R.E.M. breaks up
R.E.M., which announced its split today, in the early years. Peter Buck (left), Mike Mills, Bill Berry and Michael Stipe. Berry left the band in 1997. Photo: Sandra Lee-Phipps
It’s a day many thought would never come. It looked like R.E.M. was in it for the long haul, but that changed today.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees and Athens mainstays released a statement via their website today:
“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.
The site also includes statements from each of the band members, Michael Stipe, Mike Mills and Peter Buck.
Those three, along with drummer Bill Berry, started the band in 1980. By 1991, the band had scored four Top 10 hits and inspired a generation of musicians.
Check out the Buzz for more.
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170 comments Add your comment
REM
September 21st, 2011
2:06 pm
FIRST? REM is the only good thing to come out of Athens.
SteveGR
September 21st, 2011
2:08 pm
Ho Hum. Now we will not get another decade of dull, lifeless music.
Dragon
September 21st, 2011
2:08 pm
Second? Crap. Thanks for the good tunes!
G'Vegas Dawg
September 21st, 2011
2:09 pm
Wow. Better to hang it up than to stay in a produced crappy music just for the sake of staying together.
G'Vegas Dawg
September 21st, 2011
2:10 pm
….and produce crappy….
P B Orr
September 21st, 2011
2:10 pm
They’ve been done since Berry left, 14 years ago. Never did a band more miss a drummer.
What's the frequency Larry?
September 21st, 2011
2:10 pm
About time. Now if a few others (I’m looking at you, Rolling Stones) would follow their lead instead of coasting along on the same old hits from 20 or 30 years ago.
wm mcnall
September 21st, 2011
2:11 pm
hasn’t been relevant since the 80’s
SunnyD
September 21st, 2011
2:11 pm
How bout Zepplin??
MJ
September 21st, 2011
2:11 pm
And this is breaking news because……
CookieDoughBoy
September 21st, 2011
2:12 pm
I like to swim in the ocean!!
Sync-2-da-noize
September 21st, 2011
2:13 pm
When will we stop buying plasma TVs?
BrokerPsych
September 21st, 2011
2:14 pm
Should be into the frontier. Montana, Idaho. Running free. Slowly.
JDawg1785
September 21st, 2011
2:14 pm
Terrible news, but at least we have the music. Thanks for the memories, R.E.M.!
me
September 21st, 2011
2:14 pm
I love R.E.M. thanks for great music!
Sunbrunt1988
September 21st, 2011
2:15 pm
Sipping koolade. Listening to Oh My Heart. I am sad. Lonely. Not confused.
Stinky Athens Hippy
September 21st, 2011
2:15 pm
dude…this sucks.
Let the Big Dawg Eat
September 21st, 2011
2:15 pm
13th?
Go Dawgs1
MovingVanSham
September 21st, 2011
2:16 pm
get on your slippers. leapt at the screen. Charlie Sheen?
Lenny Bruce
September 21st, 2011
2:16 pm
…………….inspired a generation of musicians
Yeah to not get a job when they finish at UGA and still be trying to make it big in their 40s & 50s while playing in dive bars around the south.
Jimmyak 92
September 21st, 2011
2:16 pm
They still are a great band. They are the best music to run to
MovingVanSham
September 21st, 2011
2:16 pm
Dawgs bad. schhol bad.
Lynn
September 21st, 2011
2:17 pm
Thanks for all the great music, R.E.M.!
Suturedog
September 21st, 2011
2:18 pm
I bought an Ipad for $500. who is the man?? I be da man!! $1.99 apps for all.
Music Man 55
September 21st, 2011
2:18 pm
This is total bull****. These guys are doing exactly what the Eagles, The Police and others have done, i.e. announce a breakup then several years down the road do a “Reunion Tour” that charges very high prices for tix, etc. This is the new marketing scheme of the Rock n’ Roll set since because of the internet, etc. they can’t sell records like they used to in the 80’s and their is definitely no radio or video play anymore. I find it repulsive, quite frankly. OK REM….promise us you won’t pull this sh** on us in about 5 to 10 years when you need the cash….huh??
Harvard
September 21st, 2011
2:19 pm
I went to Harvard. You did not. You lose.
