Last Updated/Revised Friday, April 18, 2008 09:47:27 PM /PST
Around 1990 Michael started losing his hair. For some odd reason it was falling out, so he would wear hats to cover up his loss of hair. In 1994, because most of his hair was falling out at an alarming rate, he shaved his head. In 1989 Michael cut his own hair, and according to him it was way out of control; he wasn't sure what to do with it at that point in time.
At the last minute R.E.M. decided to hold a benefit concert in Atlanta for some of Athen's foundations. A U.S. Senator was present to witness probably one of R.E.M.'s all time best performances.
R.E.M. performed the entire Murmur record and Green record live! Yes, every song from each album was performed with incredible energy. "Low" from the "Out of Time" album was also performed. ( And, according to one source, after the first three songs the audience caught on! )
Either "Chestnutt" is referring to another singer, Vic Chesnutt who has been an inspiration to R.E.M. and other artists, alike, or, he is saying that the song is one of the first they have written or one that hasn't been performed in a long time.
Drummer Bill Berry had been married the longest, and his wife's name was Mary. He divorced in 1997. Next to get married was guitarist Peter Buck. His wife's name is Stephanie. Guitarist Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe have yet to be wed.
Yes. Peter Buck has two twin girls that are about 8 years old as of the year 2002 and growing. Their names are Zoey and Zelda. Rumors say that Mike Mills has a son named Julian, and he is about 10 years old as of 1999. I have not confirmed this. This was announced during the 1999 summer world tour. Scott has a daughter and is married to a nice (and very talented) women named Christie McWilson who heads the band "The Picketts".
Michael Stipe has said these to be his favorite songs: "Get Up", "Fall on Me", "Country Feedback", "New Test Leper", "Low Desert", "Electrolite", and "Walk Unafraid". Michael doesn't care much for the way his voice sounds on "I Remember California". Stipe also hates the song "Dream (All I have to do)". Bill Berry likes "Talk about the Passion", and hates "Hairshirt". Both Peter Buck and Mike Mills like "Country Feedback" and "Losing My Religion". Peter is really partial to "Perfect Circle" and "Sweetness Follows", but doesn't care much for " The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", as Mike Mills is partial to "Nightswimming", and "At My Most Beautiful".
NO! Peter Buck is playing! Bill refused to play the drums because of it being hard to keep the beat the whole way through the song. Peter also provides backup vocals on the fan club single "See No Evil".
YES! In fact he was arrested for converting with a naked women on a watertower in Athens. The song "Time after Time" recollects this event.
R.E.M. have been together for a very long time, let's say over 18 years.
Yes. Stipe went out with a girl named "Caroline" for awhile, in fact she appeared in "The One I Love" video. He has also had relationships with other men and woman, respectively.
Lausanne Switzerland on March 1st 1995.
R.E.M. performed in London back in 1991 on their Small Venue Tour. They wanted to get into the Borderline club and play around music wise, you know have fun and not really care about being professional. So R.E.M. decided to keep their performance low key to the public and call themselves a different name, thus "Bingo Hand Job". As it turned out though, word got out that BHJ was actually R.E.M.! To make a real long story short people were paying up to $1,000 for tickets to the show!
Sadly, Bill Berry, drummer for R.E.M. decided to call it quits with the long time running band. He has stated that he is ready for a life change and is ready to continue on with his life doing something other than music. He has said that he is tired of the endless touring, the press, and the grueling process of making albums. He also didn't want to put 50% into the work on the next album. Bill has said that he has been contemplating leaving the band for a while. R.E.M. will continue ahead even though this puts a heavy damper on their spirits. They will not get a replacement drummer and Bill will continue to be close friends with the rest of the band. This terrible news struck on October 30th during an R.E.M. conference, and shocked the music world as it did the rest of the world. The band did mention that Bill has thought this through and they respect his wishes. The music band "Radiohead" has mentioned their sadness, so we will have to carry on without "tub pounder" Bill. Again, Bill played drums and did backup vocals for the band.
