End of a Band, End of an Era

After 30-plus years of writing and performing, R.E.M. (or its remaining members) posted yesterday that they were calling it a day.  Most people probably feel they should have called it years ago when Bill Berry, their original drummer and a strong contributor to the songwriting, retired to his farm in Georgia after having just had an aneurysm a couple of years before.  The band never really seemed to be the same after he left.  Sure, they had flashes of their rich history with songs like “The Great Beyond” and “Imitation of Life”, but I have to believe that at that point the remaining members—Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, and Mike Mills—were so busy with other projects and the loss of Berry as a regular member that maybe they knew like the rest of us that the fire was dwindling.  Even if Accelerate and Collapse into Now seemed to hint at a rebirth, the original four were still the best band.

I more or less have always liked R.E.M., so instead of mourning them, I’m going to praise them and thank them for writing music that has had a long-lasting effect on me.  Since hearing “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” on pop rock radio when I was eight or nine, I have at the least followed their material if not made an effort to buy their records.  I am glad I got to see them on the Monster Tour back in 1995, their first since they toured on Green in 1989.  Their music is as much a part of how I play guitar as that of the Beatles or the Stones.  Peter Buck’s chiming guitar is a part of my musical fabric.

Speaking of Monster, that album just might be my favorite of theirs.  Insane thought, perhaps, but when I think about the adolescent energy that went into that record, moving away from the thoughtful and mature Out of Time and Automatic for the People, I just get excited about the music.  “Crush with Eyeliner”, “I Don’t Sleep, I Dream”, “Strange Currencies”…these, along with many of the others on that album, were songs that I could crank up with them and just enjoy.  Not that I didn’t enjoy other songs the same way—“The One I Love” and “Driver 8” were similar—but Monster was that reintroduction that became an event.

R.E.M. released 15 studio albums, 10 compilations, and 3 EPs.  They also released 56 videos, most of which appeared on MTV when MTV used to be about music and used to show videos.  Their videos were events…the “Losing My Religion” video and song were played so frequently back then that I had to take a break from listening to them for fear of burnout.  They released some great material that affected a lot of people.  We should be praising them.  They had a great career as a band.