Tuesday night we were having dinner in Belltown and Peter Buck from R.E.M. walked by. Ok, 99% certain it was him.
What was funny is that I think he was… exercising? He was dressed in some kind of stretchy black top and black leggings, listening to an iPod, and looking very purposeful in his stride.
It was bright and sunny and we were sitting by the window, so we got a very good view. He hadn’t even passed yet and I was already thinking, is that the guy from R.E.M.? Man, he’s lookin’ rough.
Ok that was mean, but good for him anyway, getting a good walk in on a cold Tuesday evening. We were all cozy inside, enjoying our fishies and wine.
Yeah, he lives here now. Good for him for getting his exercise on. And not moving to Portland with all the rest of the aging alternatives of the 80’s and 90’s.
I’m old enough to remember going to REM concerts in the late 80’s and the preamble film they’d run before them, listing all the things the audience was not to do because “Peter doesn’t like that.”
I’ve never seen REM Live but I did meet Stipe at a Fugazi show in 1993 and sold him a copy of my zine.
In unrelated news, the newsroom TV has been on channel 4 all day long and Cindi Rinehart on Northwest Afternoon (whom I remember from my childhood, pre-Botox) is scaring the shit out of me.
I never saw any of the NWA posse before the Botox, but they terrified me on my very first visit here. On the other hand, I love that they still have local talk shows here, not a Judge _______ show on instead.
She spent almost a half-hour talking about the soaps. Srsly. She looks like a wax figurine wearing a bad wig. Bless her heart.