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R.E.M split up

I didn't know they were still together, still is sad to learn that they split up I guess.

I love the song It's the End of the World as We Know It, one of my all time favorites.
 
Hands down my favorite band. One of the most unique American bands ever.

I especially respected their approach and how they kept their integrity and never sold out.

Microsoft wanted "It's the end of the world..." for Windows 95 launch song and R.E.M. refused. They've never sold a song for an ad. Hell, Led Zepellin is used to sell Cadalliacs now...

Mike Mills once said that they were told, "you have to wear fancy clothes, you have to have fancy hair, you have to go open for well know acts in large arenas." His answer was, "none of that has to be done. We did it our way."

They played small clubs as long as they could. Finally played arenas in support of Green in '89, then didn't even tour after biggest records, Out of Time and Automatic for the People because they didn't want to just go out there and go through the motions.

Drummer Bill Berry left in 1997 after suffering a brain aneursym in 1995 while playing live. Bill was one of the song writers in the band, he wrote music to "Everybody Hurts". They've had ups and downs since then, I think a lot of it was figuring out how to make records without Bill.

The last two records really redeemed the band. Both are rocking with great lyrics and harmonies that bring back memories of Reckoning.

I seriously hope, and believe, they will not play together again. There really is no reason for it. I'm glad they ended the band in this way. It is a very R.E.M.-like way to do it. Together, still as friends, and quietly.

I've often laughed at The Stones, The Who, all these bands that go out and jump around when they are 60+ years old. Rock & roll is not meant for senior citizens. As Stipe quoted, "know when it is time to leave the party".

ps--If anyone wants and intro to early R.E.M. listen to "Gardening at Night". Have the lyrics sheet open and enjoy...
 
Birthday party, cheesecake, jelly beans boom!
Sorry, I couldn't resist, especially after someone shouted Leonard Bernstein. ;)
While the microsoft story is the most famous, they have a lot of other great ones. For example, the producers of Independence Day were using the song in commercials promoting the movie. R.E.M. sent a cease and desist. Another time was when IBM used Superman in their commercials for Lotus notes. Because many didn't know it wasn't R.E.M.'s song, people were writing infuriated letters to the band. However, my favorite moment was at a concert at the (then Nokia) Verizon Theater. The sign that advertised the theater was covered up in black draping when the band got onto stage.
Although I would've loved an R.E.M. themed ipod, I respected that they weren't going to sell their name to help sell mp3 players.

It's ironic that no one really knew how important Bill was when he first left. I think that he left because of the mortality rates of aneurysm patients. Also, I think he had also gotten divorced fairly recently, so that probably also had something to do with it.

Between this and Steve Jobs, this is turning out to be a crappy year. :(
sigamy said:
I especially respected their approach and how they kept their integrity and never sold out.

They've had ups and downs since then, I think a lot of it was figuring out how to make records without Bill.

The last two records really redeemed the band. Both are rocking with great lyrics and harmonies that bring back memories of Reckoning.

I seriously hope, and believe, they will not play together again. There really is no reason for it. I'm glad they ended the band in this way. It is a very R.E.M.-like way to do it. Together, still as friends, and quietly.
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I didn't know R.E.M. broke up. They have some massive songs.

As much as how haunting 'Everbody Hurts' is, I have a soft spot for 'Shiny Happy People'. Especially coupled with the video of happy people acting out on the stage while behind the curtain, an old man on a bicycle that generates the electricity or something.
 
IMHO they haven't done anything worth listening to since Monster (and only a few songs on that), so they could have split up 17 years ago, to all intents and purposes...
 
R.E.M. split up in 1997

R.E.M. split up in 1997. Bill Berry left R.E.M. in October 1997 (which, by the way, was less than a year after Steve Jobs returned to Apple), and that marked the end of R.E.M. as we know it.

I'm barely a casual fan of R.E.M., but after 1997, something was audibly lacking due to the lack of Berry. He may have been the least important component of their sound, but he was unique thus irreplaceable. After Berry's departure, the so-called "R.E.M." that continued without him was basically an R.E.M. cover band.
 
ThomasJL said:
R.E.M. split up in 1997. Bill Berry left R.E.M. in October 1997 (which, by the way, was less than a year after Steve Jobs returned to Apple), and that marked the end of R.E.M. as we know it.

I'm barely a casual fan of R.E.M., but after 1997, something was audibly lacking due to the lack of Berry. He may have been the least important component of their sound, but he was unique thus irreplaceable. After Berry's departure, the so-called "R.E.M." that continued without him was basically an R.E.M. cover band.
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People quit. Things change. Get over it. The band was still R.E.M., and they still made great music. As a long time fan, I think Reveal was in their top 5, and Daysleeper [Up] and Leaving New York [Around the Sun] were IMO amongst the best songs they ever wrote. The change in sound from Monster to Up wasn't any greater than the change from AFTP to Monster or from Green to OOT. You may have thought something was lacking, but like you said yourself you were barely a casual fan. Did their fan base drop off in later years. Yeah. But that happens to all bands. The fact that it happened to R.E.M. 16 years into their career is a testament to how good they were.

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dXTC said:
Quote:
Originally Posted by anotonin
... I have a soft spot for 'Shiny Happy People'.

So do I. Kate Pierson's voice fits in nicely. I hope this "amicable band breakup" pattern doesn't extend to The B-52's anytime soon.
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I remember once hearing a story about someone in a metal band who threw his TV out the hotel window when the music video came on :D I can't remember who it was though.
 
Alaerian said:
Forget Coldplay. This needs to happen to Nickelback.
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It's never going to happen, because they're "Feelin' Way Too Damn Good". Although, if they did break up, they might finally tell us what's on Joey's head! :D Seriously, I don't own any Nickelback, I just know those references.:p
 
Yeah a Great Band, but people c'mon think out of the box or you'll live pretty pre-conditioned "almost" lives, apply the following to everything THINK DIFFERENT - it's all PR, they pay a PR company for this announcement, damage control in response to abysmal sales of their last album (a great album) so they'll disappear for 3 years then reform and in 2013/14 there will be renewed interest that wasn't there 3 years earlier. Of course they're not really disbanding, how together are these bands in the first place?, I mean they don't live in the same house, they see each other maybe 6 weeks per year in a studio, does anyone enjoy hanging out with there work mates? So split or no split it doesn't affect us in the slightest but puts an almost forgotten band people haven't thought about for years back in our thoughts, I'm a fan.
anyway the albums are still solid and it doesn't matter that they're no longer commercially successful and shouldn't to REM either, they've made the money, time to make art because you love it.
 
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