102 replies to this topic

[bonnellio]

I have never been very active on these boards but I have really appreciated them and what you have done.
Thankyou Ethan

[The_Moral_Kiosk]

The Moral Kiosk thanks you, Ethan.

[Duh_Prez]

Thank you for everything Ethan

[REMCHICAGOBOY]

Thank you for this post, Ethan.

I am actually having a harder time with this than I thought I would, especially reading the words "the now defunct R.E.M." on Spin's website today. I never, ever thought I'd read "defunct" about R.E.M. Ever.

I also thought 2011 would end as a very good year for me. My boyfriend and I just moved to Chicago, and we're hitting our 20th years together on Halloween this year. Now I am going to remember 2011 as the year Buck/Mills/Stipe called it quits instead. Not good, not good.

Also, Sirius has been playing them like crazy since Wednesday, which is making it really sink in how important they are/were as a part of my life.

I listened to Green last night, and cried during "World Leader Pretend" and "The Wrong Child".

I love other bands (The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Arcade Fire, Death Cab for Cutie, The Cure, Patti Smith, Talking Heads, etc) but no band ever touched  me like R.E.M. No band has ever come close and I doubt anyone ever will at this point. They meant the world to me.

John Lennon said after the Beatles broke up, "It was only a band. The world isn't going to stop. You've got all the records there to enjoy..."  but now I know it's not really that easy. They were a massive part of my life.

I actually think Accelerate and Collapse into Now were R.E.M. in fine, fine form. Hell, Collapse into Now bypassed New Adventures in Hi-Fi as my favorite R.E.M. record. I love it. I just moved to Chicago so "Discoverer" was my soundtrack here, while "Uberlin", "Oh My Heart" and "It Happened Today" perfectly summed up my feelings about living in Chicago with my boyfriend.

I think what's really gotten to me is all the "Weren't they broken up already?"  and "They should have done it when Bill Berry left" posts on other website. The fact that the general public thinks their best is in the past really bothered me today simply because I love Accelerate and CIN so much.

I hope murmurs sticks around for awhile to simply have an outlet for the band. I know the fanclub plans to close its doors soon so I hope murmurs is around for a bit.

R.E.M. are now "defunct". It wasn't supposed to happen.

"It’s sweet and it’s sad and it’s true"

Thank you Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe for everything.

You Are the Everything.

[bflood]

REMCHICAGOBOY, on 23 September 2011 - 01:49 PM, said:

I love other bands (The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Arcade Fire, Death Cab for Cutie, The Cure, Patti Smith, Talking Heads, etc) but no band ever touched  me like R.E.M. No band has ever come close and I doubt anyone ever will at this point. They meant the world to me.

Exactly how I feel.

[Pete B]

Nice words Ethan hopefully in maybe 10 years you'll be unable to speak after seeing rem play live again !!! We can only hope !! thank you again for this site !!

[ShinyHappyFan]

Thank you for your great words! I might be a new member to this site but definitely not to the concept of REM. I am happy to see so may people that share my feelings for them...

I somehow feel bad for not having met them in person, or seeing them live on more than just one occasion; and yet deep down I feel that I know them very well through their music as their music surely seems to know who I am in a certain way.

Yarxy, on 23 September 2011 - 11:54 AM, said:

The world will be an emptier place without R.E.M.
I miss them already.
I've missed them ever since I heard the news.

I couldn't agree more. The moment I read about it on a German news-site I didn't want to believe it; but before I rushed to REMHq to check, I knew it to be true... Deep down I expected this day to come and it feels like a fitting end; yet I'm so sad that it did. No other band or artist I know captivate me the way they have and it makes me feel worse thinking that no one might ever do so again.

Also, I'll definitely stay around Murmurs for any updates. Thank you for keeping it alive!

[fanfan]

Thanks for creating this site and letting us spend time here. I suppose it has been a hard work for most of us, I know it has for me.

Today I'm starting to feel a bit better, hoping that Michael, Mike and Peter are happy with their decision.

All the best to you, Ethan.

[drew]

I think I post here once every five years whether I want to or not.  I've grown apart from the band but not from the spirit.  Nearly all the post-Up material has been a disappointment to me but I love the overall catalog as much as ever.

This place meant the world to me a hundred years ago.  I am one of those with a family as a result of this place and for that Murmurs 1.0 will always have that special place in there.  I met a lot of awesome people over the years via this place and have a raft of memories I'll never forget.  Ethan, as my daughter's Lightning McQueen talking toy says, you are da bomb!

[mrocks7]

I've thanked you before and it is certainly worth doing so again. This forum, along with a number of other links in the chain-web that R.E.M. has spun around this world, has served a critical role in my appreciation of the band and the formation of new friendships. I think that, in its simplest form, is the beauty of R.E.M.: community for those who either don't want to or don't have the ability to relate to the mainstream...a kind of people who think a little more deeply...who care a little more...about creativity...about sincerity...about living life...about others. Thank you for playing a big part in enriching and including many in the glorious, wide reach of R.E.M.

[robertandrews]

I understand. It's been a difficult week. There is a need to move on. No-one wants to curate, much less be defined by, a morgue.
But, you know what, take some time to think it over.
What happens now will help shape people's ongoing understanding of R.E.M., especially ours.
It's true - I have over 2,600 posts around here, I want that to be kept for posterity (and more on the mailing lists - I hope those archives still exist, too); I'm sometimes unsure what more there is to say.
But, though R.E.M. will make no new music or tour together, fans  may still feel the need to converse about the band's body of work. Naturally, the majority of the band's work has existed in the past tense for a long time now; perhaps it remains interesting. Also, the fact that the band is now in the past tense may put an entirely new spin on anything we may have to say - which is to say, remembrance and celebration.

