yeah, his lips are amazing. there's something about every feature of his face that screams 'delicate' to me-lips and eyes especially- and i think that lies at the heart of his magical ability to wear anything. he can wear rags or designer suits or random weird shit and it always looks incredible.

like say: i don't think Morrissey looks very good in 'rich man' clothes. they kinda make him look like a soap opera star. for me, Morrissey has an eternal face, so it's as though he's prohibited from wearing the eternal outfit. Michael Stipe's face softens and/or dignifies every single piece of clothing i have ever seen him wear. it just astonishes me.

[and not that it's a war with Morrissey. Ringleader of the Tormentors is immeasurably better than Around the Sun anyway.]

i have a vhs tape of R.E.M. performing on Rockpalast in 1985. Michael Stipe has the peroxide blonde hair, for which i am a complete sucker, but he's also wearing these gigantic bizarre false eyebrows.

i don't think i owned a stereo until... 1994? Monster was my first R.E.M. album, quickly followed by Lifes Rich Pageant. with those 2 albums, fuck, i knew i had found something special.

then i saw some press shot of Michael Stipe, then i saw him dance in Tourfilm, then i saw him perform, and the rest

is a secret for now.

love
math+