Michael Stipe

A breezy, quick read, this collection of western haikus was a happy accident, a fluke. Seven friends from the Athens, GA area agreed to stay in touch via daily haikus sent on postcards for the entirety of a year. REM frontman Michael Stipe and somewhat lesser-known musicians, filmmakers, and writers make up the group of friends. I don't think they ever intended for these to be shared in a public forum, but the result is a delightfully entertaining glance at a year through the lens of a show more handful of misfit friends: cynics, artists on the brink, romantics, idealists, and ironists.

The group agreed - either intentionally or tacitly - to abandon the traditional 5-7-5 syllable cadence of Haiku and went with a combination of classical Eastern form (seasonal reference, a moment seized purely, and a unique point-of-view) and Western beat poet looseness, something Kerouac referred to as "pops", little spontaneous poems that offer a burst of energy or enlightenment. The result is funny, touching, illustrative, snarky, and affirming.

Don't think too much, just find a copy and read a few daily. The poems are only attributed through an appendix in the back of the book, which keeps it delightfully anonymous and allows the reader to start to see patterns that might point to the author of some of the haikus, but that's beside the point. This is what happens when friends lean into art as a tool for loving, playful communication.

NOTE: I found the book on a whim, walking away from the poetry section at a used bookstore, the title caught my eye and I doubled-back to pick it up, thumbed through it, and decided i would buy it. I was in the checkout line before I realized Stipe and other Georgia artists were the authors, which only sealed the deal for me. Even finding the book felt like a haiku: spontaneous, epiphanic, fateful. show less

This book is essential for any R.E.M. fan. It is a bit light on text to accompany the photographs, but it provides insight into the band nevertheless.

The amount and quality of the photographs seem superficial. Too many of the photos are taken while the band is on stage. Fans already get to see this side of R.E.M., so the pages would have been better spent with showing the band that typical fans don't see. As they are, too few photos go beyond snapshot quality.

As a photographer myself, I show more have no doubt I could have produced better images that capture the spirit of R.E.M.. The poetry of their music deserves higher quality art. So while this book provides a taste of the band, it fails to really capture their soul and artistry. show less

Book Title: "Two Times Intro: On the Road with Patti Smith"
Author: Michael Stipe
Published By: Akashic Books
Age Recommended: 17 +
Reviewed By: Kitty Bullard
Raven Rating: 5

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Review: I am always fascinated by books of photography and some of my favorites are those that catch the famous in times of normalcy. This book by Michael Stipe of REM is one such book. Not only devoted to his great love of one of the most amazing female artists of all time, but also a phenomenal capturing of show more photographs taken throughout the tour; all the behind the scenes awesomeness that you rarely get the chance to see.

This book also contains some of the best memories from some of Patti’s greatest fans and peers. A great coffee table book and one that can bring back some of your own memories of Patti Smith and where you may have been the first time she captured your soul with her shamanic prescience as it drift through the speakers of a nearby radio on a hot summer day.

Synopsis: This book comprises Michael Stipe's intimate and evocative photos of Patti Smith, on tour in 1995, along with other cultural celebrities who appeared with her, such as Allen Ginsberg. In addition to text by Stipe, William Burroughs, and Patti Smith, there is also commentary from Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Lenny Kaye, Tom Verlaine, and more.

Read more: http://www.greatmindsthinkaloud.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board... show less

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)

For those who don't know, the great small press Akashic Books was actually started by famed rock musician Johnny Temple; and so despite its more literary offerings as of late, this has kept Akashic still dedicated to putting out books by other musicians on a regular basis too. For example, take the show more photography book Two Times Intro: On the Road with Patti Smith, originally put out in 1998 by REM frontman Michael Stipe with another publisher, and just now being re-released in a gorgeous new oversized format, which consists basically of casual images shot by him during Smith's 1995 US tour with Bob Dylan, literally the first time she had been on the road since 1979. To tell you the truth, the photos themselves are merely serviceable at best -- lots of blurry black-and-white shots of exhausted-looking hipsters in florescent-lit back hallways of various music venues, not really anything you would even pay much attention to if not for all the famous people associated with it -- but that said, it's certainly a fascinating book precisely because of all the famous people associated with it (including appearances by Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Tom Verlaine, the members of Sonic Youth and more, all of whom showed up backstage at various stops on this tour), and the short text tributes to Smith by these people, scattered throughout the manuscript, are well worth your time too. Not really something to pick up unless you're an existing fan of Smith, but definitely an interesting acquisition if you are.

Out of 10: 8.2 show less