Goodbye R.E.M.

So R.E.M. broke up today, a decade+ after they said they would.  They were my first favorite band.  They sound tracked my high school years, my family’s move to Columbus and college.  Automatic for the People is the first album I bought at midnight.  (Remember when they used to do that?)  My wife and I were introduced by “It’s the End of the World…” at our wedding reception.  R.E.M.’s IRS back catalog is peerless.  Their initial work with Warners isn’t to shabby either.  But things change.  I remember when Bos tossed Reveal out of his car window because of how much he disliked it.  Its always the ones you love that hurt you most.  People say it was Bill Berry leaving.  I don’t think it made a difference.  They had released over a decades worth of outstanding music.  How could anyone keep up the pace?  Most bands are lucky to have one good song.  They had 10 albums of great songs. They haven’t released music that mattered to me since 1996, so R.E.M. breaking up today shouldn’t really matter.  But it does.