52 replies to this topic

[MAK]

at the end of the interview by David Fricke it says this:

This story is from the October 13, 2011 issue of Rolling Stone. (in the morning it said September 29, 2011)


Do you think this is a possiblity that R.E.M. wil get it last RS cover in October 2011?

[Driver Nate]

cjr67, on 26 September 2011 - 12:19 PM, said:

Not really, but sometimes people feel the need to do it anyway.

Actually, it does. You don't have the choice of a "Like" button here (thankfully) so if someone wants to express how they feel about a post, commenting is the only option.

MAK, on 26 September 2011 - 01:43 PM, said:

Do you think this is a possiblity that R.E.M. wil get it last RS cover in October 2011?

I very seriously doubt it. Clarence Clemons died and they didn't even give him the cover.

[MAK]

Driver Nate, on 26 September 2011 - 02:26 PM, said:

I very seriously doubt it. Clarence Clemons died and they didn't even give him the cover.

With all due respects how many Previous covers did Clarence Clemons had by himself or with any of his acts (including Bruce Springsteen) ??

because R.E.M. had 6 issues # (514, 550, 607, 625, 693, 745)


I believe the dead of R.E.M. is much more transcendental than the death of Clemons.

[Queen of Comedy]

stipeeyes, on 26 September 2011 - 07:27 AM, said:

I personally think they are throwing something tremendous away. They could of been more honest with us fans and came right out and told us that 08 would be the last tour and that they would do one more album. I don't know why R.E.M. was such a hardship for them. They should be more proud and thankful that they were in a band that was so successful. Some good bands never make it out of the clubs. Why should we have to take signs from Michael's lyrics that the band are breaking up? This would have been easier for the fans if they would of had the balls to simply tell us straight up. Not announce it online. They didn't want to do tell us that 2008 was the last tour because they didn't want to have to face us and look at some of the people with tears in their eyes.

I think that in 2008 they were starting to take that (not already definitive) decision, so it's normal they didn't talk about that. Anyway that tour had to be a FEAST for fans and that announcement would have ruined it. Poor Italian Oasis' fans saw the Gallaghers disband just few days before the Italian gig.
I'm disappointed that, being the Accelerate tour their last one, we deserved to have a witness (I mean a DVD) and we didn't. The Austin City Limits one doesn't do justice. At least Michael could ask David Belisle to do a sequel of the "Hello" Book, so that we can enjoy the Accelerate tour's photos.

stipeeyes, on 26 September 2011 - 09:01 AM, said:

It was considered not UN-R.E.M. thing to do when they put out their first best of or their first live album. Now look at how many they have now. All I know their way of doing this as not cool at all. Mike makes it sound like they are too old to be in a band. Mind you, Peter isn't too old to go onstage with other people older than him. Michael isn't to old to pose in the full nude or do his artwork. And Mike isn't too old to do whatever it is that he does. I was thinking the same thing.

R.E.M. were at the end of the contract, so the greatest hits was very predictable and I'm sure that Warner decided about that aside from R.E.M.'s disbanding (and agreement). I even suspected that they were in the studios for a grestest hits' new songs and wrote about that.

[REMCHICAGOBOY]

Driver Nate, on 26 September 2011 - 11:44 AM, said:

Thankfully, there isn't one and hopefully there never will be. I enjoy FB as much as the next person but the way it's everywhere you turn on the web these days isn't something I'm exactly fond of. I actually enjoy visiting boards like Murmurs that pre-existed prior to FB overtaking the innerwebs. It's a very refreshing change of pace. Plus, it actually requires people to comment on things rather than just clicking the "Like" button.

I agree. Leave the silly "Like" option to facebook. I actually think the "Like" option has destroyed actual commenting and conversation. I love YouTube because it has both a "Like" and "Unlike" button, as well a comment board.

I keep hearing rumors that facebook might begin to charge for membership. I hope so. Maybe it will eliminate 90% of the odd ones who post over there.

I like my murmurs. R.E.M.fans amongst R.E.M. fans. I don't have to post something about R.E.M. and forget that 99% of my friends over on facebook probably don't give two shits about R.E.M. breaking up.

[REMCHICAGOBOY]

Driver Nate, on 26 September 2011 - 02:26 PM, said:

I very seriously doubt it. Clarence Clemons died and they didn't even give him the cover.

If they can give the cover to the awful Red Hot Chili Peppers, I certainly hope they can give the cover to a band who influenced just about every band today. I suspect a BIG mention of their break-up in the next issue, but I am thinking Spin might be more prone to put them on their cover.

