R.E.M. broke up

Blind3

This news sure SUCKS !! Feel lucky to have seen REM twice , the laszt time in 08 when Ed joined them for , IIRC, " Begin the Begin " at Mann Music Center. Spin magazine's Twitter had this : Stipe on REM split: "A wise man once said, 'The skill in attending a party is knowing when it's time to leave.'"

Gonna listen to Talk About the Passion numerous times and reminisce.

aspoonfulweighsaton

loveontwolegs wrote:

aspoonfulweighsaton wrote:

"It's been a bad day..."

Well I guess we now know who officially is the greatest American rock band that's still kickin' it!

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers??

I consider Petty and Springsteen solo artists. Yes, they have bands that usually back them, but for the most part it's their baby. Pretty much like Neil Young and Crazy Horse.

peacegirl

this sucks....never got to see them live

electronblue

:(

musicismylife78

big fan. I find it surprising on many levels. its not like theyve been in decline or anything. Their 2nd to last album Accelerate was considered one of their best in years, and the 2000's were sort of a revival for the band in popularity.

Saw the Decemberists in August and Peter Buck guested for a song.

Pry To

Phenomenal live band. I'm lucky to have seen them a number of times over the years. Still, this is a true bummer. They're one of my all time favorite bands, and were long before there was a band called Pearl Jam. Glad our boys are still together and rockin' but this is a sad day for music.

diamond_marmalade

Last night celebrating Pearl Jam's 20 years watching the movie and the next night REM split up. Had the privelage of seeing them live in 2008 and it was a great night. I wish them the best and hope they will at least do some sort of farewell shows.

El

Crap. Really sad I always enjoyed their music.

solace23

That sucks. Great band so many songs touched our hearts

musicismylife78

didnt get a cd player until christmas 1994. that thanksgiving i recieved my first ever cd. had no way to play it until i got the cd player a month later, but i recieved Monster as a gift. Fitting album for a 10 year old who was obsessed with grunge at that time.

i also remember their big revival in popularity when Man on the Moon came out.

Such an important band, a band who stayed true to their ethics and morals from day 1.

crazygeo

Eventually all good things come to an end. REM started to change in the scene when the drummer left the band....

One day it will be Pearl jam too. I don't see that happening for another 10+ years. Hopefully

Only the Rolling Stones seem to be still going since 1962..

And only ZZ Top is still original since the late 1960's......

REM was a college favorite at Penn State University in 1985...only six years before PJ hit the scene....time flys by fast...

JOEJOEJOE

Very sad news.

I have seen them on every tour since the early 80s......16 times over 26 years......The place they hold in my heart is deeper then any other band, mainly because I have so many memories of my life that I associate with them.

Super Creep

When Chris cornell talks about how American bands break up I thought of REM. so much for that. One of the greatest bands

Katarzyna

Sad, sad news... I was so happy after the movie and now this. :(

BF25394

I was never a big fan in the '80s or '90s. Some great songs ("Drive" comes to mind; "Losing My Religion" is also great) and some terrible songs ("Shiny Happy People" foremost among them.) But I actually really liked the last two albums, especially "Accelerate," so this couldn't come at a worse time from my perspective.

musicismylife78

michael hated shiny happy people but i like that one. pretty odd tune though,

marcos

That does suck but hopefully Stipe will still perform their songs on a solo tour as they had some really good songs in their day.

i shit and i stink

Good to see a lot of love for REM here. I read the comments on the BBC report and half of them were slating the band. REM were fucking legends and one of the few bands that maintained some level throughout their career. All the early albums with Stipe right down in the mix, then the big records of Green through to Monster and were brilliant. The later stuff was not quite on that level but it's hard to even reach that level for one album, let alone 4 in a row. They certainly didn't tail off like the Stones did after their 4 classics.

Saw them live on the AFTP tour, the Monster tour and at Glastonbury and they wrere always great live. It was also cool to see the guys join PJ on stage at Berlin last year.

