R.E.M.
may have disbanded in 2011, but their music has never been more alive — thanks in big part to Michael Shannon . The Oscar-nominated actor, 50, has taken his fandom for the rock band to new heights in recent years, touring some of their biggest albums in full with Jason Narducy and even singing the band’s 1985 single “Driver 8” on The Tonight Show in January. In a new interview with The Bitter Southerner , Shannon opened up about his love for R.
E.M. and performing their songs — even if he’s not a fan of actors moonlighting as musicians.
“I kind of walked away from [songwriting]. Because, if nothing else, it just seems kind of greedy,” said Shannon, who previously fronted the indie rock trio Corporal. “It’s like, how much good fortune can one person expect to have in their life? I’m not a fan of actors having rock and roll bands.
” Still, he described his performances of R.E.M.
’s music as “glorified karaoke.” “Karaoke is, you know, on the one hand kind of an embarrassing ridiculous thing. But on the other hand, it’s an extraordinarily beautiful, moving thing that allows anybody, literally anybody, to go up on stage and sing a song that they love and sing it with as much passion or however the hell they want to sing it,” he explained.
The Nocturnal Animals star’s first R.E.M.
moment came in July 2023, when he and Narducy celebrated the 40th anniversary of the band’s debut album Murmur by playing it in full in Chicago with some help f.