[Driver Nate]

MAK, on 26 September 2011 - 03:13 PM, said:

I believe the dead of R.E.M. is much more transcendental than the death of Clemons.

No one in R.E.M. has died and even if that were the case, they still probably wouldn't make the cover of Rolling Stone. Even with the amount of press Amy Winehouse's passing generated, she also didn't warrant a cover. If they were to make the cover it would be a complete surprise.

[Driver Nate]

REMCHICAGOBOY, on 26 September 2011 - 03:29 PM, said:

I agree. Leave the silly "Like" option to facebook. I actually think the "Like" option has destroyed actual commenting and conversation. I love YouTube because it has both a "Like" and "Unlike" button, as well a comment board.

Don't really agree about YouTube. I actually prefer it when commenting is turned off there because it's usually pages upon pages of inane arguing by anonymous users that often times has nothing at all to do with the video they're supposed to be commenting on.

REMCHICAGOBOY, on 26 September 2011 - 03:29 PM, said:

I keep hearing rumors that facebook might begin to charge for membership. I hope so. Maybe it will eliminate 90% of the odd ones who post over there.

With FB, everything that's old is new again whether it be passing around favorites lists among friends or rumors that Zuckerberg is suddenly going to start charging for the service. It reminds me of when I first signed onto the internet in the late 90s, the hoax emails going around then that said Yahoo was going to start charging subscriber fees for email had already made the rounds several times before I even had an internet connection.

REMCHICAGOBOY, on 26 September 2011 - 03:29 PM, said:

I like my murmurs. R.E.M.fans amongst R.E.M. fans. I don't have to post something about R.E.M. and forget that 99% of my friends over on facebook probably don't give two shits about R.E.M. breaking up.

EThan has started a page on FB for Murmurs members but the lack of a user friendly interface over there for Groups pages is piss poor at best. Prior to the recent upgrades to their Groups pages they at least had a Discussion section where you could start individual threads. The way it is now, it's set up like your usual "Wall" where there is no real organization and threads disappear all too easily. Of course that will lead to tons of duplicate threads which will only serve to piss people off. Since so many of have migrated over to FB in the past few years I guess it only makes sense to set up a post-Murmurs community there but I prefer the message board format to what the FB Groups format has to offer.

[capi]

Driver Nate, on 26 September 2011 - 04:33 PM, said:

I prefer the message board format to what the FB Groups format has to offer.

I couldn't agree more.  I don't think I'll ever understand the appeal of facebook.

I suppose I should take a look at Ethan's FB Murmurs thingy but I've never yet found anything of interest there.

[Driver Nate]

capi, on 26 September 2011 - 06:03 PM, said:

I couldn't agree more.  I don't think I'll ever understand the appeal of facebook.

I suppose I should take a look at Ethan's FB Murmurs thingy but I've never yet found anything of interest there.

An email list I have belonged to since '99 has all but gone belly up since the popularity of FB took off. After about a year of FB I decided to give it a break but most of the boards and other lists I used to frequent (including Murmurs) had become virtual ghost towns so, it was back to FB I went. It seems if I want to stay in touch with most of my friends (local and otherwise) that are internet-friendly, FB is the only way to go. Thing is, even if you have a specialized page for a certain band (or whatever), people will tend to "Like" it but then never return to actually take part in the conversations taking place there. On top of that, FB does not replace the discussions that once took place here and on those other boards/lists I mentioned. Everyone is just so busy with FB that they no longer have the time to visit those other places. That aspect of FB, I don't get either.

[stipeeyes]

So this forum is going away at the end of the year?  If so there are many free forums where we could go if someone is willing to set it up.  I started a forum when the first myrem was closed down but the ads are a pain in the butt.

[capi]

Driver Nate, on 26 September 2011 - 06:25 PM, said:

An email list I have belonged to since '99 has all but gone belly up since the popularity of FB took off. After about a year of FB I decided to give it a break but most of the boards and other lists I used to frequent (including Murmurs) had become virtual ghost towns so, it was back to FB I went. It seems if I want to stay in touch with most of my friends (local and otherwise) that are internet-friendly, FB is the only way to go. Thing is, even if you have a specialized page for a certain band (or whatever), people will tend to "Like" it but then never return to actually take part in the conversations taking place there. On top of that, FB does not replace the discussions that once took place here and on those other boards/lists I mentioned. Everyone is just so busy with FB that they no longer have the time to visit those other places. That aspect of FB, I don't get either.

