Mike Mills tells Spin than the band’s 15th studio album is more “expansive” than 2008’s “Accelerate.”
"With Accelerate, we were trying to make a point by making the songs as short and as fast as possible," Mills says. "So we wanted this new one to be more expansive. We wanted to put more variety into it and not limit ourselves to any one type of song. There are some really slow, beautiful songs; there are some nice, mid-tempo ones; and then there are three or four rockers."
“Collapse Into Now” is produced by Garret "Jacknife" Lee (Snow Patrol, U2), and will feature a pair of special guests
Patti Smith joins the band on the album’s closing track, “Blue,” while Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder appears on "It Happened Today.”
The album was recorded in different cities -- Berlin, Nashville, New Orleans -- with breaks between to write and rewrite songs. "It's also fun for us to go to the cities we really love and spend some time," says Mills.
After a day's work in the studio, the band would go out to dinner. "It's really important to go out, get great food, shrug off the debris of the day, and just be friends and have a good time. In Berlin you drink beer and eat wurst. In New Orleans you eat Cajun food and drink Sazerac. In Nashville we ate a lot of fried chicken."
R.E.M. – in the studio (2010)
The band just released “R.E.M. Live From Austin, TX,” a new DVD taken from the band’s appearance on the acclaimed PBS Austin City Limits (ACL) television series.
R.E.M.’s March 13, 2008 ACL concert, which was edited into a single hour for the TV show, will be extended on the DVD, with more songs - including three that weren’t aired on the original broadcast.
R.E.M. R.E.M. – Man On The Moon
Austin City Limits – March 13, 2008
R.E.M. – Supernatural Superserious
Austin City Limits – March 13, 2008
R.E.M. – Begin The Begin (with Eddie Vedder)
Vote for Change Tour
MCI Center - Washington, DC – October 11, 2004
