Original subtitles

- I think we probably Have the capacity

To write a hit song,

To record it in a way

That radio would really Accept it with open arms,

And that a record company

Could really get The machine going behind it,

And we could be incredibly rich And--you know, people

All around the country Would recognize our names.

I'm not willing to do that.

I don't that radio Deserves me yet.

[R.E.M.'s orange crush]

♪ ♪

- ♪ follow me, Don't follow me ♪

- ♪ i've got my spine, I've got my orange crush ♪

- ♪ collar me, Don't collar me ♪

- ♪ i've got my spine, I've got my orange crush ♪

- ♪ we are agents Of the free ♪

- ♪ i've had my fun ♪

♪ and now it's Time to serve ♪

♪ your conscience overseas ♪ - ♪ over me not over me ♪

- ♪ he's coming in fast Over me ♪

♪ high on the roof ♪

♪ thin the blood ♪

♪ another one On the waves tonight ♪

♪ coming in, You're home ♪

[applause]

- yup, you got a good reception Over there.

Now, it's peter buck?

- yup. - now, peter...

Introduce the members Of the band.

- this is mike mills. He's the bass player.

Bill berry, the drummer. - yup.

- michael stipe, the singer. And me, peter buck.

[r.E.M.'s carnival of sorts (box cars)]

♪ ♪

- ♪ there's a secret stigma Reaping wheel ♪

♪ stranger stranger To these parts ♪

- did you know each other Before you started the band?

How did you get together? - not really.

We met at parties.

That--we didn't know Each other very well.

- he and i do.

- we were High school buddies.

- we went to the same Junior high school.

We were just the antithesis Of each other,

And we really Did despise each other.

I mean, it's like we just Took one look at each other

And it was like--

And as it turned out, We didn't know this,

But we had a mutual friend, A guitarist,

That lined up A jam session one day,

And who should walk Down the steps but mike mills,

And it's like, "oh, god," And to this day

If i had to play the clarinet Or the guitar,

I would have packed up My stuff and left,

But here i looked at the drums Like, "oh, boy.

I'm stuck here And it's his house."

So we made The best of it

And played and had A fun little jam session,

And we just--we Got over it right then.

We just shook hands And said, "look,

Let's put this In the past."

And we became best friends, And we still are.

- what's happening there In athens, georgia?

- well, nothing, and everyone Wants to do something.

You know, form a band, Go to a party.

- peter and i were kind of Toying around

With the idea of putting Something together musically,

And he had never been In a band before.

- pete was working At the wuxtry record store,

Which is still the best store In athens.

And michael went in there Buying records, and they met.

- i think i called him richard For the first three months

That we knew each other,

And, you know, This is so typically peter.

He never corrected me.

- he was kind Of an exotic character,

Michael was.

Had good musical taste,

And we became friends.

- well, if athens Wasn't the way it was,

We probably Wouldn't have gotten together.

- athens was influential in That there were

And there still are a lot Of people there that kind

Of have this Need to have

Some kind Of creative output.

- it was a typical athens story, You know?

Four guys meet at a party And want to play other parties

And drink beer and have fun.

- the night we met mike,

He had maybe been Over-served at the bar,

And he was wearing A leather jacket

And sitting on the ground And yelling

'cause he wanted to get up To the bar to get to his drink.

- and he was like, "this is the guy who plays bass

Who i was telling you about." I was like, "no, way.

"no way i'm gonna be-- I'm not even gonna get on--

"i'm not gonna be in a band With this guy.

There's no way on earth."

- instantaneously-- Within, like, an hour,

We were a band. - wow.

- you know, It wasn't even an audition.

So we went over and play, And we wrote three songs,

And we just went, "what?" - boy.

- "we're a band."

- we had a couple of songs

That bill and i Had written back in macon

With a friend of ours... - yeah.

- and so we showed them To michael and peter,

And i remember being Incredibly impressed with

What they did with Our little basis of a song.

Both of them.

And i was like, "man, these guys Can take it other places."

- you--i heard that you Got together initially

Just to play one party.

Is that right? - we lived at a church,

Michael and i, in athens.

It was An old abandoned church,

And we threw a party For someone, a birthday party.

- right now this looks like A decrepit abandoned old church,

But ten years ago, it was A decrepit abandoned old church,

But with r.E.M. Inside of it.

- and the church had a little Proscenium in the back.

You'd have to climb Through a closet to get to it,

And it was a stage.

Holes in the stage and holes That fell down half a story

To the dirt basement Where the graves were.

- we just wrote ten songs And got ten covers,

And played for a friend of our's Birthday party.

- we let people know That it was going on.

We had kegs of beer and, Like, 700 people showed up.

Lots of free beer And a free show?

That's kind of an impetus To enjoy the band,

And three of the people That showed up

Were booking agents From clubs,

And all of 'em were just Like, "you guys want a job?"

And we're like, "you're kidding."

- athens was so totally Unselfconscious

At that time that people-- You know, you could do anything

And nobody would Think twice about.

No idea that there was actually A scene going on.

- it was real innocent; I've never seen a place

Where there was less attention To things like career.

You know, maybe you'd have A fire eater open for a band.

We had a guy That juggled chainsaws once.

It was real non-rock and roll, In that anything goes.

- yeah. - you know?

And a lot of people That were in bands

Couldn't play at all, You know?

And they were learning. It was--it was really exciting.

- none of us really Had that much experience.

I think that's really What the greatest thing

We had going For us.

We had just absolutely no idea What was going on.

- you really played the clubs And all that down there.

- bikers bars, Pizza parlors.

Any place That would let a band play.

We played more New wave nights

And gay discos Than any band i could name.

It was pretty interesting Actually.

It was more fun Than most the dates we played.

- that's a proving ground.

- basically we were just playing Around athens.

Then we decided, "well, You know, let's go to atlanta.

You know? Try that." It was starting to work.

So we started booking tours Around the southeast,

And we'd start them On, like, friday.

So we'd take Friday off of school,

And maybe The next monday, too,

And that started Turning into thursday

All to the next tuesday,

And eventually we were all doing Quite poorly in school,

And more than one of us

Was invited To actually leave school.

- we finally started to realize That we might be

Able to actually Make a living at it,

And that was a revelation In itself.

We did go out And play everywhere

And anywhere That we could.

A lot of little towns Where no bands ever went.

And when normally The only rock and roll

They could ever see Was the big arena shows.

- we were actually playing In real little places,

And people Were seeing us.

We were probably the first band Some of those people saw

Who didn't have A record contract

And that didn't do, Like,

The hits of the day In the local disco or whatever.

- we were just, like, Speed freaks, you know?

And the faster we could go, The better,

And the faster we could play, The better,

And the more we could cram Into every day, the better.

We just wanted To get in the van

And see the u.S. Like jack kerouac did.

♪ gardening at night ♪

♪ gardening at night ♪

♪ gardening at night ♪

- with does r.E.M. Stands for?

- well, if you look In the dictionary,

It means rapid eye movement,

And that's the time When you dream,

When you're asleep.

Our name doesn't necessarily Have to mean that.

- we found it in a dictionary At 3:00 in the morning,

And we were desperate For a name.

We couldn't think Of anything.

That would just seem Not to offend anyone,

And it was very short And simple, so we picked it.

- we wanted a name That wouldn't put us

In any particular category Musically,

And at the time when we Got together four years ago,

Bands pretty much didn't have Names that were just letters.

- we spent, you know, A year and a half writing--

Kind of writing Abc elementary songs

Getting ourselves ready to Figure out how to write music.

- all of a sudden We were writing songs

That actually We really were proud of.

- we recorded Radio free europe.

We put it on that Little label hib-tone.

Within, gee, a month, It was like, you know,

top ten single of the year In new york times, and you know,

It's just kind of--you know, You just kind of go,

"well, whatever."

- ♪ calling on in transit ♪

♪ calling on in transit ♪

♪ radio free europe, Radio ♪

- i've been listening To your music for a long time,

And i really like it, But i still am having trouble

Trying To figure out your lyrics.

Is there any way, like,

You know, you can get a copy Of them or something?

- we don't hand out Copies of the lyrics.

- it's 'cause they change Every time we play.

- yeah, they're always changing. They're--

- but you-- - we're kind of against that.

The words to the songs

Are as much a part Of the song as the bass,

And there's no reason

Really to separate the two.

- ideally you should just Listen to the songs

And just intuitively feel What they're about.

Get your own impression Of the songs rather than kind

Of being beaten on the head By a story or something.

- well, what i was saying in the Early days wasn't a real lot.

I was kind of just moaning and Howling along with the music.

You know, language, to me, And music really don't mix well.

- there have been times When i have not known

What he was talking About exactly,

But usually i don't bother To ask

Because one way or another,

They conjure up Very strong images in my mind.

- i had just heard of r.E.M.

Because i'd seen A poster for 'em at a club,

And i had some idea from the way The poster looked that they

Were, like, this sort of Electronica band, you know?

So they just came to my house, And i still was thinking that,

And then of course i discover They had this total disdain

For the production of the era, Which was kind of cool,

'cause i was really just Starting to record stuff myself,

But i really enjoyed any way you Can be contrary about it all,

And they were Very contrary.

- we hired Mitch easter to do

what became The chronic town ep,

And we were gonna Put it out ourselves.

We started getting interest,

And we were all interested In i.R.S. Records

Because they had The buzzcocks,

The go-go's, The fleshtones.

- we wanted two things

Once we started Approaching the business,

Or the business Starting approaching us.

We wanted to Never be in debt,

And we wanted to have total Control over everything we did.

I.R.S. Was the perfect company For that

Because they wouldn't spend Any money on anybody anyway.

[chuckles]

- when i signed r.E.M.,

My own--half the people At i.R.S. Thought that,

You know, "what are you smoking, man?"

It's just like, "this guy can't sing.

You can't understand A [...] word he's saying."

I love the fact

That you see something You think is great

And you have this vision That they will evolve

And the marketplace will one day Appreciate that they're great.

- ♪ in a corner garden ♪

♪ wilder lower wolves ♪

- their whole theory was when You get on the road and tour,

We're not gonna Spend tons of money

On the promotion, the press, Or videos.

You're just gonna work, and We felt really good with that.

We got our e.P. Out Within three months

And used it as a platform To go on the road.

- we had a picture In our head

Of where we wanted to go With the first record.

I knew which songs Were gonna be on it.

I knew what kind of instruments And all that.

- i was really shy About my voice,

So we brought My vocal way down,

And in 1983, you know,

Every song you heard,

Every popular song had--

The drums were The loudest thing,

And so we turned The drums way down

Because we didn't want To be a disco band.

We didn't want To be radio stuff.

So we turned The drums way down.

We turned The vocal way down.

Everything else came up,

and we dumped a lot of reverb On it, and that was murmur.

♪ talk about the passion ♪

♪ talk about the passion ♪

- when murmur Came out and sold,

I guess, 100,000, 125,000 copies,

That was-- That was huge.

I mean, that was much more

Than i think ourselves or i.R.S. Records ever expected it to do.

- it was named the record Of the year by rolling stone.

record of the year over Michael jackson's thriller.

- getting named Album of the year

When there were other Very, very commercial records

In the marketplace Was like, "what?"