What are they so busy with though?  I  hear people say they spend a lot of time on FB  but I really don't know what they are doing.  It seems to be good for sharing photos but otherwise I don't know.  I don't see real conversations/discussions taking place and the interactions are largely between people who already know each other, aren't they?  Despite the fact that people have several hundred FB friends, the walls seem filled with brief comments and responses (like twitter) from only a few of the hundreds of friends.  Maybe I just haven't looked in the right places on FB.

I always liked the fact that in places like murmurs the people were from all over and you never knew what experiences and opinions you might hear.

[Driver Nate]

Apparently lots of folks on FB like to tell you where they are at, what they are doing and post photos of food.

[gonzo787]

Ensoul, on 26 September 2011 - 10:10 AM, said:

"There is sadness because I will never play on the same stage as Peter and Michael again." Yet, Mills insists, "We're doing this for good reasons, and we end up looking back at all the fun, the joy and the incredible opportunities we had."

To me this is a strange quote. If I did not know any better I would think one of them died. I dunno seems like such a strong final quote.   The reality is that there is absolutely nothing that can prevent these guys from playing together again if they wanted to.

I agree. To me, it's an extremely stubborn quote. I think what he is trying to convey is that REM will not be the type of band that will come back for 3 or 4 reunion tours and never really truly go away (which I agree with). He probably is making this clear because it's probably one of the first things he is being asked by everybody. Yes, for all intents and purposes they are done. Don't expect another album, almost certainly not another tour, but never again appear on stage again together? Really, Mike Mills? NEVER? That sounds like something CCR or The Police would say that hate each other (and even the latter got back together). With all the impromptu stuff they have done over the years with 2 or more members sharing a stage with some act they admire, that seems a ridiculous statement and something they would almost have to really go out of their way to avoid.

Just my opinion but Mills is either overstating the "never" or there is something more to this.

[Leilani]

Driver Nate, on 26 September 2011 - 07:07 PM, said:

Apparently lots of folks on FB like to tell you where they are at, what they are doing and post photos of food.

Hmmmm - Paint me the picture, Gastronomique, What's the weather doing where you are?, Post a recent photo of yourself, last thing you ate, last movie seen threads are all very Facebook.  Obviously Ethan should sue Zuckerburg for millions!

[fanfan]

Driver Nate, on 26 September 2011 - 04:33 PM, said:

Since so many of have migrated over to FB in the past few years I guess it only makes sense to set up a post-Murmurs community there but I prefer the message board format to what the FB Groups format has to offer.

Me too. I will only register on message boards. I would love it if Ethan could leave murmurs, maybe on a smaller level. If not, I hope someone else will make a new good message board.

[Lori]

Driver Nate, on 26 September 2011 - 11:44 AM, said:

So, it turns out there were "indications" on Collapse Into Now that it may have been their last record. I feel good about the fact that I'm obviously more of a pessimist and didn't read any "end of R.E.M." message into the lyrics.

I didn't think it was a wave goodbye either, I remember the same thing being said about Around The Sun's cover and thankfully it didn't happen.  I was happy when Reveal came out because some songs on Up gave me the feeling it might have been their last record but I'm grateful it wasn't.

[stipeeyes]

I wish the guys would have all did a last interview on some kind of TV show where someone is capable of asking good questions about their break up.  So we could actually hear them say, "We'll never play on stage again"  A statement like that would be said by a band who had a falling out with each other.

I just heard The One I Love on the radio. And I couldn't help but to think that maybe us fans are just simple props to occupy their time.

[Joni Smeke]

At this point I don't think they know if they'll play together or not... and I still fail to understand why so many people feel like they owe us something, a farewell tour, explanations, announcements on the dates that we think are best. Point is, they started playing together because they liked it, not because they thought of fans, money, etc. Give them a break already. If they want to play together again they will, if they won't, they won't. Rejoice at the fact that it could have ended a lot worse, with arguments, lawsuits, fights over the rights, insults... Or they could have kept making music for the money, and the same people that criticize the band for breaking up this way would be criticizing them for not breaking up.

The fact is it's been a really nice ride, 31 years is a long long time. How many friends do we have that lasted 31 years?, how many couples get married and split before they reach 25 years together?

Don't be greedy. Appreciate what you got, what they gave you. Of course we'll always think "What could have been", and "I wish we had another record/farewell tour", but that's it, maybe for now, maybe forever. Getting upset over it won't change anything. Imagine if you had to give explanations to a group for every decision you take in your life. Can you imagine feeling like you need to leave or take a break from your work and an angry message board criticizing and analyzing your decision from every aspect possible (and then some)?

Give them a break, they earned it.