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On The Late Show With Stephen Colbert<\/em><\/a> last night, Michael Stipe<\/a> returned to the studio to chat and perform an unreleased song called \u201cThe Rest of Ever.\u201d The track is set to appear on his debut solo album, which, he revealed, is coming at the end of this year. Watch the performance and the pair\u2019s conversation below.<\/p>\n From an assessment of Stipe\u2019s fecund beard, the two moved on to the subject of ship captains and sea shanties. It turns out that Stipe is writing one\u2014with some typically zany lyrics\u2014as part of a song about a tree that hears itself for the first time, via a MIDI recording. \u201cMy friend recorded a tree in my backyard in Georgia and played it back to itself,\u201d he elaborated. \u201cIt sounds like Daft Punk.\u201d OK! They also discussed the legacy of R.E.M.<\/a>, the band\u2019s brief reunion at a tribute concert by Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy, and the question of who would play Stipe in a biopic. He likes the idea of Billie Eilish; David Cross, not so much.<\/p>\n Revisit Ryan Dombal\u2019s 5-10-15-20 interview Michael Stipe on the Music That Made Him<\/a>.<\/p>\n