For me, as a music fan, visuals kind of steal away the purity of the song. My instinct is not to provide a visual to go with a piece of music. But here's MTV. It's really powerful. — Michael Stipe Copy Share Image
So, when you divide the world into music lovers, music fans and then those people who are just very casual about their music, it's wallpaper to them, it's elevator music, it's just the thing that's playing in the background that… — Michael Stipe Copy Share Image
We don't get groupies.We get teenagers who want to read us their poetry. — Michael Stipe Copy Share Image
At the [teenage] time, I did have an inkling of my sexuality. And I had an inkling that I was different from other people… — Michael Stipe Copy Share Image
I don't find R.E.M. to be nihilistic. There is a constant undertone of joyous optimism. I'm not going to kill myself to Patti Smith… — Michael Stipe Copy Share Image
I simply constructed a project to try to snap Kurt [Cobain] out of a frame of mind. I sent him a plane ticket and… — Michael Stipe Copy Share Image
I was vulnerable every day. Every night that I stepped on stage I was laying myself open. — Michael Stipe Copy Share Image
We're absolutely American and distinctly so, I think. That's part of what people respond to outside of this country, part of the reason that… — Michael Stipe Copy Share Image
[Columbia House] magazines were how I found out about the punk world going on in New York. Because of what I read, at the… — Michael Stipe Copy Share Image
I'm tired of being this solemn poet of the masses, the enigma shrouded in a mystery. — Michael Stipe Copy Share Image
Frankly I'm not great with heroin addicts. I tried heroin, but it was by accident. I'm not great with that level of substance abuse. — Michael Stipe Copy Share Image
The whole punk ethic was do-it-yourself, and I've always been very literal, especially as a kid. When they said that anybody can do this,… — Michael Stipe Copy Share Image
They spoke truth and a lot of people listened… that voice, Kurt we miss you. — Michael Stipe Copy Share Image
A wise man once said-'the skill in attending a party is knowing when it's time to leave,' — Michael Stipe Copy Share Image
Anything you do as a group is fraught with compromise... But everyone 's got to do that, right? It's part of being a good… — Michael Stipe Copy Share Image
To be called an elder statesman is so unbelievably insulting. Brad Pitt is exactly three years younger than me. — Michael Stipe Copy Share Image
![“At the [teenage] time, I did have an inkling of my sexuality. And I had an inkling that I was different from other people in ways beyond my sexuality. But I didn't get into music because I thought, Oh, these people will understand me.” quote by Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/956/michael-stipe-6714_different_at-the-teenage-time-i-did-have-an-inklin_64270.jpg)
![“I simply constructed a project to try to snap Kurt [Cobain] out of a frame of mind. I sent him a plane ticket and a driver, and he tacked the plane ticket to the wall in the bedroom and the driver sat outside the house for 10 hours. Kurt wouldn't come out and wouldn't answer the phone.” quote by Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/208/michael-stipe-6714_answers_i-simply-constructed-a-project-to-try-to_117192.jpg)
![“[Columbia House] magazines were how I found out about the punk world going on in New York. Because of what I read, at the age of 15, I hounded the local record store to order a copy of Horses [1975] for me by Patti Smith.” quote by Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b4f/michael-stipe-6714_age_columbia-house-magazines-were-how-i-foun_159607.jpg)
