R.I.P. R.E.M.

I didn't decide to post about R.E.M.'s break-up simply because R.I.P. R.E.M. is fun to say, but it helped. Still, R.E.M. is one of those legendary bands that deserves some respect, or at least an acknowledgement of their influence. And, for a change, this is a band that started, had their glory days, fell off, made a comeback and broke up all in our lifetime. And without losing anyone to death or addiction. For that alone they should be recognized, but the fact remains they also made some great music. One of the original "college radio" bands, R.E.M. made somewhat wordy, sometimes overly melodramatic albums that appealed to a wide audience but still kept a kind of cool aura about them (not too many bands can be featured in blockbuster movies, The Simpsons and still attract attention from hipster sites like Pitchfork and whatnot). And they've influenced tons of bands from the emo to indie to whatever else scene. They might not have been too relevant for the past 10 years or so, but they did release a decent album not too long ago and that's more than you can say about most bands who came of age during the Reagan era.

PTU salutes R.E.M.