Talk:Michael Stipe/Archive 1

"Short sighted" ?
Going to change short-sighted to near-sighted. I often make the same mistake when writing, but short-sightedness is an insult, where near-sightedness is an actual occular condition! --Rpmullan 06:10, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Picture
I hate to say this, but that is a genuinely awful photo being used for the lead picture. Does anyone have anything better? --Masamage 04:18, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Outline of my lover?
There is no entry on Wikipedia for Douglas Martin or his book Outline of My Lover, published in 2000 and about his relationship with Michael Stipe. Though neither Martin nor Stipe has publicly stated that it is, indeed, about Stipe, it seems obvious that this should be included in his entry.

Possibly but I'm hesistant to add it since neither of them has publicly admitted it although it's fairly obvious. --Starladustangel 05:38, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

Grandfather of alternative rock
This line seems a tad suspicious, can anyone dig up a quote that proves this? claiming anyone to be the "grandfather" of something should provide evidence.-Artega 00:43, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

Well, REM is widely known as among the pioneers of the alternative scene. They were the first ones doing this kind of music. I'll look for some corroboration on the Alt Rock page.Elmorell 18:46, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

Image reverts
We all need to come to some sort of consenus on the image for this article. Please do not continue to revert and make changes without coming here first and discussing them. I'd like to get all of the preceived problems with images on this article out in the open so that they may be discussed and resolved in a civilized manner. So lets get to it. -- malo (tlk) (cntrbtns) 23:59, 4 March 2007 (UTC)

I concur. Please inquire, advise, and feel free to comment on my page. Licensing certainly isn't an issue with the image I've volunteered, and the derelict who keeps replacing it with an inferior image hasn't responded to my inquiries as to his perspective or motive, so I certainly welcome your assistance and would obviously respect any consensus opinion. Dannyg3332 00:45, 5 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Why would we comment on your talk page when you delete what people post? - Dudesleeper · Talk 00:57, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

Tbh, this current picture, with him leaning holding a mic stand, is REALLY bad, needs a better one. Maurauth 13:31, 7 April 2007 (UTC)

sentence duplicated
As a quick readthrough shows, the sentence about Stipe's relationship with Natalie Merchant appears both under Career, and Personal Life. One of those is probably superfluous.Eh Nonymous 11:41, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Amended accordingly. - Dudesleeper · Talk 14:57, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Pop star
On The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (May 13, 2004), Stipe corrected the host (who referred to Stipe as a "rock star") by stating that he was a "pop star". - Dudesleeper · Talk 14:33, 29 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Artists aren't objective, reliable sources for assigning themselves genres. WesleyDodds (talk) 23:18, 29 December 2007 (UTC)

Needed
I'm surprised at the lack of information on Micheal since he is the mentor and heavy influence on many bands such as radiohead, coldplay, etc and is seen as such in the music industry.

Also there's not much here concerning his social activities i.e. pro-choice, anti Christian anti Bush stances.

im only mentioning all this as i'm not adept enough to write such articles anyone out there fancy giving it a try? for someone who has achieved so much in his field im very surprised on the shortness of the article.

===>Anti-Christian? You had me up until that... For what it's worth, I think the article is surprisingly short, too. It's one of several that are way down on my list of priorities. -Justin (koavf), talk 17:58, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, the article is good but half of it deals with Stipe's sexuality. There must be more, better material about Stipe out there. Maybe in my Rolling Stone Collection. 70.197.45.239 (talk) 00:10, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

Buddhist?
Is Michael really a Buddhist? I've never heard that anywhere outside of this page. If so, what form does he follow?Argenteum 21:13, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

He´s not a buddhist in the usual religious sense. "I practice Buddhist philosophy and contemplation but I don't know if I'm more of anything." Michael Stipe The Buddhist Michael Stipe Lead Singer - R.E.M ... I think he´s an atheist. He already criticized religion several times and his songs often show religion in a negative way. I don´t think he really believes in reincarnation. 23:09, 28 April 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.244.53.93 (talk)

Atheist
He´s definetely an atheist, like Peter Buck too. He appears like that in many links. He just follows some aspects of buddhist. One of many links I can point. [philosophy.http://rateyourmusic.com/list/General_1/some_well_known_atheist_artists_bands/]85.244.53.93 (talk) 23:12, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

Musical style of Mujahideen?
Did Buckley really compare Stipe's singing to that of Mujahideen? I wasn't aware they were known for their singing! If he said that, what did he mean? Is muezzin perhaps intended? Mutt Lunker (talk) 23:23, 31 May 2008 (UTC)

vegetarianism
The 'Vegetarians' category might be misleading; although he was a famous vegetarian for many years, Michael Stipe started eating fish in 1995.

