R.E.M. Break Up

Updated:

September 23, 2011 1:29 pm

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R.E.M. have announced that they are breaking up, following a storied 31-year career. On their official website, the band posted the following message:

“To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we 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. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening.”

“A wise man once said–‘the skill in attending a party is knowing when it’s time to leave,’” adds singer Michael Stipe. “We built something extraordinary together. We did this thing. And now we’re going to walk away from it.”

R.E.M.’s last album was 2011’s well-received Collapse Into Now, which they declined to tour behind. Original drummer Bill Berry left the band in 1997.

Are you bothered by the news, or do you think it was time they quit? Let us know in the comments.