R.I.P. to R.E.M.
The alternative rock group that shook up the music world with its experimental, edgy sound and then earned multiplatinum success and a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced Wednesday that it has “decided to call it a day as a band.”
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“A wise man once said, ‘The skill in attending a party is knowing when it’s time to leave.’ We built something extraordinary together. We did this thing. And now we’re going to walk away from it,” frontman Michael Stipe said in a statement on the band’s website. “I hope our fans realize this wasn’t an easy decision; but all things must end, and we wanted to do it right, to do it our way.”
The Grammy-winning group, now composed of Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck and bassist Mike Mills, released its debut full-length album, “Murmur,” in 1983; at the time it was a quartet, with drummer Bill Berry. He left the group in 1997, two years after he suffered symptoms of an aneurysm onstage.
The group got its start in Athens, Ga., coming out of the region’s flourishing indie-rock scene. Later, the mainstream caught on, and R.E.M. became chart-topping rockers, selling millions of albums with hits like “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine),” “Losing My Religion” and “Everybody Hurts.”
Stipe, the band’s chief songwriter, crafted songs that were atypical of the standard rock fare. “Man on the Moon” was about the late comic Andy Kaufman. “Losing My Religion” was not about religion at all, but about trying to relay the feelings of a crush.
Lynch: Emmys may be a one-time thing
Just days after hosting her first Emmy Awards, actress Jane Lynch says she’s not sure she’d do it again.
Lynch said in an interview Wednesday that if she had to decide now, her answer would be no. But she says she had a great time and hadn’t felt “that creative and alive in a long time.”
Her Emmy performance Sunday received mixed reviews.
The actress is promoting her new memoir, “Happy Accidents,” and “Glee.” Lynch plays glee club-hating cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester on the hit Fox series, which premiered its third season Tuesday.
Lynch says she’s looking forward to spending time with her family now that the Emmys are over. She married Lara Embry last year and is stepmother to Embry’s daughter, Haden, 9.
Beatles concert contract sold
A contract for a 1965 Beatles concert that states the group will not perform before a segregated audience has sold for more than $23,000.
The Nate D. Sanders auction house of Santa Monica says the contract was auctioned in online bidding that closed Tuesday. The buyer’s name was not disclosed.
Sanders had expected the contract to fetch $3,000 to $5,000.
The document lays out the terms for the Beatles’ 1965 appearance at San Francisco’s Cow Palace.
Among other things, it demands that 150 police officers be brought in to provide security.
The year before, the Beatles threatened to cancel a concert at Florida’s Gator Bowl after the band learned the audience was to be segregated. Band members agreed to perform only after officials assured them the crowd would be integrated.
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