Marshall Stacks
September 21st, 2011
2:19 pm
Noooooooooooooooooooo! Dammit. This is sad news. True, the band really ended the day Bill Berry called it quits, but the last few albums had been a great return to form. I’m going to miss them but celebrate the great music they’ve left us. They touched a lot of lives, influenced a number of bands, and stayed true to their pursuits on a social level. Okay, so “Shiny Happy People” was a turd, but go listen to their first five albums if you’re even wondering why you should care.
“A little bit of uh-huh and a whole lotta oh yeah!”
Mike S
September 21st, 2011
2:19 pm
Why are people so mean spirited? Are their lifes that bad that they want to drag everyone down with them? Or is it just because they can do it anonymously?
Harvard
September 21st, 2011
2:19 pm
My life is that bad!!
Shawny
September 21st, 2011
2:20 pm
Kenneth told them the frequency, and they dialed it in.
Pearl Jam
September 21st, 2011
2:21 pm
why not??
Turtle's in Athens
September 21st, 2011
2:21 pm
They’ll play together again some day I bet. In all likelihood no reputable label will back another album anymore. That’s okay. I’m sure they have as much money as they could have ever dreamed of and they made their mark as one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Thanks REM!
Big Boi
September 21st, 2011
2:22 pm
So sad. Me cry.
Shoot
September 21st, 2011
2:22 pm
That’s too bad. Their last two albums were great. Something I couldn’t say about a few of the ones that came out in the late 90’s early 00’s. They really got back to their rock roots with those last two.
Big Boi
September 21st, 2011
2:23 pm
Last two albums = BAD
Big Boi
September 21st, 2011
2:23 pm
Andre??
Mike S
September 21st, 2011
2:24 pm
Harvard- at least we know your story. Hope it gets better.
Harvard
September 21st, 2011
2:25 pm
It is always better for me. I went to Harvard!!!
so what, who cares
September 21st, 2011
2:26 pm
don’t go back to rockville….if they broke up in the late 80’s they’d have gone down as one of the all-time greats….
SAWB
September 21st, 2011
2:28 pm
Man at one time these guys were awesome. I know in the last few years they have been kind of lame, but at one time they changed music. There would have never been a category called Alternative Music if it weren’t for them and the early albums from Automatic for the People and back were really the soundtrack for a generation. I mean if you grew up in the mid-eighties these guys ruled the air waves. However, I must admit as far as I am concerned they might as well have broken up in 1995.
Hootinanny Yum Yum
September 21st, 2011
2:28 pm
Enjoyed their music for years. Good band. Thanks for the memories.
david c
September 21st, 2011
2:29 pm
Bono and the Edge, take note.
sad day
September 21st, 2011
2:29 pm
sad day…nothing else to say.
Kenneth's Frequency
September 21st, 2011
2:30 pm
Looks like Driver 8 is taking a permanent break….
david c
September 21st, 2011
2:30 pm
Although I have been seriously disappointed as of late, there is still nothing better than Fables of the Reconstruction, or Murmur. Still go to albums in my collection.
DunwoodyDawg
September 21st, 2011
2:30 pm
Sad to see it come to an end, but I respect the decision. I would rather see this, and old tired guys trying to rock in their 60’s like say The Stones.
dood
September 21st, 2011
2:31 pm
Great band in the 80s and early 90s…I’m glad to see them go out rather than keep on cranking out boring, irrelevant sounds like so many others.
SAWB
September 21st, 2011
2:32 pm
It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.
WhogivesA Fook
September 21st, 2011
2:32 pm
Seriously, thought they’d been broke up for years. They haven’t done shiznit in years and even then they weren’t that good. Only reason they made it so long is because they appealed to a sect within a generation of change.
Once met Stipe at a pool hall in Athens, talk about a jerk who can’t sing live. Amazing they still have followers. They should feel blessed that they will be remembered at all.
Mark
September 21st, 2011
2:32 pm
Thanks, REM!! Only good thing to come out of Athens? Stupid comment. The B52’s, WIdespread Panic, and numerous others might have issue with you.
thracer
September 21st, 2011
2:33 pm
PB Orr and SAWB are right on. The band never was the same once Bill Berry left. But their early albums were absolutely brilliant and defined the genre. THE soundtrack for the years ‘83-’93.