I mean, like, kind of, Like, hard to believe.

- that was a little bit Of a wakeup call for me.

Like, "what on earth is this?"

- i think that the way The record got made

Was us two producing it,

And i was never Totally sat well, you know,

With the--back at The authority's headquarters

And stuff, and the fact that This record that had been made

Sort of in a secret with them Kind of feeling like,

"oh, well we've thrown This one away," you know?

Doing so well was kind of like, "yeah." you know?

It's kind of like now that's... - now that's truth.

- little minor revenge Against the sort

Of standardized thinking... - the man.

- about who has to produce A record and all that, you now?

And the kind of record You have to make.

- murmur has a real kind of Flannery o'connor feel to me,

And i don't know why. - and the thing--

- all i have is kudzu.

- people don't know What kudzu is.

- this is what takes Over the south.

- does it make you feel At home at all

By seeing Some of that stuff?

- this kind of pulls at my heart Like--like i can't tell you.

I really feel Like i'm at home now.

- well, none of them Are actually born in the south.

- yeah. - you know?

They're seen as the--right Up there with stonewall jackson,

And i think--i don't think any Of 'em are born there, you know?

- as far as being A southern band goes,

whoever the guy that writes For the village voice

That keeps saying that we may As well be from chicago,

You know, He's really wrong.

I mean, if he's expecting Cowboy hats and spurs

And really twangy vocals,

If that's his idea of Southern, then he's kind of--

He's really wrong. - ♪ did you never call? ♪

♪ i waited for your call ♪

♪ these rivers Of suggestion ♪

♪ are driving me away ♪

- reckoning we recorded And mixed very fast

so that we wouldn't try To make murmur part ii.

- you know, we'd go in there And we'd just knock out

The basic tracks on first Or second take, all of 'em,

And-- - no matter how bad he plays.

- exactly.

- ♪ i'm sorry ♪

♪ i'm sorry ♪

♪ i'm sorry ♪

♪ i'm sorry ♪

- you know, We did reckoning in 11 days,

Recorded and mixed it,

And i don't think Any of us slept that whole time.

It was really insane.

- michael was starting to Withdraw a little bit.

We did make sure Michael was in a place

Where he could be Completely free of any sense

Of people prying on him Or pressure to perform.

Those were problems,

And those were things that we Had to address as a--real issues

In terms of Making a record.

- i was fasting The whole time.

Those guys were drunk the whole Time, and it was crazy,

And i was drunk, too, actually, Near the end,

'caused i couldn't take The fast anymore.

I think i broke it With beer.

- if you lived in new york Or los angeles, you know,

You'd hear whatever's hot And have to listen to it,

And in athens, you know, It kind of all drifts by

And you can pick out What you want to listen to.

So it's--we just have This real amalgamated style.

- when i first started out, It's--everyone, you know,

Is like the post punk days,

And everyone was playing Big stacks and marshalls,

And it was like the ramones, And i loved all that,

But i just didn't really feel That that was me.

I didn't want to wear a leather Jacket and be like them,

And i tended to go for something A little bit more folky

And pastoral Or whatever, i mean,

As far as guitar playing.

- what kind of music Do you consider yourself making?

- rock and roll, I guess.

You know-- - pure rock and roll?

- if you come up with a really Good phrase, we'll use it.

We haven't found one That suits us yet.

We used to say folk rock A long time ago.

- till everybody Else started saying it.

- before the folk rock revival Happened,

And then all of a sudden There was a folk rock revival,

And it was like, "oh, my god.

We're part Of a movement."

- have you got A good expression for it?

Rock and roll, is that is? - rock and roll, yes.

- rock and roll. Yeah.

I mean, really--there really Isn't--i get--

Everyone's always trying To pin labels on everyone else,

I guess, But it's rock and roll.

[dissident guitar playing]

♪ ♪

- 1985 was probably The hardest year

That the band had.

- we were Overworking ourselves,

And definitely Underpaying ourselves.

I mean, we were making $140 each a month.

- why were things so dark Around the time of fables?

Can you elaborate at all?

- oh, the weather. - weather.

- we went into the studio In london,

Which was A massive mistake.

We were there in, I think march,

And it was miserable.

It was cold. It was snowing.

- now london's a pretty dull Place actually,

If you're--you know,

Unless you know all the hot Spots, so it was basically--

- and we're pretty dull boys. - yeah.

It was just plod into the studio And do it,

And plod back home.

- when we recorded That album,

It was a very rough time For us as a band.

We weren't sure That we wanted to continue

Doing what we were doing.

- ♪ time and distance ♪

♪ are out of place here ♪

- it was seemingly maybe The end.

- it wasn't so much tension Between us.

It was just general tension.

I mean, None of us were very happy,

And, you know, We kind of said,

"well, we'll just work Our way through it."

- well, to say We got on each other's nerves

Is probably An understatement.

- well, we almost broke up,

But instead we put out This record

That is incredibly dark And kind of very introverted,

And not at all--

It's just very kind Of constrictive.

- even by that point we'd been Through enough adversity

To know that, "okay.

Well, we can weather this.

"let's just Make this record,

"and we'll--you know, We'll do it again.

It's not the end Of the world."

- but everything I think is gonna be successful

Is not successful,

And every time i think something Is really going down the toilet

It goes right to number one.

- right now there's a lot Of bands out there

Sweating over Who's number one.

Well, i don't know what to tell You other than the truth.

r.E.M.'s fables of the Reconstruction is number one.

You did it, R.E.M. You're number one.

Even the south can't rise Any higher than that!

- whoo!

[r.E.M.'s can't get there From here]

♪ ♪

♪ when the world Is a monster ♪

♪ bad to swallow You whole ♪

♪ no kick the clay That holds-- ♪

- you're listening To wrsu fm,

New brunswick, Rutgers university,

and here is r.E.M. With the carnival of sorts.

They were one Of the first bands that was,

Like, broken almost entirely On college radio,

And it--it's sort of true.

You heard a few Of the songs

On regular Mainstream radio,

You know, Over and over again possibly,

But for the most part, They were college radio,

And so i think it's neat

That they're going around And touring the colleges.

- spring concerts are One way for students

To ease the pressure Of oncoming final exams,

And r.E.M. Is One band that students

Have no trouble relating to.

- ♪ i'm sorry ♪

♪ i'm sorry ♪

- college radio really did kind Of make r.E.M., i mean,

They picked up on us when all The big radio stations

And all The big record stores

Really didn't want To have that much to do with us.

- i mean, we've always Done really well at colleges,

And, you know, college Radio's been real supportive,

But i don't know Why we picked up more fans

There than anywhere else.

- it's one of three things.

They have more leisure time, More money,

Or they take more drugs,

And i haven't decided Which one.

Both: more leisure time.

- i think probably one Really good thing about r.E.M.

Is that we could maybe Be defined as a common voice,

And it's something That most people

That are in college right now Are the same age that we are,

And they can maybe pick up On the songs

Faster or better than maybe People in other age groups

Or people who aren't going To college, i don't know.

I would say that they Can kind of take the songs

And make them their own.

I certainly don't think That r.E.M. Has spear-headed or,

You know, been the leader Of any kind

Of revolution in music, You know, in american music.

I mean, that's ridiculous To even think about.

There are a lot more college Radios--

- sorry. - these are nerds.

- these are nerds; This is what you've been hearing

The entire time.

- i don't think Anything is important, but--

- as far as we're concerned. - this is fun,

And it's enjoyable, and,

You know, It's good experience,

But as far as important,

I can't think of anything That's really important.

- [laughs]

- we don't live To be a critic's band.

We don't strive To be a critic's band.

We don't strive To be a band, hardly.

We just kind of are here.

- you know, the four members Of r.E.M. Approach their craft

With a purity of vision That's really rare

In the commercial jungle Of the music industry.

They're remarkably free Of either cliche or pretense.

Now, as a musician myself,

I can say that There are times

When we play just For the sheer fun of it.

Now r.E.M. Have that spirit,

So here they are enjoying What they really do best.

- ♪ the walls are built up Stone by stone ♪

♪ the fields divided One by one ♪

♪ and the train conductor says Take a break, driver 8 ♪

♪ driver 8 take a break ♪

♪ we've been On this shift too long ♪

- i would just sit around with Guitars, usually peter and i,

And just play things until Something useful comes out.

If nothing useful comes out we'd Try it again the next night,

But that's what we were doing The night was ju--was--

That's how we write songs.

It's kind of a brainstorming Hit-or-miss process

That you just play and do

Everything you can think of Until something good comes out.

- ♪ buy the sky And sell the sky ♪

♪ and bleed the sky And tell the sky ♪

♪ don't fall on me ♪

♪ don't fall on me ♪

- we've written Quite a few hit records.

We didn't record 'em to be hit Records, so they weren't.

- i was kind of, like--

Almost like the record company To these guys.

They were a little afraid Of what i might believe in.

- it's just like a review

I read not too long Ago that says that don has

Little tolerance for anything That doesn't advance the song

Or make the song better,

And yet he works real well With us in that sense.

- i thought They could be a radio band,

And this idea Scared them to death.

- and do you think People were, like,

Wondering if you were Trying to break out

Of some kind of cult status Working with--you know,

Like you were maybe going For a hit this time around?

- ♪ answer me a question I can't itemize ♪

♪ i can't think clear, Look to me for reason ♪

♪ it's not there ♪

♪ i can't even rhyme ♪

♪ begin the begin ♪

- stipe would take the track Away, stay up all night,

Run around to some quarry Out in the boonies,

And come back with a set Of lyrics the next day

Called "hyena" Or whatever it was.

- i hope that people Are able to take a lot

Of the songs On the record

And apply them To their everyday life

And apply them to the things That are weird.

- it's evocative,

But what is this?

I mean, how are you Trying to connect?

- how would they apply it To their own life?

- i would just--i would hope That people would...

Hmm. That's a hard one.

I can't get that specific, Probably.

- and the discussion was, well, I am not gonna write--

I think the word used Was "banal."

Banal lyrics,

And it was Just like, oomph.

- to me, That typified what working

With the band Was all about.

It was this rock wall

That you would run into that Would be who r.E.M. Are,

And it was A sacred place.

You really didn't Go in there.

- he was the first person To work with us in the studio

Who really questioned What i was going on about,

And i admire him For it now.

He made life hell for me During the making of the record,

'cause it wasn't my job To question what i was doing.

I just did it. - what was that whole thing?

Laa-ti-- I mean, it wasn't laughing--

- it's just--it's a word.

- it is a word? - it's a word.

It starts with an l, And laughing starts with an l.

- i know. - it's called alliteration,

I think, right?

Alliteration is Where you use the same sound

Over and over again,

And i do that a lot.

Children do it a lot too. Old people do it a lot.

Goo-goo.

- it was the first time In my life that i worked

With people that didn't really Communicate with words.

- people tend to think of us As this mystic art band that,

You know--"please give us Another record,"

When in fact we're-- You know,

We're just, like, Four guys with whatever.

- whatever we are. - speaking for myself

And for the band, a great deal Of what we do is consciously--

Not consciously, but not Thinking about what we do,

Because if you trust Your intuitive sense,

Then you're gonna Be able to pull through.

