANY, MANY OTHER INFLUENTIAL GROUPS THINK THEY'RE THE GREATEST BAND EVER. AHHHHHHHHH THE KNOWLEDGE OF AGE!
I love Michael Stipe, gay or not. I am 80's gal and he was the coolest thing to come to college rock radio. If you are reading this, Michael, just know I adore you.
I knew he was gay after their first song…..
does it matter that he smokes pole? no….
The band makes good music…..
I fuckin' loved "7 Chinese Brothers"! Does he think it was mundane or something? It's still very real, and great to croon along to. Now I know who the sweet short-haired boy and girl in the song were, and why he felt pain for them. It's from the Reckoning album, which also contained their first breakout hit," So.Central Rain(I'm Sorry)", another gorgeous tune. It's some of my favvorite REM stuff. Don't let him say it didn't work! From an early 80's fan from the South, please don't say you're not that kind of writer. Maybe not now, but then, there was no one better.
Athens, GA, is not your typical little southern town. I lived
there during the early 80's (probably saw REM, 100 times).
I am sure Michael was very happy there.
R.E.M. = Rear Entry Men
Re: Teresa – You are wrong on so many levels. You know nothing
FUCK YEAH, R.E.M.
what's with you, perez? you're always talking smack on artists that KNOW how to make music. instead u listen to ppl like RISKAY. seriously, clean yur ears. listen to R.E.M and RADIOHEAD [remember them? how u dissed them in a another blog]
YAAAYY r.e.m!!
Nice.
Why is it every fucking article that gets written about R.E.M. makes a big issue out of Stipe being gay. It's 2008 people! Why couldn't this have been about how great the new music is? It's an awesome release and they have been busting ass to put it together. They have given free shows like mad, performed at small venues and going out of their way to give people great music to listen to. R.E.M. will always be number one in my book, no matter who they're fucking! That point is moot! Peter Buck got a divorce last year, Mike is successfully raising his kid, and Bill Berry has a child now. There! You know all you need to know about their personal lives. Go buy the new release and just be happy that there's decent music to listen to without any cursing, dissing or hating bullshit on it!
Shiny? Happy?
You betcha!!!
come on, everyone's known for 15 or 20 years that stipe is a big honking gaylord who's never apologized about it. years ago, he was on charlie rose and said what he really is in terms of his sexuality is a selfish control freak who's unable to have a meaningful relationship with anyone. he also said that that he wouldn't have spoken publicly if it hadn't been for his friendships with kurt cobain and courtney love. i like him, his mates, and their music to the extreme. oh yeah, and he's gaunt because he's a serious no-meat guy. hey michael, try the chicken salad!