Michael Stipe put a damper on R.E.M. hopes of a reunion today. The band’s frontman appeared on WNYC’s All Of It and directly addressed rumors that they might be getting back together in honor of their ten-year anniversary. All Of It host Alison Stewart directly brought up a recent Rolling Stone piece that gave the chance of their reunion a 30% chance, but Stipe wasn’t having it.
“That’s wishful thinking,” he began. “We will never reunite. We decided when we split up that that would just be really tacky and probably money-grabbing, which might be the impetus for a lot of bands to get back together.” Well, there’s very little wiggle room in an answer like that so fans are just going to have to take him at his word. Then again, plenty of artists do get to a point decades down the road where money or nostalgia does reach a boiling point, and even the most staved off reunions have eventually happened. So even if Stipe feels that way now, it might be worth checking back in after another five or ten years have passed.
Check out the entire interview above or tune in to hear his response for yourself around 24:25.
