Support WBURR.E.M.'s Dark And Brooding 'Sweetness'Play04:38Download AudioNPR StaffJanuary 13, 2012 Share"It's always hard to tell exactly what [R.E.M.'s] Michael Stipe is singing about," says NPR listener and novelist Thomas Mullen. (Getty Images)
!["It's always hard to tell exactly what [R.E.M.'s] Michael Stipe is singing about," says NPR listener and novelist Thomas Mullen. (Getty Images)](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2012/01/13/83445347_wide-6c7f5e4bf57d4e68b3561afc3f0f44b88aaac581.jpg?s=1000)
"It's always hard to tell exactly what [R.E.M.'s] Michael Stipe is singing about," says NPR listener and novelist Thomas Mullen. (Getty Images)