REM's Mike Mills says 'no reunion'
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REM's breakup seemed fairly final but their fans have always hoped that it would be only for a short amount of time. The group's bassist, Mike Mills, has doused those hopes, telling Rolling Stone that it is not in the cards. "We said we're done and we're done. If we honestly thought there was a chance of a reunion tour, we might have said so at the time."
REM. broke up after the tour in support of their last album, Collapse Into Now. It wasn't discord. It wasn't conflicts of interest. The members just felt it was time. "The idea of breaking up and not reforming for a reunion tour is kind of attractive to us. I doubt you'll see us touring as
R.E.M. again. On the other hand, I just played with Peter [Buck] in New York City the other night, so fun things do happen." Also not in the cards, at least for now, are any archive releases of material outside of the 25th anniversary series and the next volume of that (Out of Time) won't be out for three years. More from VVN Music Have Your Say Click here to win an iPhone5!
REM's Mike Mills says 'no reunion' ...
[ read more ]Mike Mills: "There are zero plans" for an R.E.M. reunion
... Mike Mills has revealed that there are "zero plans" for an
R.E.M. reunion. Speaking to Rolling Stone ahead of the 25th anniversary re-release of the band's Green album, Mills admitted, "We said we're done and we're done. If we honestly thought there was a chance of a reunion tour, we might have said so at the time."
R.E.M. broke up in September 2011, six months after the release of their fifteenth studio album, Collapse Into Now. Mills continued, "It was time to break up. That's never really been done before. The idea of breaking up and not reforming for a reunion tour is kind of attractive to us. I doubt you'll see us touring as
R.E.M. again. On the other hand, I just played with Peter [Buck] in New York City the other night, so fun things do happen." "Absolutely nobody can predict the future," added Mills. "But right now, there are zero plans for an
R.E.M. reunion. Absolutely zero. But the future is a strange place. We could all be hit by a meteor tomorrow, but I would consider it highly unlikely." Mills also hinted that the band might engage with the possibility of launching a bootleg series in the future. "There may be something like that down the road," he says. "But it's not something we're thinking ...
[ read more ]R.E.M. Reflect on 'Green' on the Album's 25th Anniversary
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R.E.M. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Click to listen to
R.E.M.'s 'Orange Crush (Live)'
R.E.M. were feeling a little restless when they began recording Green in early 1988. During the previous seven years, they'd gone from a completely unknown college rock band to genuine pop stars, even scoring a Top 10 hit with 1987's "The One I Love." The success of that song helped them land a great deal with Warner Bros, but they were determined to not merely repeat their past successes. "We didn't want to write traditional
R.E.M. songs," bassist Mike Mills tells Rolling Stone. "We were all about having fun and trying ...
[ read more ]
R.E.M.
(1980-2011)
Michael Stipe (vocals)
Peter Buck (guitar)
Mike Mills (bass)
Bill Berry (drums) 1980-1997
Artistfacts®: You can leave comments about the artist/band at the bottom of the page.
Songwriting credits (and royalties) are shared equally regardless of who wrote the song. This is one reason they have been around so long, as many bands have broken up over who gets writing credits.
Stipe produced the 1999 movie Being John Malkovich. He is often mistaken for Malkovich.
R.E.M. did two MTV "Unplugged" specials. The first was in 1991, the second in 2001.
Stipe used to claim that he could predict earthquakes. He said he got a nasty headache a few days before they hit.
When the band was asked if REM stood for Rapid Eye Movement, they said, "REM stands for nothing, but will lie down for anything." (thanks, Kevin - Avon, OH)
Stipe had scarlet fever when he was 2.
Mills and Berry were in a lounge act with their high school music teacher. They would dress up and play at weddings and country clubs. But at least they could play. Stipe once explained: "When we started out, Buck couldn't really play the guitar and I couldn't sing. We were like a speed metal band when we started."
Stipe studied painting and photography at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, where the band formed. The band contributes a lot of money and time to keeping Athens beautiful. (thanks, Maria - Atlanta, GA)
They don't print lyrics with their albums. Stipe explained that fans often have better interpretations than the actual words.
Berry quit the band in 1997 after he suffered a near fatal brain aneurysm. He decided to take life at a slower pace and became a farmer. Every now and then he would play with R.E.M. at live shows. (thanks, scott - Bismarck, ND)
Stipe's sister, Linda, was in a band called Oh-OK with Matthew Sweet around the same time R.E.M. was forming. (thanks, Marvin - East Brady, PA)
After years of speculation, Michael Stipe finally admitted that he is a gay man. He did this in a story for The Advocate. (thanks, goddyss - detroit, MI)
Stipe and Natalie Merchant were a romantic couple in the late '80s when Natalie was lead singer of 10,000 Maniacs.
Comments:
Mike Love of The Beach Boys
The lead singer/lyricist of The Beach Boys talks about coming up with the words for "Good Vibrations," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Kokomo" and other classic songs.
Jules Shear - "All Through The Night"
Shears does very little promotion, which has kept him secluded from the spotlight. What changed when Cyndi Lauper had a hit with his song? Not much, really.
Brandi Carlile
As a 5-year-old, Brandi was writing lyrics to instrumental versions lullabies. She still puts her heart into her songs, including the one Elton John sings on.
Marc Campbell - "88 Lines About 44 Women"
The Nails lead singer Marc Campbell talks about those 44 women he sings about over a stock Casio keyboard track. He's married to one of them now - you might be surprised which.
In around 2002/3, I was just watching the hits and bad day came on, and it was like nothing I'd ever heard before, cryptic lyrics, a great chorus, cool video and although I didn't understand all of it, I knew it was deep and meaningful. I went to my mum and said, mum have you heard of this amazing band called rem, then she went, they're called R.E.M and said she liked them too.
That christmas I got their greatest hits in time 1988-2003, and it was like nothing I'd ever heard (bare in mind I had been listening to Nickleback and Good Charlotte before this) but recently I've got really into music, before it was just to interest me, and I've read all about them, and got loads more of their cd's.
They entered the mainsteam 1991, but they never changed themselves to do so, they toured for like ten years before they made it, nowadays any old rubbish makes it, they just are themselves, and don't care what people think. On the release of Accelerate I read in a magazine that they looked like a bunch of geography teachers, are they going to change?
They have no clear influences, and no clear followers, no band has ever been really like them, and no band ever will, and due to their individuality and overall greatness, they are for me the best band ever.
Thanks for the music guy's !!!!!!
My second favorite factoid is that Peter's wife was a high school valedictorian and is a licensed but non-practicing attorney.
Also, there is a doctor in Athens, GA named William Barry (he's a dermatologist) and a lawyer in Seattle, where Peter now lives, named Peter L. Buck.