cungar

Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: The Netherlands
Posts: 1,159 R.E.M. breaks up

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"To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening.

R.E.M."

http://remhq.com/news_story.php?id=1446

orangecrush

That stinks. Their last 2 albums were a real step up IMO.

cdollaz

I didn't care so much for the recent one, but Accelerate was a motherfucker. Sad to see them go.

Poink

Always would have thought they would be one of those bands that would go on forever. Even though their best years were far behind them, they never fell into self-parody or put out anything that wasn't at least decent.

One of the very, very few bands that I listened to at age 10 and still listen to at age 30.

Decker

WTF? That sucks. I really liked this last album and listen to it quite often.

They've been together, what? 30 years? This is like the proverbial couple who want to wait until their children are all dead before they file for divorce.

cungar

Honestly how long do you folks want bands to go on? The Beatles were together for 8 years. They did everything, they did it right and they broke up. Same with Led Zeppelin. REM were my favorite band throughout the 80s but their albums delivered less and less truly original and satisfying moments as the years went on. Personally I found the last two albums listenable but hollow shells of a once great band.

Unfortunately for them, they set such a high standard in the first 15 years of their career, most of us couldn't handle REM just being a very good band. Unfortunately for us, there's no band that ever came close to filling their shoes.

Chrisedge

Haven't really liked their albums since Automatic For The People, but always sad to hear about a great (even once great) band hanging their hats up.

They were always fantasic in concert and that is why I am more sad...

auto

Sad, as they were my favorite band growing up. We're lucky to have all the great albums they produced over the last 30 years.

cdollaz

I kinda wish they would have done a final tour where they let the fans pick some of the setlist.

cungar

Final statements:

MIKE

"During our last tour, and while making Collapse Into Now and putting together this greatest hits retrospective, we started asking ourselves, 'what next'? Working through our music and memories from over three decades was a hell of a journey. We realized that these songs seemed to draw a natural line under the last 31 years of our working together.

"We have always been a band in the truest sense of the word. Brothers who truly love, and respect, each other. We feel kind of like pioneers in this--there's no disharmony here, no falling-outs, no lawyers squaring-off. We've made this decision together, amicably and with each other's best interests at heart. The time just feels right."

MICHAEL

"A wise man once said--'the skill in attending a party is knowing when it's time to leave.' We built something extraordinary together. We did this thing. And now we're going to walk away from it.

"I hope our fans realize this wasn't an easy decision; but all things must end, and we wanted to do it right, to do it our way.

"We have to thank all the people who helped us be R.E.M. for these 31 years; our deepest gratitude to those who allowed us to do this. It's been amazing."

PETER

"One of the things that was always so great about being in R.E.M. was the fact that the records and the songs we wrote meant as much to our fans as they did to us. It was, and still is, important to us to do right by you. Being a part of your lives has been an unbelievable gift. Thank you.

"Mike, Michael, Bill, Bertis, and I walk away as great friends. I know I will be seeing them in the future, just as I know I will be seeing everyone who has followed us and supported us through the years. Even if it's only in the vinyl aisle of your local record store, or standing at the back of the club: watching a group of 19 year olds trying to change the world."

Supermallet

Nice to see them walking away without a big fight. Also, I haven't enjoyed their ouput since Up, so to me this is no big loss. Their awesome records will always be around for us to listen to.

dvdjunkie32

Good for them. They have put out a ton of music, and could be burned out creatively. Very few bands stick together that long.

CRM114

Still love their first 4-5 albums immensely. They were one band with whom I didn't get their musical progression.

It seemed inevitable since Peter Buck seems to pop up on every other album I listen to.

NoirFan

Not a fan of much post-Automatic, though I did like a couple of the songs on Around the Sun - "Leaving New York" and "The Outsiders". Probably my favorite band growing up. Elliptical, haunting lyrics set to gorgeous melodies - what's not to love?

dvduser6

I admit this is a band I hadn't followed for many years. Earlier this year I started to pick up some of the reissues from their catalog and found a while new respect for them. Sorry to see them go, but at least it was on amicable terms and I'm sure well continue to see some creative output from Stipe and Buck in some form or fashion.

cungar

Elliptical lyrics?

NoirFan

Hixx

Seems like a good idea to me, go out while they were still creatively vital to some degree. Really though they hadn't been relevant to the majority of the music listening public in a long time.

As far as the post Bill Berry years go though, I will say that Up is a very underrated album IMO.

Ky-Fi

Eh, I don't really get the whole "it's over" thing. If you're all still friends and have a nice working relationship, why make a decision to break up? I can see taking an indefinite hiatus if people want to do other things in their lives besides making records and touring, but why rule out EVER doing anything as REM again?

cungar

I'll have to give Up! another listen. I haven't listened to it in a decade. I remember Walk Unafraid being absolutely amazing live when I saw them at the Greek Theatre but the rest kind of faded from memory. Although I do agree that Up! was much better than Reveal or Around the Sun.

reubs82

Same here. I listened to the cassette for Green over and over; Monster was the first CD I ever bought; and I go back to Murmur at least a few times a month with a modest sprinkling of their other albums here and there.

As a Georgia boy, they've been my band for as long as I can remember. It's a bittersweet day...

windom

There's got to be some money in announcing it. It gets them in the press and probably causes some people to start buying their music again. They can also release a new greatest hits set from their whole lifespan. Plus absence makes the heart grow fonder, so if they decide to have a reunion tour or even put out another album after awhile there will probably be higher demand.

cungar

Maybe I'm naive but I just don't get that feeling from these guys. You never know what the future holds but every step of their career they've shown such integrity and dedication to the music I don't see them doing this for a cynical reason like selling albums (which I doubt will happen anyway). Personally I don't see them ever reuniting again.

SkullOrchard

I've been a fan since Chronic Town. I love the IRS years. Everything since AFTP has been somewhat subpar, but still worthwhile. They remain one of my favorite bands. My biggest problem with them in recent years is that everything they release is too damn loud. Overly compressed reissues, as well as new releases that are brickwalled to the point of being almost unlistenable.

It's been an interesting 30 years.

Thanks for all the great music, guys. Mediocre R.E.M. is still better than 90% of the stuff that's been released during the past three decades.

Eddie W

Same here. I really wanted to like their last two albums, and I can tell there are some good songs there. But I just can't listen to them because it's so fatiguing. Hopefully once the loudness wars have been lost, someone with some sense will go back and re-mix these. Sad thing is R.E.M. used to have some of the best sounding albums out there.