R.E.M. Didn’t Want to Announce Songwriters Hall of Fame Reunion Because That Would ‘F–k It Up’
It didn’t take “a comet,” as Mike Mills joked it would, just an induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame to prompt R.E.M. to perform together for the first time since 2007.
In the lead up to the event, sat down for an interview with CBS Mornings, the majority of which aired yesterday. But on Friday morning, following the induction ceremony and R.E.M.’s surprise performance of “Losing My Religion,” CBS shared a few additional clips — including the moment reporter Anthony Mason noticed the lyrics sheet for the 1991 sheet conspicuously set-up in the band’s old rehearsal space in Athens, Georgia.
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When Mason asked the band outright if they planned to take the stage at the Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony, Michael Stipe replied, “I don’t think we should announce it, because that would really fuck it up.”
Mason followed-up with, “But you’re thinking about it?” To which Mills replied, “Sure. We’ll go that far. Everybody here sworn to secrecy?”
In other portions from the extended interview, the members of R.E.M. discussed what made them want to become songwriters, what it was like hearing their song “We All Go Back to Where We Belong” (from their final album) recently on an Italian TV show, and how surprised they were when “Losing My Religion” became a hit.
It was “about time,” guitarist Peter Buck joked, before adding: “You know, we made a lot of really good records, and then just randomly we had a hit single off this thing with a lead mandolin. It’s like… go figure.”
There were also a few more snippets from R.E.M. about why they remained uninterested in a full-fledged reunion. “I just don’t know what I’d be trying to accomplish if we got back together,” Buck said.
Stipe added, “There’s no one last time. And Mills stated simply: “All the reasons you don’t want to do it are still in place. We are lucky to have — I don’t really love the word — a legacy that we can leave in place and not mess. And you get that opportunity one time. Once you change that, you can’t go back.”
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