Mike Mills on His Favorite and Most Underrated R.E.M. Songs and Albums

R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills reflected on the Athens band’s more than 20-year career that took them from underground cult favorites to global superstars and pop radio staples in a recent interview with Vulture. Among the insights he shared:

• “Everybody Hurts” was R.E.M’s most heartfelt song, while “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite” was the goofiest, and “Life and How to Live It” was the hardest to finish.
• The band expected “Shiny Happy People” to be the biggest hit single off Out of Time and was surprised at the success of “Losing My Religion.”
• “Orange Crush” has one of Mills’ favorite basslines and is his favorite song to sing.
• Mills’ famous Monster-era Nudie suits are safe in climate-controlled storage.

Mills also reminisced about R.E.M.’s notable debut on “Late Night with David Letterman” and meeting Supreme Court Justice William Brennan. Read the entire interview here.

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