- they taught me that.

They taught me through Their own very,

Very mysterious relationships That they had together.

'cause they didn't talk about How they were gonna do things.

Things just Kind of happened.

- the title comes from A pink panther film.

Inspector clouseau, he falls out Of his car, falls in the car--

- [french accent] it is all part Of life's rich pageant.

- yeah, and all these mistakes Are part of life's rich pageant.

He can do the accent Better than i can.

- i don't know; We don't really like

To analyze The creative process too much.

It's kind of scary. That's not What we kind of want...

- yeah.

- we don't want to know. - craft is one thing,

And we're pretty good at the Crafting of the song, right?

- but inspiration's the most Important part,

And you never know When you're gonna be inspired.

- peter made one Brilliant decision

At the beginning Of this whole thing.

He decided that all the songs Would be credited

Equally to all four of us... - yeah.

- and i will confess That at the time i

Thought that it was like, "well, What if i write the song?

I want the credit for it." You know?

- peter, who's slightly older Than the other guys,

Has an encyclopedic knowledge Of musical history,

And in peter's mind, The thing that breaks bands up

Are arguments Over songwriting credit.

- but as it worked out,

We all do write the songs, You know?

- yeah. - everybody comes up with--

With at least a quarter Of every song, and--

And i know that that's been A major thing

That has kept us from being At each other's throats

Because--again,

Not to be crass or callus About it, but that's where--

A lot of the money comes from, Is the songwriting royalties,

And the fact that we're All sharing in that equally...

- yeah. - i think has definitely

Smoothed the way for things.

- we just made individual Decisions one at a time.

We never really Had a huge game plan.

We just did what felt Right at the time.

- we kind of Control ourselves,

But it's a kind Of loose control.

Since we all vote, It's a democracy.

No one of us can say, "we're gonna do this.

We're gonna do it." So we tend to kind

Of just wander From place to place

As far as the decisions We make, and so they

All have to be something that We just are comfortable with,

But whatever integrity We have it's just kind of--

Just 'cause we do what we do, And it--you know, it's--

It's not really A thought-out process.

Like, well, We have to maintain this image.

We just-- we get up In the morning

And you look in the mirror, And this--

You know, you've got To be happy about that.

- at this stage, There was no secret.

This band was gonna be huge.

There was-- By this time,

All the hard work was about to Pay off, and everyone knew it.

- i mean, i was hearing people In offices that tell me

In los angeles a month

Before we cut the record that, "well, this is the record

That's gonna make you As big as u2."

You know, i was like,

"you haven't even heard The songs yet; how do you know?

I mean, it might really stink." We've been around long enough

So that the people

That we used to go into Radio stations they'd say,

"sorry, We can't play your records.

You don't fit in," Now we fit in.

- it's kind of like the music Business and radio

And all that stuff Has finally caught up with us.

It's not like We're doing something

That's extraordinarily Ahead of its time,

But it's taken them

The entire '80s to be able To accept music

That's not kind Of predisposed towards radio.

Uh-oh.

♪ that's great it starts With an earthquake ♪

♪ birds and snakes And aeroplanes ♪

♪ and lenny bruce Is not afraid ♪

♪ eye of a hurricane Listen to yourself churn ♪

♪ world serves its own needs, Dummy serve your own needs ♪

♪ feed it off an aux speak, Grunt, no, strength ♪

♪ ladder starts to clatter With fear fight ♪

- you know, our last record, Lifes rich pageant,

It did fairly well, And--you know, it went gold.

Our first gold record.

We wanted to kind Of capitalize on that success

By making a little bit more Of a left field type album.

It's a little bit More chaotic

And it addresses Some political things

A little bit more directly maybe Than we have in the past.

- ♪ it's the end of the world As we know it and i feel fine ♪

[r.E.M.'s the one i love]

♪ ♪

♪ this one goes out To the one i love ♪

- the fact that that became

Our first hit Was just as much

Of a surprise to us As anyone.

- ♪ this one goes out to The one i've left behind ♪

♪ a simple prop ♪

- could you talk about What the one i love is about?

- well, it's pretty evident.

It's right there, to me.

- i thought It was really obvious that it

Was not a love song at all.

- ♪ fire ♪

- the one i love Is a very vicious breakup song,

And it's very cold And cruel.

- it was always kind of amusing To play it in concerts.

You know, you start that song And the guys

Would hug their girlfriend, Kiss their girlfriend,

And it's like, "well, You don't really understand,"

[chuckles] And that's fine.

It doesn't matter. I mean, it--you know,

Michael writes a song about Whatever he thinks it's about,

And then whatever you think It's about is what it's about.

You know? There's--

We're not trying to beat Anybody over the head

With message or meaning Or anything like that.

It's--the best music is one

That you can take and adapt To your own life

Or to your own experience,

And it has to mean Something to you.

Whether--whatever it means to us Is not nearly as important

As what it means to you.

- for me, it's about e-minor To d to g to c.

- captain, i'm picking up A transmission.

It appears to be from fans Of the rock group r.E.M.,

Which originated In athens, georgia.

- hm.

- dr. Mccoy's home state.

- r.E.M. Has a following Somewhat like the grateful dead.

- well, yeah. You know, i can see that.

We work in kind Of the same way

Where we do exactly What we want to.

We tour when we want to.

We've built a kind Of real steady following

Of people That are fairly fanatical.

I mean, musically we Have nothing in common,

But i think that both bands Create their own world

Around them,

And that's--

It's something that the fans Kind of enter into also.

I mean, it's like you Build your own community.

- it's a lot more people Listening

To r.E.M. Than ever before.

I mean, it's almost doubled, The people that are buying,

You know, just in one year.

I mean, How do you figure that?

- it's kind of exciting To talk about, you know,

"well, we're top ten," but,

you know, being on the cover Of rolling stone

Wasn't, like, the pinnacle

Of my career or something That i'm proud of.

You know? It just happened.

You know, All the success

And the getting big and all that Doesn't really affect me,

Except that more people Approach me on the street,

And...

You know, That's kind of--that's bad.

- when the band First started,

It was the joke Of the band that--

'cause you never go-- You go everywhere and they go,

"well, who's the leader?" And everyone would point at me,

And they'd go, "well, It's his band,

'cause he's the biggest [...] In the band," and,

You know, it--that was--

None of us ever Wanted to be the spokesman.

Michael is the singer.

People look at him And expect him to say things.

- the media Has been kind of a monkey,

And it--sometimes it's funny And sometimes it's pretty heavy.

You know? Here.

It was a really big leap

For me as a shy person Just to present myself.

I mean, I really knew that i--

You know, i really wanted to be In the band and stuff, but,

You know, i had hair That covered my face,

And i could hug myself in lots Of layers of clothes,

And that was easy and fine For a while,

But then, you know, people Really did want to talk to me,

And they were sincere About it.

- you know, That's just a natural thing.

It's the lead singer Who's gonna be

The front man of the band? - sure.

- and he's come to terms With that.

- i'm here To talk to you tonight,

And you're going to listen. - he enjoys it.

He enjoys the kind Of challenge of, you know,

Manipulating the media Or whatever.

- i would say that if there's A motto that, you know--

That went--a motto

That went along with film,

That went along With recording music,

That i've repeated to myself Over and over again,

It would be courage...

Courage and clarity And thought and statement

And intent and action.

- the three of us are kind of Happy it's michael and not us.

Michael's been On all these covers of magazines

And we haven't been, And bill goes,

"man, if i wanted to be On the cover of a magazine,

I wouldn't be a drummer."

- i would say as a band

We've certainly Attained a great deal,

And things that we never thought Would happen have happened,

And i would say that we're At a real crossroads right now

In a lot of different ways.

All of them I would say are very positive,

And, you know,

It's just a pop band At the end of the day.

It's just a rock show After all.

♪ ♪

I have a real knee-jerk side To me about many big things,

And--but i don't--i don't think That that applies

To, you know, my band at all.

I really don't.

- we had a lot of regard For i.R.S. And the people there,

But we also realized we kind Of hit the ceiling.

- ♪ your finest hour ♪

♪ ♪

- this contract-- - i know.

It's the talk of the town.

- everyone talks about it, But i don't know.

It's kind of boring, really, When it came down to it.

It was like, you know,

Six hoagie sandwiches Piled up,

But it was made out of paper Instead of cheese,

And we just kind of flipped Through it and said,

"yeah, we're gonna sign it," And we did.

- but something like that Is bound to have some sort

Of effect somewhere, Isn't it?

At least in the way People perceive you.

Obviously it does.

- i--you know, I didn't stop being.

I didn't, you know, Eat different things

For breakfast or-- - yeah.

- or whatever.

- you're not going out And buying condos

Or anything, right? - yeah.

A whole slew of them, You know.

- hello, warner brothers, And welcome to new orleans,

The sun and sin capital Of the world.

This is my associate, and we've Been working hard, very hard,

And very long--that's enough,

For the record we're putting out That we're thrilled

to be putting out With all of you called green.

- ♪ hello, i saw you, I know you ♪

♪ i knew you ♪

♪ i think I can remember your name, name ♪

♪ ♪

There's a period of time Where,

As songwriters, those guys

Were throwing these things at me That were so bubble gum

And so over the top With pop music

That i accepted it As a challenge and was, like,

"i'll raise you And see you one,"

And i wrote the most inane Lyrics i could possibly write.

- ♪ stand in the place Where you live ♪

- ♪ now face north ♪

- ♪ think about direction, Wonder why you haven't ♪

- as the audience got larger And larger, it was impossible

For me to not change To match that.

I realize that, you know, At one point in our career,

I was reaching people that were 40 or 50 feet away.

At this point in our career,

I was reaching people Who were way, way up there,

And you know, you know,

I was that big, And so it was necessary

To make brighter lights And a bigger persona

And films behind us.

- ♪ when i was young And give and take ♪

♪ and foolish said My fool awake ♪

♪ when i was young And fever fell ♪

♪ my spirit I will not tell ♪

♪ you're on your honor, On your honor ♪

- now when you, like, go out In front of these big audiences

And you think, "well, they're Listening to my politics.

They're listening To this or that," i mean,

Do you think about that? Like-- - yeah, i do.

- what they're getting Out of it?

- i think it's a pretty Important role that i play,

I mean, in pop music,

Which is pretty low on The ladder of important things.

I think it's a sad state Of affairs

When it's up To the entertainment industry

To bring issues Like this to the forefront.

Assault weapons are capable Of shooting dozens

Of bullets in seconds.

Advanced nations manufacture Some 70,000 different chemicals.

Today's earth day. Tomorrow's earth day.

The day after is earth day. Every day is earth day.

This is a symbolic gesture At best,

But it's a good one.

I think rather than The public burning out

On the environment,

The environment May well burn out on us.

i'm michael stipe. This is 120 minutes.

I'm for the environment.

This is michael stipe.

It's earth day. Celebrate.

- you have this-- This podium,

In fact, from which to state What you believe.

I mean, obviously you must have Reflected on, you know,

Why fate has kind of cast

You in this role Of archetype,

Why it's your job To do this.

- i'm not a real great believer In fate.

