R.E.M. Breakup: Life's Rich Pageant

Band was uncompromising and hugely influential during 31-year career.
By Gil Kaufman


R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe
Photo: Getty Images

Some bands have a sound, some have a look, others a strange allure you can't quite explain and, in rare cases, all three.

R.E.M. were one of those bands. The long-running alt rock godheads who packed it in after 31 years on Wednesday (September 21) will be remembered for a lot of things by a lot of the people who bought millions of their albums. But I'll remember them best for the consistent, exquisite confusion they sowed.

It's hard to put your finger on how this strange brew came to define the alternative-rock era of the mid-1980s and early 1990s. Peter Buck's iconic, chiming, Byrds-inspired guitars — which came to be known simply as his signature "jangle" — bassist Mike Mills' flawless high harmonies and Nudie-suit style, original drummer Bill Berry's economic, steady-on drumming and singer Michael Stipe's cryptic ... everything.

This was a band that should have had no chance of becoming what they did. They were too odd, too hard to unpack. From day one, contemporaries like U2 had soaring rhetoric and urgent arena-reaching power that seemed destined to conquer the world through a combination of ambition, chutzpah and titanic riffs.

But R.E.M.'s alchemy was darker, not as immediately obvious, which is what made all the difference. They literally made no sense. From their 1983 full-length debut, Murmur, through to their final, 15th album, this year's Collapse Into Now, Stipe's lyrics were like Zen poetry: knotty, stream-of-consciousness and thought-provoking in a way 99 percent of rock music never is, or was. You couldn't sing along because half the time it was hard to hear what he was even saying. And when you did find out, the Rubik's cube just spun again as you tried to decipher what he was all about.

R.E.M. made you work for it.

It didn't matter if you were inspired enough to dig into their muses, which ranged from beat poets and mad literary ravers like William S. Burroughs to punk godmother Patti Smith and the Flying Burrito Brothers, or just let their music wash over you. The end result was that you left with more than you came in with.

Even when they hit the sweet spot with hits like "Everybody Hurts," "The One I Love," "Shiny Happy People" and the multi-VMA-winning "Losing My Religion," R.E.M. challenged you in other ways, through arty, envelope-pushing videos.

I got the chance to interview the band a number of times in the mid- to late '90s and early 2000s, and I probably worked harder preparing for those chats than for any others I'd done before or since. Because, like in their music, R.E.M. tested you in interviews. They didn't give pat, pre-planned answers. They fired back honestly and unflinchingly when it felt like the questions were unfair or slanted and always focused on the one thing that mattered most to them: the music.

With few exceptions, you didn't read tabloid reports about the personal lives of the group's members, their finances or Hollywood exploits. Mostly that was because there weren't any tales to tell. The stories were all there in the grooves, in songs like "Talk About the Passion" and "World Leader Pretend."

Their inner circle was a trusted group of friends and advisers that changed little over the years, one they treated like family. They were also one of rock's most politically and socially literate groups ever, supporting everything from PETA to Rock the Vote, environmental causes and human rights.

R.E.M. showed the world, and such acolytes as Nirvana and Pavement, that you could stick to your guns and keep making the music you heard in your head even if it wasn't fashionable — especially if it wasn't fashionable.

Talk about the passion.

Share your favorite R.E.M. memories in the comments below.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1671171/rem-break-up-history.jhtml

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Sarah Jessica Parker: I Talk to Myself Constantly

Making her way around the city, Sarah Jessica Parker was spotted out and about in the Big Apple yesterday (September 20).

The always-stylish "I Don't Know How She Does It" star looked polished as she ventured through SoHo, pairing a cropped pink jacket with gray wash skinny jeans and a blue handbag.

Obviously needing the midday walk to get away from it all, the uber-busy mother of three has opened up about dealing with the stresses of her demanding schedule, telling People, ?I talk to myself. Constantly. Both my baby-sitter and I talk to ourselves, and we?re constantly apologizing for it.?

Miss Parker notes that, while life can get rather hectic, females are wired to handle their never-ending duties, as she explains ?Frankly, I think women are accustomed to doing a lot. We can talk on the phone and tie a shoe and pack a lunch and change a diaper.?

And despite how crazy her things may seem, SJP says she really doesn't have it too bad, telling, "There are millions and millions of women in this country that do it far better than I do with far less resources and far less support.?

