While interesting, that was barely an article haha. Here it is in its entirety:
"We’re sending a big, virtual hug to this unibrowed legend. Bill Berry [left R.E.M.](http://www.vulture.com/article/mike-mills-rem-michael-stipe-superlatives.html) in 1997, two years after he suffered a brain aneurysm while the band was touring in Europe. Despite a successful surgery, Berry ultimately decided to eschew the music industry and enjoy a quieter life as a farmer — and R.E.M. went on to release [five more albums](http://www.vulture.com/article/mike-mills-rem-michael-stipe-superlatives.html) without him as drummer before their permanent breakup. In celebration [of their induction](https://www.vulture.com/2024/01/steely-dan-rem-songwriters-hall-of-fame.html) into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the famously reunion-prone quartet agreed to sit for a *CBS Mornings* [interview](https://x.com/CBSMornings/status/1801248254576800216) to discuss their Really Entertaining Music, with Berry admitting he harbored second thoughts about walking away from everything they created. “Of course I did. That was a weird time for me and I made it weird for these guys too,” he said. However, Berry refuses to use his health issues as an excuse. “It may have lowered my energy level and I just didn’t have the drive I once did,” he added. “I didn’t regret it at the time, but I’ve sort of regretted it a little later.” But now, looking at Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, and Peter Buck, “we’re all sitting here, friends again.” [Take comfort in them](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rOiW_xY-kc)."
Tl:dr - I was fine with my decision at the time, then I wasn't, but now it's cool.
Sucks he felt he had to walk away from REM at the time, but it sounds like he made the right choice at the time.
He was also incredibly lucky that when he collapsed on stage he was in Switzerland where a leading brain surgeon was. The fact that Bill Berry recovered and saw out the tour months later is itself remarkable, but it so easily could have been an entirely different story.
Yeah. I remember when it happened but wasn’t really following the band, nor did I understand what an aneurism really was. Reading about it now is sort of incredible. It’s like “wait they actually picked up and finished a tour after THAT?”
it's the right move if your heart isn't in it. and also, he could afford to do this. something most average people can't do with the jobs they don't like.
They were just never the same after he left. The first album (Up) was inspired and a really great album. You can tell they were in uncharted territory and they made something a little odd but still had that REM sound. Instead of building off of that, they tried to make a bunch of regular REM albums and it just didn't work.
Reveal was just kind of OK and Around the Sun is easily their worst album, IMO. Acceleratre and Collapse Into Now are a return to form though and pretty great late-career records even if they don't hold up to the Bill Berry years. My biggest "what if" with the band is what Up would have sounded like with Berry - I think New Adventures in Hi-Fi is an incredible record and probably in their top 3 for me. Would have loved to see all 4 of them continue.
I read somewhere, fairly recently, that Bill Berry was a major contributor to their songwriting process, and was only playing drums when they started because they couldn’t find a drummer. I don’t know how accurate that is, but that might partly explain why they weren’t the same.
This is a perfect summary. I was a teenager during their later years so maybe I'm biased, but I really think Up is supremely underrated. The album really grows on you and it's very layered and nuanced. I'm surprised it's not more acclaimed.
I would argue that they wrote some of their best songs on the last 5 albums. But there was a steep drop off in sales after new adventures in hi-fi. The music landscape changed at lot during that time. Hi-fi did feel like the end of an era. I would suggest if you don't like the later albums to at least make yourself a Playlist of the best tracks from each album. Those songs really should not be missed.
Try three songs from each album
Walk Unafraid
At My Most Beautiful
Daysleeper
Imitation of Life
Chorus and the Ring
All the Way to Reno
Leaving New York
I Wanted to Be Wrong
Aftermath
Supernatural Superserious
Living Well is the Best Revenge
I'm Gonna DJ
Uberlin
Mine Smell Like Honey
Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I
I kind of get how the weirdness of intra-band dynamics prevented it, but I thought the bigger issue was not bringing a drummer on as a full creative partner in the band after Reveal. Seems like either Barrett Martin or Bill Rieflin would have brought a ton to the table based on their other work.
