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Michael Stipe Sings ‘Good King Wenceslas’ With Mandy Patinkin on ‘Colbert’

Michael Stipe on 'Colbert'

Oh, sure, you might think you saw Michael Stipe sing a duet of “Losing My Religion” with the guy from Coldplay at last night’s Sandypalooza benefit. But anyone who cares one whit about “truthiness” knows the former R.E.M. frontman (and recent animated-GIFs judge) has been sitting on Stephen Colbert’s shelf for more than a year. In November 2011, The Colbert Report host somewhat randomly put Stipe up there on an episode with Brian Eno before all three came together for an endearingly awkward “Lean on Me” cover. It wasn’t Stipe’s last appearance on the shelf, where he has also been known to loudly savor Colbert’s zingers. Last night, after Colbert got through grilling the gifted stage and screen actor Mandy Patinkin, the faux-conservative pundit somehow coerced Stipe and Patinkin into joining him for a spirited, piano-bedecked rendition of the English Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslas,” including the verses nobody knows. Enjoy your feast of Stephen, everyone.