I am a pretty big believer In fortune,

And i feel very fortunate

That i've been able To achieve the success

That i--that i've-- That i've gotten,

The level that it's put me at, And the fact

That people are listening to me For better or worse,

And hopefully for better, You know?

That i can present something That--that is, on the one hand

Entertainment And rock and roll and music,

And something that you can look At as furniture or as wallpaper,

To clean the dishes to, Or if you want to dig deeper,

It's something That you can think about,

Something That might provoke you.

[cheers and applause]

[r.E.M.'s radio song]

♪ the world is collapsing Around our ears ♪

♪ i turned up the radio ♪

♪ but i can't hear it ♪

- after the green world tour, You know, peter didn't even want

To look at an electric guitar, Much less play one.

- and, like, with most efforts,

We don't really

Pick a conceptual road That we want to take.

We kind of know What we want to avoid,

And that's the only thing We knew going

Into the songwriting process For this record.

I mean, we wanted to avoid The guitar, pretty much.

You know, we'd lived with The big rock and roll lineup

Playing the arenas and stuff,

And the loud, you know,

Kind of impersonality Of playing

Those big, huge situations, We wanted to leave that behind.

It was fun,

But we--you know,

The '90s needed to be Something different for us.

- the rest of us, in terms Of musical direction like that,

We were always more reactive And not proactive,

And we'd let peter be The proactive one,

And he'd say, "this is what i want to do,

And this is Where i feel we should go,"

And unless anybody

Had a huge problem with that We'd say, "that's fine."

- i personally wanted to make Kind of a more baroque-sounding

Record for a long time.

- ♪ i turned up the radio ♪

♪ but i can't hear it ♪

- well, you know, I love guitar,

But i was kind of in danger Of becoming very competent.

Or almost competent, you know, Which--

I mean, for me, songwriting Is the main thing i do,

And to keep it fresh, it's nice To try different instruments.

- ♪ oh, this lonely deep Sit hollow ♪

♪ half a world, Half a world away ♪

- for me, the mandolin Was kind of a shortcut

To stupidity again.

- for us, as a band, it was kind Of a record of challenges.

It was an incredible challenge For these guys to write

On instruments that were not Their primary instruments.

It was An incredible challenge

For me to write the type Of songs

That i've always despised.

- is the new record More political or overtly

Political? - no politics.

- mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Is--is that a conscious effort This time, or--

- yup. - why?

- i felt like it.

- mm-hmm. - they're all--

It's all love songs.

- they're so common.

There's so many love songs That are so poorly written,

So of course The one biggest challenge

As a lyricist That i could bring on myself

Would be to write a body of love Songs that were "intelligent,"

Quote-unquote, That--that were not stupid.

- i'm really happy With the song writing.

I--it's one of The first records

We've ever done where i walked In before we laid down a note

And just was really pleased With the songs.

I think they're Very diverse and--

You know, it's still us; If you don't like us,

You're probably not gonna like This one either.

- it's--it's destined To be pop legend.

It's--it's the best thing We've done.

- really?

- yeah. [mumbles]

It's gonna redefine music.

I think it really is. - really?

- yeah. - how so?

- well, it's-- It's brilliant.

- so then you think It's gonna--

You think it's gonna Redefine pop music?

- i think we already have. [laughs]

Even before this record. - and all that,

But we still don't have a name For the record yet, so...

- what are Some of the ideas?

- every record We've ever had, the name

Just occurs real early And it makes sense

'cause it kind of says What the songs are all about,

But i think The songs are so--

Nothing links them, really, Either lyrically

Or musically that-- I don't--

Nobody knows What to call it.

- every time that we make A record we put up a list,

And it says, "name this-- Name this record."

Mike mills did this one, And we're on our fourth page.

This is the first page,

Featuring Such great titles as,

"imitation crab meat."

We were thinking of calling it "willful obscurity."

- "trolling for olives."

- "dignity and aplomb." - "love is squalor."

- "cat butt." - "pomegranate."

- those are too literal For us.

I mean, we needed something More oblique.

- warner brothers Called us and said,

"look, your record release Is going to be affected.

"the release date's gonna Be affected

If you don't name this today," But they had all the artwork

Ready except the actual title.

I mean, it was just blank On the mock-up.

- it was like, pick a title That day or else

It's just gonna be--it'll be Like spinal tap, you know?

How black can it be? This black.

Well, there would be no title On the record.

- and it was, "oh, [...]. We're out of time."

You know? And it was like, whoa.

- the big shocker, Of course, to warners

Was when they announced That they weren't gonna tour,

And how happy did That make them?

- we just felt, you know, Let's not go on the road.

Let's not just Be a performing unit right now.

Let's just concentrate on kind Of working and writing

And seeing Where it takes us.

- it's like write songs, Record them, tour them.

Take a small break And do it all over again.

- without a band touring,

The record company has to spend Twice or three times as much.

- every single person That talked to us said, "well,

You know what, you're just Kissing your career good-bye,"

And they're like "you're making An acoustic record

And you're not gonna tour. Well, forget it.

Everything you've worked For all these years is gone."

[r.E.M.'s losing my religion]

♪ ♪

- ♪ oh, life is bigger ♪

♪ it's bigger than you, And you are not me ♪

♪ the lengths that I will go to ♪

♪ the distance In your eyes ♪

♪ oh, no, I've said too much ♪

♪ i set it up ♪

♪ that's me In the corner ♪

♪ that's me In the spotlight ♪

♪ losing my religion ♪

- they had this odd, Compelling acoustic bass song

With a mandolin As the lead

That everybody thought would be A great first song,

Not 'cause it was A big hit single

But because it was A beautiful song.

- it doesn't really Have a chorus.

The main instrument Is a mandolin.

It's really long. It's five minutes plus long.

All the ingredients For a total disaster

As far as a single goes.

- and why not let the statement Be, "this is our band.

"this is what We sound like now.

"it's different. It's changed.

it's not the same as green." - and we'll just put it out

And we won't tour and we'll Probably fade into obscurity

And nobody will ever Hear of us again.

- ♪ i think i thought I saw you try ♪

♪ ♪

- you know, the record came out And it sold,

Like, ten million copies.

- ♪ but that was Just a dream ♪

♪ that was just a dream, That's me in the corner ♪

- 'cause after ten years Of putting out records,

this band has finally Released an album, out of time,

and a great hit single, Losing my religion,

That have taken the american Musical mainstream by storm.

- i'd go to new york And for the first time, like,

65-year-old black men Would go,

"yo, mike," on the street,

Whereas before it was 25-year-old white people

And--and no one else.

- i think having a number one Record was really--i mean,

Obviously that's a big event In your life.

It doesn't happen To most people,

But i was kind of worried That it was gonna hurt us.

Like, "oh, no. This is gonna--

"we've totally lost Our street credibility.

"you know, next week We're gonna be off the charts

And nobody's gonna Want to know our names."

- r.E.M. For losing my religion.

- ♪ that's me in the spotlight Losing my religion ♪

- and the winner is...

- big moment here.

R.E.M.

- you've got this public forum, You know?

If you win an mtv award

You don't want to go up And thank god and your manager.

Well, that's what everyone else Does. God gets thanked enough.

And your manager, fine. You know?

But you've got a chance To say something,

And when i'm 80 years old I don't want to think,

"well, gee, you know, I just got up there

And reveled in the moment Of being successful,"

'cause it's just shallow And pointless

And vaguely embarrassing.

- hold on.

This might be lengthy.

Everybody, Thank you so much.

Peace.

- r.E.M., ♪ shiny happy people ♪

Hey, hey, hey, Hey, hey.

Pull that bus over to the side Of the pretentiousness turnpike.

Okay, pal? I want everybody off the bus.

I want the shiny people Over here

And the happy people Over here, okay?

[r.E.M.'s shiny happy people]

♪ ♪

- ♪ shiny happy people Laughing ♪

- we all knew even then That shiny happy people,

While it's a good song,

It's not really what you want To be remembered for in history.

- i'm aware Of how stupid this is,

And i'm not manipulating people

By introducing Hooky, catchy things,

But i'm right there Beside you laughing at myself,

Laughing at the song, And at the same time

Really grooving on it And really digging it

And saying, "god, what a-- What a great song."

- it's silly. I mean,

It's supposed to be silly,

And there's nothing wrong With doing silly songs

Every once in a while, But--but fo--

To have them as a single

And to have pe--'cause people-- For some reason that title,

People just love That title.

They can make any headline

Or any photo caption They want to, and it's pithy,

And it relates To contemporary--

You know, it's just-- It's really irritating, and--

And, you know, i knew--we knew That was gonna be trouble.

- out of time also Marked a venture into politics.

The outspoken r.E.M. Included a postcard on the back

Of that album that fans Could mail to their congressman

In support of the so-called Motor voter bill,

Which registered Eligible people

To vote when they got Their driver's license.

- it's gonna make people Feel more franchised,

Like they have a better reason To go out and vote,

And i hope It makes a big difference.

- i think it's been estimated That there are 50 million people

Who might get on the register Who wouldn't have before.

I really see it As an equal rights bill.

- to paraphrase michael,

Some people May not know it yet,

But george bush Is out of time.

- i'm here with mike mills Of r.E.M.

Have you ever seen So many happy democrats?

- not at one time in my life, And i'm one of 'em.

It's a great thing.

- ♪ one love ♪

♪ one blood ♪

♪ one life ♪

♪ you got to do What you should ♪

♪ one life ♪

♪ with each other ♪

♪ sisters ♪

♪ brothers ♪

♪ one life But we're not the same ♪

A standard bag,

And it's, uh, 2 1/2 ounce Of peanuts, net weight,

"automatic for the people."

They liked the slogan.

They wanted to use it As the title of their album.

This is really great, You know?

And i was just so happy.

I think there's been a smile On my face ever since then.

- i don't think "automatic For the people"

Necessarily sounds Southern.

I guess if you know The story it does,

But we just kind of Liked the ring of it.

- "automatic for the people"

Is a slogan for weaver d's soul Food restaurant in athens.

You walk in, You get a plate of food.

You say, "i'd like Some pork chops and greens."

He goes, "automatic."

So it just means that--

You know, That he's got some food.

It's gonna be good, And you can have it.

Well, here's a record, we think It's good, and you can have it.

You know, That's what we think.

- r.E.M., When they came to me,

They were saying, "we want to send your peanuts

"to various radio stations Around the world

Along with the album As a promotional item."

[r.E.M.'s drive]

♪ ♪

- ♪ smack crack ♪

♪ bushwhacked ♪

♪ tie another one To the racks, baby ♪

♪ ♪

- i think the progression That ran from out of time

through Automatic for the people

Was more that we Were thinking anything goes.

Any little instrument That you want to throw down

On top of this--you know, If we want to put a harpsichord

On something, we'll do that.

If we want to put a cello In here, we'll do that.

- ♪ maybe i ride, Maybe you walk ♪

♪ maybe i drive To get off, baby ♪

- the record is kind of stark In some ways.

It's not maybe exactly What people expect.

You know, at that time I didn't even have a house.

I was driving around in the car And listen to the cassettes

And staying In $19-a-night motels,

And i just didn't Really feel

Like it really Meant anything.

- each one of us had Their own personal things

Going on, Good or bad,

That just kind of--

It--that was a hard record

To focus on.