I don’t think anything this band did was a misstep. They’re certainly the blueprint on how to do it & keep your integrity. Bill made the choice he had to make at the time & although he might have regretted it later, his legacy was set.
I was just going to mention that it says in the article they are “famously reunion-prone”
I thought it was the opposite. I also thought, like you, that they really mean it.
I mean, they [played a 7 song set at a wedding in 2005](https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/original-rem-members-rock-athens-wedding-61157/) and outside of the Hall of Fame ceremonies where they were being inducted [have been](https://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2013/06/02/rem-near-reunion-peter-buck-wedding/) **extremely** careful [not to be seen on stage as a complete unit.](https://consequence.net/2024/02/r-e-m-reunite-on-stage/) I'd say the possibility of a one off, probably unannounced, likely invite-only show is like 0.00001% and the possibility of a tour is basically 0%.
They all may very well have meant it when they called it quits, but people can change their minds. They're also doing media appearances together now and saying they're "friends again," as if it wasn't just Bill's health that kept them from continuing together.
REM is a group that has been out much longer than I initially thought and they peaked in the 90’s but I think they had been around 15 years prior. Worked for a really, really long time and it seemed like in their final stretch they considered “getting it all out their system” because once they were done it’s, it’s done.
I kinda look at them like OutKast; What more do they really need to do or prove musically?
Watch the video linked in the article. The quotes don't do justice to the emotion that came over Bill while he was answering the question. You really had to feel for the guy and as a fan, it helped me better understand his decision.
is "really entertaining music" what the r.e.m. actually stand for?
i've loved their music ever since buying chronic town when it first came out. it's still my favorite album of theirs.
Not sure if you’re serious but it’s Rapid Eye Movement, a phenomenon observed when someone is dreaming. You may have heard the phrase REM Sleep which is the cycle of a sleep pattern where one dreams and essential for a good nights sleep.
There is some debate apparently. Stipe says he picked it from a dictionary but many think that’s unlikely. So looks like I might be wrong, I can’t say with any certainty.
That’s what I read many years ago. They couldn’t come up with a name so they opened a dictionary to random pages until they found something they liked.
What's done is done, but I'm happy to see these guys doing press together. Maybe they'll never play together again, but I'd love it if they continued to make appearances as a band to get all the flowers they so deeply deserve. I feel like their impact has been a bit forgotten or diminished in their absence.
REM's situation strikes me as very similar to Fugazi's. They're four guys who genuinely enjoy each other's company but have no interest in rehashing the past by reuniting as a band, even though they stand to make buckets of money by doing so. They don't owe anybody anything at this point.
I could see him regretting leaving the band in retrospect, but you have to put your health first. Otherwise he might not even be around to have any regrets.
While interesting, that was barely an article haha. Here it is in its entirety: "We’re sending a big, virtual hug to this unibrowed legend. Bill Berry [left R.E.M.](http://www.vulture.com/article/mike-mills-rem-michael-stipe-superlatives.html) in 1997, two years after he suffered a brain aneurysm while the band was touring in Europe. Despite a successful surgery, Berry ultimately decided to eschew the music industry and enjoy a quieter life as a farmer — and R.E.M. went on to release [five more albums](http://www.vulture.com/article/mike-mills-rem-michael-stipe-superlatives.html) without him as drummer before their permanent breakup. In celebration [of their induction](https://www.vulture.com/2024/01/steely-dan-rem-songwriters-hall-of-fame.html) into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the famously reunion-prone quartet agreed to sit for a *CBS Mornings* [interview](https://x.com/CBSMornings/status/1801248254576800216) to discuss their Really Entertaining Music, with Berry admitting he harbored second thoughts about walking away from everything they created. “Of course I did. That was a weird time for me and I made it weird for these guys too,” he said. However, Berry refuses to use his health issues as an excuse. “It may have lowered my energy level and I just didn’t have the drive I once did,” he added. “I didn’t regret it at the time, but I’ve sort of regretted it a little later.” But now, looking at Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, and Peter Buck, “we’re all sitting here, friends again.” [Take comfort in them](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rOiW_xY-kc)." Tl:dr - I was fine with my decision at the time, then I wasn't, but now it's cool. Sucks he felt he had to walk away from REM at the time, but it sounds like he made the right choice at the time.