Lenny Bruce
September 21st, 2011
2:34 pm
If they get the stupid idea to get together in 25 years and make another album, just make them listen to the Cars new stuff. That should be enough to just let it go.
Andy Kaufman
September 21st, 2011
2:35 pm
Gotcha…it was a joke all along!!!
Ray
September 21st, 2011
2:36 pm
Thanks REM. I grew up lisiting to you and will never forget your great music.
Athens
September 21st, 2011
2:37 pm
R.I.P.R.E.M
DunwoodyDawg
September 21st, 2011
2:37 pm
Oh, one more thing. I totally disagree with them politically speaking, but they did make a difference to the city of Athens. Thanks for using some of you money to do good.
Shan
September 21st, 2011
2:39 pm
Everybody Hurts sometimes and I will get over it. It’s not the end of the World as We Know It just because the band broke up. Thanks for the music.
Forever A Fan,
-Shan
Muholio Finjugiy
September 21st, 2011
2:40 pm
About time. Spend your mega $$$$. Good bye, don’t come back now, ‘hear?
Harvard
September 21st, 2011
2:43 pm
Harvard still rules
Bulldogs Suck
September 21st, 2011
2:43 pm
I didnt even know they were still around. Sure enjoyed them back in the day though. God Speed!
pooptime
September 21st, 2011
2:44 pm
Bean burritto not good choice. sour cream expired. need solution.
pooptime
September 21st, 2011
2:44 pm
hurting. more and more.
KEO
September 21st, 2011
2:44 pm
Who are you people and why are you being so negative? An entire generation or two grew up on REM’s music and were proud to have them from Athens and I went to GA Tech! They were revolutionary when they first started out and stayed current and relevant throughout their careers. Also they totally kicked-A live in concert.
It’s the end of the world as we know it…and I feel fine!
Imgaycauseof Stipe
September 21st, 2011
2:45 pm
He was the most sexiest gay guy ever, yeah he said he ws BI, but let me tell you…boy has moves with boys. Always seemed to enjoy me more than her…..miss you in the band, but I’m sure you’ll release some stuff on your own before long. …..AX
SAWB
September 21st, 2011
2:45 pm
Anybody remember Pylon?
suwanee dawg
September 21st, 2011
2:45 pm
Awesome bank in their day. Superman, End of the world, etc. Could go on and on. Last good album was in 91 I believe. Great memories for me in Athens.
pooptime
September 21st, 2011
2:46 pm
easing up, but still cautionary. fingers crossed.
Kurt Cobain
September 21st, 2011
2:47 pm
Who broke up?
pooptime
September 21st, 2011
2:47 pm
perhaps too much cola? Big gulp = big mistake. in or out?
pooptime
September 21st, 2011
2:47 pm
I need a double-double. animal style.
Spanky
September 21st, 2011
2:48 pm
LEONARD BERNSTEIN!!….lol
Scott
September 21st, 2011
2:48 pm
They’ve got no Spine, but I’ve got my Orange Crush!
Mel Tillis
September 21st, 2011
2:49 pm
Whoooooooooo theeeeeeeee heckkkkkkkkkkk isssssssss rrrrrrr eeee mmmmmmmm.
Chronos
September 21st, 2011
2:49 pm
Their time is up.
Sam the Sham
September 21st, 2011
2:50 pm
I think 30 years IS the long haul. Thanks for the music.
Mel Tillis, Jr.
September 21st, 2011
2:51 pm
Hey Dad, its that sleep cycle thing. Please stop typing to your stutter again!!!
Rapid Eye Movement
September 21st, 2011
2:54 pm
REM were probably one of the finest, most influential alt rock bands of their time, in my opinion. I still count “Reckoning” and “Life’s Rich Pageant” as some of my favorite all-time albums. I agree, however, that their breakup was long overdue, and also hope a hokey “reunion” is not in the cards down the road.
SAWB
September 21st, 2011
2:55 pm
The call just came in from Party Central we’re all meeting at The Heron House to reminisce.
Dellmensingen
September 21st, 2011
3:00 pm
I remember being at the 40 Watt back in the early 90’s before Michael came out of the closet. He appeared to be on a date with a girl with both their heads poking out of a army blanket poncho and smelled as if they hadn’t bathed in quite some time. Shooo, it was nasty.