I mean, the songs were kind Of these nebulous ideas

That we just Allowed to take shape.

- we accomplished something That we set out to accomplish,

Unconsciously or otherwise,

In terms of Making a record

That was, you know, Largely acoustic

And using Unorthodox instrumentation

For a rock and roll band,

And also, you know, Dealing with subject matter

That was unorthodox To rock and roll.

- but you don't want To have too much attitude

When you're talking About your own mortality,

Or anyone else's mortality,

Because death always wins, And--

- we found--yeah. God.

Hmm, how about that?

Ultimately for me, That record

Is very uplifting. - yeah.

- but it does deal With a very dark subject,

And one That maybe rock listeners

Aren't used to Dealing with on that level,

Or with that level Of vulnerability and openness.

[r.E.M.'s everybody hurts]

♪ ♪

♪ when the day is long ♪

♪ and the night ♪

♪ the night Is yours alone ♪

♪ ♪

- it was three chords.

Anybody that's just started to Play guitar can play that song.

- ♪ of this life ♪

♪ well, hang on ♪

I actually started playing it When peter and mike were around.

Before i even finished it they Were already doing their thing.

- ♪ don't let yourself go ♪

♪ ♪

♪ 'cause everybody cries ♪

- so, yeah, i came up With the three chords

in everybody hurts.

- ♪ and everybody hurts ♪

♪ ♪

♪ sometimes ♪

- everybody hurts, r.E.M.

- we get to take this home And put it on our shelf,

But there's--you know,

There are a lot of things You can't put on a shelf,

And what this song is And what this song

I think has become is something That you can't put on a shelf,

And that's yours,

And it's everybody's Out there, and...

I'm a lot more involved In the videos

Than the other guys In the band

Because of my untapped desire To be a great photographer,

Probably, Is where it stems from.

When we had to do the artwork For our first single,

Peter said, "you're the art Major, you do it,"

And from there on out It was my job

To produce all the graphic stuff And all the creative stuff

And pick the video directors And what have you.

I've always thought That we're like--

Our songs are like Little films, you know?

A lot of people Don't get the plot,

But that's okay. That's okay.

♪ ♪

probably my favorite R.E.M. Video is man on the moon,

Just 'cause i look like, You know, steve mcqueen.

[chuckles]

I kind of look Like steve mcqueen.

- i can see that. You got the hat.

- i had all the gear. - man on the moon? Oh, yeah.

That's my-- That's my favorite video.

I mean, we got to wear Cowboy hats and fake tattoos.

- i got to play a bartender, And i've always aspired

To be a bartender,

And i got to live out My fantasy just that day.

- ♪ now, andy, did you hear About this one? ♪

♪ tell me are you locked In the punch? ♪

♪ andy, are you goofing On elvis? ♪

♪ hey, baby Are you having fun? ♪

♪ if you believed ♪

♪ they put a man On the moon ♪

♪ man on the moon ♪

- when we wrote the song man On the moon, it was kind of--

It was one of those songs That kind of didn't make a lot

Of sense, But it didn't need to.

It was about andy kaufman, And he was just so

Incredibly ahead Of the curve

In terms of what he Was presenting as a comedian

And as A performance artist.

Years and years later We write the song.

A couple years later Somebody's written a script,

And now this film Is being made.

- let me ask you this. Man on the moon

Is the soundtrack To the andy kaufman--

What songs Do you guys have on it?

Let me put this Out here.

- we did everything except The songs that aren't ours.

In terms of doing interviews Or not doing interviews,

I think it--pretty much Every other record

I step back and--

'cause i just Feel bored with myself.

I don't really have Anything new to say.

I feel like i'm going Over the same territory,

And it's tedious for me.

- michael's always been Fairly enigmatic personality,

And he didn't do interviews For a couple years

'cause he didn't really Want to talk to people,

And all of that Combined with,

You know, the steady rock And roll rumor mill, "well,

I haven't seen him in public For a while," you know?

Went to--i mean, I was supposed to be a junkie

During those years too.

You know, everyone's like, "oh, He always wears long sleeves."

- but in not playing the game

In the last few years, Amongst various rumors,

One was that you were dead-- I mean,

Like, for instance, like-- - that i was dead?

- well, i mean, the automatic For the people out there--

- that i have aids. - you know, i wore a hat

That said, "white house stop Aids," and it all kind of

Started rolling around Then, i think.

We weren't touring.

We put out a record About mortality and death,

And, you know, i Started wearing tighter clothes,

And people saw that, You know, i weigh 131 pounds.

- any statement would have been The wrong statement to make,

And it would have Looked bad,

So we just really Didn't say anything.

I mean, if people asked we Would say, "yeah, he's healthy.

He's fine," but, you know, We didn't go into panic mode.

I mean, i felt sorry for The fans who took it seriously,

And i felt sorry for our friends Who it hurt.

- i didn't want to immediately Come forward with a note

From my doctor saying That i'm perfectly healthy,

Because i thought It would stigmatize people

Who are hiv positive Or who have aids, you know?

In a way that they've been Stigmatized enough.

You know, I realized at one point,

I guess, pretty early on That i couldn't leave it up

To journalists Or reporters

Or people talking to me That were then going out

And putting this word out To a much larger audience.

I couldn't leave it up to them

To draw the line of what Was too private, you know.

I had to draw It really distinctly.

I don't just really think It's anybody's business

What i do with my [...],

Unless they're sitting On my lap.

I swear. [laughter]

Sexuality and desire Are very fluid things,

And in a world

That tends to think of things As one way or the other,

There's another, And i fit into the other.

Now, nobody really wanted To hear that in 1994.

If--you know, if i [...] Or if i [...]

Or if i alternate Between, you know...

It's kind of Nobody's business, frankly.

All the lyrics that i've written For the most part,

With a few exceptions,

Are really Gender unspecific,

And that's the way i-- You know,

That's less of A political statement, and--

And more of just a desire to be The band that writes songs

That anyone can sing no matter Who they're living with

Or who they're--you know,

Who their desires fall onto.

I kind of wanted--i wanted Everyone to be able to sing...

Along and not feel excluded.

- ♪ she's got ♪

♪ pretty persuasion ♪

♪ he's got ♪

♪ pretty persuasion ♪

- well, what is The kind of stuff

That you guys Are listening to?

I mean, every song

Has a real kind of Different vibe to it.

- well, we listen to music.

We like all kinds Of stuff.

Lead belly, Bikini kill,

The breeders, The pixies, r.E.M.

- it was incredibly Complimentary

And really shocking to me That the lead singer of nirvana,

Early in their career,

Would even refer to r.E.M.

In anything but a negative Light, you know, and i was--

I was amazed That he was not ashamed to say

That he was a fan of ours.

- i remember talking to michael On the phone

When kurt and courtney were Staying at his house in athens,

And michael will tell you This himself.

He just--he liked kurt Tremendously, tremendously.

And it also, i think, Meant a lot to him

That kurt and courtney Liked him so much,

And liked his music So much and that they

Respected him in that way Really meant a lot to him.

- and mike would just call him And talk about rock

And movies and stuff.

And because he inspires a lot Of trust and respect in people,

It was just really Well received.

It was nice To see him make a friend

Because he didn't have A whole lot.

- when kurt died, we were just Getting rowing on monster,

And i got the call in the studio From a friend of mine.

You know, i mean, It was shocking and upsetting.

I mean, we--you know, We basically closed up shop

For a couple of days And went out and...

Tried to find some way To deal with it, you know?

Drink a toast to kurt.

- i felt like i had lost an ally In the world of music,

And somebody who i really deeply Respected and liked as a person.

You know, i miss him. I wish he wasn't dead.

- it was not too much Far in time

After the loss of river phoenix, Who was a really good friend

Of michael's and the rest Of the guys.

He was much--even younger than Kurt, similar circumstances.

It was sad. It was a very somber time.

- you know, it sobered up The process

Of making that record In a huge way,

But, you know, as--

At the same time you--you know,

Like i said, you have To accept it and deal with it

And then try to find inspiration In it, maybe if you can,

And move on and try To do good work,

'cause you don't have Any choice.

[what's the frequency, Kenneth]

♪ ♪

- ♪ what's the frequency, Kenneth? ♪

♪ is your benzedrine, Uh-huh ♪

♪ ♪

- we were definitely aiming For a hard, loud sound on this.

- and what was the catalyst For that?

- sitting on stools For the last two weeks.

- [all laughing] - yeah.

Tired butts.

- ♪ i thought i'd pegged you An idiot's dream ♪

- what's the frequency This weekend?

- we don't know. It's mtv weekend, all weekend,

R.E.M. Weekend.

- ♪ i never understood The frequency ♪

♪ uh-huh ♪

♪ ♪

- how does it feel having The most anticipated album

Of the year? - oh, is it really?

It's gonna--a lot Of records are cerebral.

A lot of records Are from the heart.

This one's more From the crotch.

It's kind of a [...] record. - [laughing]

- can you say [...] on-- - i don't know' could we--

- we do write these kind Of serious songs

On quite many occasions,

But i've got to say i get a kick Out of teenagers

Standing in front Of me going...

- my entire adult life i've been In a rock and roll band.

- yeah, That's pretty amazing.

- i was 19 When we started r.E.M.

Now i'm 34.

It's a teenage Preoccupation,

Playing guitar, Doing this in front of people.

It's an inane thing To do as an adult,

And i'm childish enough to get Really a kick out of this thing,

This weird way Of doing this,

And i kind of-- I revel in that.

It's the stupidity Of being 17 again.

- it's a pretty weird way To, like--to live, you know?

It's a pretty strange way To enter into adulthood,

But it's no less strange Than a lot of other jobs,

I guess.

I'd much rather be a rock And roll singer than, like,

A senator, so, yeah.

- i've been a busboy, And i like this better.

I mean, What else would i do?

This is fun.

You know, You do it so long,

You kind of forget That it's a real job,

But this tour Is gonna be a reminder.

- yeah, you know, It was time to do it.

Five years off. I was ready to go again.

As much as i hated a lot Of parts of being on the road,

Being away from home,

I was ready to go again.

- the monster tour starts In perth, australia, on--

Actually the first night Is friday the 13th, january.

That's for good luck.

- i don't know how much fun This is gonna be.

I mean, i haven't done--

I haven't been--done it in five Years; i'm not out there yet.

The--it starts,

You know, In just a few days.

I think it's gonna Be a huge amount of fun.

I'm totally looking forward To it, but, who knows?

- ♪ i know you called ♪

♪ i know you called ♪

♪ i know you called ♪

♪ i know you called ♪

- how'd it feel Playing for the first time

In five years To such a large crowd?

- it felt like i did it Yesterday.

It was just like There wasn't five years gone.

- i wasn't nervous At all about the show

Until our tour manager Came in and said, "ten minutes."

Then i officially Got nervous.

So that's the way it is.

You don't worry about it Until right before you go on,

And then you're nervous

And you do the show With a nervous energy,

And then it's over With until the next time.

So i feel really good About it.

I think it's gonna Be a great year.

- i don't know what to say To anybody who's gonna come

See us in concert except that You should probably do it.

'cause we are Pretty good.

On a good night, We're great.

