Hmm. Although Stipe's family did move to Illinois (near St. Louis) where he went to HS, he was born in Georgia, and he later returned to go to college & form REM in GA. Later, he bought a house there, where I first visited in the early 2000s. He is a helluva nice dude, though. 😇

Um, this is not true. I've seen REM perform Shiny Happy People multiple times since 1991. Once was even With the B52s (in '95)!

Also, it's "pretty persuasion" not pure persuasion. Please don't do my boo, Michael Stipe, this dirty. That said, they did always get a kick out of incorrectly posted song lyrics from fans, so I guess Stipe might at least find this funny? 🤷‍♀😬🤦‍♀