I think it was around 2000 or so when I became familiar with R.E.M. I had watched Man on the Moon (1999) with my mom and heard the title track during the end credits and I immediately fell in love with it. A loving tribute to the late Andy Kaufman, the lush and soft melody of the tune moved me. Whether it be Michael Stipe's crooning vocals, Peter Buck's slick and stark guitar lines, Mike Mill's elegant and soft bass or Bill Berry's swift and steady drumming, this is a band that has been an important one for the last three decades and one I have grown to love over the last few years.
Back in 1980, R.E.M. formed in Athens, Georgia and eventually released their first album in 1983 called Murmur. It was an interesting record that sounded like nothing of its time. You couldn't decipher what the hell Michael Stipe was saying and that only made you want to listen to it again and again. His stream of consciousness vocal and lyrical stylings really struck a chord with me and even though it's said about many songwriters, the man is quite the wordsmitb; he's a poet in many ways. Bands like Nirvana, Pavement and Radiohead, among many others have cited this band as a major influence and indeed their influence is omniprescent in each of these band's sound. R.E.M. were pioneers of what has become known as alternative rock and they opened up the doors for many bands that would follow during the 80s and onward.
When I heard R.E.M. had broken up during the mid-afternoon of September 21st, I was not quite sure of how to react and it was interesting to see people's reactions on the web. Some were shocked and others were not the least bit surprised. You could argue R.E.M. lost their way when Bill Berry left in 1997, but to say they did not make a single track worthy of any attention would be a bold faced lie. Sure the post-Bill Berry albums lacked a certain punch, but they were by no means awful and certainly a lot better than most of the music dominating the airwaves during this past decade. If I were to choose a favorite R.E.M. album, well that's like choosing a favorite child, they really are all wonderful in their own, individual way. But, Automatic for the People always resonates me, I actually own the album (a rarity these days) and I appreciate it more and more with each listen. Whether it be on a drive home from work or a run around the neighborhood, it's always a delight to hear. R.E.M. may have broken up after an impressive 31 years, but their music is still apart of many people's lives and they couldn't have done it with more class. While U2 are losing their way (especially lately), atleast R.E.M. has ended on a respectable note. Cheers to that.
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