SpaceyG on Twitter
September 21st, 2011
3:03 pm
Thought I’d feel fine with this. I do not.
dreams so real
September 21st, 2011
3:05 pm
rough night in jericho
Superman
September 21st, 2011
3:05 pm
I know whats happening
joe
September 21st, 2011
3:06 pm
My favorite band of all time…saw them countless times, including Chastain about 12 years ago. Even though they were not very popular or releasing new recordings in their later years, everything they put out was great, xcept for Shiny Happy People (what were they thnking on that one?). I even got a chance to make a PSA with them for The Nature Conservancy when had just moved to ATL in early 90’s. Thanks for everything guys…ya’ll rocked!!!
The Reverend Baby Doctor Bedpan
September 21st, 2011
3:06 pm
Blah…..Their music was uninspiring and monotonous. All they had to do was get enough air play to trick the drones of this planet in to thinking they were good. If it is on the radio….All the time….It must be good…..Right?
Follower of the Church of Doctor Bedpan
September 21st, 2011
3:08 pm
Amen!!
Cliff
September 21st, 2011
3:08 pm
This is a very sad day for music. R.E.M. was arguably the best and most influential American rock band. Even with the perhaps less than stellar Up, Reveal, and Around the Sun, they always maintained their artistic integrity, put out good music, and finished their career with two strong albums. It could be decades before another American group has R.E.M.’s staying power.
Harleydawg
September 21st, 2011
3:09 pm
They are going out on a high note. That last album was the strongest album they had recorded since “Automatic For the People.” Its the end of an era full of great memories. No place had the musical spirit of Athens when “Out of Time” came out.
Freddie Mercury's spirit
September 21st, 2011
3:12 pm
The lads made a wonderful contribution to rock-n-roll.
Well done !
guadalcanal diary
September 21st, 2011
3:13 pm
what would jay memory and bubba dean do?
CK
September 21st, 2011
3:18 pm
C’mon a “very sad day for music?” in the words of The Miz…”Really?” “Really?”
I can think of several other days that were much more horrible for music.
Such as the day Hendrix died, the day Layne Staley died, the day Cobain died, the day John Mayer got a contract, the day Metallica released St. Anger, when Soundgarden broke up, when Elton John released Candle in the Wind,..etc…etc…blah, blah, blah
athensmatt
September 21st, 2011
3:32 pm
how about pearl jam next?
Jeff
September 21st, 2011
3:34 pm
This one goes out to the one I love! Thanks, REM, for all the great music and memories. The breakup is hard news, but nothing is forever. But umm…maybe just one more “going away” album? Please?
afan
September 21st, 2011
3:40 pm
this one goes out to the one we love…fireeeeee!!!
Ron Burgundy
September 21st, 2011
3:42 pm
I guess no more weany rock. Oh well. Shinny happy people holkding hands will always be a staple in my music catalog when I am feeling like a pu$$.
Ron Burgundy
September 21st, 2011
3:43 pm
Maybe Stipe can run for president. i hear the libtards are looking to replace the current guy.
Brian Asselstine
September 21st, 2011
3:46 pm
I stopped listening to them when they obviously were trying to look and sound like Motley Crue.
Dan
September 21st, 2011
3:46 pm
Sadly, I lost my virginity in Russell listening to “Stand”…
maribob
September 21st, 2011
3:47 pm
Stinky Pete – shame on you for starting rumors.
HoundDog
September 21st, 2011
3:49 pm
80s and 90s were good to R.E.M.Thanks for the memories!!
George Bush
September 21st, 2011
3:56 pm
It’s the end of the world as we know it !!!!!!!!!
L.A.P.
September 21st, 2011
3:57 pm
Finally started getting into their early stuff a year or so ago…another Athens Band bites the dust. It’s too bad but most ‘things’ have a finite lifetime. R.I.P., Gentlemen.
ATLNative
September 21st, 2011
4:03 pm
Jefferson, I think they’re lost.
CKM
September 21st, 2011
4:11 pm
I graduated from high school in 1986. REM’s music is very nostalgic for me. The picture of them posted is crazy. They look like babies. Makes me feel a little old. Or maybe I feel a little older, because today’s my birthday. Either way, they’ll be missed by me.
Jorge M.
