Never eat broccoli when there are cameras around.

I'm afraid of everything. I'm not a naturally courageous person.

In fact, a lot of critics seemed to consider R.E.M. the first American music since the '60s to break out on its own and develop a stand-alone sound.

I'm tired of being this solemn poet of the masses, the enigma shrouded in a mystery.

The whole punk ethic was do-it-yourself, and I've always been very literal, especially as a kid. When they said that anybody can do this, I was like, 'OK, that's me.'

I don't find R.E.M. to be nihilistic. There is a constant undertone of joyous optimism. I'm not going to kill myself to Patti Smith or R.E.M.

Love, love will be my strongest weapon