Goodbye to R.E.M.

R.E.M. announced today that they "have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished."

I have probably spent more of my life listening to R.E.M. than any other band. To anyone who went to Vanderbilt in the mid-1980's, R.E.M. was pretty much your house band -- the folks who provided the soundtrack for your life. They were like this really cool older brother who was always coming up with new ways to help you see the world. Between 1985 and 1995, I probably listened to at least an hour or two of R.E.M. almost every week.

As I focused more on being a dad, pop music spoke to me less and less, and so I drifted away from R.E.M. But I still listen to them more than anyone else, because their music just makes me so, so happy and because it contains so many wonderful memories.

I'm not surprised that they are retiring, at least for now. They always thought like the rest of us back in the 1980s, and they probably hate seeing people hang on past their prime just as much as I do.

I don't know what rock 'n' roll bands are supposed to accomplish -- rock is ultimately, in my opinion, a somewhat limited form of art that can only speak to certain emotions. And I question rock's ability to reach people beyond a certain age. But to me, R.E.M. represented everything that a rock 'n' roll band is supposed to be: they worked hard, they cared about their music, they were technically excellent, they constantly tried to get better, and they seemed to put on a good show every time they appeared. I don't think we can ask anything more. I'm glad they were so successful. I'm glad they're really rich. And I hope they enjoy the rest of their lives.