In recent news MIchael Stipe has stated he hasn't been a vegetarian since 2000 (8 years) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ethankap (talk • contribs) 21:54, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Math Tinder 04:48, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Oxegen Image
This article may be enhanced by one of my images located at Oxegen 2008 (his favourite festival). --➨♀♂ Candlewicke STundefined 11:56, 28 December 2008 (UTC)


 * A photo of his image on the jumbotron? I'm not sure that will enhance his article much. - Dudesleeper / Talk  13:47, 28 December 2008 (UTC)

Happiness soundtrack
I've added the song "Happiness" under 'discography' as Stipe can be heard in the film of the same name during the end credits. The IMDB page for the "soundtrack" at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0147612/soundtrack lists Stipe with Rain Phoenix for the track, which is where my information comes from.

Still, I have no confidence that a soundtrack containing this or any other tunes from the film was ever formally released, leaving me hesitant to source the song as belonging to that soundtrack, even if it is indeed featured in its entirety in the movie. Please amend this as needed. Ninestories (talk) 10:03, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

Mainstream popularity
The section "mainstream popularity" doesn't seem to contain much information about his "mainstream popularity", but is mainly about his sexuality, relationships and a rumour he had AIDS. Can some re-title or rewrite this please?

Also, the comment about his being "close" to Natalie Merchant is undoubtedly true, but I'm reading it as if it's intended to carry an innuendo. Is this suitable for a BLP article? --78.148.56.196 (talk) 20:10, 30 January 2009 (UTC)

baldness
shouldn't we create a new category for bald people in rock? We have Michael Stipe, Billy Corgan, Moby, Kyle Gass, Andy Partridge, Luca Prodan, el Indio Solari....

Ho, and Britney spears, but i guess she's not a rocker

I lul'd Boredom Swells (talk) 07:23, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

Image
I'm hoping we can do better than the current infobox image. Dudesleeper 00:21, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Agreed, it's terrible.

Don't agreed. It's fair as it says an importan thing about himself: "I cannot always being shaving and waxing my head and jaws... yes, I'm bald and I'm old but I'm beautiful as I am!" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.20.48.204 (talk) 13:09, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

Restored citations
I restored a lot of cited material that was removed for no reason. In many instances the citations were removed, but the text it was verifying remained. WesleyDodds (talk) 08:51, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

Mujahideen?
that R.E.M. biographer David Buckley compared to Celtic folk artists and Muslim mujahideen.[7]

I doubt Buckley wrote this, and if he did, he meant "Muaddheen", the man who 'sings' the call to prayer. In any event, lose the link to Islamic holy warriors - I doubt they do too much singing that Buckley could compare them to Stipe. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.249.56.213 (talk) 15:23, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

"R.E.M. as a trio"
The section "R.E.M. as a trio" contains no information about R.E.M., being entirely details of Stipe's personal life and work outside of R.E.M. during a certain time period. -- AvatarMN (talk) 10:49, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

I've come here to make a similar comment. Unexpected that it is still like this over a year later. In my opinion the category above it 'Mainstream Popularity' is also a rather inaccurate title for the text that is under it. Maybe 'Mainstream Popularity' and 'REM as a trio' need to be combined -- and at the same time given a different combined title. I may do it myself but it will have to be some other time as I'm not sure what do do about it just now. Billy Tallent (talk) 12:47, 18 October 2009 (UTC)

Corrected grammar and spelling
I corrected a misspelling and a grammatical error. 192.155.57.58 (talk) 18:36, 2 November 2009 (UTC)


 * You get a big-ass gold star.

Gay vs. bisexual
I think the BBC article cited as reference for Stipe being gay seems to have misconstrued Stipe's statement. It's probable Stipe just prefers to be called "queer", not that he is only attracted to men. He's made statements over the years that said otherwise, and he has been in relationships with women. WesleyDodds 09:49, 9 April 2007 (UTC)


 * I think you're right - someone with more sources on the band should expand the info about Stipe's sexuality and make the info more air tight. Overall the article could do with some structural work and a brush in places. LuciferMorgan 10:24, 9 April 2007 (UTC)


 * I remember reading soemthing that stated he used to say to himself he was bisexual, but now knows that he is completly gay, I'm sure that was what he said when he 'came out'. Maurauth 22:22, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

The BBC article is a total misinterpretation, concluding "queer necessarily means gay", when in the context of Stipe's actual usage of the term, it doesn't.~ZytheTalk to me! 23:10, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