Source: http://celebrity-gossip.net/sarah-jessica-parker/sarah-jessica-parker-i-talk-myself-constantly-545823

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Celebs Hit Fall New Yorker's For Children Gala Pharrell's Qream Party In ATL

Celebs hit Cipriani 42nd St. for the 2011 New Yorkers For Children Fall Gala last night.  Pics of Serena, Rachel Roy, Selita Ebanks, and more inside.  Plus, celebs who hit Pharrell's Qream liquor party in Atlanta inside....

 

Serena rocked this long deep plum gown for the occassion last night:

With a bit of pink highlights added to her hair.  Pretty look.

Selita Ebanks rocked this floor length white and silver strapless gown:

Gorge.

Designer Rachel Roy rocked her black and cream sweater over a deep silver dress.

Kevin Liles hit the event with Trey Songz's mom April.

And Carmelo hit the carpet in his brown pinstripe suit.

 

Down in the ATL:

Pharrell hosted a private launch party in Atlanta last night for his Qream liquor.

Oh...hey Peter Thomas.

JD was there getting his sip on.

Chilli kicked it with Shanti Das.

And ATL Housewife Kandi Burruss was there.

Have you tried Pharrell's liquor yet?

Photo Credit: Tristian Howe/Paras Griffin

Source: http://theybf.com/2011/09/21/celebs-hit-fall-new-yorkers-for-children-gala-pharrells-qream-party-in-atl

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Ne-Yo Is Engaged

R&B star Ne-Yo has become the latest celebrity to announce engagement and baby news on the same day. The singer, real name Shaffer Smith, is to wed longtime girlfriend Monyetta Shaw, who is expecting his second child, according to Us Weekly magazine. Ne-Yo became a first-time dad in November, when Shaw gave birth to daughter [...]

Source: http://www.celebritymound.com/ne-yo-is-engaged/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ne-yo-is-engaged

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HGTV, LA and Dining Room Tables

I've been watching a lot of HGTV since coming to LA. My favorite shows are House Hunters and House Hunters International. There's also another show I like to watch called For Rent, but only because it makes me angry.

When it comes to apartments/homes, I think living in New York for the past eleven years has made me bitter because there was this whiny broad on For Rent a few nights ago who was looking at a huge place—A HUGE PLACE—and was like, "There's no place for a dining room table..."

B*TCH, YOU'RE LUCKY TO GET A KITCHEN IN NEW YORK.

I hated her.

Now there's some stupid lady on House Hunters who wants a townhouse with a fireplace that she can turn on with a light switch. IT HAS TO BE A LIGHT SWITCH because she doesn't want to bend down and flip a switch on the floor.

WHO DO THESE PEOPLE THINK THEY ARE?

Anyway, I know my LA update is WAY overdue (and truth be told I wrote a long one last week but for some reason it didn't save so I lost the whole thing and I was so angry that I just said, "Ah, f*ck it," and closed the computer instead of rewriting) but to give you a quick update, I AM SO HAPPY HERE. I MEAN, I'M REALLY, REALLY HAPPY. And I think living here and watching HGTV—both of these things combined—has made me realize that New York was just beating me down. I mean, the fireplace lady—yes, she's an idiot. But there's nothing wrong with wanting a dining room table. Why did I get so mad at that lady?

Since being here, at least once a day I ask myself why I have lived in New York for so long. (It's like I had Stockholm Syndrome or something.) CALIFORNIA IS AWESOME. It's like the promised land. It's sunny all the time and there are birds and flowers everywhere. I have space out here. I have a sofa on the patio out here. I HAVE A SOFA OUTSIDE. I haven't seen one rat since I've been here. But hummingbirds? THEY ZIP BY MY HEAD EVERY DAY. I am so happy.

I'm supposed to go back to New York in November, but truth be told, I'm not sure I will.

Source: http://www.prettyinthecity.com/blog/2011/7/15/hgtv-la-and-dining-room-tables.html

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Lady Gaga's Harper's Bazaar Cover Is 'A Big Deal'

Fashion photographers Inez & Vinoodh say stripped-down photo shows 'the old soul that she is.'
By Jocelyn Vena


Lady Gaga on the October 2011 cover of <i>Harper's Bazaar</i>
Photo: Inez & Vinoodh / Hearst Communications

Lady Gaga appears barefaced on the latest cover of Harper's Bazaar. The cover is simply a close-up of her face: no makeup, wigs, masks or high-end couture. For a star who's frequently adorned elaborately, the simplicity of the look was so drastic that it made headlines.

