SNOOZING'S MY RELIGION: REM RELEASE 'DAYSLEEPER' SINGLE

[a]REM[/a]'s first single off 'Up' will be 'Daysleeper'...

REM's new single 'Daysleeper' is due out on October 12, the first release from their forthcoming eleventh album, 'Up'.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone's David Fricke, REM's bassist Mike Mills (far right in photo) explained some of the themes running through the songs on the album. "It's about people who are doing their jobs, often in a rather isolated mode," Mills said of 'Daysleeper' and another track, 'Airport Man'. I don't want to attribute too many things that aren't there, but it's kind of an examination of where people find themselves: 'I've done this all my life up to this point. How am I with this?'"

Prior to the album's release on October 26, REM will play this year's Bridge School Benefit in San Francisco on October 17 and 18. The annual shows are organised by Neil Young to raise money for the Bridge School, which assists children with severe speech impediments. REM kick off their first live dates supporting 'Up' in January next year. UK dates have yet to be confirmed.

Meanwhile, REM's Michael Stipe and E from Eels guest on Grant Lee Buffalo's new album, 'Jubilee', which is released on September 28. A spokeswoman for the band said that Stipe appears on a track called 'Everybody Needs A Little Sanctuary', while E collaborates on 'Come To Mama, She Say'.