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TRANSCRIPT OF R.E.M CHAT ON MSN

Digital Dish Diva says:
Welcome to MSN Live! Tonight we are pleased to present R.E.M. whose new CD is "Reveal."

Digital Dish Diva says:
Guys, welcome to MSN Live! It's really great to have you here!

R.E.M. says:
Hello there!

Michael says:
Hello all time zones!

Digital Dish Diva says:
Guys, welcome. There seems to be a lot of interest in your personal lives. Have you gotten used to this in the past 20 years or is it still odd?

Michael says:
It's still odd, but we just have a sense of humor about it at this point.

Digital Dish Diva says:
Paul2331 Asks: Michael, you write so many questions about spirituality. Where do you fit in on this issue?

Michael says:
I've never really stated a particular religious ideology. I was raised Southern Methodist so I know the history of Christianity. I'm familiar with religions and they all seem the same to me. In 2001 I think a lot of people are doing what I'm doing and taking bits and pieces of religions and ideologies and making them fit themselves. I like that.

Digital Dish Diva says:
Buddhism seems to be big lately in Hollywood and in music. Is this something you have delved into lately?

Michael says:
In a word--no. (laughs) I like the colors, though. (laughs)

Digital Dish Diva says:
ELTONNA Asks: Hey Mike, Peter, and Michael! I have a question. Forgive me for being a smartie-pants. Is there any chance of you guys ever performing "Walter's Theme" in concert nowadays?

Peter says:
In a word - no. (laughs)

Digital Dish Diva says:
HardAdonis Asks: I went to the last show that you played at Red Rocks and it was great but the best part was when you played "Gardening at Night." How does it feel to play songs that are 20 years old now? Do older songs feel different when you play them now?

Michael says:
Michael: Walter's Bar-B-Q doesn't exist anymore. So the point is moot.

Michael says:
Michael: Bert is in the background cheering. He loves that song. When we play the older songs, it feels like a different band because we are no longer the people that wrote them. We've been performing "Cuyahoga" a few times and it's been really great playing a song that old.

Mike says:
If you don't play old songs for a long time, they feel like new songs.

Digital Dish Diva says:
You have been considered a "smart band. So with that in mind. . .anithepeasant Asks: What books are you guys reading? Any recommendations?

Mike says:
I just started "A Secret History"

Peter says:
That's a great one, I just read the new Anne Tyler "When We Were Grown Ups."

Michael says:
I mostly read scripts, but I can't talk about any of them. There's an HBO movie coming out called "Stranger Inside" that my company worked on.

Digital Dish Diva says:
MigraineGirl says: Michael, has the title "Reveal" anything to do with your recent official 'outcoming'?

Michael says:
Let me set the record straight. (laughs) I was on the cover of "Out Magazine" 5 years ago. So, it seems that my sexuality is old news.

Digital Dish Diva says:
monkEEnoodLL Asks: Guys thanks for the incredible show in Toronto. Eh! One of my favorite moments was your segue into "At My Most Beautiful." Without going too deep, who in your lives has found a way to make you smile?

R.E.M. says:
(laughs) we're thinking.

Mike says:
My family and my friends make me smile.

Michael says:
The cast of "Sex & the City." (laughs) And the "Sopranos."

Digital Dish Diva says:
Did you catch this week's episodes?

Michael says:
I was just telling Peter how shocked I was at "Six Feet Under." It was really amazing. It was really, really good.

Digital Dish Diva says:
me Asks: Mike, I saw you with a t-shirt that had a cartoon dude that looked a lot like you on it. Did someone design it, or was it a Homer Simpson/Japanese laundry detergent box coincidence?

Mike says:
I can't imagine where you would have seen it, but yes it is me, drawn by a Japanese fan and it's the best I have ever seen.

Digital Dish Diva says:
So, that question was from someone who knows you?

Peter says:
He just got it a week ago.

Mike says:
I think our photographer Bob Weber took a photo of it and put it on the website.

R.E.M. says:
(laughs)

Digital Dish Diva says:
gardengrovegirl Asks: Michael you recently referred to your songwriting as "vomiting." What is the process like for Peter and Mike?

Mike says:
Fortunately it's a solitary pursuit.

Michael says:
They have a great deal of patience for me. The lyrics don't come easy and I think it comes from a more unconscious place. The only analogy I could come up with is vomiting. Like when a cat has a hairball, it has to come out. In the end when all is said and done, it's a hairball. (laughs)

Digital Dish Diva says:
There are moments when we all feel like we don't belong. sweetee22 Asks: I also want to ask each of the members if they have ever had a moment where they felt they really belonged, and where and when was that moment?

Michael says:
I would say my entire childhood. I belonged to a strong family. That was a good way to get started.

Mike says:
I feel most at home when the band is together rehearsing or writing songs. That feels extremely comfortable to me.

Peter says:
Peter: I can't think of a time, so I'm just going to make one up. (laughs) But that doesn't mean I don't belong.

Digital Dish Diva says:
violent_green1 Asks: Do you think that if Bill Berry hadn't left the band you would still make a record like "Reveal"?

