I caught the last five or ten minutes of an interview with R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe on CBS News Sunday Morning this past weekend. I've never been a big R.E.M. fan but I'm always interested in hearing what is going on inside the head of artists of all sorts.
The last question the interviewer asked Stipe was about whether the band believed they needed to prove something to themselves (presumably the interviewer had R.E.M.'s latest studio release, Accelerate, in mind when he asked the question).
Here's part of what Stipe said:
"Our goal has always been to write one of those great classic records that no one can deny is one of the great records of all time. I don't know that'll ever happen, but ..."
"You think you've done it this time?" Mason [the interviewer]asked.
"No. But I think we made a damn good record!"
Artists want to create that one record, or to write that one book, or to paint that one painting that crosses all expected lines and becomes a standard, if not the standard. But Stipe realizes that creating a classic doesn't happen simply because you it to or because you try harder than ever before.
Classics just happen. If that weren't the case, then nearly artist would be creating them, thereby obliterating the definition of the term classic.
All the artist can do is put himself in front of the microphone, or computer, or canvas and hope that something bigger than himself occurs. And that takes courage. And in my opinion, it takes even more courage to admit what Stipe did at the end of the interview--to recognize that your latest effort fell short, but at the same time, to never lose the desire for chasing the ultimate.
