R.E.M. - Shiny Happy People (Official Music Video)

Thank you, my friend SGT (Join to see) for making us aware that January 4 is the anniversary of the birth of American singer, songwriter, musician, and lead singer for R.E.M. Michael Stipe.
Happy 59th birthday Michael Stipe.
Thanks as well for posting the upbeat official music video of R.E.M. performing Shiny Happy People

Shiny Happy People written by Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Peter Buck, William Berry

Lyrics
"Shiny happy people laughing
Meet me in the crowd, people, people
Throw your love around, love me, love me
Take it into town, happy, happy
Put it in the ground where the flowers grow
Gold and silver shine
Shiny happy people holding hands
Shiny happy people holding hands
Shiny happy people laughing
Everyone around, love them, love them
Put it in your hands, take it, take it
There's no time to cry, happy, happy
Put it in your heart where tomorrow shines
Gold and silver shine
Shiny happy people holding hands
Shiny happy people holding hands
Shiny happy people laughing
Whoa, here we go
Shiny happy people holding hands
Shiny happy people holding hands
Shiny happy people laughing
Shiny happy people holding hands
Shiny happy people holding hands
Shiny happy people laughing
Shiny happy people holding hands
Shiny happy people holding hands
Shiny happy people laughing
Shiny happy people holding hands (people, happy people)
Shiny happy people holding hands (people, happy people)
Shiny happy people holding hands (people, happy people)

REM's Michael Stipe Regrets Missing Kurt Cobain's MTV Unplugged Performance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpBise6WwIo

Images:
1. Michael Stipe, Marquee club, London, 1984
2. R.E.M. in 1983 - From left to right, Billy Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe. Photo by Paul Natkin
3. Michael Stipe later in life
4. Stipe, right with guitarist Mike Mills say that R.E.M. will never reform

Biographies:
1. famoussingers.org/michael-stipe
2. imdb.com/name/nm0005468/bio

1. Background from famoussingers.org/michael-stipe
"Introduction and Early Life:
Michael Stipe is an American singer-songwriter, visual artist, film producer and activist who rose to worldwide prominence as the lead singer and frontman of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Under his dynamic leadership, R.E.M. became one of the greatest bands of the post-punk era. Known for his cryptic lyrics and mumbled vocal delivery, Stipe is often described as one of popular music’s most celebrated figures.
Born in Decatur, Georgia in 1960, his father was a serviceman in the United States Army. His younger sister, Lynda Stipe, also became a singer who would later form her own post-punk band “Hetch Hetchy”. Stipe studied art at the University of Georgia, majoring in photography and painting.

Career and Musical Achievements:
While attending college in Athens, Michael Stipe became friends with a record store clerk named Peter Buck. The two decided to form a band in 1980, which they named R.E.M. (an acronym for Rapid Eye Movement) after the addition of Bill Berry and Mike Mills. Their 1981 debut single, “Radio Free Europe”, was a college radio success. The band signed a recording contract with I.R.S. Records and released their critically acclaimed debut album Murmur in 1983.
Their distinctive “alternative” sound and Stipe’s unique vocals and lyrics received huge attention from the public and the press. R.E.M. signed with Warner Brothers in 1988, where they released some of their best work, including Out of Time (1991) and Automatic for the People (1992). The music video of their 1991 hit single “Losing My Religion” became one of the most popular videos in the history of MTV. R.E.M. is now widely recognized as one of the pioneers of the alternative rock genre. They have sold over 85 million records worldwide.
Stipe’s solo releases include “In the Sun” (with Chris Martin) in 2006 and “Rio Grande” (with Courtney Love) in 2013.

Awards and Accolades:
Michael Stipe won three Grammys, 2 NME Awards, 3 Brit Awards, and several MTV Video Music Awards as a member of R.E.M. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.

Personal Life:
Michael Stipe is a prominent social and political activist. He publicly announced his homosexuality in 2008. Stipe lives in New York with his partner, photographer Thomas Dozol."

