R.E.M.- Monster 30th Anniversary- Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills 9-23

When R.E.M.’s Monster album, already the alterna-band’s ninth (!), came out in September 1994, most casual rock fans didn’t know that lead singer Michael Stipe was friends with actor River Phoenix and Nirvana singer/songwriter Kurt Cobain, both of whom died while R.E.M. was making Monster. Also it was unknown at the time  that R.E.M. had actually broken up and walked out at one point. All we knew when we heard Monster was that, unlike its predecessors Out of Time and Automatic for the People, Monster rocked, and it felt right.

My guests here In the Studio the week of September 23 are Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, and Mike Mills, looking back with the soundtrack provided by “What’s the Frequency Kenneth?”, “Crush with Eyeliner”, “Bang and Blame”, and “Strange Currencies” bottled up in an emotional and popular blockbuster which became a sales Monster for R.E.M., debuting at #1 on Billboard, ditto in the UK, eventually going quadruple platinum. –Redbeard