R.E.M.s Peter Buck: I Hate the Music Business

ATHENS, GA -- In a rare interview, R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck told Rolling Stone that when the band decided to call it quits in 2011, he made a five-page list of the things he disliked about being in the music industry.

What was on the list?

"Everything," Buck told the magazine. "Everything except writing songs, playing songs and recording them. It was the money, the politics, having to meet new people 24 hours a day, not being in charge of my own decisions."

The decision to shut down the band -- drummer Bill Berry had already taken his leave in 1997 -- ended a remarkable 30-year run for the band that got its start playing house parties in Athens.

By the end, though, Buck said they'd all had enough.

"I hate the business," Buck told RS. "And I didn't want to have anything to do with it."

For someone who hates the business end of music, though, Buck, 59, has stayed active on the artistic end.

He spoke to Rolling Stone in late January as he was organizing Todos Santos, his music festival in Mexico.

He plays in several bands, including the Minus 5, a long-running combo, and Filthy Friends, with Colin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney. He's also recorded several solo albums, which he's released on vinyl only through small record companies.

He spoke to Rolling Stone's David Fricke on a variety of topics, including:

• The 2011 breakup: "[W]e were doing the last record, [2011's] Collapse Into Now. We hadn't made an announcement or anything. We got together, and Michael said, 'I think you guys will understand. I need to be away from this for a long time.' And I said, 'How about forever?' Michael looked at Mike, and Mike said, 'Sounds right to me.' That's how it was decided."
• R.E.M.'s career: "I'm really proud of the fact that we ended in 2011 with the ideals we started with in 1980. I'm really proud of the body of work. There are a couple of records that aren't great. But there's a couple of Bob Dylan records that aren't great."
• The current state of music: "I was talking to Colin Meloy [of the Decemberists]. He was going, "Boy, you guys got out at the right time. The festivals are horrible now. They all have that [expletive] dance tent. You get these kids who are totally tripping, walking through and yelling during your set, and then there's that thumping all night long ... . But there is always great music. I find it every day."
• Early ambitions: "I thought I'd make a couple of records, then be the guy at the record store where people would come in and go, 'He made this cool record that came out in 1983.' I didn't expect to make a living at it ... . I bought a house but it cost $52,000. I was the first person I ever knew who owned a house. I was like, 'This isn't bad. It's got two extra bedrooms, so I can rent them out to pay the mortgage.' I got lucky. I don't have to ever work again if I don't want to. But I do a lot of work. My accountant tells me all the time now: 'You do a lot of work. You just don't get paid for it.

To read the entire Rolling Stone piece, click here.

(Photo by Andrew Hurley, via Wikimedia Commons)