And i'm really excited About being out here,

And that's probably enough Self-promotion for tonight.

- scary news From the r.E.M. Tour.

R.E.M. Drummer bill berry Is resting in a swiss hospital

After suffering a ruptured brain Aneurysm during a show.

- we were playing,

And bill was supposed Come forward and play bass,

And he came out, and it was like The night of the living dead.

His eyes were wide open, And he was holding his head,

And he was swaying, and then he Just collapsed on me, you know?

And i was like, "jesus, bill. What's wrong?"

He goes, "i think i've had-- I've just got a migraine."

He said, "i've had migraines Before, this is an awful--

It's the worst migraine I've ever had."

- it hurt.

It felt like a bowling ball Hit my head,

And the lights Kind of dimmed,

And the next thing I knew i was on the floor.

I remember every bit of it. I didn't pass out.

I didn't go into shock Or anything; it was scary.

- they eventually got him To the hospital

And operated on him Virtually immediately.

- it was miraculous That we were

In lausanne, switzerland,

When he collapsed With a brain aneurysm.

You know, we were two miles

From the greatest brain surgeons In the world.

- the very first day Mike and--

Michael and i went up To mike's room,

And just said, "okay.

We're not hiring Another drummer

And we're not going On the road without bill."

You know, Virtually everyone

Is saying, "you can't just Not do these dates,"

And it was like, "no, i'm sorry.

"this--that's not the way This band works.

"i mean, i'm not gonna Go leave bill in a hospital

"dying and go, you know, Iggly-piggly down the road

And do a rock show. Forget it."

- initially they Said, "well, you know,

You have to stay here," And i was like, "no, no.

"you don't understand. You need to give me something

For the pain 'cause i need To get back out on the road,"

And they're like, "no, no, no. You don't understand."

- at that point I thought the tour was over.

I just thought, "well, you know, If bill recovers,

Maybe he'll want to do something In a couple years,"

And he was just like, "i'll be ready in two weeks."

And we were just like, "you know, that's insane, bill.

They just cracked your head Open like a coconut."

- r.E.M. Fans have been Holding their breath

Wondering if the tour would even Happen ever since berry

Suffered a ruptured aneurysm In his brain on march 1st.

- would you like to be the guy That ended the r.E.M. Tour

Halfway through because you had A little boo-boo in your head?

No, just took three Or four weeks

For my body To recover for it.

- bill's recovered Really well.

I mean, We wouldn't be out here

If it wasn't 100% safe And all that,

But it was surprising to me That we were out this quick.

- and if you're wondering How bill is,

You can open up the program And see the x-ray of his head.

- let's put it this way, now That we've played another show

And everyone knows That we can do it, and the--

And bill's okay And everything's fine,

We really downplayed the drama Of what occurred in switzerland.

It was really Very frightening.

- we spent the next month Over there,

And then there was another month Or so of bill

Recuperating here at home Before he felt strong enough,

And restarted The whole thing,

And then, you know, there we are Back in switzerland,

And mike comes down With something, and it ended up

Being a really pretty serious Abdominal operation for him.

- i had what's... - other--

- known by the lovely term Of abdominal adhesions.

It's complications From an appendectomy

I had the year before.

- they finally figured out What's wrong,

And he needs an operation Right then.

Well, that was the night We were supposed to play prague.

We'd already rescheduled The show once,

So now we have to announce, In prague,

That once again we're not gonna Be able to play the show,

Which creates a certain amount Of disappointment.

People wonder are we messing With them?

- it's frustrating Because you don't want to--

You want to make The shows, you know.

You're out there to do-- You know, you're out there

Partly because you love it, But you're also doing a job.

- mike drafted a little press Release before he went

Into the hospital-- "to our fans in prague,

We will be back No matter what."

A month a later We tacked on--

We flew in and did a show Just in prague,

Just for the fans there.

That's the night that michael Came down with his hernia,

So michael's walking Around prague going,

"you know, I'm not feeling quite right."

-i had a hernia Because i sing hard.

The doctor told me I was pushing the--

Pushing from singing is what Caused it to happen.

I've had it For a few years.

I never knew what it was.

- so, i'm in this hospital With michael in the hallway.

Michael's just talked To this doctor who says,

"yeah, you can play the show, But, you know,

You might want to be careful; You might want to sit down."

These kids walk up--

Kids, you know, Maybe 20 years old, backpack.

Look like typical travelers Around europe,

And they see michael And they go,

"is the show Still gonna be on?"

And michael goes, "yeah, The show's still happening."

They do the show. We get him on an airplane.

He's operated on, emory hospital In atlanta the next morning.

- and with us right now, The band is looking both ways

Before they cross The street,

R.E.M., how are You guys doing?

- hey, tabitha. We're doing good.

- michael, you're the most Recent surgery victim.

How you feeling? - do you want to see it?

- yeah. - i can show it to you.

- show me, baby.

Oh, there we go.

Very nice. Thank you.

Okay. You can put that up now.

- you know, In defense of myself,

I was on pain killers The whole time

That i was showing my scar To the world, and--

- as you know, Michael stipe

Is still recovering From his hernia operation,

So he's moving A little slower these days,

But i checked The tote board,

And if you can believe this, It's actually been 38 days

Since r.E.M. Has had A medical emergency.

- you know, we had to have A sense of humor about it,

But it--when mike fell It was like, "okay, whatever."

When i fell it was like, "this is ridiculous."

- what are the odds of three of The four guys having--

In bill's case very serious,

In mike's case Pretty darn serious,

And in michael's case Less serious, but still,

Three guys going under the knife In a four month period?

- it turned out to be the tour Of attrition, you know?

Everybody but peter Ended up in the hospital.

[r.E.M.'s i took your name]

- ♪ if there is Some confusion ♪

♪ if there is Some confusion ♪

♪ if there is Some confusion ♪

♪ who's to blame? ♪

- that tour we were Also writing and recording

A whole album at sound check, Which was just insane.

I mean, bill's come back From aneurysm.

Mike has Internal operation,

And we're spending two hours Every day at sound check

Writing and recording New songs.

You know, i don't know What we were thinking.

- it's something that we've Never been able to do since,

like, reckoning, Is do material on the road.

- it's not about bad food. It's not about hotels.

It's about putting yourself In this kind of whirlwind.

- we just wanted to kind Of capture the kind of insanity

And the weirdness And the alienation

And the total upside-down Aspect of life

By writing them on the road And recording them on the road.

- it was done mostly On the road,

And then we took A good few months in the studio

To sort of flesh it out And finish it up

And polish it A little bit.

- one, two, three, four. - i--no. You--

I don't think We should start cold.

Just play--give me Two for nothing.

- okay, two for nothing? Okay, cool.

- yeah. - one, two, three, four.

[r.E.M.'s new test leper]

♪ ♪

- ♪ i can't say That i love jesus ♪

♪ that would be A hollow claim ♪

♪ he did make Some observations ♪

♪ and i'm quoting Them today ♪

♪ "judge not Lest ye be judged" ♪

♪ what a beautiful Refrain ♪

We've been in For five weeks,

And i think-- Is that right?

Five weeks In the studio working.

- how do you feel About the songs?

- the songs are great.

I mean, i--

The kind of--the band--

I think talking to mike And talking to peter and bill,

Everybody's the happiest With this record

As we've been In a long time.

- please welcome patti smith.

[cheers and applause]

- i was the 52nd member Of the patti smith fan club.

- have-- - so i--i mean, i've--you know,

And i've been ever since doing A third-rate hack job on,

You know, some male patti sm-- Version of patti smith,

And haven't really Been called down on it yet,

But it served me well.

♪ i wore it like a badge Of teenage film stars ♪

♪ hash bars cherry mash And tin foil tiaras ♪

♪ dreaming Of maria callas ♪

I have yet to meet a musician Who i really,

Really respected Who wasn't profoundly affected

By patti smith's music,

And so--yeah,

I mean, she, you know--

She abstractly, Through her work,

Changed the course Of my life forever and ever.

For that I'm forever indebted,

'cause i like my life And i like where i'm at.

- ♪ i'll take you Over there ♪

♪ i'll take you Over there ♪

- i remember going to see patti When i was 17 or 18 in 1976,

And, you know it-- I would have just given probably

20 years off my life If i could have been,

You know, the rhythm guitar Player in that band,

And it was a great band, A great experience.

To be in the studio With her singing

On a song that i wrote Was just incredibly moving.

- [vocalizing]

- ♪ it tastes like fear ♪

- [vocalizing] - ♪ it pulls us near ♪

- [vocalizing] - ♪ it tastes like fear ♪

- i was really proud Of that record,

And i still am, Two years later.

Unlike most records, You know?

Two years later i Can shoot holes through it,

And our entire catalogue I could go,

"i can sing that better.

"that should have never Made the record.

"why are the drums So low on that one?

"why is your vocal So reverb on that one?

You should have worked harder on Those lyrics because they suck."

- i feel like that record Suffered for a lot

Of reasons That weren't its fault.

I think there were Some misperceptions

About how it was recorded

And the amount of effort And energy that we put into it,

But a lot of people Think it was a live album

Or a bunch of knock-offs Or something

That was just thrown together On the road and then put out.

- you know, We'd gone '91, huge record,

'92, huge record, '95, huge record.

'96, '97,

Record didn't do as well.

- i think The stupid record deal

Sort of overshadowed it, Unfortunately.

- if you said r.E.M. To somebody in 1996,

They didn't say anything About the record.

They said, "oh, Did you hear about their deal?"

That was way more

In the ether than we ever Thought it would be.

It was like to us, "okay, well,

"we renegotiated our deal With warner brothers.

"well, okay. That kind of stuff happens.

"that's kind of A business story.

No big deal." Well, it ended up

Being a lot bigger deal Than people thought.

- i...

Was...

Cool...

♪ i look good In a glass pack ♪

♪ i look good and mean ♪

♪ i look good In metallic sick ♪

♪ wraparound Blackout tease ♪

- how do you feel about getting The video vanguard award

In terms of a lifetime Achievement of filmmaking?

- old. - i think the vocabulary

That we've used, that michael Has helped kind of pioneer

Is now kind Of a vocabulary

That everyone Uses making videos,

And, you know, In that sense i think, you know,

The award's for michael And his kind of vision.

- ladies and gentlemen, R.E.M.!

Whoo!

[cheers and applause]

- hi. - michael!

- a friend the other night--

A friend the other night Asked me,

"what is The video vanguard award,

And what does it mean?"

And i said, "i don't really know.

I think the word vanguard Means in the front."

I said, "i think It means that we're a band.

"we've been together For a long time,

"without breaking up,

"without selling Ourselves out.

"we've made a whole lot Of videos.

We've made a whole lot Of videos that don't--

You know, don't suck."

Thank you very much.

- i think if you asked All of us, the assumption

Would be that ten years From now we'll still be a band.

I mean, we may not be at This level ten years from now.

We'll be making records, And we'll be doing things

And working together, But we are fe--

I feel like we're working at A really kind of strong level.

The last three records Have been really good,

And we're writing new songs all The time that are really good.

So we might as well Just keep doing it.

I mean, there's plenty of time To stay at home

And do nothing When we're older.