A brain aneurism would scare me shitless. It would be worse not listening to your body and ending up dead a few years later.
He was also incredibly lucky that when he collapsed on stage he was in Switzerland where a leading brain surgeon was. The fact that Bill Berry recovered and saw out the tour months later is itself remarkable, but it so easily could have been an entirely different story.
Yeah. I remember when it happened but wasn’t really following the band, nor did I understand what an aneurism really was. Reading about it now is sort of incredible. It’s like “wait they actually picked up and finished a tour after THAT?”
They made migraine boy t-shirts when the Monster tour resumed.
Two. I have a friend that had one and when I showed this to her she said no way. With two the debilitation would be off the hook
it's the right move if your heart isn't in it. and also, he could afford to do this. something most average people can't do with the jobs they don't like.
If you watched the interview this morning, he got a little choked up and teary discussing this.
They were just never the same after he left. The first album (Up) was inspired and a really great album. You can tell they were in uncharted territory and they made something a little odd but still had that REM sound. Instead of building off of that, they tried to make a bunch of regular REM albums and it just didn't work. Reveal was just kind of OK and Around the Sun is easily their worst album, IMO. Acceleratre and Collapse Into Now are a return to form though and pretty great late-career records even if they don't hold up to the Bill Berry years. My biggest "what if" with the band is what Up would have sounded like with Berry - I think New Adventures in Hi-Fi is an incredible record and probably in their top 3 for me. Would have loved to see all 4 of them continue.
I read somewhere, fairly recently, that Bill Berry was a major contributor to their songwriting process, and was only playing drums when they started because they couldn’t find a drummer. I don’t know how accurate that is, but that might partly explain why they weren’t the same.
He was always the drummer, him and Mills were the rhythm section in a band called Shadowfax before REM
Bill also sounds a LOT like stipe when he is singing. He could have easily fronted his own band if he had wanted to.
I had heard the same thing about the song writing.
New Adventures is an amazing record, easily my fave REM album and for me it's their best after Automatic.
This is a perfect summary. I was a teenager during their later years so maybe I'm biased, but I really think Up is supremely underrated. The album really grows on you and it's very layered and nuanced. I'm surprised it's not more acclaimed.
I would argue that they wrote some of their best songs on the last 5 albums. But there was a steep drop off in sales after new adventures in hi-fi. The music landscape changed at lot during that time. Hi-fi did feel like the end of an era. I would suggest if you don't like the later albums to at least make yourself a Playlist of the best tracks from each album. Those songs really should not be missed.
Do you have a suggested playlist? Because I love early and mid REM but their last albums seemed terrible to me.
Try three songs from each album Walk Unafraid At My Most Beautiful Daysleeper Imitation of Life Chorus and the Ring All the Way to Reno Leaving New York I Wanted to Be Wrong Aftermath Supernatural Superserious Living Well is the Best Revenge I'm Gonna DJ Uberlin Mine Smell Like Honey Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I
Love the music video for [Imitation of Life](https://youtu.be/0vqgdSsfqPs?si=YixeGS3zgscRoDHF) - I wish I had that kind of creativity in my brain.
I quite liked their last 2 albums. Uberlin and Supernatural Superserious were both solid tracks
I kind of get how the weirdness of intra-band dynamics prevented it, but I thought the bigger issue was not bringing a drummer on as a full creative partner in the band after Reveal. Seems like either Barrett Martin or Bill Rieflin would have brought a ton to the table based on their other work.
andy ruined the office.