Yes! In fact when the Monster tour got underway in early 1995, Mike Mills would sit down at his well-equipped keyboard to start playing "Strange Currencies". But, instead of playing this, he would hit the Mellotron setting for "I Don't Sleep I Dream". Also Bill Berry once started to play the drum intro to "ITEOTWAWKI", but was supposed to be playing the intro to "Finest Worksong"! Luckily Peter Buck hit the notes to Worksong and Bill recovered.
"Gardening at Night" was their first real song. "Wolves, Lower" was also one of their first.
Originally the girls that appear in this video were completely topless, but when the video was aired on the MTV music network all of the girl's nipples had to be block out. So Stipe took it as a joke and figured that a nipple was a nipple and had his blocked out with the rest.
Michael Stipe - likes Patti Smith, Radiohead, Spacehog, Tori Amos, Gang of Four, the Cranberries, among others. Bill Berry - Always has and always will love Jefferson Airplane. Peter Buck - The Troggs, Radiohead, Gang of Four, among several others.
Lots of other bands enjoy R.E.M.'s music, like Radiohead, Sting, Smashing Pumpkins, the Cranberries, Counting Crows, and 10,000 Maniacs just to name a few. Some actresses enjoy R.E.M.'s music such as Neve Cambell, Courtney Cox, Meg Ryan, Susan Surrandon, and Kim Basinger.
R.E.M. simply responded "Our songs are not for sale".
Peter Buck bought these creature toys 15 years ago at a Goodwill store in North Carolina. They have been spiritual totems that have brought the band good luck since the recording of Murmur, their first studio recorded album. They are with them every time they record a new album or when they are on stage during a tour. According to the band they've been there since the very beginning, and tend to remind the band why they're doing what they're doing in the first place. One is called 'Left' and the other called 'Right'.*
Yes. He had severe "Scarlet Fever" which he describes and mentions in their song "I Believe".
These songs come pouring out of him when he goes to write a lyric. They just flow from his brain and onto the paper with no hesitation. He already knows what he wants to write about and does not have to think any further on the subject matter that the song is representing.
Mike Mills loves to play pool, which he is doing in the video, and Peter Buck used to be a bartender so he was also enjoying playing that particular role. Bill drives big machines on his farm so he was heppy driving a monster truck, and Stipe likes to wander around places and likes to wear cowboy hats. :) By the way, the "Man on the Moon" video is their favorite video to watch.
Yes. After some time passed, after they first met, they had a loving relationship. Enough said.
In many recent interviews Michael has mentioned that he is bi-sexual and that he doesn't care to be labeled as such. He usually either has either a boyfriend or a girlfriend. He mentioned in an interview once that he realized his orientation when he was 19.
No. He picked up this habit from semi-punk rocker Patti Smith, that is very animated when performing on stage. He claims that it helps him keep the beat and stay focused.
Mike Mills's mom has been the most active with the band. She performed with the band in New York City on the '95 tour. She has also been a part of some interviews. In September of 2001 Mike's father, Frank Mills, passed away. He was 65 years old. He was a noted singer and US Marine Corps pilot. Best wishes for him and the rest of the family. Stipe shared some pictures of himself and his family when he was younger. There are also pictures of his sister and him in the old Athens days. The other family members have pretty much stayed out of touch with the music scene and the band as far as publicity goes.
This caused a lot of problems with R.E.M. fans. However, the song is actually a cover, and R.E.M. only own rights to "their" version of the song.
Yes. He usually rolls his own cigs. The brand he uses is natural and he stated that it does not hurt his voice.
Lynda is a carpenter and a musician, while Cyndi teaches deaf children at a local school.
Here is what Mike has to say about it: "That's from a show in Madison, Wisconsin, which we played in a pig barn. The horticultural barn. The livestock pavilion if you will... And I took a sign that said 'Mr Meat Science' and I stuck it on my amp, and its been there ever since.