I'd say they will be sorely missed but they won't cos I'll still be cranking out Murmur, Document and Green years from now

theserialthrilla

its the end of the world as we know it



no its not

5 years reform

goldrush

Fuck :shock: . Just got into the office and checked my emails - this is not the sort of news I need to see at 8am! I am absolutely gutted by this, my second favourite band (after PJ) has called it a day just when they seemed to be back on top. Collapse Into Now is such a fantastic album, easily their best since New Adventures, so at least they went out on a high. That doesn't make it suck any less though

samjam

Can't believe they broke up, in shock because it's all kind of sudden. What an amazing group of musicians who wrote some really unbelievable stuff. Only got into them a few years ago, but since then their music has been really important to me. One of the first really really good bands I got into as I was transitioning from just casually liking music to really having it be huge in my life. To everyone who has seen them live: you are very lucky! They are (well, were) number 1 on my list of artists to see live. Maybe someday in the future they will reunite and I'll be able to see them, but for now, their music lives on and won't be forgotten!

FinsburyParkCarrots

The first REM album I ever heard was Fables of the Reconstruction. I can even remember the date of when I first heard it: June 13th 1985. Some dates stick in your mind for a reason.

dimitrispearljam

what a great band!!!!!!gonna miss u..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VQbw12zBMU

Zoso

i love rem ands am a super fan... am going to play their catalogue back to back this week... very sad moment in my musical life. always thought i could depend on rem to be around : ( Appreciate what they have given me and the musical world... a very inspiring bunch of guys thats for sure. will miss stipe, mills and buck dearly.

jammerfall

R.E.M. has been in a class all their own from the beginning, and they have been the soundtrack to my entire adult life. Gonna miss them immensely! :(

TheRealDanPatch

gabers

Yet another sign I'm old I guess. I can't see them retiring for good, but it's still a kick to the head to see one of the great bands of my youth and beyond finally call it quits. So many great albums, so many great songs. I'll be playing R.E.M. on the ride to work tomorrow for sure.

ryanjp2323

very sad news. REM has been a huge part of my life and dare I say may be even more important to me than PJ has. Out Of time was one of the first albums I truly fell in love with.. great tracks like "Me in Honey" and "Half a World Away". Automatic speaks for itself. Monster's "What's the Frequency Kenneth" & "Let Me In", New adventures "E-Bow" & "Electrolite". Early catalog, more recent stuff... am very sad today

on another note... while making the drive from Winnipeg to Saskatoon this past weekend for the second of my consecutive PJ shows... I remembered back to 95 when I was old enough and lucky enough to witness my first back to back arena concert experiences REM Monster tour (Set lists follow)

Enjoy your PJ experiences... take in the shows you can... be thankful for the boots made available to us so we can relive our shows, enjoy your music whoever you love as it is the sound track to our lives.

Time to spin some REM and remember!

19 May 1995 - Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR
support: Sonic Youth
set: What's The Frequency, Kenneth? / Crush With Eyeliner / Circus Envy / Drive / Try Not To Breathe / You / Me In Honey / Strange Currencies / I Don't Sleep, I Dream / Revolution / Tongue / Man On The Moon / Country Feedback / Half A World Away / Losing My Religion / Star Me Kitten / I Took Your Name / Departure / Get Up / Star 69
encore: Let Me In / Everybody Hurts / Bang And Blame / Finest Worksong / It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

20 May 1995 - Pacific National Exhibition, Vancouver, BC, Canada
support: Sonic Youth
set: I Don't Sleep, I Dream / What's The Frequency, Kenneth? / Crush With Eyeliner / Circus Envy / Disturbance At The Heron House / Try Not To Breathe / Drive / Strange Currencies / Begin The Begin / Revolution / Tongue / Man On The Moon / Country Feedback / Monty Got A Raw Deal / Losing My Religion / I Took Your Name / Departure / Finest Worksong / Get Up / Star 69
encore: Let Me In / Everybody Hurts / Bang And Blame / Fall On Me / It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

Chip McFlennigan

I'm really sad they broke up. 16 albums (I consider Chronic Town to be their first) full of awesome tunes.

Countless greatest hits and b-sides collections, alternate takes, demos, the Hib-Tone single.

So much to choose from, it's almost silly to be upset that it's over. However, I'm still upset. REM will always be one of those bands that really hit me during my formative years. PJ, REM, Counting Crows, Alice In Chains, Elliott Smith, and a few others, were playing in the background of some of the biggest moments of my life: funerals, graduations, Christmases, break ups, first kisses, and so on and so forth.

It's sad to see REM hang it up.

Back_Pedal

I'm not really a fan, but what the hell? This is the most random break-up I've ever seen.