September 21st, 2011
4:17 pm
They had a good run. Thanks for the music, R.E.M.
DawgFan88
September 21st, 2011
4:22 pm
God I feel old. And man, I’m going to miss them. Was there in the 80s at Georgia, have followed them ever since. Thank you REM!
OH
September 21st, 2011
4:28 pm
Now if Duran Duran would give up the ghost…
AtlantaSteve
September 21st, 2011
4:29 pm
I’ve been a fan since 1983. I have great memories of all their albums and concerts and have been reacquainting myself with their music on DVD-Audio. They were and will always be a major influence on my life. Good luck to them all.
Cudge
September 21st, 2011
4:37 pm
Loved their songs “Loveshack” and “Rock Lobster” – i will sorely miss their music!!! Good luck in the future….
crackbaby
September 21st, 2011
4:37 pm
Lot of haters and fools posting as usual with AJC.com.
R.E.M. brought new sound, rhythm and energy to music. They will always be a favorite band. Chronic Town songs were a staple of my formative years.
dre
September 21st, 2011
4:41 pm
The Reverend Baby Doctor Bedpan “Blah…..Their music was uninspiring and monotonous. All they had to do was get enough air play to trick the drones of this planet in to thinking they were good. If it is on the radio….All the time….It must be good…..Right?” I thought I was the only one that thought this. Still waiting to hear from all the UGA grads from 1975 to 1995 that said they went to school with Peter Buck…..used to hear that all the time!
SAWB
September 21st, 2011
4:46 pm
I went to school with Pearl Buck…
Billy Sherman
September 21st, 2011
4:49 pm
You can’t really break up if you’ve been irrelevant for a decade.
Carlton
September 21st, 2011
4:54 pm
@ Mark (First Page comment):
You could even consider Dave Matthews Band coming out of Athens. Even though they started in Charlottesville, VA..Athens and The Georgia Theater was a prime hotspot for them to play when they first started to get big..
pooptime
September 21st, 2011
4:55 pm
Still crawlin. Faster. Time will tell. Heal the wound. Slower, slow.
Alex Cooley
September 21st, 2011
5:13 pm
It’s the end of the world as we know it…
brock
September 21st, 2011
5:13 pm
UGA ‘81 grad here, and I went to school w/ Pete Buck, high school! I do not think he ever attended classes at UGA. Had a full scholarship to Emory, dropped out and came to Athens to start the band. I thought he was crazy, shows what I know!
They made some great music and I wish them well. The show in Jan 83 at the 688 Club w/ Jason and the Nashville Scorchers was epic!
Thanks for all you did for Athens and all the other musicians there guys.
t.waddle
September 21st, 2011
5:14 pm
I like cheese.
ozzfest
September 21st, 2011
5:18 pm
went to UGA 1986-1990…saw Stipe around town a lot…HE STUNK WORSE THAN ANYBODY I HAVE EVER MET AND WAS A COMPLETE JERK to anyone who approached him.
edward
September 21st, 2011
5:25 pm
The last really good album they put out was the one right after Berry left. New Adventures in Hifi..But seriously they went down hill when they had signed that huge recording contract and then got rattled by the numbers when it sunk in. I’ll always get pumped when I hear anything up to Losing My Religion. Instead of focusing on how they flamed out in the end, people should just remember what they brought before Stipe decided to let people know what the hell he was saying…
Doug
September 21st, 2011
5:27 pm
Too bad stipe was a flaming liberal douche
Michael Marr
September 21st, 2011
5:42 pm
They were great when I was in college. Peter Buck at the 40 Watt; Stipe at The Globe or The Grit. Athens and Ga were suffering from a recession at the time and downtown was pretty much boarded up. Now look at it!
pooptime
September 21st, 2011
5:47 pm
TP for BH
Biff Harvey
September 21st, 2011
5:48 pm
And… Love Tractor, Pylon, and let not forget Let’s Active and Mitch Easter who produced the first two REM albums. REM is the soundtrack for the alternative/college rock era, pre-grundge. But when Bill left, well actually about the time of Green, I moved on. Still a great band.
blake
September 21st, 2011
5:57 pm
Two hit wonders from the 80’s. Big Whoop. They had that Religion song and that Jellybean Boom song. Been irrelevant since that shlt wrapped up in 1989 or so.
bob
September 21st, 2011
5:58 pm
I’ve heard from a very reliable source that the reason they are breaking up is because Michael Stipe
and Morrissey are getting married and moving to Malta.