A respectable 15.
One of the band members, back in the early 90's, told a magazine that they were going to break up in the year 2000. Of course they were joking, but the people with the magazine took it seriously and brought about the vicious rumor. The joking band member wishes that it never came about, but once the media heard of it there was no turning back! The fans and the band still joke about it today.
Flagpole is a local Athens-based newspaper that features stories about R.E.M. from time to time, as well as general local news about recent events and happenings.
Michael has a hard time remembering the lyrics to their songs. Especially when he is singing "a song from 1412" as he likes to call them. Once Michael commented that the lyrics don't make sense, so he needed a music stand for them!
This earpiece is there so that Michael can hear his voice clearly. It is not an earplug. It is directly attached to the soundboard and speakers. It is to help him hear his voice and it is there to help him sing on key.
10.
Mike Mills has stated that he doesn't listen to them much, but Peter has said that he likes to listen to them a lot. Michael does occasionally listen, and smiles when he hears an album playing in a store, etc.
Peter claims he gets really nervous and, according to Michael, can't stop using the toilet! Mike Mills usually walks around aimlessly, checking out the opening act on occasion. Mike says that he goes on with a "nervous energy" and it is really just similiar to "riding a bike".
First off, this is not the very popular "Automatic Box" set. It is a wooden box, colored green, with the Green, Out of Time, Automatic for the People, and Monster albums. It also comes with a key chain, a grey cap, and t-shirt. It carries a very hefty price tag (up to $300) and can be found around the Internet or some record stores. It is a true R.E.M. collector's treasure. It seems to be a very rare find, so if you are a big collector be sure to get your hands on a copy if you spot one.
There is a clothing store located in R.E.M.'s hometown of Athens, GA named "The Lotus Eaters". The store has a very large front window that shows a reflection, hence the line "store front window I reflect", and the song "Lotus".
Michael started playing the accordion when he was very young. He has played the harmonica and guitar but mostly just does the singing.
Peter Buck once said that there was a line in the original song lyrics, that stated "When everything is wrong, everybody hurts, even the singer of the song." These words never made it to the final draft.^
Yes. The title "Out of Time" came about because the band was literally 'out of time' when it came to coming up with an album title! The title "Up" came about when one of the band members saw the word "UP!" on a box sitting in the office, thus the album title came about.
According to Michael, they open presents and give each other gifts, then sit down for a big dinner with the whole family.
Yes. All of the band members are very nice and are easy to get along with. It is always a pleasure to talk with them.
One of the backup singers is Michael's own sister Lynda Stipe.
Michael didn't like football very much but apparently played football in and/or post High School. Mike and Bill love to golf, and there are rumors that Peter likes to bowl? - Not sure about that one.
That the music for "Losing My Religion" was written in five minutes, and the lyrics were done within the hour... That the song "Fretless" was left off of Out of Time...That the words for the song "Nightswimming" came before the music, a first for the band...stay tuned for more..
Some good places to go are: Weaver D's (tell them you are there for R.E.M. reasons), Wuxtry Record store, 40 Watt Club, the site of the old church, and downtown.
He started playing piano when he was 14, and then started playing the bass and guitar within a year or two after that. Mike has said that he knew that he would always be playing music, however he didn't expect that he would get paid for it.
Michael's is New Adventures in Hi-Fi, Mike's is Automatic for the People, and Peter's favorite is the 'A' side of Document.
Michael based this song on an actual event, and actually googled the title to make sure that it hadn't been used before.
* Some of this information came from the "Creative Loafing Charlotte" website, from the news article
"Talk About The Passion", on 2.05.03 , written by Tim C. Davis.
^ This information was obtained from "The Complete Guide to the Music of R.E.M.", written by Peter Hogan.
And finally, here is where you can reach me:
E-Mail me at: d_haglof@efn.org