Mike says:
I think Bill leaving the band just accelerated things that were already happening. I think we would have made a record like "Reveal" it just would have taken longer.

Digital Dish Diva says:
BizkitChic27 Asks: What do you do to get ready for a show?

Michael says:
I ignore the fact that I'm about to do a show. For 20 years I have had a cigarette and slap on some makeup.

Mike says:
I generally sit around with Peter and talk about things other than what we are about to do.

Digital Dish Diva says:
Maya Asks: I'm really intrigued by one of the songs in the album, "Saturn Return." Could you explain what it is about?

Michael says:
Searching. (ha ha) I'm not really sure, to tell you the truth. It's not about "Saturn Return" I later found out what it meant Astrologically. It's about being a heroine. Maybe it means she's going to be an astronaut. It's my favorite song on the album.

Digital Dish Diva says:
Is Astrology important to you? Do you read your horoscopes? Do you follow them religiously?

Peter says:
In a word--no (laughs)

Michael says:
I don't think any of us hold astrology high in our lives. You notice that they are right
next to the comics. (laughs) I try reading the wrong one and try to make it pertain to my day.

Digital Dish Diva says:
jerryhlin Asks: What are your favorite snack items?

Mike says:
I like really sick stuff like potato chips and French onion dip.

Digital Dish Diva says:
My, that's totally unheard of! (laughs)

Mike says:
As much as I eat of it, it is.

Peter says:
I don't snack. I either eat or don't eat. I don't snack.

Michael says:
Michael: I think my snack items are Cold War era items like ants on a log, peanut butter on celery, and also cream cheese and dates.

Digital Dish Diva says:
So mainly, after school snacks?

Mike says:
I also like celery with pimento cheese.

Digital Dish Diva says:
So, you must not need much backstage before a show then?

Michael says:
No, a couple beers or some wine, and peanuts. I like peanuts. I don't know what happened in 1995 but everyone in America became allergic to peanuts. I think it's part of The Great Almond Conspiracy. (laughs)

Digital Dish Diva says:
The GuitarMan0 says: I want to ask them why they began including their lyrics in the liner notes of their albums?
Mike. says: When Bill left the band and we restarted, we threw out old rules that we had for a long time because we thought they were no longer applicable. I was looking at Michael's lyrics before "Up" came out and I thought they were good and we started printing them.

Digital Dish Diva says:
Oddfellowz151 Asks: So, why are REM's songs banned from Napster?

Mike says:
They're not banned from Napster.

Digital Dish Diva says:
OldMan Asks: Rumor is that Michael Moore is directing the video for "All The Way To Reno." What is it like working with him?

Michael says:
Finally a rumor that's true. (laughs) I'm a huge fan of The Awful Truth and working with Michael in something. He was incredible to work with and had groundbreaking ideas in terms of how to shoot a video. He brought in 13-18 yr. olds to man the cameras and we shot it in a high school in Brooklyn. It was really cool.

Digital Dish Diva says:
Speaking of rumors. What is the oddest rumor or the one most completely off the wall that you would like to correct?

Michael says:
If anyone wants to go to PlanetOut.com there's a funny thing I wrote that I can't say here. Probably that we were going to break up on the last day of 1999.

Peter says:
Rumors refuse to die no matter how much you deny it. No matter what you say or do, they just won't die.

Digital Dish Diva says:
sychosugar0 Asks: Hey, America is a technocracy right? Do you guy use computers frequently?

Peter says:
It's an oligarchy and the answer is no.

Mike says:
I use it for E-mail and CD roms.

Michael says:
I use mine for everything. No pun intended. (laughs)

Digital Dish Diva says:
Tripke_Lund Asks: Sleeve, fire, fly, dream, some flowers and some spices. . . and a few other words. But sleeve must you favourite word. Michael?

Michael says:
Why do I use it a lot in songs? Apparently. Maybe I'm ripping off wearing your heart on your sleeve. I'm a sentimentalist and a failed symbolist.

Digital Dish Diva says:
Oddfellowz151 Asks: Mike, I have a friend here who loves you. What's something that you're sure no one else knows?

Mike says:
I was about to say, whatever that is, I will keep to myself, but thanks for asking.

Digital Dish Diva says:
Sorry, Oddfellowz, we tried.

Michael says:
The actual answer is that it's between me and my Maker's mark.

Digital Dish Diva says:
lea_11 Asks: If you could describe yourself in one word, what would that word be?

R.E.M. says:
(laughs)

Michael says:
I'm the one that uses words in music and I can't think of any one word to describe any one of us.

Mike says:
We're all far too complex to pin it on one word.

R.E.M. says:
(Peter and Michael laugh)

Digital Dish Diva says:
hayjay says: Do you think you guys get a bad rap?

Michael says:
Not particularly, no.

Mike says:
The only rap we got was from KRS1 and I thought it was pretty good.

R.E.M. says:
(laughs)

Digital Dish Diva says:
SanDiegoPanda Asks: When you guys are on tour, do you have time to sight see in the different cities?

Michael says:
Yes, we make time.