♪ ♪

- we started pre-production, As you know,

In athens At john keane's studio,

And we were A couple of weeks in,

And there was definitely Something going on.

- they had been Recording for about--

I guess about a week,

And bill wasn't there,

And i was going, You know, "where's bill?

Why isn't he here?" - between mike and myself,

We'd written, Like, 45 songs,

And i was so excited about Getting in to do this record

That i couldn't sleep At night.

I mean, i was--you know, my life Was focused on this for months.

You know, i was making demos, And--you know,

I just--i was so excited, and i Was calling mike and michael,

And i was going, "oh, man, this is so great."

You know, i'd left word for Bill; he never called me back.

- i thought that he was gonna Come in later

And do some drum parts Or something,

But halfway Through the session,

He made the announcement That he was leaving the band.

- bill, you said some Of your priorities have shifted.

What are those priorities

And why do they mean You can't be in r.E.M. Anymore?

- well, when you don't have The enthusiasm that for 17 years

I've managed to have, matched With these guys, you know,

You need to make a change. - i was devastated.

I mean, i--i'm like The grandma in the band.

- i thought he was insane. I mean, i just--

I was like, "bill, You can't be in your right mind

If you're thinking that," but, You know, he talked to us,

And he convinced us all That he was in his right mind.

He's not depressed. He's not reacting to anything.

He just didn't want To do it anymore.

- i had been thinking about it For a while,

But really After the surgery,

The brain thing, i mean, I had a lot of time--

My brain was working fine,

But i couldn't do an-- I'm a hyper person.

You can see I fidget a lot,

And i was laying in a bed For two, three weeks

And just couldn't do anything But think,

And i reassessed Some things.

- his lack of joy At the external parts

Of the music business

Seeped into his joy Of the fun part,

Which was playing And writing and that stuff,

And eventually it made That not fun for him either,

And when that became no fun For him, what's the point?

- we've done something that A lot of bands,

I think, Would love to have done,

Which is to maintain

A friendship and a really great Career for 17 years,

And for him to say,

"i don't want To do it any longer,"

You know, it really-- It really--

We were left speechless.

- r.E.M., for me, Is first--

I mean, even before The music is three--

They're my best friends,

And we actually Love each other,

And it's...

- we're four very Distinct people.

We admire and appreciate each Other a great deal, usually,

And all those differences Put together are r.E.M.

If any one of us were To leave this couch right now...

- we'd be more comfortable. [all laughing]

- the other two Would be more comfortable,

But we would not Be r.E.M. Anymore.

- the first thing That bill said to us was,

"if my leaving breaks up the Band, i'm not gonna leave."

- no, i would have gone Through therapy or something

And would have--really, I would have stayed.

I wasn't gonna let The band break up over it.

- well, he didn't want To deprive us

Of the things That we loved,

And he also didn't Want to be known

As the guy Who broke up r.E.M.,

Both of which I understand very much.

- it was a huge relief to bill When they said,

"don't worry about it; We'll stay together."

Once they kind Of had their talk

And decided to stay together, Bill said, "okay."

He could quit with a good Conscience, and that was--

You know, He's got a good heart.

He wanted the right thing For the group, and they for him.

- he made a very Courageous decision.

I mean, to walk away From this is not easy,

And, i mean, no matter How much you're disliking it,

To--to throw it all away Is--is amazingly difficult.

- if bill had quit at the end Of the tour,

I think we would have Broken up,

And if we'd finished The hi-fi record,

Which we had started On the tour,

And which we were Really proud of,

And we felt was A really great record,

If bill had quit at the end Of that, we would have quit.

- in retrospect,

When all things Are clear,

He did do it At the perfect time,

But none of us Knew that then.

- mike, are you gonna hire Another drummer?

- no. We--our drummers now come In little aluminum boxes.

- we don't want To get a new drummer.

There's no way To replace bill berry.

We can't--you know,

There will never be A fourth member of r.E.M.

- the thing That really drove the decision

To stay together, which only Took a couple of minutes,

Was they had a bunch Of songs written, and as long

As they had those songs written They weren't about to quit.

- and it's like if you Teach a kid

To swim By throwing him in the pool.

Well, this is what bill Did to us.

He taught us how to make A new type of record

By pulling the drums Out from under us.

- everything from then on

After bill left The band was like quicksand.

You know, none of us Had any idea what--you know,

Where the solid ground was.

- has it changed the dynamic

With the three Remaining members?

- you betcha, dave. - yeah?

- yeah, we did have a chemistry As a four-piece.

We suddenly Not only doubted

Whether we should still Be doing this,

But we also lost Whatever that was

And had no idea How to find it.

- since we have no rules we had No way to get out of traps,

And the traps we had this time Were, "what is the record?

"we've got 40 songs, none Of which we know how to play.

"who--what's gonna Make the record?

"i like this song. Michael doesn't.

How do we deal with it?" I don't know why.

It was just harder. It was a lot harder.

- did it come-- Did we come to blows? Yes.

Is that what you were asking? Yeah.

- you don't look like A violent type.

I wasn't implying that.

- i'm not terribly violent. - there was no swinging fists.

- you don't have to actually hit Somebody to be violent.

I think there were points When none of the three of us

Thought that the record Would ever get finished

And that it Would just--you know,

That the whole thing would Just collapse and dissolve,

And we would No longer exist,

And it would Just be over.

We had to either Fake it and pretend

Like he'd never left And hire someone to be him--

Which none of us Wanted to do--

Or pretty much dump The whole thing out the window

And start over again, And that's what we did.

♪ ♪

♪ hey, hey ♪

♪ ♪

- bill loves the record, By the way.

- good. - yeah, we gave him a copy

And gave him three days To listen to it

And met up with him, Had a couple bottles of wine,

And just talked About it

And talked about old times, And it was great.

- boy, when i heard it I felt like a chump.

[laughs]

You--i'm sure I must have looked like one.

I mean, I can listen to it as a fan.

I can come out here And say,

"you know, i just really think This new record stinks."

I couldn't say that In old efforts.

When we were promoting The records like,

"oh, yeah, this is our best Record ever, really.

This time--this is the one." You know?

I'm just like a fan, Like anybody else,

Except i'm The number one r.E.M. Fan.

That's the one distinction.

- we're gonna do a song That was written by bill berry.

♪ perfect circle of ♪

♪ acquaintances And friends ♪

♪ drink another ♪

♪ coin a phrase ♪

♪ standing too soon ♪

♪ shoulders high In the room ♪

♪ standing too soon ♪

♪ shoulders high In the room ♪

♪ standing too soon ♪

- i've been a fan From the very, very beginning,

and it's--if you listen To chronic town

then you listen to up, It's such a huge departure,

Such a journey you've gone Through, through the years.

How do you account for The vast changes in the music?

- we had the audacity To change as we grew older.

- right. - we've actually allowed it

To happen in a pretty--pretty Organic way, i think.

♪ receiving department, 3:00 a.M. ♪

♪ staff cuts have Socked up the overage ♪

- i feel closer to them probably Now than i did eight months ago,

Just because we've gone Through, you know,

Our own little hell And back.

- there's little we're gonna Do in the rest of our lives

That is better than this.

I mean, you know, Peter makes me better.

I think I make peter better,

And michael makes us better, And we make michael better.

It's--you know, i mean, And nothing we're gonna

Do individually will equal What r.E.M. Does collectively,

And that's--that's Worth keeping, i think.

- they've all got Other interests.

Mike likes producing people.

Peter plays With tons of people.

Michael does movies now,

But i think they all realize That their best work,

What they really Are here for,

Is to be in r.E.M.

- how long have you guys Been doing it now?

- 18 years. - 18 years.

- yeah. Can i get a round of applause?

- yeah, please. [cheers and applause]

Is it still exciting For you?

Do you still--or do you get On stage and think, you know,

"everybody hurts some..." - right.

- you know? Do you still--

Do you have the joy still?

- i have the joy.

♪ headache gray Don't wake me ♪

♪ with so much ♪

♪ daysleeper ♪

♪ daysleeper ♪

♪ ♪

♪ daysleeper ♪

♪ ♪

♪ daysleeper ♪

♪ ♪

♪ daysleeper ♪

♪ ♪

Thank you.

- we're trying to Make something that,

You know, Do the impossible.

We want to give some--the people Something they've never heard.

That is impossible, But we keep pushing ourselves

And tearing it op--up And starting over again,

And i think That's real healthy.

- art and commerce Will always come together.

Commerce is a butch top

And always has been,

So you got to watch out, 'cause there's one point

Where it's just Gonna bitch slap art

To the ground And kind--and straddle.

- yeah. - you got to watch out for that.

- that's probably, For a lot of people at home--

- pardon the analogy. - [laughs]

- i mean, You can't worry about sales.

If you're in this business For sales,

You're bound to be disappointed. I don't care who you are.

- we've always been Completely out of step.

We have our own trajectory,

And pop culture will Sometimes go like this

And kind of knock against us, And--

We had a hit single or

We're all over tv Or something.

- oh, god. Who is that guy?

Get that guy Off the screen.

He's so sincere. Oh, my god.

He looks great though, Doesn't he?

Jesus. What a fox.

[r.E.M.'s disappear]

♪ i've dragged my feet Across the seat ♪

♪ and jumped out The passenger side ♪

♪ the only thing Worth looking for ♪

♪ is what you find inside ♪

♪ but that had Not yet appeared ♪

♪ lost invisible here ♪

- every time You write a new song,

It's just like The first one almost.

It's like, "oh, my god. I can still write a song.

I can still come up With interesting music,"

And it--it's exciting.

It's the process Of discovery and creation.

- the songwriting is brilliant, Of course,

I think. - i think--

- i can say that, can't i? - i guess, i don't know.

- ♪ i looked for you ♪

♪ and everywhere ♪

♪ i looked for you ♪

♪ and everywhere ♪

♪ tell me why you're here ♪

♪ ♪

♪ i came to disappear ♪

♪ ♪

- we really wanted to get out And tour this summer.

We thought having A "best of" thing

Would be A nice thing to do,

Especially to remind people In america that we exist still.

We're not as popular As we once were, which is fine.

You know? We did-- We do really well over here.

- here we're expecting 22,000 r.E.M. Fans here

For the gig live In cologne.

[r.E.M.'s imitation of life]

♪ ♪

- ♪ charades pop skill ♪

♪ water hyacinth ♪

♪ named by a poet ♪

♪ imitation of life ♪

- playing live Is its own reward.

I mean, i never looked at this As if it was, you know,

A career or like a bank,

You put money in, You get interest back, you know.

It's--we tour 'cause we like to tour.

- you have to appreciate it Even more because you realize

A, how lucky you are That you've had the success,

And b, how it could all go away In a second.

- ♪ this sugarcane ♪

♪ this lemonade ♪

♪ this hurricane I'm not afraid ♪

♪ come on, come on ♪

♪ no one can see me cry ♪

♪ this lightning storm ♪

♪ this tidal wave ♪

♪ this avalanche I'm not afraid ♪

♪ come on, come on ♪

♪ no one can see me cry ♪

♪ that sugar cane That tasted good ♪

♪ that's who you are ♪

♪ that's what you could ♪

♪ come on, come on No one can see you try ♪

We always have an idea of What a record is going to be

And we're always Wildly wrong.

