R.E.M. OFFICIALLY BREAKS UP!

It's the end of the world as R.E.M. fans know it.
The long running, once hugely popular alterna-rock band finally called it quits today, after years of iffy albums, tepid reviews and diminishing sales.

The news came on the band's official web site with the following group statement: "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."

The group's remaining three member each added their own statements.

Mike Mills: "During our last tour, and while making 'Collapse Into Now' and putting together this greatest hits retrospective, we started asking ourselves 'what next?' Working through our music and memories from over three decades was a hell of a journey. We realized that these songs seemed to draw a natural line under the last 31 years of working together. We have always been a band in the truest sense of the word - brothers who truly love, and respect each other. We feel kind of like pioneers in this - there's no disharmony here, no fall outs, no lawyers squaring off. We've made this decision together, amicably, and with each other's best interest at heart. The time just feels right.

Peter Buck: "One of the things that has always been so great about being in R.E.M. was the fact that the records and the songs we wrote meant as much to the fans as they do to us. It was, and is, still important to us to do right by you. Being part of your lives was an unbelievable gift. Thank you. Mike, Michael Bill, and Bertis and I walk away as friends. I know I will be seeing them in the future, just as I know I will be seeing everyone who has followed us and supported us through the years. Even if it's only the vinyl aisle of your local record store, or standing at the back of a club; watching a group of 19 year olds trying to change the world."

Michael Stipe: "A wise man once said - the skill in attending a party is knowing when it's time to leave. We built something extraordinary together. We did this thing. And now we're going to walk away from it. I hope our fans know this wasn't an easy decision; but all things must end, and we wanted to do it right, to do it our way."

R.E.M. first burst onto the scene from Athens, Georgia 30 years ago with the neo-jangle pop single "Radio Free Europe." The group's early efforts made them a critical favorite and defined successful college rock at the time. In the early '90s, R.E.M. became one of the leading lights of the alterna-rock breakthrough, scoring albums that sold over 4 million copies at their peak on discs like "Out of Time" and "Automatic For the People."

Yet, by the late '90s, their music began to slow and their sales suffered for it. 2008's "Accelerate" tried to regain the old flair, but it didn't return the band to chart glory. By the time their last CD arrived this year, "Collapse Into Now," the crowd had moved on, making their breakup, essentially, a redundancy.


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