Kirsten Dunst in REM's Good-bye Video

I was thinking about really "thoughtful" songs and videos today, and I can't quite take myself away from REM's "goodbye" song and video We All Go Back to Where We Belong.  Of course, the line where Michael Stipe asks, "Is this really what you want?" makes us all scream quickly, "No!" because we don't want to lose one of the most iconic bands and voices of the past fifty years.  But, we just as quickly pause and reflect on what a beautiful gift Michael and the boys have given us as a departing gift.

I was wondering about the choice of Kirsten Dunst for the video, though I resisted efforts to investigate her inclusion in the video because it is just so sweet and innocent.  In fact, Michael notes this "this might be my innocence ... lost." Dunst so aptly reflects my thoughts on the song as she simply reflects on the beauty of REM's music and Stipe's lyrics, and you can almost tell she is moving back and forth between the actual lyrics and her own personal connections and interpretations.

In Kirsten's words, "He's my neighbor in New York. And I've been an R.E.M. fan since I was a little girl. I would jump around to 'Stand' in front of the mirror. And, I've known him throughout the years, and he just casually asked me. I didn't even know it was supposed to be their last video. And I was like, 'Yeah, of course.' He wanted to do it in the vein of an Andy Warhol screen test, and I sat there. We did three different takes, but the one take he used, he sang ["We All Go Back to Where We Belong"] a cappella to me. So, if I look embarrassed and giggling, it's because I'm so overwhelmed that he's singing to me. It was really special."

Yes, it was really special.  And it makes me think and smile.  Like REM always has.