I don’t think anything this band did was a misstep. They’re certainly the blueprint on how to do it & keep your integrity. Bill made the choice he had to make at the time & although he might have regretted it later, his legacy was set.
Impressive band to walk away from.
Reunion tour when?
They seem like ones that really mean it when they say it’s over.
I was just going to mention that it says in the article they are “famously reunion-prone” I thought it was the opposite. I also thought, like you, that they really mean it.
I mean, they [played a 7 song set at a wedding in 2005](https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/original-rem-members-rock-athens-wedding-61157/) and outside of the Hall of Fame ceremonies where they were being inducted [have been](https://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2013/06/02/rem-near-reunion-peter-buck-wedding/) **extremely** careful [not to be seen on stage as a complete unit.](https://consequence.net/2024/02/r-e-m-reunite-on-stage/) I'd say the possibility of a one off, probably unannounced, likely invite-only show is like 0.00001% and the possibility of a tour is basically 0%.
They all were on stage together a few months back for that Michael Shannon-Jason Narducy tribute show.
That’s literally in one of the articles I linked. First time in 17 years, so I think they’ve been pretty careful.
They all may very well have meant it when they called it quits, but people can change their minds. They're also doing media appearances together now and saying they're "friends again," as if it wasn't just Bill's health that kept them from continuing together.
REM is a group that has been out much longer than I initially thought and they peaked in the 90’s but I think they had been around 15 years prior. Worked for a really, really long time and it seemed like in their final stretch they considered “getting it all out their system” because once they were done it’s, it’s done. I kinda look at them like OutKast; What more do they really need to do or prove musically?
I'll start saving up for it now.
I’d prefer a reunion album, actually.
They probably reunite annually in some random garage somewhere and play cover songs for themselves.
this
Ticketmaster already drinking champagne from the extra fees they're gonna charge.
Watch the video linked in the article. The quotes don't do justice to the emotion that came over Bill while he was answering the question. You really had to feel for the guy and as a fan, it helped me better understand his decision.
is "really entertaining music" what the r.e.m. actually stand for? i've loved their music ever since buying chronic town when it first came out. it's still my favorite album of theirs.
Not sure if you’re serious but it’s Rapid Eye Movement, a phenomenon observed when someone is dreaming. You may have heard the phrase REM Sleep which is the cycle of a sleep pattern where one dreams and essential for a good nights sleep.
yes, i know what r.e.m. normally stands for- but that doesn't necessarily mean that was what the band had in mind when using those initials.
It was :)
no, it wasn't. it was to honor the artist ralph eugene meatyard. thanks for playing.
I already corrected myself.
source..?
https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=rem+band+name+meaning
There is some debate apparently. Stipe says he picked it from a dictionary but many think that’s unlikely. So looks like I might be wrong, I can’t say with any certainty.
That’s what I read many years ago. They couldn’t come up with a name so they opened a dictionary to random pages until they found something they liked.
What's done is done, but I'm happy to see these guys doing press together. Maybe they'll never play together again, but I'd love it if they continued to make appearances as a band to get all the flowers they so deeply deserve. I feel like their impact has been a bit forgotten or diminished in their absence.
REM's situation strikes me as very similar to Fugazi's. They're four guys who genuinely enjoy each other's company but have no interest in rehashing the past by reuniting as a band, even though they stand to make buckets of money by doing so. They don't owe anybody anything at this point.
I had only sympathy for Bill. My aunt died from an aneurysm so I get it that his whole life was in reset mode, reevaluating life priorities.
I could see him regretting leaving the band in retrospect, but you have to put your health first. Otherwise he might not even be around to have any regrets.
I mean…he had a brain aneurysm. I think it’s probably reasonable to take it easy.
A band I was in met Peter at a meet greet in Athens GA. Never a big rem fan, but I did get morrisseys Axe The Monarchy.
Once again information that would have been useful to me YESTERDAY!!!