While R.E.M. has no intentions of reuniting any time soon, the group’s frontman has recently resurfaced in the spotlight (though he isn’t losing his religion). After performing on The Tonight Show and again at The Music Of David Bowie tribute, Stipe seems eager to get back into making music. He also seems eager to support presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who he recently endorsed with a lengthy column in Rolling Stone.
Stipe continued the campaign with a speech in Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY yesterday, introducing Sanders with some heartfelt words. The Brooklyn rally saw Stipe wax poetic about the candidate, with him saying that Sanders is “a man with an unflappable position on issues that are important to me, like LGBTQ rights, environmental justice and equality. Whether we’re talking about pay equity, a living wage for all fulltime employees or making sure Main Street doesn’t suffer because of Wall Street, Bernie Sanders walks the walk and talks the talk in terms of fairness.”
He continued, saying “Over the years of traveling across the United States and outside of America with my former band, I have discovered within myself an underlying but potent appreciation for justice and common decency… I seek out leaders who represent themselves honestly and fairly, and who share the same appreciation of justice.”
You can watch the full speech below: