An Open Letter to R.E.M.

Dear Michael, Mike and Peter (and Bill, sort of) --

I was shattered to hear the news last week that you guys are calling it quits, and it's taken me a full week to be able to articulate exactly why. I still don't think I capture it very well.

The thing is, you're the first and only band I truly grew up with. Thirty-one years strong at the time of your demise, you're older than I am. At first I thought, "This must have been how my mom felt when The Beatles broke up." But The Fab Four were only active for a third of the time you've been around – and popular for even less time than that.

R.E.M. has played such an integral role in my life as a music fan. Out of Time is my number-one desert island album. You were my first favorite band.

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