2. Background from imdb.com/name/nm0005468/bio
Michael Stipe Biography

Overview (4)
Born January 4, 1960 in Decatur, Georgia, USA
Birth Name John Michael Stipe
Nickname American Phil Collins
Height 5' 9" (1.75 m)

Mini Bio
John Michael Stipe was born in Decatur, Georgia, on January 4th, 1960. Since his father was in the military, they moved around a lot. In 1980, while he was attending the University of Georgia (studying painting and photography), he met Mike Mills, Peter Buck and Bill Berry. They dropped out of school to form R.E.M., which, with over 40 million records sold to some estimates, rival Irish band U2 in being one of the most popular bands on the late 20th century. Their debut single in 1981, Radio Free Europe, generated enough buzz for R.E.M. to sign with a major label. With IRS Records, they released Murmur (1983), Reckoning (1984), Fables of the Reconstruction (1985), and Life's Rich Pageant (1986). Document (1987) brought them into the public view, with Out Of TIme (1991) sending them to the top of the charts. The movie video for the flagship song, Losing My Religion, was recently rated by MTV as being one of the top five greatest music videos. Automatic for the People (1992), was a successful followup to Out of Time. In 1994, the band released Monster. The guitar-inclined songs the album focused on showed that R.E.M. could be a grunge band, as well. New Adventures in Hi-Fi, recorded mostly during sound-checks during the Monster tour, was released in 1996 to only modest success. It was followed by the equally so-so Up in 1998. Michael Stipe began to focus more on Hollywood in the 1990s. In the early 1990s, he and Oliver Stone tried for over two years to get a movie financed, but never succeeded. His Single Cell film company started achieving success in 1999, producing the Oscar-nominated Being John Malkovich (1999), among other films.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Andrew M.H. Alexander
Trade Mark (3)
Cryptic lyrics
Bald head
Powerful , Clear Voice
Trivia (17)
1. He also owns a film production company called C-IOO
2. Lead singer and lyricist of musical group R.E.M..
3. Michael is a keen photographer and often contributes his pictures to the artwork of R.E.M.'s albums, (notably the covers of the albums "New Adventures In Hi-Fi" and "Reveal").
4. One of Michael's closest friends was actor River Phoenix. When River died, aged just 23 in late October 1993, Michael called his young friend's sudden passing "the most shattering experience of my life". He dedicated R.E.M.'s 1994 album, "Monster", to River. The dedication ("For River") can be seen in the album's fold-out sleeve.
5. Is good friends with fellow musicians Natalie Merchant and Courtney Love.
6. Has a brick tattooed on his right hand and on his upper right arm a tattoo of the characters Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse from George Herriman's comic strip "Krazy Kat".
7. Is mentioned in the Danish band, Nephew's single, "Superliga".
8. Was once considered for the role of John Doe in Se7en (1995).
9. Collects aeroplane boarding passes as a memento of "a place that doesn't exist". He has 500-600 of them.
10. Is close friends with Radiohead singer, Thom Yorke.
11. R.E.M. won the 1995 Brit Award for International Group.
12. R.E.M. won the 1993 Brit Award for International Group.
13. R.E.M. won the 1992 Brit Award for International Group.
14. Good friends with Helena Christensen.
15. Very good friends with indie filmmaker Tom Gilroy.
16. Radiohead is one of his favorite bands and he is friends with all the band's members.
17. Godfather of Frances Bean Cobain.
Personal Quotes (8)
1. Radiohead are so good they scare me.
2. We love Peter Gabriel - great minds think alike.
3. I've been to places where people my age had never voted in a democratic election. To go to the voting poll with someone in the former Czechoslovakia, a grown man, and watch him cast his vote for the first time brings tears to your eyes. The right to vote is a privilege I want to remind people of.
4. I wouldn't survive ten minutes on American Idol (American Idol (2002)).
5. [on punk rock] I found something that was secret; it was dangerous and it was exciting.
6. I guess I've figured out that I can't just blabber anything I want to anymore.
7. [on once having referred to The Beatles as "elevator music"] I still get death threats about it from Beatles fans. The point that I was trying to make was that I was three years too young for them. I grew up in an era where The Banana Splits, The Archies and The Monkees were the music that I listened to. The Beatles were the music that was playing in the background.
8. [on U2's "Beautiful Day"] I love that song. I wish I'd written it, and they know I wish I'd written it. It makes me dance; it makes me angry that I didn't write it.

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Good song!