The shiny, happy members of R.E.M. reunited for their first interview in nearly 30 years

Celebrating their upcoming induction into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame, the collective founding members of R.E.M. sat down for a joint interview for the first time since the ‘90s. In what is their first public reunion since drummer Bill Berry departed in the late 90s, R.E.M.’s founders, singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and Berry spoke with CBS Mornings about their legacy in a surprising sprawling interview, considering how short it is. Unfortunately, while the first of CBS’ two-part interview shows the band getting along for the first time since their 2011 breakup, Athens’ favorite sons were quite clear on something else: Don’t lose your religion waiting for a reunion. It ain’t happening.

The band’s current attitude is a long time coming. The interview spans their whole career in about eight minutes, taking us from their practice space, which still houses their gear, to Berry’s life-threatening brain aneurysm that he had on stage in 1995 which led to his departure from the group. By 2011, Buck says R.E.M. “could barely agree on where to go to dinner,” let alone “what kind of music” to write, “where to record it,” and whether or not to tour. Now, “we could just agree on where to go to dinner.”