Michael Stipe Previews Solo Album with New Song “Hum Desiderata”

Michael Stipe has unveiled a new song, “Hum Desiderata,” exclusively on the online sound exhibition platform Joyfully Waiting. The “Desiderata” part of the musical work is a spoken-word rendition of Max Ehrmann’s poem from his installation at ICA Milan, featuring additional vocals from Athens, Georgia artist Elizabeth Hatmaker. Likely more interesting to Stipe fans, “Hum” is an instrumental version of a song from his upcoming debut solo album. Co-produced by Stipe and Andy LeMaster, the track is buoyed by dynamic, full strings. Back in April, the R.E.M. singer spoke about his first solo project during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where he also debuted a new song, “The Rest of Ever.” At the time, Stipe said he was writing the “final lyrics” for the album, announcing that it was coming out at the end of the year. He also described one of the songs as “the sound of a tree hearing itself for the first time through MIDI.” Earlier this year, Stipe teamed up with producer Andrew Watt, Josh Klinghoffer (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam), and Travis Barker for “I Played the Fool,” the theme to the HBO series Rooster, starring Steve Carell. He later performed the trac...