Photo Credit: Album Cover, R.E.M.’s And I Feel Fine, The Best of The IRS Years
Tonight, June 13, legendary Southern indie-rockers R.E.M. will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame during the 53rd annual gathering at the Marriot Marquis Hotel in New York City. Ahead of the distinguished event, the Athens, Ga.-formed band Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Bill Berry, and Peter Buck participated in a CBS-led conversation with Anthony Mason, their first full-band conversation in nearly 30 years, to discuss myriad topics, from writing songs to their 2011 breakup and band dynamics.
On the cusp of their Songwriters Hall of Fame retrieval, Buck reflected, “You know, we lived or died on the strength of our songs. So this is a huge honor.” Bassist Mills followed up on his former bandmate’s comment, adding, “It is the hardest thing that we do. And it’s the thing that we’ve worked on the most from the very beginning.” Later, Berry mentioned the college-bred band’s initial intent was “just to put food on the table.”
Touching on their 2011 break up, which arrived after Berry suffered a brain aneurysm while on stage in Switzerland (leading to a two-year recovery), Buck mentioned general disagreements, “We could barely agree on where to go to dinner. And now, we can just agree on where to go to dinner.” He added, “I think we quit at the right time. This is a really good place to finish, you know – great tour, great album, go home.” When asked about the potential for future reunions, Buck was adamant, “It’d never be as good.”
As for band dynamics, Mills mentioned, “Somebody’s got to drive the train, and we were all more than happy to have Peter be sort of our motivator.” Buck said, “‘More than happy’ may not be the phrase I would use.” Stipe supported Buck’s drive, adding, “Looking back, there’s a body of work that wouldn’t be there had you not been pushing us as hard as you did.”
Watch the full-band interview below.
R.E.M. is being inducted into the @SongwritersHOF — an honor Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry say means a great deal: “We lived or died on the strength of our songs.”
They sat down with @AnthonyMasonCBS for their first joint interview in nearly 30 years. pic.twitter.com/XqlSoVMVxd
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) June 13, 2024
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