On this edition of Audiography, Len Comaratta spoke with Mike Mills, bassist for recently disbanded R.E.M., as he promoted the band’s final release, greatest hits compilation Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982—2011. For the first time in the band’s history, they’ve put together a collection with music from both their I.R.S. catalog and Warner Brothers catalog. Mining over 30 years of material, the band also included three new songs stemming from their Accelerate and Collapse Into Now sessions, and completed just prior to the band’s retirement.
We talk about the new material found on the collection, working with producers Mitch Easter and Joe Boyd during the band’s early career, why the band chose I.R.S. records, and what it was like training a three legged dog to walk after drummer Bill Berry’s departure in 1997.