It's never--i mean, Fiercely wrong.

It's never what we think It's going to be.

♪ now the universe Left you for a runner's lap ♪

♪ it feels like home When it comes crashing back ♪

♪ and it makes you laugh ♪

♪ and it makes you cry ♪

♪ when london falls And you're still alive ♪

- this record That we are making now,

We all have a real clear idea Of what it's going to be,

And i can tell you already That we're dead wrong.

It's not gonna be that.

- around the sun.

Is there some clue in that title To the amount of time

It's taken to put This record together?

- [chuckles]

- god knows it feels Like it's been,

You know, a millennia We've been working on it.

Bill and i always tended to be The guys who are like,

"come on, let's hurry up. Let's just--

Everything faster, faster." He's gone. Now i'm--

- he's-- - i'm the lone ranger.

I'm out there In left field going,

"come on, guys. Let's go, let's go, let's go."

- having more time on a record Can be a double-edged sword.

It is nice to be able To record songs and get away

And take a break and come back And look at them again,

But if you allow yourself Too much time,

You end up over analyzing them

And looking for all The little tiny flaws

And fixing All the little tiny flaws,

Which is not always A good thing.

- we had basically just

Kind of stopped Talking to each other.

We lost a lot of focus, Not so much as a live act,

But in the studio, We were just going off

In all these different Directions

And not really Communicating that well.

the songs off of Around the sun

Really worked great live,

More so than they did In the recorded version.

- ♪ you might have laughed If i told you ♪

♪ you might have hidden A frown ♪

♪ you might have succeeded In changing me ♪

♪ i might have been Turned around ♪

- we want to thank you For coming out tonight.

- this is A very important moment

For each and every one of us, And for our country.

- we're here tonight To fight for a government

That is open, rational, Forward-looking, and humane,

And we plan to rock the joint While doing so.

[bruce springsteen's Because the night]

- ♪ come on now, Try and understand ♪

♪ the way i feel When i'm in your hands ♪

♪ take my hand, Now we're undercover ♪

♪ they can't hurt you now, Can't hurt you now ♪

♪ can't hurt you now-ow-ow ♪

♪ because the night Belongs to lovers ♪

♪ because the night Belongs to us ♪

I was a u.S. Citizen A long time

Before i was a musician,

Before i was A successful musician,

Before i was a media figure, A public figure,

Celebrity, Whatever you want to call it.

I have an opinion as a person,

And if my opinion means

That i put a yard sign In my front yard--

And my front yard happens To be a stage this year

Because we just released The record,

We're just releasing Another record,

And we're on tour-- That's my yard sign.

[r.E.M.'s man-sized wreath]

- ♪ i turn on the tv ♪

♪ what do i see? ♪

♪ a pageantry of empty gestures All lined up for me ♪

♪ wow ♪

♪ i'd have thought by now We would be ready to proceed ♪

♪ but a tearful hymn To tug the heart ♪

♪ and a man-sized wreath, Wow ♪

♪ ♪

- are you political at all

In this album? - yes.

- because you guys Have been accused--

Especially--sir--

Uh... [audience laughter]

Accused of having a-- Sort of a political quality,

At least to your lyrics.

- yeah, i write the lyrics. - is there--

- how much of that in this?

- um, a good portion.

Probably half the songs Are fairly overtly political.

- and i assume--i assume

That you're standing By our president.

[audience laughter]

- um, nope. - time of war.

- time of war, sir. - that would be--

That would be A giant assumption.

Yeah. - all right.

[r.E.M.'s Supernatural superserious]

- ♪ everybody here ♪

♪ comes from somewhere ♪

♪ that they would Just as soon forget ♪

♪ and disguise ♪

♪ at the summer camp Where you volunteered ♪

♪ no one saw your face No one saw your fear ♪

♪ if that apparition Had just appeared ♪

♪ took you up and away From this base ♪

♪ and sheer humiliation ♪

♪ of your teenage station ♪

♪ ♪

- this is getting Great critical reviews.

People are calling This your comeback album.

When you hear people say that,

Do you want to tell those people To go [...] themselves?

[audience laughter and cheering]

- yes. - 'cause if anybody told me

Like, "hey, You're coming back,"

I would cut out their eye With a broken bottle.

You haven't gone anywhere.

- ♪ this inexperience, Sweet, delirious ♪

♪ supernatural, super serious Inexperience ♪

♪ sweet, delirious Supernatural, super serious ♪

♪ wow ♪

[cheers and applause]

- r.E.M.'s music Is truly all-encompassing.

They've used every color On the palette.

They've invented colors On their own.

There are a couple of things I need to address,

And the hardest one being...

Michael stipe.

How do you explain The dialogue

Between michael And the listener?

A dialogue that grew up, And we grew up with it.

Such wisdom in the feelings Of these songs

That i think they helped us Find things

That we knew were inside us, And i think he--they helped us

Find things that we didn't know We had inside us,

And i can say that, Personally,

There are things that i hold

And feel very deeply about Inside here

That michael stipe Put in there himself.

This all happens without ever Being able to understand

A [...] thing he was saying.

[r.E.M.'s gardening at night]

- ♪ i see your money On the floor ♪

♪ i felt the pocket change ♪

♪ though all the feelings That broke through that door ♪

♪ just didn't seem to be Too real ♪

- peter buck plays guitar

Like a guy who worked In a record store...

[all cheering]

And when i say that,

I say that it's not Necessarily derivative

Of all this music that he knows, His guitar playing.

He knows his music so well, But it's more of a thing

Where he plays through the holes And invents things

And hits spot that have Yet to be covered.

♪ ♪

- ♪ the charge is changing Every month ♪

- now if r.E.M. Had a secret weapon,

I would say It was mr. Mike mills.

The secret weapon, i believe, Is his voice.

It's really not A background vocal.

It's almost like A second lead vocal,

And i think it really is What makes

So many of their songs Absolutely haunting.

Actually, he was stealth Till about 14 years ago

When he took to wearing these Really bright colored suits

With massive embroidery And rhinestones and--

Right around that time, The time of the suits.

Bill berry's playing In switzerland,

And in the middle of a show An aneurysm bursts in his head,

And he almost dies, And i think i read somewhere

Where it might have been Triggered by a-a strobe light,

But i was just thinking about-- It might have been

One of mike's suits.

[laughter]

The orange one, perhaps.

The most difficult hurdle They've had to reach

Was when bill had to say

That he didn't think He could keep playing with 'em.

As a fan, it's an incredible, Exciting thrill

To see him here tonight.

♪ ♪

- ♪ i see your money On the floor ♪

♪ i felt the pocket change Though all the feelings ♪

♪ that broke through that door ♪

♪ just didn't seem to be Too real ♪

- but what i'm saying is, No matter what

We can give them back In the form of this honor,

We'll never match What they've given to us,

And this is not even mentioning Social causes and activism,

Which is-- Should not be a postscript,

And by some strange power Invested in me right now,

I hereby induct r.E.M. Into The rock and roll hall of fame.

- i would like to personally Thank peter, mike, and bill

For providing me, The least likely candidate,

To have a place in the rock And roll hall of fame

With a gang

Who not only accepted me At face value in 1979,

But allowed a frankly Fantastical teenage dream

To become an adult And lifetime reality.

Thank you, guys.

[cheers and applause] - thank you!

- in closing,

My grandmother stipe,

In her last years, told me--

She grabbed my arm very hard, As she would,

And she said, "do you know What r.E.M. Means to me?"

She said, "it means 'remember every moment,'"

And this is a moment That i will never forget.

Thank you all so much.

[cheers and applause]

[r.E.M.'s man on the moon]

- ♪ andy, did you hear About this one? ♪

♪ tell me are you locked In the punch? ♪

- ♪ oh, andy, Are you goofing on elvis? ♪

♪ hey, baby, Are you losing touch? ♪

♪ oh ♪

- ♪ if you believed They put a man on the moon ♪

- ♪ man on the moon ♪ - ♪ yeah, yeah ♪

- ♪ if you believe ♪

♪ there's nothing up my sleeve ♪

♪ then nothing is cool, Whoa ♪

♪ ♪

- for a band that Doesn't have lineage,

A lot of--great deal Of narrative

And a great deal of lineage In its work,

When you look at the whole, It actually kind of makes sense.

I think if--you know, If someone wanted to sit down

And listen to all the records One after the other,

What you would see is A band growing up

And a band--you know, Each member

Kind of becoming Their own thing and changing.

[r.E.M.'s discoverer]

♪ ♪

- ♪ hey, baby This is not a challenge ♪

♪ it just means That i love you ♪

♪ as much as i always Said i did ♪

♪ i was wrong I have been laughable wrong ♪

♪ sandpaper, paper mache, Chalk ♪

♪ hung out wet ♪

♪ ♪

♪ on the city And your skin now ♪

♪ na, na, na, na, yeah ♪

And we worked really hard. We had a lot of luck.

We had a modicum of talent, And we did

The best that we could With what we had, and--

And it turned out good. In fact, great.

[chuckles]

♪ that just the slightest bit Of finesse ♪

♪ might have made A little less mess ♪

♪ but it was what it was ♪

♪ let's all get on with it ♪

♪ now-ow-ow ♪

- it's a little cliche, but we Just got together for fun,

And that was all we meant to do,

Was just to play some parties And go out and have a good time.

- i mean, the only reason That we have

Any kind of integrity at all Is 'cause

This is the way We have to live our lives

To feel good, you know?

You know, i don't know--

The things that the-- I guess that other people do

Are just things that I couldn't physically do.

You know, the concessions That you might have to make,

To be successful.

- we weren't really trying To become huge

Or hugely popular, And we did want to have fun

And maybe not have regrets Later in our lives.

I don't have any. I don't have any.

I don't think Those guys do either.

- ♪ now-ow-ow ♪

- ♪ discover, discover ♪

♪ discover ♪

♪ discover ♪

♪ disco-o-o-ver ♪

♪ ♪

[song ends]

- wow.

[cheers and applause]

- if i had to go On a lecture series of colleges

And talk to budding musicians, You know, i would--

I would say that The most important thing

Is not to listen to anyone No matter what.

Don't listen to anything They say, because they're wrong.

- who's they?

- they is anyone Except yourself,

And perhaps if you're In a band situation,

They is anyone Except yourself

And the people you choose To be in a group with.

That--you know, that to me Is the essence...

Of creativity, Not paying attention to--

Oh, i really hate The way that sounded,

"the essence of creativity." Bleh.

- we'll take that out.

[r.E.M.'s shaking through]

♪ ♪

- ♪ could it be That one small voice ♪

♪ doesn't count ♪

♪ in the room ♪

♪ yellow like a geisha gown ♪

♪ denying all the way ♪

♪ ♪

♪ could this by three be ten ♪

♪ honor marches on ♪

♪ yellow like a geisha gown ♪

♪ denial ♪

♪ all the way ♪

♪ shaking through ♪

♪ opportune ♪

♪ shaking through ♪

♪ opportune ♪

♪ in my li-i-i-ife ♪

♪ i-i-i-fe ♪

♪ ears that are still ♪

♪ children of today on parade ♪