Fact #133738
When:
Short story:
R.E.M. release their thirteenth studio album, Around The Sun, on Warner Bros Records, around the world with the exception of the USA.Full article:
Peter Buck (guitarist, R.E.M.) : We didn't set out to make a pointedly political record ... but to me the overwhelming feeling is sadness. Sadness for the families that have lost loved ones. Sadness for my children who have to grow up in a country where much of what we consider essential freedoms are disappearing.
Mike Mills (bassist, R.E.M.) : Given the dire situation we find ourselves in, it was inevitable that (politics) would creep into the music. As a citizen, you have to do everything in your power to make things better, whether that's writing songs or playing the 'Vote For Change' tour.
Michael Stipe (singer, R.E.M.) : I always believed that music and politics do not mix. It's like oil and water. There are people who write great political songs. I'm not one of them. I tried for four months not to write political songs. Finally, I gave in.
Peter Buck (guitarist, R.E.M.) : I don't expect 18-year-old kids to go berserk and start dressing like us. Take Bob Dylan. In 1975, people thought he was going to be president. Now he plays 3,000 seat theatres. His last two records are the best things he's done in years. So I won't calculate who our audience is. I'll take whoever I can get at whatever level I can get them.
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Peter Buck : It was a record that no-one really liked and was almost impossible to play. I just said to the guys I had no interest in spending eight months fiddling with an album. If that was the way it was gonna work, they were gonna have do it without me. Fortunately, everyone kind of agreed they needed me in the band.
Mike Mills : We tried to do too much. We recorded most of it then we tried to do a Greatest Hits album and then we did a tour. Then we tried to come back and finish the record. The lesson we learned is that's too much. (Source : Scottish Daily Record, 11 July 2008)
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Mike Mills (bassist, R.E.M.) : Given the dire situation we find ourselves in, it was inevitable that (politics) would creep into the music. As a citizen, you have to do everything in your power to make things better, whether that's writing songs or playing the 'Vote For Change' tour.
Michael Stipe (singer, R.E.M.) : I always believed that music and politics do not mix. It's like oil and water. There are people who write great political songs. I'm not one of them. I tried for four months not to write political songs. Finally, I gave in.
Peter Buck (guitarist, R.E.M.) : I don't expect 18-year-old kids to go berserk and start dressing like us. Take Bob Dylan. In 1975, people thought he was going to be president. Now he plays 3,000 seat theatres. His last two records are the best things he's done in years. So I won't calculate who our audience is. I'll take whoever I can get at whatever level I can get them.
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Peter Buck : It was a record that no-one really liked and was almost impossible to play. I just said to the guys I had no interest in spending eight months fiddling with an album. If that was the way it was gonna work, they were gonna have do it without me. Fortunately, everyone kind of agreed they needed me in the band.
Mike Mills : We tried to do too much. We recorded most of it then we tried to do a Greatest Hits album and then we did a tour. Then we tried to come back and finish the record. The lesson we learned is that's too much. (Source : Scottish Daily Record, 11 July 2008)