Michael Stipe opens up about his long-in-the-works solo album

R.E.M. fans have been anxiously awaiting a solo album from the band's frontman, Michael Stipe, and it sounds like it may be on its way…eventually.

In a new interview with The New York Times, conducted over the course of a year, Stipe gives an update on the project, which appears to still be a work-in-progress.

The article mentions several songs that Stipe had been working on, with names like "I'm the Charge" and "Time Keeps Changing," as well as a duet with Courtney Love for an upcoming project.

It also describes a recording session at Electric Lady Studios in New York, where he met Taylor Swift and chatted with her producer Jack Antonoff and The 1975's Matty Healy.

As for what's taking the record so long, the article notes that Stipe's life simply got in the way. He also dealt with what he describes as “terrible writer’s block” but said he “completely flourished as a writer after that.”

And while Stipe hasn’t narrowed down when fans may hear the music, he did at least offer some sort of update on the project.

“We can say for the piece that I finished the songs, and by God, I will finish them before the piece comes out,” he says, referring to the article. “How about that? Let’s leave the piece closing with: I finished the songs.”