Michael Stipe was joined by Andrew Watt, Chad Smith and Josh Klinghoffer for ‘I Played The Fool’ on Jimmy Kimmel Live – watch below.
The former R.E.M. frontman released the song in March as the theme song to the new HBO Original series Rooster, from Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence and starring Steve Carell.
It was Stipe’s first new release in three years and the studio version included drums from Blink-182‘s Travis Barker, but in his Kimmel appearance on Tuesday (June 2), Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith sat in behind the drumkit.
With Kinghoffer on keys and both Troy Van Leeuwen of Queens Of The Stone Age and Chris Chaney, formerly of Jane’s Addiction, on guitar, Stipe took the lead for a peppy, spirited performance, with his distinctive vocals as strong as ever.
Watch the performance here:
Stipe debuted a second new song ‘The Rest Of Ever’ during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in April, and confirmed that it would be appearing on his first solo album, which is expected later this year.
He has been working on his new album for several years and while he has said in recent months that it has taken “longer than I wanted”, he has said he is now adding the finishing touches to the record, and has said it should be out in 2026.
Stipe has attempted to describe the sound of the album. “One of the songs is the sound of a tree hearing itself for the first time,” he said. “It’s this confusing situation. My friend recorded a tree in my backyard in Georgia and played it back to itself, and so it sounds like Daft Punk, but I’m putting a sea shanty [in the song].”
Previous Stipe solo releases include the 2019 single ‘Your Capricious Soul’ and ‘Drive To The Ocean’ the following year. He also released ‘No Time For Love Like Now’ with Aaron Dessner’s Big Red Machine in 2020.
By all accounts, Stipe remains on good terms with his former R.E.M. bandmates – guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry – and they appeared together in summer 2024 when they were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Earlier this year, Stipe joined Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy at one of their ‘Lifes Rich Pageant’ 40th anniversary tour shows in Brooklyn. They played versions of R.E.M.’s ‘These Days’ and ‘The Great Beyond’. A year ago, he also sang ‘Pretty Persuasion’ with them.
