Photo By Alexei Hay

As an army brat bouncing around the country, Michael Stipe found inspiration in everything from the Beatles singing "Michelle" to Tammy Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and Roger Miller's "King of the Road," singles given to Stipe and his sisters by a kindly record-shop owner. Then he heard Patti Smith and everything changed. As R.E.M. head back to the studio to record a new album due out this fall, Stipe stopped to impart some wisdom culled from a quarter-century lived a month ahead of the curve.