Without being morbid, many may wish still to partake in the band's work. To close it off seems awfully final. And many people here may have built connections through the band that persist despite the band. Consider the new context.

Rather than shut things down, think about an entirely new structure for community interaction. Maybe part of that ontology is albums, tour dates etc. Maybe another significant component of what this has all been is actually the people on here; who are they? You had already considered reengineering in light of smaller member base and new technology; go ahead and make this a final iteration.

I remain interested in the individual band members and hope to be kept abreast of their own endeavours, whether that's Peter playing in a band locally or on a record, or Michael's artwork and appearances, for example. I'll bet many others feel the same way. Sounds like this may be what the front layer could be used for.

What R.E.M. gave made for an energy that now transcends them. That is to say, the relationship between the fans and the band and its music. Now and the coming years are the times for listeners to celebrate, laud and fund unending interest in R.E.M., not to forget it and what is has created.

By all means, distance yourself and move on - but lay the right foundation on which to step away.

[petruchio]

Ethan, thanks a lot. I posted inconsistently here but checked in almost daily for 10 years. I really grew to appreciate you and your efforts more and more over time. I was a fan long before you (as I'm nearly 41 and you are younger) and I was always amazed that R.E.M. had younger fans. Nonetheless, I knew that we share the same love of the same thing. I love a lot of bands but none meant to me what R.E.M. does, and none can. Thanks for giving us a place to talk, bitch, celebrate etc. Thanks also for providing the place where our common love of R.E.M. was so deeply felt that we ranged in emotion from love to deep anger (hate is too strong). Also, thanks for being a defender of the R.E.M. that continued after Berry. I was never sorry they kept going and you were one to defend them in that respect too (do I love everything post Berry?... no... am I glad they made it? .... yes).
If one big R.E.M. fan had to have the experience you did, I wish it was me .... but I am almost equally as happy it was you. Thanks, I really mean it.
Scott

[stipeeyes]

The world still has R.E.M.  I'm not giving this band up at all.  I sill have my memories and I can listen to their music anytime I want to.  I'm being hopeful and thinking about  what Eddie Vedder said, " They are hanging it up for awhile". He is someone who has known the band for nearly 20 years.  Maybe they will start to miss it.  One never knows.

[Driver Eight]

Ethan, thank you for 15 years as host of this, one of the finest band fan sites in the world, the favorite by far among REM fans. Thank you, too, for sharing your memories - yours is one of the most moving of the 100s I've read here in the past two days. I hope it encourages many more similar reflections - so many of us have had so many happy and moving memories courtesy of REM and of this site and its people.

I support you in your desire to shut down the forums at the end of the year - ironically, a dozen years to the day after when Peter once predicted would be the band's final blow-out performance. I know there will be a desire among members of this community to carry on in some form - as I've suggested to you, a "Murmursians" community page on Facebook might be the easiest way to do it with the most functionality and reach for no money and with minimal effort at upkeep. If others want to take that ball and run with it, they have my blessing. If I can be helpful with carrying forward, I'd be happy to.

In the meantime, this is a nice place to sit by the campfire, roast some marshmallows, enjoy a favorite drink - alcoholic, caffeinated or otherwise - and reflect on some good times, good people, and awfully good music.

[REMCHICAGOBOY]

stipeeyes, on 23 September 2011 - 04:40 PM, said:

The world still has R.E.M.  I'm not giving this band up at all.  I sill have my memories and I can listen to their music anytime I want to.  I'm being hopeful and thinking about  what Eddie Vedder said, " They are hanging it up for awhile". He is someone who has known the band for nearly 20 years.  Maybe they will start to miss it.  One never knows.

Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe are still best friends. While they may not be as active moving forward, I am sure they will appear at one-off shows and benefits.

My boyfriend expects them to get back together within about two years, once they realize they miss it like crazy. *crossing my fingers*

[RamblingRob]

Very poignant (sp?).. nicely done.  Good luck in your future projects.

[lightaugust74]

Ethan... I have been a VERY infrequent commenter.   But I read daily.  Mainly because I was too lazy to go through the 'forgot my password' steps.  But thanks, I really think that you and Matt Perpetua have done an immense amount for the band in helping their legacy take shape in the digital age, during a time when critics and the music world weren't being too kind to our boys over the last decade.  I hope in a few weeks you get to step back when you're done dealing with the winding down of the band and get to appreciate that.  We do.

Thanks for your work here.

[Frances]

Very well said Ethan.
This site was like a comfy old pair of slippers to many of us. I sincerely thank you for sticking by the site when you had the "haters" badger you.

You have became a stronger person for getting involved with R.E.M. and this site. Look at the beautiful ride you had!

I made lots of online friends here, some of whom I've met, and continue to be in touch with.
Hands down, this was the place for all things R.E.M.

I'd ((HUG)) you too if I could and tell you thanks,for everything.

[haggis]

You've done a fantastic job, Ethan.  Thanks a million.

[craigp]

its a little like not mentioning the dead after they are gone.  im not sure thats healthy.

REM will always make new fans.  what of them?