Ongoing History Daily: Michael Stipe is not a Republican

August 19, 2021 Alan Cross 0 Comments 0 min read

Michael Stipe of REM has never been a fan of the Republican Party—and this animosity goes all the way back to the Reagan years.

In 1996, he had a chance to make a unique political statement. Michael was on a private plane that was waiting for take-off at the airport in Seattle. A couple of gates away was the plane being used by Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole.

Deciding to exercise his right to free speech, Michael leaped out of his seat and ran across the tarmac to Dole’s plane and just has Dole’s security people turned their searchlights on this bald guy down on the runway, Michael turned around, dropped his pants and mooned the candidate. Twice.

Wednesday’s post addressed the Smashing Pumpkins OD problem in the 90s.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

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