Michael Stipe is okay with ending R.E.M.
“It was very sad,” the singer told Classic Rock a few years ago. “Of course, it was very bittersweet and not an easy decision for us to arrive at. But looking back, I can speak on behalf of everyone, we made the right choice and we did the right thing.”
He added, “Every record that we’ve made, we did the very best. When we released stuff, it was in my opinion and my mind the absolute best thing that we could possibly create at that moment.”
Stipe also reflected on disbanding R.E.M. in a 2021 interview with U.S.A. Today. “No regrets, but of course it’s bittersweet,” he said. “We all love each other and will be there for each other. We text on a daily basis. We just don’t create music as R.E.M. anymore.”
The rocker continued, “In calling it a day 10 years ago, we did ourselves and our fans a giant favor by preserving a legacyand choosing to walk away when we were at a creative peak. We walked away with our heads held high.”
“I’m very proud of what we did as a band, and I’m very proud of my contributions to our successes and our failures,” Stipe also told The Bitter Southerner in 2021 about the band’s breakup.
He also noted, “Every single thing that we put out through the band, we thought at the time was the absolute best thing that we could do. I embrace it all. However it was all-encompassing, and it was exhausting. I was really tired after 32 years. It was a lot. Everything has a life, and at some point, it ends.”
Michael was also asked if leaving R.E.M. and starting a new solo career made him feel vulnerable in another chat. He replied, “Extremely vulnerable. But that’s my superpower. I fall on my face very well. And then sometimes it’s quite beautiful. Also, the idea of vulnerability, humanness, humanity.”
The band, with Stipe as the singer, Peter Buck on guitar, Mike Mills on bass, and Bill Berry on drums, split up in 2011 after being together for many years.