Fans might be surprised to learn the cover shot was taken during a hectic video shoot in Nebraska, where Gaga was not only shooting her official "You and I" clip, but also several Inez & Vinoodh-directed fashion films.

The pair, who shot the Harper's cover, told MTV News the photo truly exposes Gaga as the person she is. "She's so beautiful in it. It's her emotion and her expression, and you can just see the old soul that she is, the pure happiness," Inez explained. "She's a very special human being that is all about giving. I think that's what's great with that cover: It's so out; it's so talking to the people. That's her most incredible quality: radiating that happiness that she has, and you really see it."

Over the course of her career, Gaga has had many extreme looks on the cover of countless magazines, and it seems that this stripped-down look was the only natural progression for her. The duo, who also shot her three-headed V Magazine cover, explained that this cover is "her purely; seeing her how she is inside."

So, how did the cover come to be? Inez explained, "I think it was Stephen Gan, the art director of Harper's Bazaar, that came to us and said, 'I would love to have a shoot with Gaga where she's really bare, where it's really her,' because he knows her very well; they're great friends. He feels the same way that we do: She is so beautiful, but because of all the stuff around, you don't get the chance to see really the gorgeousness and the person inside in that part of her. For Harper's Bazaar, I think it's a big deal to have a black-and-white cover to begin with, and it's great."

It was an idea that Gaga jumped on quite enthusiastically. "She's at a point in life too where she's very confident and ... everything's going so well and enjoying so much, it's really the right timing too to bare herself like that," the pair added.

Share your thoughts on Gaga's Harper's Bazaar cover in the comments below!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1670535/lady-gaga-harpers-bazaar-october-2011.jhtml

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New Led Zeppelin On The Way? Jason Bonham Hints At 'Jam' Sessions With Jimmy Page -- But Not Robert Plant

Drummer admits he doesn't know what will come of 'new material.'
By Chris Harris


Jason Bonham
Photo: Larry Marano/ Getty Images

On Friday morning, mere hours before he was due to take the stage with classic rockers Foreigner at Detroit's GM Renaissance Center, drummer Jason Bonham — the son of late Led Zeppelin kitman John Bonham — told Jim Johnson and Lynne Woodison of local rock station 94.7 WCSX that he'd be an ex-member of Foreigner as of September 1. But that's not the only thing he said.

Much to the delight of Led Zeppelin fans everywhere, Bonham revealed that he's been meeting up with Led Zep guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones in recent months and that they've been "trying to do some new material and writing."

It was the first time since Led Zeppelin announced they would re-form for a single performance (which happened late last year at London's O2 Arena, in honor of the late Ahmet Ertegün, who signed the band to Atlantic Records in 1969) that anyone connected to the band has confirmed publicly that new music could be on the horizon for the iconic rockers. While the bandmembers have stopped short of definitively ruling out such a reunion, singer Robert Plant insisted in the wake of last year's show that he intended to focus on promoting and touring behind his critically lauded album with bluegrass artist Alison Krauss, Raising Sand.

Not that Bonham knows what — if anything — will happen with the new material he's been working on with Page (who collaborated with pop singer Leona Lewis on an uneven version of Zep's "Whole Lotta Love" at the Olympic closing ceremonies in Beijing on Sunday night) and Jones. He said he just shows up and takes his seat behind the kit.

"I've been over [to England] a couple of times," Bonham said. "I've been working with Jimmy and John Paul and trying to do ... some new material and some writing. I don't know what it will be, but it will be something. At the moment, all I know is I have the great pleasure to go and jam with the two guys and start work on some material. When I get there, I never ask any questions. If I get a phone call to go and play, I enjoy every moment of it. Whatever it ends up as, to ever get a chance to jam with two people like that, it is a phenomenal thing for me. It's my life. It's what I've dreamed about doing."

He said it's still too early to tell what will become of these "jam" sessions, but admitted that the "possibility of doing something is in the cards. I really felt it was in the cards from the moment we walked offstage at the O2." Bonham also explained that, before there could be a Led Zep LP, "lots of politics [would need to] get ironed out," but added that recording with Zep is "something I've always wanted to do."

Bonham noticeably didn't mention frontman Plant's name during the discussion. A spokesperson for Page's management had no comment on the matter, and a spokesperson for Jones' management could not be reached by press time.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1593468/jason-bonham-hints-at-jam-sessions-with-jimmy-page.jhtml

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