AUSTIN, TEXAS — You'd think 15 minutes with one member of R.E.M. would be a lot like 15 minutes with another. In the rush and grind of promoting "Accelerate," the band's 14th album, at the South by Southwest Music Conference, Michael Stipe, Peter Buck and Mike Mills didn't have much more to spare.
A Wednesday club show at Stubb's Bar-B-Q led to a Thursday taping of the venerable "Austin City Limits" TV series; in between there was radio to do, a campaign's worth of hands to shake, and a new set of songs to try to thoroughly grasp.
Media encounters inked into such a run take on an inevitable shape: for a veteran band, it means discussing the new album (this one rocks), assuring fans you still enjoy the job ("fun" is the operative word for these three), and offering some warm memories and rejiggered hopes for the future. Potentially meaningful encounters with journalists turn semianonymous, like visits from the cable guy. Even smart, friendly, seasoned artists can't be blamed for resorting to stock answers.
But for the passing moment in which these three submit to amiable grilling, they are fully present. This is an old game for them, but they take it seriously.
"The truth is, I've been working so hard I haven't had time to land," said Stipe when asked what it means for R.E.M. to be here, at a festival rooted in the indie-rock scene the band was so instrumental in creating. When he did talk about legacy, wasn't in terms of music, but politics, and generations.
"As a 48-year-old, I'm thrilled to have someone younger to vote for," said the unabashed supporter of 46-year-old Sen. Barack Obama. "I think we screwed it up, you know? I'm looking at and talking to and hanging out with people born during the Reagan era, and I feel like our generation, we did what we could, but it really wasn't enough. I think we can continue to inspire -- I hope -- or support the next generation or the generation below. But I think it's time to pass the baton to them and see what they can do with this mess."
Meanwhile, R.E.M. is busy redefining the romance of its own existence. Except for U2, no other band of its generation has been stuck with so much heavy meaning. As one of indie rock's co-founders -- along with many more obscure bands, such as the Dream Syndicate and Husker Du, whom Buck habitually name-checks -- R.E.M. still represents the idea that amplified, guitar-based songs can bring people together and even form the basis for a larger life.
