Copyright 2000, Chris Mooar

I was asked by Warner Brothers New Zealand to do an interview with Mike Mills, as the Man On The Moon soundtrack and film and The Great Beyond single were about to be released.

I phoned the R.E.M. H.Q. in Athens, the morning after the tornadoes swept through Georgia.

A special mention must go to Kevin O'Neil, whom I spoke to first. He is easily one of the most welcoming, enthusiastic and polite people I've ever spoken to. Just charming.

Mike Mills: Hello Chris.

Chris Mooar:Hi! How are you?.

MM: Wonderful. How are you?

CM: I'm good! I was just talking to Kevin. How are you all there after tornadoes 'n' stuff last night?

MM: Well actually...I was driving through it! (laughter) I had to drive back from Atlanta...I was just telling my friend...it was very frightening...with hail and extremely high winds. Fortunately I was in a very heavy car.

CM: First up I'd like to say it's a real pleasure to talk to you. I've been a fan since the beginning and I saw you when you toured in '89 down here on the Green tour, and on the Monster tour. At the Monster gig, it became really apparent that 'Man on the Moon' had sparked a special chord in fans. I know this sounds like a long intro, but did you realise back then that the song was so special?

MM: Well...not quite in that sense. When we wrote it for the record, we had all the music done. We had the song basically mixed, except vocals...and we knew that we really really liked the song and wanted it on the record. So we were pushing Michael very hard to come up with some vocal for it...and then, literally on the last day of the session, he came in with these vocals and sang 'em,...and we did the background vocals and tidied it up, and there it was. So we knew it was a really good song, but you never know what kind of effect it's going to have on other people.

CM: The interesting thing for us in New Zealand is that we never saw Saturday Night Live or knew about Andy Kaufman, other then he was Latka in Taxi.

MM: Right.

CM: ...Yet Man on the Moon seemed to transcend the man himself. I think that for a lot of people, especially in New Zealand, the Andy Kaufman angle is put down to Michael's lyrical obliqueness. Instead it seemed to take on the air of a pure celebratory song. A song for 'every man'. Has that struck you as odd, or has that happened before?

MM: No...I mean I think that in the original Man on the Moon, Andy was seen as...It was largely about Andy, but it was also about life as seen through Andy's eyes. You know...why things weren't the way they were, and maybe Andy could shed some insight on that. This song...the new single...of coarse is more from Andy's point of view. The thing about Andy is that he was just more interested in provoking a reaction. You know...it wasn't necessarily that he wanted you to laugh...ah...he often did not care if you hated him...but he just wanted to take things where they had never gone before.

CM: Just mentioning the film, Kaufman seems to fit the outsider tradition of almost 'anti-comic', along with Bill Hicks and Lenny Bruce, who were just too clever for their own good. How was Kaufman viewed at the time you were seeing him on Saturday Night Live.

MM: Well...he was very very famous until he felt that he was just being seen as another comedian, which gave him the impetus to try to take it to another level. Um...I think the next thing he became famous for....um...am I going too fast?

CM: NO...this is fine...

MM: Ok... The next thing he became famous for was his inter-gender wrestling...and he was so good at making it seem real, that people couldn't tell if he was kidding... So he made a lot of enemies because people thought he was serious...and I think he enjoyed that aspect of it.

CM: How has the film been treated in the U.S.? It's only about to start here.

MM: I would say it was a modest success. I'm not sure of the numbers or how many people saw it or how much money it made...but I think they would probably call it a modest success. It wasn't huge...but then again...you know...there aren't that many biographies of semi-obscure performance artists that are hits, even with Jim Carrey in 'em. But I think it did ok.

CM: Do you think audiences in the U.S. have warmed more to Kaufman, considering he pushed the audiences boundaries during his time on air?

MM: You know...I think it might humanise him a bit if they see this movie, but you know...time tends to smooth off most of the rough edges anyway.

CM: Lets talk about The Great Beyond. Was it a song lingering from the Up sessions, or did it come together as the film was being made?

MM: No...it was definitely written for the movie. Um...we...part of the deal was that we give them a brand new song for the soundtrack, and that was the one. You know...the fact that it became a hit was as bigger shock to us as anyone.

CM:Did you know that you had something very special when you were writing The Great Beyond?

MM: Well...I thought it was a very good song. But you know...we've written a lot of special songs that...(laughter)...nobody really demanded to have on the radio.

CM: It's a song to be put along side Losing My Religion. Has it taken taken you by surprise that you are suddenly appearing on Saturday Night Live, Letterman and Top Of The Pops, and basically having a hit single on your hands?

MM: well...we knew that it would be pushed as a hit single...um...we knew that we would do promotion for it as a single...um....but whether or not it would actually be a hit...you never know that.

CM: The orchestration puts the song into a whole new sphere. Was it fun finally working with a full orchestra?

MM: Well the funny thing is it's only strings on that song. The full orchestra was used on the other stuff...the other score stuff, but yes, its a lot of fun to watch things you write..um..especially knowing that they are going to played by an orchestra. It's a lot of fun to watch them develop into those pieces.

CM: Was writing music as a bed for film a thrilling challenge, having never scored a film before? The track Miracle, especially, is a beautiful piece.

MM: Oh thank you! Um...Peter and I have both done some film work before, but nothing to this extent. It was definitely a stretch. You have to approach it in a completely different way. Um...but I was really happy with what we did.

