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R.E.M. discusses surprise reunion at Songwriters Hall of Fame, reveals why there won’t be another
Legendary alternative rock band R.E.M. marked their induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame Thursday night by giving nostalgic fans something they’ve been dreaming about for roughly 17 years: a reunion.
Fans have waited years to see the band onstage again, and Thursday night they got it – one surprise song, one time only, when R.E.M performed an acoustic version of their Grammy award-winning hit, “Losing My Religion.”
The intimate and soulful performance was the first time that frontman Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry played together publicly since 2007 when they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
R.E.M.’s surprise reunion
The band was already quietly plotting the reunion in February when “CBS Mornings” visited them at their old rehearsal space in Athens, Georgia, where they formed in 1980. Since then, they’ve released 15 studio albums and sold millions of records, becoming one of the most popular bands in history, before breaking up in 2011.
“Everybody here is sworn to secrecy,” said Mills about the possibility of taking the stage with his former bandmates during the interview.
When asked what it would take to get the original band back together, the bandmates chuckled and jokingly suggested “a comet” or “super glue.”
Thursday’s reunion surprised and delighted fans, but R.E.M. said don’t expect another.
Buck said he wouldn’t know what he’d be trying to accomplish if the group officially got back together. Stipe agreed there’s not going to be another “one last time.”
“It’s like all the reasons you don’t want to do it are still in place. We are lucky enough to have…don’t really love the word ‘legacy,’ that we can leave in place and not mess up. And you don’t get that opportunity but one time. Once you change that, you can’t go back,” Mills explained.
“We had our day in the sun,” Stipe said.
Back to the beginning
A reunion tour may not be in R.E.M.’s future, but the bandmates said they’ve enjoyed reminiscing about their early days and the great pieces of music they made. Mills said they “had a lot of fun” in their Athens rehearsal space, in particular.
The honor of being included in the Songwriters Hall of Fame prompted the group to reflect on their songs and what inspired them.
Berry said The Beatles changed his life when he was just 7 years old, inspiring him to become a musician.
Mills, Buck and Berry said they typically wrote the music and then gave it to Stipe, who would add in the lyrics. Stipe said their songs weren’t always an instant hit.
“We didn’t always write music or songs that people connected with on the first listen. Sometimes it took seven or eight or even 10 listens before the melodies sunk in. You wake up singing it the next day and then you know you’ve got something,” said Stipe, joking that it must means the band consists of “very complicated, intelligent people.”
R.E.M.’s 1991 song “Losing My Religion” quickly climbed the charts. In 2022, it surpassed over 1 billion views on YouTube, according to Billboard.
The song’s popularity surprised the band. They never thought it would be a hit.
“I mean, we made a lot of really good records. And then just randomly, we had a hit single off this thing with a lead mandolin. I was, like, go figure,” Buck said.
Watch more of R.E.M.’s interview with “CBS Mornings” here.
As countries around the world experiment with shorter work weeks, Greece has taken a step in the opposite direction — introducing a six-day work week for some businesses that operate on a 24-hour basis.
The six-day work week is allowed according to new legislation that went into effect on July 1, according to CBS News’ partner network BBC News. It is optional for workers, who can work 48 hours instead of the typical 40 hours. Those who opt in can choose between working an additional two hours a day or an extra eight-hour shift, The Guardian reported. Workers will be paid 40% extra for the additional time.
“It is important to note that this measure does not affect in any way the established five-day working week mandated by law. Instead, it serves to address urgent operational demands that cannot be met through the available supply of specialised workers,” a spokesperson for Greece’s Ministry of Labour and Social Security told the BBC.
Greece’s government sees it as a way to boost economic growth and protect workers against “under-declared or undeclared work and ensure fair compensation,” the BBC reported.
Before the Greek parliament endorsed the law, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said “the nucleus of this legislation is worker-friendly, it is deeply growth-oriented. And it brings Greece in line with the rest of Europe,” according to The Guardian.
While workers in Greece may choose to increase their workload, working hours are capped at 48 hours, according to guidelines laid out by the European Union’s Working Time Directive. And as the BBC reports, tourist and food industry businesses are excluded.
The new law comes as other countries are forgoing a five-day work model in favor of shorter work weeks — a movement that gained traction in the wake of the COVID pandemic as workers across the world grew accustomed to more flexible working arrangements.
Trials of a four-day workweek in Iceland were called an “overwhelming success” by researchers in 2021, and many workers there moved to shorter hours, the BBC reported.
In France, the standard work week is 35 hours – per a law adopted in 2000 under the administration of Prime Minister Lionel Jospin – and there’s been a push to whittle it down even further, to 32 hours.
In the U.S., workers have also been clamoring for less time “in office.” More companies across the country are experimenting with a truncated workweek as employees demand flexibility and studies show that working less can make people more productive while boosting a company’s profits.
In March, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont introduced a bill to reduce the work week from 40 hours to 32 without affecting workers’ overall compensation.
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