Digital Dish Diva says:
Any favorite city or sight?

R.E.M. says:
You should have seen us in Tokyo. (laughs)

Digital Dish Diva says:
mageesee Asks: Just wondering how you guys would define fame?

Peter says:
It was a really bad movie about 16 years ago and I think they turned it into a TV show
too.

R.E.M. says:
(laughs)

Digital Dish Diva says:
smookin0 Asks: How do people react to you when you just chat online? Do you go into the chat rooms of any band in particular or any room regularly?

Michael says:
I stopped that in 1994. I started reading terrible things about myself that were just so untrue and hurtful and I thought, this is just not my thing. That was right before I threw my computer into the River Liffey in Dublin.

Digital Dish Diva says:
Michael, when you do read or hear things that are hurtful, what do you do?

Michael says:
I've been through several computers recently. (laughs) Honestly you just put in context of your life. I look to my closest friends and family, people that I love. Everything put in context like that becomes a little more tolerable and forgettable. If you hold a quarter in front of your eye, you can't see very much, but if you hold it at arms length than you have context.

Digital Dish Diva says:
peachsinthesouth Asks: Hi! I am in Athens and thank you all very much for the support of the Humane Society and many other causes! Michael, what is your favorite dish at the Grit! Mine is a Grit Staple!

Michael says:
That's pretty good.

Digital Dish Diva says:
Daniel71234 Asks: Where do they think they fit in in today's radio? In such a time of easy pop lyrics why not return to the obscurity that put them on the map?

Peter says:
To the first question, on the radio we fit very well. As far as being obscure, I think we've outgrown that.

Digital Dish Diva says:
Sort of double-edged sword. The more will known you become, you can't be obscure, can you?

Mike says:
I think he might have been confusing obscure with obtuse.

Digital Dish Diva says:
chemical_grrrl Asks: Is there a song you guys are really tired of playing?

Michael says:
We stop playing songs when we get sick of them. When we were in Rio, we hadn't performed there before and we played a lot of old songs that we typically wouldn't play, just to present ourselves in a courteous way to fans that had been listening for a long time. I can't think of one I didn't like.

Digital Dish Diva says:
phatdave9 Asks: How do you manage to keep the enthusiasm for making each new album?

Mike says:
I believe it's because we keep writing songs we like and we keep surprising each other musically. I think it's a good combination.

Michael says:
Peter says over and over that this is our life's work and if we don't have enthusiasm, there's no reason to do it.

Digital Dish Diva says:
alina says: Is this what you imagined being a rock star would be like?

Michael says:
No--in a word. (laughs) I had some very teenage ideas on what it was like to be a rock star. You can see that outlined in a song in "New Adventures in Hi Fi" a song called "Ebow."

Digital Dish Diva says:
mageesee Asks: Do you think that Creativity and Spirituality are two roads to the same destination?

Peter says:
I actually kind of do. I've found that most musicians are not religious.

Mike says:
I think it would be hard to create a sense of the abstract without some sort of spirituality in you.

Digital Dish Diva says:
syllabub1 Asks: If you were R.E.M. fans, what would you ask yourselves?

Mike says:
That requires a disassociation that is impossible in today's circumstance.

Peter says:
Wow.

Michael says:
We did an interview an hour ago and this guy described our record like no one else has in the past 6 months of promoting and it felt revelatory to me and I made the damn thing.

Digital Dish Diva says:
bigcurve42 says: How does technology affect your music?

Peter says:
It tends to affect the editing process and certainly doesn't affect the writing, but it's the end result that gets changed by the writing.

Digital Dish Diva says:
maeinthehall Asks: Would you rather be Superman or James Bond and why?

Michael says:
James Bond is infinitely cooler.

Peter says:
Peter: I wouldn't want to wear the tights.

Digital Dish Diva says:
Good point.

Mike says:
Superman spent his whole life chasing after a woman he couldn't have and James Bond spent his whole life fending them off. You decide.

Digital Dish Diva says:
Although, it seems as if you guys have already thought about this before.

R.E.M. says:
(laughs) No. We're just quick.

Digital Dish Diva says:
EmilyKSeattle Asks: What has it been like along the way going from doing songs in one take to spending months in the studio editing?

Mike says:
We never did songs in one take. You have to try it a few times even if you go back to the first take. You have to use technology when it's necessary and not use all your time reediting just because you can. We trust our instincts and that often leads you to one of the first takes.

Michael says:
One of the biggest problems is every option is out there, there's so many directions to take it. There are bands that spend 5 years working on an album. Relative to that we're instinctual and quick. Good question.

Digital Dish Diva says:
We're going to close this event on a philosophical bent with this question from CowboyEcho who says: Would you guys describe yourselves as being somewhat existentialist yet not so nihilistic as to see the beauty in day to day situations?

Mike says:
Are you in college? (laughs)

Michael says:
I read all the existential stuff, and couldn't make sense of it, but I thought the stories were good.

Digital Dish Diva says:
Guys, thanks for spending time with your fans on MSN Live. Best of luck with"Reveal."

R.E.M. says:
Thanks for listening.