'Equal oppoptunity lech', 'relationships with men and women' - he's bi. F W Nietzsche (talk) 05:22, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

Recently Stipe said how he's 80% attracted to men 20% attracted to women. If he were gay and not bisexual, he would not be sexually attracted to women at all. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.162.251.171 (talk) 06:31, 15 March 2011 (UTC)

Comments on his religion
In response to the last two comments, I recall reading in a magazine a long time ago (a long time ago - I seem to recall it was a magazine in my doctor's waiting room!) that Stipe was interviewed, asked "Are you religious?" and said "Not per se, but I am really interested". He also quite emphatically denied in the same interview that he was an atheist. He was asked whether he was a Buddhist, and said that he was not, but that people often thought that because of his bald head! The sub-heading for the article was "Finding his religion" which was obviously a play on the song by REM called Losing my Religion. I should say that that song is not meant as an apology for apostasy - it takes its name from Southern U.S. slang for "Being at one's wit's end". ACEOREVIVED (talk) 18:54, 6 September 2011 (UTC)

Sexual orientation (category)
He's currently listed under "Bisexual musicians", but considering the content of his article, wouldn't it be a bit more fair to list him as an "LGBT musician" (our first in the category, it seems)? Maxisdetermined 15:25, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

Why does he have to be lumped into a category? I don't see Wikipedia labelling every heterosexual artist. What difference does it make? Jesuisbryony


 * I just removed Stipe of Category:Gay Musicians, although I did leave Category:LBGT Musicians because he did define himself as a "queer artist". WereWolf (talk) 19:10, 27 November 2008 (UTC)

He's now in bi musicians and LGBT musicians from the US. The article makes clear the fact he is an out bisexual. F W Nietzsche (talk) 05:26, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

I don't think he should be in bi musicians, though. He says he sees himself as queer, which is an identity apart from being gay or bi. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.66.88.162 (talk) 18:23, 16 November 2011 (UTC)

Balance Needed for Personal Life
It seems like nearly the entire section on his personal life is about his sexuality. I agree that it warrants a mention, but it seems a bit out-of-proportion. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.34.148.250 (talk) 05:21, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

What "section on his personal life?" There is none listed in the Contents box. He was on a talk show recently mentioning his boyfriend. And he is out as bisexual, although he abhors labels and was famously quoted saying "labels are for soup cans." He mentioned in an interview, not so long ago, that for every 10 people he is attracted to, about 7 are men and 3 are women.162.83.219.238 (talk) 19:09, 31 March 2009 (UTC)

Hmm...that's what they all say! Someone needs to list these elusive women he's actually dated **tumbleweed rolls by** —Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.159.111.98 (talk) 04:33, 22 December 2009 (UTC)

I found a couple of articles that address Michael's idea of his sexual identity. I'll post them in the Personal Life section. Spinthekitty2001 (talk) 22:15, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

Much more interesting is the fact that he grew up moving constantly as a military brat (child of a career military family) with no hometown (as is common for many military brats). See the Wikipedia article Military Brat (US subculture). :64.134.222.54 (talk) 01:48, 11 May 2012 (UTC)

Retirement
Michael Stipe has not retired. During the 12.12.12 concert another artist joked that he was retired. It was part of joking about how old all the artists at the concert were. Michael Stiped has released new music since the concert as is noted in the article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.68.207.244 (talk) 06:28, 13 June 2013 (UTC)

depression
might be worth adding a sentence about his depression. see Eiler7 (talk) 23:29, 26 February 2014 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on Michael Stipe. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20081112053839/http://www.lacoste.com:80/michaelstipe/index.php?GL=EN to http://www.lacoste.com/michaelstipe/index.php?GL=EN

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

Cheers. —cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 12:39, 17 October 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 2 external links on Michael Stipe. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20132022480200/http://www.furious.com/perfect/lyndastipe.html to http://www.furious.com/perfect/lyndastipe.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20050701082559/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Charts/SINGLES.html to http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Charts/SINGLES.html

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 04:52, 10 June 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 2 external links on Michael Stipe. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20090225103005/http://www.dallasvoice.com/instant-tea/2009/01/18/michael-stipes-and-his-boyfriends-apartment/ to http://www.dallasvoice.com/instant-tea/2009/01/18/michael-stipes-and-his-boyfriends-apartment/
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20091124013015/http://softskull.com/detailedbook.php?isbn=1-932360-16-6 to http://www.softskull.com/detailedbook.php?isbn=1-932360-16-6

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 03:02, 9 December 2017 (UTC)