CM: After the upheaval of having Bill leave, and then recording Up, the tour seems to have bought a new lease of life to R.E.M. Did the tour provide an unexpected joy of performing again?

MM: Well...yes it did. We thought it would because we had so much fun on our little promo tours that we did back in...um...what year am I in....back in early '99, late '98...we did a couple of promo tours for the record and enjoyed ourselves so much, we thought a tour would be fun. And it was! Um...but it is nice to see that you can go out and still get it done on stage.

CM: From the people at Murmurs.com, which is a loyal bunch of fans...one of the things they all wanted to know...was that they loved the official web site. Are you happy with it?

MM:Oh yeah...we...you know...we certainly took our time about setting one up...but Chris in our office and David who runs the fan club...um...they've done really great work with it.

CM: I have a couple of questions from people on the Murmurs site. Apparently your bass picks say 'Mr Meat Science' What does this mean?

MM: That's from a show in Madison, Wisconsin, which we played in a pig barn. The horticultural barn. The livestock pavilion if you will... And I took a sign that said 'Mr Meat Science' and I stuck it on my amp, and its been there ever since.

CM: What is it like to come home to Athens, and what keeps you there?

MM: Oh...lordy...it's home. I've been here for 20 years. I have a lot of friends here and I'm comfortable here.

CM: Why were you wearing a Huddersfield Town football club t-shirt on tour?

MM: Because we played at their stadium and they gave me a jersey.

CM:How are the rehearsals going, and when is the next album pencilled in for release? And what feel are the songs tending towards?

MM: I can't give you a feel yet. It's too early. Um...the record should be out some time early next year. Um...but the songs sound great. They are at very early stages. But they sound wonderful so far.

CM: A lot of people have wanted to know when we are going to hear you sing on an album again.

MM: Oh...I sang on the last one...um...in terms of lead vocals...I don't know. Its not something I really push for...um...there may well be a little more of me singing on this next record. I wouldn't be surprised.

CM: Will you basically be using the same band?

MM: Yeah...pretty much the same guys.

CM: Who do you admire in the music scene right now, and what are you currently listening to?

MM: Oh lordy...that's always the hardest question. Um...lets see...Wilco's Summer Teeth was one of the best records last year. Macy Gray's a great singer. Um...Mercury Rev's record was one of the better records last year...

CM: Yeah, that was nice...

MM: Yeah...that sort of thing...like I said...I can never remember who I want to talk up when I get asked that question. CM: How's the golf going, and what's the handicap?

MM: It's probably a little higher. I haven't played much this year....this past year has been too busy travelling and working to get much golf in.

CM: Being back in Athens, have you caught up with Bill Berry, and how is he doing?

MM: Oh he's great. We see each other fairly often. He's doing wonderfully.

CM: On the R.E.M. web site, there is mention of 'This Way Up' and 'Uptake', which are being shown overseas, Will they get a release on video?

MM: I have no idea (laughs) ...I honestly have no idea what they'll do with it.

CM: With music in such a cyclic '50's revisited state of boy/girl groups, how difficult is it for talented musicians to get a break and air play in an industry that has become very disposable and manufactured?

MM: Oh...I suppose it's extremely difficult. But there has always been a certain amount of luck and talent..(laughs)...I don't even know about talent! But I think that luck...in terms of getting on the radio...I think luck has a lot to do with it. It's not a very open format right now.

CM: From the R.E.M. canon, what are your own favourite songs, and what songs do you think really nailed the essence of R.E.M.?

MM: Oh lordy...my favourites...it depends on the day, as with any other song...but I thought 'What's the Frequency, Kenneth' was a great song. Very fun to play live. Um...I always enjoyed 'Fall on Me', from the older group....um...from the new stuff, I think 'In the Air' is a beautiful song, off of Up, but we really couldn't play it live.

CM: Mike, from us in New Zealand, who missed out on the Up tour, could you please try to include at least one Australasian date next time?

MM:(laughs) It's always in our minds. Unfortunately for the last tour...we're doing smaller tours now...we'll never go out for a full year again. But I doubt the next tour will be exactly the same as the last one, so hopefully it will be in a different part of the world.

CM: So...are you in Athens for a while this time? Is it a rehearsal time?

MM: Well we just finished some rehearsals...other than that it's just writing songs all the time.

CM: So this is just a kick back year for you at the moment?

MM: Um...well in the sense that...when I'm not in the studio it's not that difficult. If I'm not in the studio or on tour, I'm not working 12 hours a day. But at the same time, I'm always trying to write songs. Relative to '95...it's a kick back year. Relative to when I was 10 years old...it's a little harder. (Laughs)

CM:Mike, as a final thing, I got a letter from David at H.Q. telling me the xmas single was out of stock. I had my xmas pack stolen from my letter box...

MM: Oh no!

CM:...Any chance you could pull a few strings for me? Or maybe a photo that says 'Thanks for the interview'?

MM: (laughs) I'm sure we could do that for you. You know...I haven't even got one of those packs!

CM: My time must surely be up now Mike. I just want to say thanks so much for your time.

MM: You're very welcome.

CM: I'll post you a copy of the finished article.

MM:Excellent.

CM:Have a good day...

MM: You too. Maybe we'll see you next year sometime.

CM: And keep out of the way of tornadoes.

MM: (laughs) I'll do my best!

CM: Wish everyone the best of luck...

MM: I will do. Thankyou!

CM: Ok..bye.

MM: Bye bye.

3/8/00