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"Before tonight&amp;apos;s induction into the Rock &amp;amp; Roll Hall of Fame, R.E.M.&amp;apos;s Michael Stipe, Mike Mills and Peter Buck joined us in our offices to reminisce about the past, talk about influences and give us some insight into the band&amp;apos;s future. We felt bad we couldn&amp;apos;t fit all of you in the room, so we&amp;apos;re doing the next best thing and sharing a handful of audio highlights from the interview:\r\nMichael Stipe talks about how he feels about The Beatles.\r\nOn the band&amp;apos;s love of Velvet Underground and Patti Smith.\r\nMichael Stipe admitting the lyrics on the first two albums were &amp;quot;nonsense.&amp;quot;\r\nFind out the band&amp;apos;s favorite new music and what Michael Stipe thinks is &amp;quot;best record of the last seven years.&amp;quot;\r\nOn being chosen as Rolling Stone&amp;apos;s Album of the Year in 1983, over Michael Jackson&amp;apos;s Thriller.\r\nCan&amp;apos;t get enough R.E.M.? Check out what the band thinks about key albums from their extensive discography. And be sure to catch them tonight on VH1 Classic at 8:30 P.M. as Eddie Vedder inducts the boys from Athens, Georgia, into The House That Rock Built."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/exclusive-audio-r-e-m-on-earliest-influences-20070312>