Thirteen years after REM disbanded, the original members of the iconic rock band reunited ahead of their induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on Thursday night to reflect on the highs and lows of their careers.
“You know, we lived or died by our songs. So it's a huge honor,” guitarist Peter Buck said on “CBS Mornings,” speaking before the induction ceremony in New York and during from the band's first interview in New York. 30 years.
“It's the hardest thing we do. And it's the thing we've worked the most on since the very beginning,” bassist Mike Mills told CBS' Anthony Mason.
“Because I had to,” said drummer Bill Berry. “I mean, in the beginning, just to put food on the table, we had to write songs as fast as possible.”
The indie rock band formed while a student at the University of Georgia in Athens in the early 1980s before dropping out to pursue music full-time. They gained local recognition before releasing their critically acclaimed debut album “Murmur” in 1983, which The Times named the No. 2 album of the year.
The quartet met in the studio every day with a list of ideas and bounced them around to see if anyone was inspired. Mills, Buck and Berry wrote the music, then gave it to singer Michael Stipe to write the lyrics.
“Michael, of course, is one of the best melodists in the world,” Mills said.
That much is clear, given the band's recognition by the Songwriters Hall of Fame, which seeks to celebrate the legacies and careers of songwriters across all musical genres. This year's class also includes Hillary Lindsey, Timbaland, Dean Pitchford and Steely Dan.
Some of REM's biggest songs surprised rockers, including their signature hit, the Grammy-winning “Losing My Religion.”
“I love the song, but we never thought it would be a hit,” Stipe said of the 1991 song.
“It's like a bumblebee. They shouldn't be able to fly. That song shouldn't have been a hit,” Mills added.
It was the end of the world as the band knew it in 2013, when they parted ways after more than three decades of what the Times called “uncompromising artistic integrity.” Influenced to some extent by Berry's onstage brain aneurysm in 1995 and subsequent departure, the rockers decided it was time to take a final bow.
“We feel a bit like pioneers in this area, there is no disagreement here, no falling out, no clashing between lawyers,” Mills wrote at the time. “We have made this decision together, amicably and with everyone's best interests at heart. The time seems right.”
Since then, all four have remained busy over the years. Berry traded international stages for a hay farm in Georgia after his departure, but has since rejoined the Athens music scene with the Bad Ends, who released a debut album in 2022. Buck has released three solo albums in addition to music with former REM tour member Scott. McCaughey and collaborated with singer-songwriters Joseph Arthur and Luke Haines. Mills remained on the road, playing for bands including his longtime favorite, Big Star. Stipe has largely left the spotlight, appearing occasionally for philanthropic causes or to honor other artists, including the Velvet Underground. He has also published four books featuring his photographs.
Buck shed light on the group's breakup on Thursday.
“There was nothing we could really agree on, musically. What kind of music, how to record it. Are we going to go on tour? You know, it was like we could barely agree agree on where to go to dinner,” he said. said. “And now we can just agree on where to go to dinner.”
Looking back on their breakup, Stipe praised the fact that the rockers were “also there to tell the story.”
“We're sitting at the same table with deep admiration and lifelong friendship. A lot of people who do this can't claim that,” he said.
©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.