In the year 1980, Michael Stipe formed the band, R.E.M. himself. The band released 15 albums in their career and they had a slew of mainstream radio hits. R.E.M. had hit songs such as: “It’s the End of the World As We Know It”, “Stand”, “Losing My Religion”, “Shiny Happy People”, “Everybody Hurts”, “Bang and Blame”, “What’s the Frequency Kenneth”, etc. You can still hear all of those songs on your FM radio stations to this day.

Their latest album, “Collapse Into Now”, which they just released earlier this year, peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200. I’ve been a fan of R.E.M. for years. While this is pretty shocking and unexpected, I understand them of why they want to hang it up. Bands don’t stay together forever, that’s just the way it goes.

Read what the three guys have to say about their, break up, here.

Even though they’re calling it quits, I’m sure they’re still going to be releasing material. Not new studio albums, but I’m sure they’ll release some live albums and maybe unreleased stuff. They might even make a DVD about their long career.

No matter what you think of R.E.M., they are legends and they were very successful. Michael Stipe is a talented singer, and I’ve always admired Peter Buck as a guitarist. I’m pretty sure the three guys will move on to other musical projects. Maybe that’s why they want to end it, to explore other musical opportunities.

Kev