We were slightly surprised here at Bobbysix.com to learn that REM have today announced their split. We thought they'd packed it in about 10 years ago. Ooh, snap.
Still, although they haven't really done much to make us stand up and take notice in the last few years, it doesn't alter the fact that they are responsible for some truly fine records. Everybody Hurts (below) is obviously the big one - which doesn't make it any less amazing, inverted snobs - and its subject matter (a plea for the suicidal to think again) proves - if proof were needed - that there was intelligence and weight to REM's work.
The band started life in 1980. The line-up was singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry (who would quit in 1997 a couple of years after suffering a brain aneurysm). If you don't have a grounding in their work, and would like to give them a listen, may we recommend the albums Out Of Time, Automatic For The People and Monster. They're a good place to begin.
For REM today though, it's all about endings. In a typically non-fussy statement, the band announced that it was all over. "To our fans and friends: As REM, 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."
