“It’s the best clapping TV theme song since Friends.” Listen to the first song released by US supergroup featuring R.E.M’s Michael Stipe, producer Andrew Watt, ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer and Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker

Former R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe has shared his first new song in three years, and it features a cast of familiar rock stars.

I Played The Fool is the theme song for new HBO comedy Rooster, starring Steve Carell, best known for his leading role in the US edition of The Office. The series is created by Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses, and is set on a US college campus.

Speaking about Stipe’s involvement in the show, Tarses said: “Our plan had always been to use music from our own time in college in the 80s. No band was more important to me then than REM.

“When Andrew Watt told us he thought he could get Michael Stipe to write and record a new song for us, we said, ‘Cool, good luck with that’. We knew this would never happen. But a few months later, Andrew sent an early demo of I Played the Fool. And when I listened to it on my phone, I cried. I really did. Saying we are excited to have this great song and this iconic voice on our main title is a huge understatement.”

I Played The Fool was co-written by Stipe and Andrew Watt – the superstar producer who has made albums with Ozzy Osbourne, The Rolling Stones, Pearl Jam, Miley Cyrus and more – and features piano and guitar from ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, now Pearl Jam’s touring guitarist, and drums from Blink-182’s Travis Barker.

“Michael Stipe is a hero of mine,” says Watt. “A chance to write a song with him was that of a dream… He is one of the true great songwriters of this lifetime and he did what only he could do on this song. He sets Rooster off to the moon by making you laugh and cry at the same time with the best clapping TV theme song since Friends.”

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Listen to the song below.

I Played the Fool (Main Title Theme from “Rooster”) – YouTube

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Stipe will also feature on the forthcoming solo album by his long-time friend Courtney Love: the vocalist is godfather to Love and Kurt Cobain’s daughter, Frances Bean Cobain. The as-yet-untitled album will also feature contributions by Love’s former Hole bandmate Melissa Auf der Maur, and Echo & The Bunnymen guitarist Will Sargent.

Courtney Love recently revealed that she’ll be reuniting with Auf Der Maur for an upcoming tour.