Solo Stipe: An R.E.M. Story
We hear a sudden flow of synths providing a thumping backdrop, then Michael Stipe begins softly crooning, “Honey’s got got got a good feeling.” And just like that, R.E.M.’s former frontman is back with his first solo single ever, Your Capricious Soul, and as a listener I couldn’t agree more with this opening line. After R.E.M. disbanded in 2011, coinciding with the release of their fifteenth and final album, Collapse Into Now, fans were eager to learn if and what musical offerings Stipe would eventually and hopefully release unto the world. At long last, after contributing on a few third party projects over the last eight years, Stipe has released a track of his own (all proceeds going to climate advocacy group Extinction Rebellion). Your Capricious Soul is a tune that goes down easy, despite its diametrically opposed themes of hopefulness and hopelessness, as they relate to the state of the earth. The song works as a natural, albeit somewhat basic, continuation of R.E.M.’s work yet its more exploratory and steeped in consciousness than it initially suggests, completed with the poetic imagery and emotional complexity we’ve come to expect from Stipe’s songwriting.
More specifically, it’s easy to write off Your Capricious Soul as a droll extension of the transitional late 90’s post drummer Bill Berry period of R.E.M.s journey, starting with 1998’s Up and hitting a low point with 2004’s Around the Sun. However, multiple listens to Stipe’s song reveal a deeper meaning, and a transformation within the instrumentation and vocals. By the end of the song, there’s a sense of conscious hope and rejuvenation. The first verse quickly comments on the purpose of God and how each of us strive to best serve our body and mind, but by the end Stipe is imploring a more active, and arguably less introspective, approach in serving the earth as well.
Being the proud holder of a BA in American Literature, I unabashedly looked up the definition of ‘capricious’. A quick Google search states the definition as “given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior.” This ties appropriately into the song, and lines such as “And the birds are dying / Or they might as well be” suggest a relation between our global concerns and the need for drastic, capricious changes within ourselves and how we manage our home planet. This verse nearly sounds like someone else is singing — it introduces a more high-pitched, angelically soft and youthful Stipe vocal, one that yearns for a shift. With the final lines “Yeah, the papers calling / And the photos flashing / And the fashion’s changing / Fast”, Stipe seems to be aware and hoping for a sea change within us as time is running out.
