During my sophomore year in college a friend made me a mixed tape of early obscure R.E.M. songs from Murmur, Document, Live at The Borderline, Life's Rich Pageant, Reckoning. I listened to that tape every day on my way to class, between classes, walking home, alone in my room. I listened to that tape until it disintegrated, warped beyond recognition. That music got into every cell in my body, changed the makeup of my DNA and, since then, has scored the most memorable times in my life.
After 31 years together, R.E.M. announced today that it has broken up. It is impossible to imagine a future in which all the R.E.M. songs have already been written and none will ever appear again on the horizon. In honor of my favorite band, on a very sad day, I offer a tribute:
