So rare to see a rock band last as long as R.E.M. has, particularly one so enormously successful. Formed in Athens, Georgia in 1980 by Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry (who left the band in 1997), over their three-decade run the group has recorded a total of 15 studio LPs, sold 85 million albums worldwide, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and influenced countless other bands.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last couple of months, you know that the band announced their break-up last month via their official website, ending an unprecedented run and probably causing more than a few indie kids to cry mournfully into their pillows while listening to “Murmur” on a loop.
And now we have the (alleged) final R.E.M. single ever to see release, a laid-back, sentimental ballad entitled “We All Go Back to Where We Belong” that will be featured on the band’s upcoming career-spanning two-disc compilation “”Part Lies, Part Truth, Part Heart, Part Garbage 1982-2011”. In the chorus Stipe asks somberly, “Is this really what you want?” To me it sounds like he’s posing the question to himself.
You can listen to the track below:
“Part Lies, Part Truth, Part Heart, Part Garbage 1982-2011 comes out November 15th.