It's been 15 long years since REM broke up. Michael Stipe isn't looking back.
On Tuesday evening (June 2), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee visited Jimmy Kimmel Show, where he performed the song "I Played the Fool", the theme song of the new HBO comedy series "« Rooster »" starring Steve Carrell.
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For the late-night broadcast, Stipe, bathed in green static and sporting a beard that would make Santa Claus envious, performed with a full band that included Grammy Award-winning producer, songwriter, and musician Andrew Watt, who co-produced Paul McCartney's new solo album. «The Boys of Dungeon Lane» , and also wrote and produced the original music for film "Rooster"« .
Since REM's official disbandment in 2011, Stipe has released several solo songs, including "Your Capricious Soul" (2019), "Drive to the Ocean" (2020), and "No Time For Love Like Now" as part of Aaron Dessner's side project Big Red Machine (2020).
There's still no word on when his long-awaited debut solo album will be released. Stipe mentioned it in April during an interview with Stephen Colbert on the now-defunct late-night talk show. Late Show . "One of the songs is the sound of a tree hearing itself for the first time," he said cryptically at the time, explaining that a friend had recorded the sound of a tree in his backyard in Georgia and then reproduced it for the song, which he described as sounding like Daft Punk. He added that he would include his version of the classic naval song "Drunken Sailor" on the as-yet-untitled album.
REM briefly reunited in 2024, when Athens, Georgia natives Stipe, Mike Mills, Bill Berry, and Peter Buck reunited to perform "Losing My Religion" at the Songwriters Hall of Fame gala in New York City on the night of their induction. Prior to that, the band's last full public concert took place in November 2008 in Mexico City, although the quartet also performed at a private event in 2016.
Watch Stipe and Watt perform on Kimmel's show on ABC below.
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