Living Well is the Best Revenge

After 31 years and 15 albums, R.E.M. called it quits today.

To put it mildly, I was shocked. And, possibly, a touch sad. R.E.M. has been a perennial presence throughout my life. From the WTFness of their "PopSong '89" video to their emergence as alt rock royalty amongst the flannel and converse crew, they informed my adolescence in innumerable ways. Their second life, without drummer and songwriter Bill Berry, has not been without its touching moments either. I'm very fond of the last two records and Up, their first without Berry, still jumps out at me as a hauntingly pretty piece of work.

But really, this news makes me happy in a lot of ways.

In April, I wrote an afterward on this year's Collapse Into Now . In it, I mentioned the album's resemblence to Document and the coincidence that they both fulfilled their respective record contracts. At the time, I wondered "What's next?" It seems I was not the only one.

Granted, as thrilling as it would have been to see them take control of their career in the same manner that their progeny have (see Pearl Jam, Radiohead), the challenge that presented had to have been daunting. But not nearly as daunting as the possibility of them losing the plot again. This year's Collapse Into Now and it's predecessor, Accelerate, have been thrilling albums to be sure. But both of the albums they followed, Reveal and Around the Sun, yielded lots of shaky ground. Going out now allows them to go out with an incredibly tuneful and fun disc. They get to go out with a win, which is nice and probably a lot better than waiting for death (U2, we're looking at you).

Also, 31 years and 15 albums. Do the math.

As much as we take for granted and treat our favorite artists like natural resources, they don't owe me or anyone a damned thing. They've made more than a handful of my favorite records (which I'm sure I will extol the virtues of later). The only thing I'll truly be missing is the anticipation of what a new record holds.

So kudos to you, R.E.M., I tip my whiskey back in your honor. You've managed to make a catalog of good to truly brilliant records and ended it on a positive note. Thanks for that.

And it's not like, y'know, you can never change your mind.