Michael Stipe stealing ‘How to disappear…’

Posted on June 16th, 2004.

R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe was interviewed in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer where he talked about ’stealing’ Radiohead’s ‘How to disappear completely’:

Q: Do you listen to a lot of other people’s music while you’re making a record?

M.S.: My fear is that I would steal something (from another artist) without knowing. (Laughs.) “I’m so brilliant … No, Polly Harvey is really brilliant, and I stole that from her!”

Q: Does that happen?

M.S.: Absolutely. I write this song called “Disappear,” and then days later realized it was a Radiohead song called “How To Disappear Completely.” I called Thom Yorke and left him a message saying, “Thom, I think I stole your song,” and he didn’t call me back. I was so upset. Finally, a few weeks later, I heard from him, and he said, “Michael, that song came from a conversation we had four years ago!”

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