Doug
September 21st, 2011
5:59 pm
These 3 gay men (and the one straight one) have done more for queer advocacy than any other pop stars. When they started they all had to be in the closet. Now, look at what they have achieved! May they all go to New York and marry their respective partners (come on, Michael and Mike…tie the knot!) Yay!
Chuck
September 21st, 2011
6:01 pm
Athens…the eighties…Walked in on Michael getting whumped in the rumpus in the bathroom of the GA BAR.
jj
September 21st, 2011
6:03 pm
Bet that stunk!
Leo Frank Jr
September 21st, 2011
7:29 pm
REM DOESN’T CARE ABOUT BLACK PEOPLE
Of all the times to announce this non-event, they pick now, when the whole world is watching Georgia?
Goes to show you what a cocoon they live in, be it accident or ignorance.
I’m sure Troy Davis is very sad about their break-up.
eric
September 21st, 2011
8:09 pm
REM is like that mediocre running back that has 10 100 yd. games in his ‘contract” year .. only to fade on to obscurity … good for you untalented losers to scam the label for so much $$$
Mr. Blue
September 21st, 2011
8:29 pm
Loved them early on, but once they got off with that “Green” phase, I tuned out. Didn’t even know they still were a band, to be honest.
Happy Birthday – - – - – - -
Steve
September 21st, 2011
8:42 pm
Enter your comments here
Steve
September 21st, 2011
8:43 pm
I’m Brian Fellows!!!!
Richard Bagge
September 21st, 2011
8:50 pm
A quick question for the pinheads who keep asking “Who cares? They haven’t been relevant since 1980-odd and only ever had two hits blah blah?” How many top five albums did YOU release this calendar year? I think, in 2011, R.E.M. released one more than you did.
brock
September 21st, 2011
8:57 pm
Hey eric, if these rich members of the R&R Hall of Fame are losers, what does that make someone trolling a blog about a band they don’t even like?
I’m thinking ultra, mega loser.
REM fan since the mid-80s
September 21st, 2011
9:04 pm
I’d rather listen to REM than most of the garbage cluttering the airwaves these days.
Thanks for all the great music!
BillDDD
September 21st, 2011
9:19 pm
If ur not down hearing REM is quiting then u r just a pea-brained party loon. REM speaks, says it deep. If u dont know this then u aint been there where its felt.
Elvis Presley
September 21st, 2011
9:25 pm
Freebird !
Driver8
September 21st, 2011
9:31 pm
time to garden
Dirk Diggler
September 21st, 2011
9:40 pm
Why do bands breakup? So they can get back together again $.
Murmur
September 21st, 2011
10:03 pm
Wow! I don’t know why I bother reading these comments, so many ignorant and mean spirited people with absolutely no taste in music. REM is one of the greatest, most influential bands ever. Those who thought they stopped making relevant music in the 90’s should check out their last two cds, accelerate and collapse into now are outstanding! They are a band that refused to conform and never stuck with a certain sound just to be successful.
Trip
September 21st, 2011
10:12 pm
My favorite REM story is when “Don’t Go Back to Rockville” got play on several country music stations.
JKM
September 21st, 2011
10:13 pm
Don’t know which I like less… R.E.M. or all the hundreds of bands they inspired. They almost singlehandedly destroyed musicianship and entertainment as virtues in popular music.
what,what,what??
September 21st, 2011
10:24 pm
rem in the same sentence with the stones?!, the stones can play circles around them mummified,don’t belief it,catch the stones on there next tour,they ARE mummified,and legend has it they actually prefer women.those piccalo players from athens will never be considered in that class!!!!
Frank
September 21st, 2011
10:25 pm
U2? Next? We’re waiting….. (have been since Joshua Tree)
REM should have bowed out after Eponymous
FreeDunta!
