R.E.M. have broken up

[canedge]

I haven't listened to anything by them in a real long time. The time has certainly come for them to move on. The last couple records just don't have the bite required. The last song I enjoyed was:

R.E.M. Daysleeper - YouTube

 

[canedge]

They should just go away for three or four years and see what happens.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

The time has certainly come for them to move on. The last couple records just don't have the bite required.

But the last couple records did have bite compared to Around The Sun and Reveal.

 

[LemonMelon]

Am I the only one in this thread who's never seen them live? Because this, to me, news really blows hardest for that reason. Wish they would have given me one more opportunity with a Collapse Into Now tour, but like Joyful said, a reunion tour is inevitable for these guys.

 

[Catman]

Fuck.

 

[lazarus]

If Shuttlecock can make it to 15 albums I'll be surprised (and impressed).

So yeah, not too bummed because they did release a lot of music; more than pantheon acts like The Beatles, Zeppelin, The Who, The Clash, not to mention contemporaries like The Pixies, The Replacements, Nirvana, etc.

 

[Danny Boy]

If Shuttlecock can make it to 15 albums I'll be surprised (and impressed).

At the rate they're going, we may all be dead before then.

Spoiler

Even if you count Passengers.

 

[U2inUtah]

Who gives a fuck about yet another greatest hits collection? Why would any big fan look forward to it?

Yeah, maybe not a lot of fans. Probably they same types that would buy the Uber Deluxe Achtung Baby shit. I personally would like one official Greatest Hits spanning R.E.M.'s whole career, but I'm somewhat of a completest that way.

We would maybe get a few new songs out of it from the studio sessions they had in Athens this summer, or some unreleased live songs. I'm at least looking forward to see what's on it.

 

[lazarus]

The Achtung Birdie set has unreleased material, demos, a documentary, and may be remastered. That's a little different than a record company trying to milk the last remaining milk from a dead cow, even if the cow helped attach its udders to the machine before calling it a day.

 

[zooropop40]

Im sure they will do a reunion tour. This is sad news though.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

But the last couple records did have bite compared to Around The Sun and Reveal.

Well, anything has bite compared to those two albums.

I guess what I meant to say is that I really enjoyed both Accelerate and Collapse, and so they seemed to be at a good place musically, and on a bit of a upward swing, with music left in them as a band. Oh, well.

I'm just not too happy about the last song on their last album being "Blue," that weak and uninspiring retread of "E-Bow" and "Country Feedback".

 

[bono_212]

Am I the only one in this thread who's never seen them live? Because this, to me, news really blows hardest for that reason. Wish they would have given me one more opportunity with a Collapse Into Now tour, but like Joyful said, a reunion tour is inevitable for these guys.

Clearly you didn't read the thread when U2PopMofo and I already mentioned this

 

[The Panther]

I read an interview with them about ten years ago (when Reveal came out) and they were asked about having a box-set out some day. One of them said that they often record something in the studio -- thinking of a B-side, maybe -- and then decide that it's not right to be officially released. At that point, they said they look at each other and say "Box set!", and the track goes into the vault.

So, perhaps a box-set will come out fairly soon.

 

[intedomine]

Sad news, that is made all the more frustrating personally as I'll never see them live. I had my opportunity, but was too pressed financially to fork out that $91 bucks. That's a big regret there.

With the contract ending, it's not overly surprising. Just a little weird to think of REM as something that was, as opposed to still is.

While they have dropped out of my top ten fav artists in recent years and I listened to them less regularly, there's an impressive and diverse catalogue of songs to reflect upon.

Murmur remains probably my favourite album though, followed by Outta Time and Lifes Rich Pageant.

Thank you, REM.

 

[lazarus]

I'm just not too happy about the last song on their last album being "Blue," that weak and uninspiring retread of "E-Bow" and "Country Feedback".

Yeah. That was weak. But the end of the album turning into the beginning is somewhat fitting. #circleoflife

 

[cobl04]

The unseen power of the picket fence...

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Quick, everyone name your favorite R.E.M. album!

DOCUMENT, bitches.

 

[Catman]

Gotta go with Automatic...

 

[lazarus]

Lifes Rich Pageant (sic)

 

[Popmartijn]

I go for the left-field choice and say Automatic For The People.



And I'm glad I did see them live. Once. But it was a special show, their first show in the Netherlands in 14 years. They started their 2003 tour in support of their In Time greatest hits compilation in this small club here in Utrecht. Less than 1,000 people and I was there. It was quite magical to see them in such a small place. There was this feeling of not quite believing that we were seeing R.E.M. (!) live (!!) for the first time in 14 years (!!!) in a small club!!!!

In the end I do think that they maybe continued for a bit too long. Their legacy fizzled a bit, instead of going out with a bang. But they deserve a lot of praise and thanks for the amazing music they made in those 30 years.

 

[Danny Boy]

Document.

Life's Rich Pageant a close second.

 

[LemonMelon]

1. Automatic
2. Murmur
3. Reckoning
4. Document
5. Lifes Rich Pageant

 

[djerdap]

Lifes Rich Pageant is my favourite by a wide margin. Rarely did an album have 4 opening songs that were so powerful.
Murmur, New Adventures in Hi-Fi, Reckoning and Fables follow.

 

[toscano]

1. Pageant
2. Murmur
3. Reckoning

 

[arw]

Awful news. I never saw them live.

same here....that was my exact thought when I heard about this earlier today.

 

[mama cass]

omg! i just read about this!

i did see them live once, they were pretty good! not my most memorable gig ever, but very tight nonetheless...

 

[blueeyedgirl]

Noooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

What a news to wake up to!

Saw them live twice, thank non-specific God!

Murmur
Document
Reckoning
Green

 

[blueeyedgirl]

I was wrong, saw them 3 times.

With any luck, this means the Buckstar will be playing more gigs with his heroes, like Robyn Hitchcock, and playing small clubs, so I can see him up close and personal again...

 

[indra]

First band I ever road tripped to multiple cities to see.

 

[The_acrobat]

This really makes me sad. I so badly wanted to see them live one more time. Back in 2003 my ex girlfriend "drug" me to an REM concert. I only knew the hits, so I wanted to better familiarize myself before the show. This resulted in one of the greatest musical experiences of my life. The deeper I dug, the deeper I wanted to keep digging. This amazing back catalog opened up before me, and in that month leading up to the concert I became a hardcore fan. I had no idea they'd be such a great live band either, but they truly were. I saw REM once more after that, 2004 Cincinnati.

I feel that the post Bill Berry stuff gets a bad rap. Granted, REM lost that "BAND" quality after that, but they still made some amazing music. I actually really like Around the Sun and find Out of Time to be their worst album... call me crazy. The best, for me anyway, is 82-87 the IRS years. Will be listening to a lot of REM in the coming weeks now, which I'm really looking forward to. Thanks to them for 30 years of great music!