R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe has shared a first-take demo of his latest song from self-isolation. No Time for Love Like Now was created in collaboration with The National’s Aaron Dessner, and was very likely inspired by the ongoing events of the coronavirus pandemic.
Stipe has been slowly building up a solo album over the last year, confirming at the end of 2019 that he had 18 new songs ready to go, and releasing Your Capricious Soul and Drive To The Ocean.
R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe and The National’s Aaron Dessner have put their talents to good use during self-isolation, revealing their new collaboration No Time for Love Like Now.
“Michael Stipe has been a great hero and friend to me (and the National),” Dessner wrote in an Instagram post announcing the collaboration. “I never in my wildest dreams imagined writing songs together…but here is the demo of one in progress…coming to you from Michael in isolation at home—hope it raises some spirits. The lyrics and sentiment in the music feel tied to this time.”
Earlier in the month, R.E.M.’s iconic track It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) re-entered the iTunes Charts, reaching #26 33 years after its release. Stipe took advantage of the pandemic-related resurgence, taking to social media to remind people out there to stay safe and hygienic.
“I do feel fine. I feel okay,” he stated in the video. “The important part of that lyric, that song title, is ‘As We Know It.’ We’re about to go through – we are going through something that none of us have ever encountered before and that is, of course, the coronavirus. And it’s real and it’s serious and it’s here.”
Check out Stipe and Dessner’s collaboration below.
