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R.E.M. Retires

Michael Stipes of R.E.M. on tour in 2005What, no weepy farewell album? No cash-vacuuming last tour of the world’s stadiums?

Not for R.E.M., apparently. The band that led the rise of alternative music from the ’80s to the ’90s, and pioneered a new way to be rock stars, announced Wednesday they’re breaking up after 31 years with a quiet notice on their Web site.

“We have decided to call it a day as a band,” Michael Stipe, Peter Buck and Mike Mills wrote in their statement on R.E.M.’s Web site. “We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished.”

And in case you were wondering: “There’s no disharmony here, no falling-outs, no lawyers squaring-off,” wrote Mills. “The time just feels right.”

Read full article at The Washington Post.