September 21st, 2011
10:30 pm
Great band. Changed pop music. Have a great retirement.
buttwaduino
September 21st, 2011
10:43 pm
Saw them many times – first at the old Agora Ballroom next to the Georgian Terrace around 1982 or so – and appreciated almost all of their work. While their trendiness peaked and ebbed, REM was truly unique and a consistently worthwhile band over the entirety of their 30 years. Even post-Bill Berry their stuff was more inspiring, complex, and listenable than 98% of the drivel pumped out by other bands and “relevant” pop stars in the last ten years. If not on top, they still go out at a very highly functional level. Best of luck to them.
David
September 21st, 2011
10:46 pm
I don’t know where Rockville is or if it’s even real but I always thought they were saying “Rockdale”; and I have to say that’s been some good advice and good words to live by. I never went back to Rockdale and I feel fine.
Russ
September 21st, 2011
10:46 pm
Shocked at the stupid comments here…once you love REM, always love REM. Stumbled across Dead Letter Office a few weeks ago and it’s still in my Jeep’s stereo. Have some respect people…and Georgia pride?
Orange Brave f/k/a Billy jacks bbq and shrimp
September 21st, 2011
11:05 pm
Loved REM. Still do. Great music. But all things must move on.
There really is a Rockville. In N. Jersey. The song (as I recall) was written to keep one of the guy’s girlfriends from moving back up there to resume her small town life. I think it was Berry or Mills. Not sure, but true song. Ironically, I always think they are saying “Knoxville” as that is where I am from and despite being a Vol fan, I am not too keen on ever moving back there for the same reasons they articulate in the song.
Rock on.
bill
September 21st, 2011
11:17 pm
Good Riddance. Not even the best band out of Athens (B-52s). A little too cool for the room for me, even in the posted picture, they look like smarmy douches.
WendellGee
September 21st, 2011
11:49 pm
I’m sorry, did R.E.M. shoot your puppy or something? They rode a wave of their own creativity for 30 years, toured the world, became wealthy and successful as a result, and left lasting, beautiful works of art that will be enjoyed for generations to come. And they did it all with integrity and class. How sad is your life that you have to rouse yourself from your meaningless coma of a life to peck out a derogatory statement about a band you never cared for. I say thank you, R.E.M. Thank you for the music. Thank you for the example. Thank you for being great ambassadors for the South and Georgia in particular.
Yourgirl10
September 21st, 2011
11:50 pm
WHAT??
floydcombat
September 21st, 2011
11:53 pm
even worse news…whilst reading this a Guns and Roses ad came on for their show in Atlanta.
Orange Brave f/k/a Billy jacks bbq and shrimp
September 21st, 2011
11:53 pm
Cut and pasted from wipedia:
“(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville” was the second and final single released by R.E.M. from their second studio album Reckoning. The song failed to chart on either the Billboard Hot 100 or the UK Singles Charts.
The song was written by Mike Mills (credited to Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe) as a plea to his then girlfriend, Ingrid Schorr, not to return to Rockville, Maryland,[2] where her parents lived.[3] Schorr, who later became a journalist, has written about her amusement with the factual inaccuracies about her relationship with Mills and the background of the song that often appear in books about the band.[3] Peter Buck has stated that the song was originally performed in a punk/thrash style, and that it was recorded for this single in its now more-familiar country-inspired arrangement as a joke aimed at R.E.M. manager Bertis Downs.[4]
Over time, Mike Mills has taken lead vocals instead of Michael Stipe. On R.E.M.’s appearance on VH1 Storytellers in 1998, Mills performed the song solo on piano. A live version of the song was released as the B-side to “Leaving New York” in 2004 and on R.E.M. Live in 2007.
Still listening to the lyrics, I never want to go back to Knoxville.
SAWB
September 21st, 2011
11:53 pm
Wow so many negative things to say about a bunch of local kids who made it big. If you grew up in Atlanta in the mid-1980s you were listening to REM unless of course you were some white trash poser crankin up the Britny Fox.
Ghost of Troy Davis
September 22nd, 2011
12:02 am
REM DOESN’T CARE ABOUT BLACK PEOPLE!!!
why make this announcement (an utter non-event) ** today **?
are they– especially Bertis– that out of touch?
