Letters to the Earth

I will miss R.E.M.  I've been listening to them as a group since early high school.  They only ever made one or two bad albums, in my opinion.  "Reveal," I'm looking at you.  I also didn't like their newest release all that much; it felt unfinished, not the stopping point I'd have preferred.  But as my friend Jennifer said, "They've been together 30 years.  That's longer than than most marriages."  I got to see them live in concert once, on the "Monster" tour, in California, where I saw Michael Stipe play his eulogy for Kurt Cobain, "Let Me In," on Kurt's baby blue guitar.  It was awesome and moving.

I've owned all their offical records (except for a few singles).   I'll miss the thrill of listening to a new record, but when an artist is done, they're done.  I hope they continue to have individual projects of whatever shape and sound, though, like Peter Buck playing on the new Decemberists CD.

I can't pick a single favorite album, but I've probably listened to "Automatic for the People" more than anything else than perhaps "Green."  But then there's "Life's Rich Pageant" and "Monster"... So many good memories and lyrics to choose from.  Is "You are the Everything" better than "Find the River" or "These Days"?  Who can say -- it's all great stuff.  Thanks for the music, guys.  You were one of my all-time favorites.