R.E.M. have decided to call it a day as a band, just over 30 years after releasing their debut single on Hib-Tone Records. Generally considered the Godfathers of Indie (back when it was merely "college rock"), one might ask, "Well, how did they get there?"  Some of it was being in the right place (America) at the right time (post-Punk and post-New Wave). The old joke was that it took four to make a R.E.M. record -- three to listen to the Soft Boys and one to write indecipherable lyrics.  But these four from Athens were always a bit more than that; the echo of Robyn Hitchcock's old band was just as much a melding of the Byrds and the Velvet Underground with Wire and power-pop into something simultaneously challenging and accessible.  Of course, signing to promo-savvy IRS Records, which was having success with the Police, the Go-Gos and others didn't hurt a bit.  They steadily climbed the ladder of music industry success, but altered the pop music landscape in the process, and tended to remember where they came from, promoting vital bands like the Replacements, Hüsker Dü, the Minutemen and Sonic Youth with opening slots (Bill Berry told me they tried to get Camper Van Beethoven after their debut LP, but the schedule didn't work out), along with forerunners like The dB's and yes, Robyn Hitchcock (REM axeman Peter Buck would also guest on Hitchcock's records before joining one of his bands).  Indeed, the band also adopted various indie figures as touring members of the band -- dB's frontman Peter Holsapple, The Posies' Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow, and Young Fresh Fellow Scott McCaughey all spring to mind.  When drummer Bill Berry left following a brain tumor, the band's album's tended to hold less of the public's attention, although this may have been simply another case of music fans constantly on the search for the new sound, the flavor of the month (Up and Reveal may be underrated albums in their catalog).  Even during this period, the band produced solid work, with a number of memorable tunes.

So let's close this era with a video dump, starting with "Radio Free Europe" and "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)" from their network TV debut, and the clip for "Pretty Persuasion" and an acoustic take on "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville." Next, live takes on "Driver 8" and "Can't Get There From Here" recorded in Raleigh, NC, circa 1985. "Begin the Begin," which opens the 25-year-old Lifes Rich Pageant is represented with a clip featuring Bill Berry from the band's 2006 induction into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. That album's follow-up "These Days" is represented with a clip from Tourfilm, but "Fall On Me" was the band's first major foray into the pop charts.  Document's "The One I Love" took them up another rung, although "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" may have ended up embedded further in popular culture over time. The band's WB debut, Green, boasted a couple of chart-toppers, "Orange Crush" and the inspiredly goofy "Stand," though I'll take "Pop Song '89" over the latter most days.  Out of Time would be the band's first No. 1 LP, riding the improbably mandolin-driven worldwide hit "Losing My Religion" and another goofy track, "Shiny Happy People" (again, give me the harmonies of "Near Wild Heaven").  Automatic for the People most likely makes us think of "Man In The Moon" and especially "Everybody Hurts," although the challending lead single, "Drive," actually charted higher in the US at the time.  Monster was one, topping the US and UK charts; "What's The Frequency Kenneth?" entered the pop culture in a very odd way, so I have to link the Dan Rather clip.  New Adventures in Hi-Fi, the band's final LP with Berry reached No. 2 in the US, and "E-Bow the Letter" and "Bittersweet Me" got comparatively modest airplay.  Up slipped another notch, reaching No. 3 in the US; the lead single, "Daysleeper," had a typical REM vibe, but I loved the Brian Wilson-esque sound of "At My Most Beautiful."  That sound would also feature on the Reveal LP, although "Imitation Of Life" was the safe single. I'll confess to having lost my passion for the band by this point -- and thus have zero to say about Around the Sun -- but it was still always comforting to hear them knock a song out of the park, particularly "Supernatural Superserious" from 2008's Accelerate.  I hoped that would be the start of a second wind for the guys, but it was to Collapse Into Now, apparently.  Here's your bonus track, bringing things full circle.

LOW stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session and did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter.

YOUNG MAN is advance streaming Ideas of Distance.

JAMES BLAKE stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

VIVA VOCE stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set, including a cover of Big Star's "Thirteen."

THE HOLD STEADY at Beekman Beer Garden, Sept. 17, 2011.

THE JAYHAWKS "She Walks in So Many Ways" from the new Mockingbird Time, at Hollywood's Ocean Way studios.

PEARL JAM: Cameron Crowe takes a a track-by-track look at the "Pearl Jam 20" soundtrack, complete with quotes from his liner notes.

FLEET FOXES: Robin Pecknold talks to the Baltimore Sun about the pressures of writing the band's sophomore LP, and the future. (Thx, LHB.)

TORI AMOS talks to Spinner about Night of Hunters, its real-life inspirations, her friendship with pro wrestler Mick Foley and how she'll take on any "f---ing heavy metal band" with her emotional lyrics.

BATTLES drummer John Stanier talks to PopMatters about the band's unique take on lyrical expression, the zone of indistinction between rhythm and melody, and the recontextualization of the pop-rock formula.

BON IVER's Justin Vernon is briefly profiled by the L.A. Times.

MINKA KELLY exploded after getting groped on the set of Charlie's Angels's, according to the ever reliable Star magazine.

TEAM ANISTON apparently went ballistic after Brad Pitt's Parade interview, which would explain his copious clarifications.  And maybe Pitt's domestic life with Angelina Jolie and the brood really does resemble One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

MAD MEL UPDATE: Gibson allegedly tried to run over a man outside a Costa Rican bakery ... but at least one eyewitness tells TMZ the man's a liar.

RYAN GOSLING and his current go-to girl Eva Mendes were snapped hiking near Griffith Park Observatory.

STEVE MARTIN has Oscars advice for Eddie Murphy.

ELIN NORDEGREN, the wealthy and beautiful ex-wife of Tiger Woods, is ramping up her romance with her new beau, Jamie Dingman; that there are already rumors of marriage for the pair.

TEEN BRIDE Courtney Stodden has signed a deal with a production company to produce her own reality show. Shocka.

THE 10 GREATEST MOVIE TRILOGIES, according to PopMatters.

TERROR in SWEDEN: A Swedish cartoonist who has received death threats for depicting the Prophet Mohammed as a dog was the target of a planned attack in Gothenburg earlier this month, according to reports.

IRAN: Two American hikers imprisoned as spies for more than two years were released on bail Wednesday, just in time for Ahmadinejad to arrive in NYC for the big UN confab.

AFGHANISTAN: The assassination of Burhanuddin Rabbani in Kabul - apparently by the very group he was trying to negotiate with - suggests a political solution in Afghanistan remains a distant prospect - and is another reminder of how fragile security is in the Afghan capital, according to analysts and diplomats

IRAQ: Prime Minister Maliki called for Syrian President Bashir al Assad to step down. Admiral Mullen said the number of US forces in Iraq will drop to 30,000 by the end of September.

CHIMPS clog dancing. It's CGI, but I don't care.

ADORABLE BABY SQUIRRELS survive a hurricane.

A YOUNG WOMAN on a big horse likely saved a boy from a head-on charging grizzly bear.

PARROT FRAUD: I would like to register a complaint.