7Spider Rico
September 22nd, 2011
1:25 am
This, of course, can mean only one thing: The band’s original four members will gather in 2013 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga. — the band’s hometown and springboard to stardom — to kickoff an international, multi-media, super-colossal, mega-tour.
http://7spiderrico.blogspot.com/2011/09/rem-quits-super-colossal-reunion-tour.html
Still@theBAR
September 22nd, 2011
2:41 am
Ghost of Troy Davis
September 22nd, 2011
12:02 am
REM DOESN’T CARE ABOUT BLACK PEOPLE!!!
Who is Troy Davis why should we care? Was Troy one of Michael Stipes gay lovers that died of AIDS or something?
Well R.E.M has gone the way of so many Uga’s before them. Uga VIII most recently. Maybe now the DAWGS can win a Championship again.
Still@theBAR
September 22nd, 2011
2:45 am
SAWB
Maybe some people didn’t listen to bands with Gay males from Athens in the band like R.E.M. and the B-52’s. Maybe the Police, the Who, Dead Kennedy’s, PIL, Suicidal Tendencies were more our taste.
Thursday’s Radio Free Lunch, Bands That Broke Up
September 22nd, 2011
7:09 am
[...] announced yesterday that they are officially broken up. Add to our playlist by suggesting some other bands who broke up. Are you bummed about [...]
RillyKewl
September 22nd, 2011
9:44 am
Brilliant band. Thanks for all the good years. You guys rock.
I’ll be watching to see whats next.
Why did I bother
September 22nd, 2011
11:44 am
I love message boards. These places allow for the most candor. One can be as mean or vitriolic as they wish and do so without any harm to their standing in the community. If it were not for a message board, I think we’d see a lot more “going postal” than we do.
REM did great things for music and have done so with fantastic integrity. They won’t be getting back together for money because they live well beneath their means and have a ton of it anyway. REM gave life to an entire generation of music. Even if you don’t like them per se, there are bands or music you listen to that happened your way because of them. If not, why are you here on this board? Bored?
Michael Nicholson
September 23rd, 2011
3:22 pm
Loved the band! They were to Athens what Elvis is to Memphis….became hooked on them in 1989 after “Green.” Became a bigger fan when I transferred to UGA in 1990. It was great to run into them at Wuxtry, Dunkin Donuts, etc. Enjoyed Stipe singing “Rhinestone Cowboy” at the 40 Watt, and there show at the Omni during the “Monster” tour. Their music is still exciting today….Also, enjoy singing some of their songs in my band (man on the moon, one i love, rockville) and some of their best cover songs (Love is All Around & Have You Ever Seen the Rain)….come full circle…they were my BEATLES, only Americanized and Southern..When Spring rolls around and the dogwoods bloom; nothing like rolling down the windows and blaring some REM through the car speakers…bliss!
aggie1964
September 23rd, 2011
4:58 pm
wow. so now I will have to watch the paint dry on my wall to replace the entertainment value they represented
.
ExBeggar
September 23rd, 2011
5:25 pm
Oh well… Age creeps up another day! Better than the alternative though.
ACE
September 23rd, 2011
5:39 pm
The best band to come from Athens is “Neutral Milk Hotel”
bill
September 23rd, 2011
6:22 pm
Hey WendellGee, my life is good, thank you.
Got you widdle feelings hurt that there are are actually people out there that don’t think the musical world began and ended with REM and the other Complaint Rock usual suspects.
Here’s hoping your coma is forthcoming, and soon!
jcatl
September 23rd, 2011
6:50 pm
When I arrived at college in 1984 the main band I was listening to was Rush though I was a huge fan of a lot of hardcore punk bands, X, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys as well as mainstream stuff like the Clash and Elvis Costello. In the span of a week I was handed the vinyl of Reckoning, Let It Be (the Replacements, not the Beatles) and the Violent Femmes debut album. The rest is history. REM put college radio on the map and taught younger bands that you didn’t have to get played on Clear Channel’s programmed BS stations to succeed artistically, and as it turns out for REM, you can succeed commercially while still sticking to your principles.
While I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about REM these days, the finality of an official break up is a mental sea change for me because they’ve been a part of my musical world for 27 years now. Their music will always resonate for me but being in the post-REM era is a real bummer.
steve
September 24th, 2011
4:10 pm
It always annoys me when people slam “shiny happy people”. So they put out a pop song. Big deal. Its a nice little song that you always remember and a cool video to boot. I was disappointed it was not on their greatest hits album because it WAS one of their greatest hits.