Was late to the party on REM back in the day... came in on Green (1988, thank you MTV). Just intertubed that this 2008 song Let Me In was recorded as a tribute to Kurt Cobain. Mike Mills is in fact using Kurt's Jag-Stag custom Fender which was gifted by Courtney specifically for the song. Was not aware myself how close Stipe and the Cobains were, late again I guess. Not a guitar nut myself but full history about this specific Fender here. Worth a read. You know how there is a site for everything... there is a blog that documents Kurt's guitars; KurtsGuitarsNow details the sonic blue...
There was a recent (Oct 25th) interview w/ Stipe on NPR discussing their decades long transformation from college band to worldwide powerhouse. Listen. I'm a total sap for all the nightswimming type stuff. Remember the slightly rushed Ewan McGregor/Cameron Diaz/Danny Boyle vehicle Life Less Ordinary? (Holly Hunter is stealth in serious yes ma'am tweeds). Great alternate weepy version of Leave on the OST. Serious slice of 90's soundtrack generally.
