Michael Stipe wrote "Get Up" about Mike Mills propensity for oversleeping. Mills did not find this out for a decade.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia3pyBGDYx0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia3pyBGDYx0
Showing posts with label Mike Mills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mike Mills. Show all posts
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Sunday, May 17, 2015
R.E.M.: Superman (1986)
The Clique recorded "Superman" in 1969. The song became famous when R.E.M. covered it in 1986. Mike Mills provided the lead vocals since Michael Stipe was not enthusiastic about covering the song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxQS6lfn0yU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxQS6lfn0yU
Monday, January 13, 2014
R.E.M.: Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2007
R.E.M.: 1998-2011
Bill Berry quit REM in 1997. In 1998, the remaining members went to work in the studio.
Bill Berry quit REM in 1997. In 1998, the remaining members went to work in the studio.
Up (1998)
Lotus (1998): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu2jN3d2zzU
Up sold 2
million copies and was considered a failure.
They were
asked to write a theme song for the Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon.
Reveal
(2001)
The critics
loved Reveal, international sales increased from Up, but remained the same in
the U.S. As a result, it was disappointing to Warner Bros.
Best of
1988-2003 (2003)
The next
album seemed to disappoint the band. Mike Mills said it was slower than they
expected and Peter Buck came within a hair of saying he hated it.
Around the
Sun (2004)
They
contributed to the Save Darfur campaign. Bill Berry rejoined the band for a
John Lennon cover.
Accelerate
(2008)
Collapse
Into Now (2011)
Part Lies,
Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982-2011 (2011)
Michael
Stipe and Chris Martin at Hurricane Sandy Relief (2012): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61J9zMn7RBk
REM
disbanded in 2011. They considered breaking up earlier, but felt they had
something to prove after Around the Sun. They achieved their final goal and
split. Peter has recorded a solo album and worked with Mike Mills on the
Baseball Project. Michael has been doing Michael things.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
R.E.M.: Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2007 part 2
R.E.M. (1987-1997)
REM broke
into the mainstream in 1987.
Document
(1987)
Stipe
worried that their breakthrough single was too mean spirited. At the same time,
he wanted to write a song with the word love in it without it being a typical
love song.
The album
also featured the band's most overtly political lyrics, which evolved in
reaction to Ronald Reagan.
Their
success led Rolling Stone magazine to declare REM "America's Best Rock n
Roll Band."
REM left
IRS for Warner Brothers when their contract expired.
IRS
released a "Best of" album Eponymous (1988) before REM left the
label.
Green
(1988)
Then,
everything changed. REM became one of the biggest bands in the universe.
Out of Time
(1991)
REM won a
boat load of awards for Out of Time, but did not tour.
Led
Zeppelin's John Paul Jones helped do some arraignments on REM's next album,
which focused on death and mortality.
Automatic
For The People (1992)
REM decided
not to tour and recorded another album, which was more guitar oriented.
Monster
(1994)
They
finally toured and recorded as they went along. The music industry, and REM,
was at its height. They signed the most lucrative contract in recording
history. The music industry would not survive the new millennium.
New
Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996)
Touring
proved amazingly taxing on REM. Bill Berry suffered from an aneurysm and
collapsed on stage. Michael Stipe had emergency hernia surgery. Mike Mills had
abdominal surgery. They also fired their manager after a sexual harassment
charge. In 1997, Berry decided to retire.
In the wake of Berry's announcement, Stipe compared REM to a
three-legged dog.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
R.E.M.: Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2007 part 1
R.E.M. 1980-1986
In 1980,
Michael Stipe met Peter Buck in an Athens, Georgia record store. The pair
discovered they shared similar musical tastes. They soon met Mike Mills and
Bill Berry, who were already playing music together. The four began playing
together and performed for the first time on April 5, 1980. They chose the
band's name out of a dictionary. They ushered in the Alternative music genre
out of Punk's ashes. Stipe's undecipherable vocals, Buck's unique jangle
guitar, Mills harmonies, and Berry's lyrical filtering and prescient drumming
marked the band's uniqueness.
R.E.M.
recorded their first song in 1981.
They
released an EP that IRS, RCA, and others took note of.
Chronic
Town (1982)
They turned
down RCA and signed with IRS Records in 1982. Their first album is considered
one of the great debuts of all time.
Murmur
(1983)
Reckoning
(1984)
Rough
recording sessions nearly broke the band up. Some critics noted that their
experiences in recording the album bleed into the work.
Fables of
the Reconstruction (1985)
Life's Rich
Pageant (1986)
IRS decided
to issue a record filled with songs from various sessions.
Dead Letter
Office (1986)
Monday, December 9, 2013
R.E.M.: Don't Go Back to Rockville (1984)
Mike Mills
wrote this piece as a plea to his girlfriend to not leave for her parents’ home
in Rockville, Maryland. The band originally conceived the song in punk fashion,
but changed it to its now familiar country sound as a joke. In the band’s later
years, Mike Mills took over vocals on the song.
Acoustic:
Studio:
Mike Mills:
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