Adrian Miller's Photography (& other things): What R.E.M. "calling it quits" Means to Me
Two months ago I went to the movies to watch the last Harry Potter film with a twenty-two-year-old friend of mine. He was in the eighth grade when the first movie came out. After the movie ended, he looked to me and said, “My childhood is officially over.” I just smiled at him. I was a Senior in high school when the first movie came out, and am now twenty-seven.
As a child of the ’80s and early ’90s, and a teenager of the ’90s, I grew-up with R.E.M. and the bands close to them. I was devastated (like every teenager) when Kurt Cobain left us. I cried when Selena passed away. I became pissed off when Bill Berry quit the band.
Well, today I found out via Tumblr that R.E.M. called it quits. Truthfully, I’ve been expecting this for the last five years, yet it still came as a shock. I remember my friend telling me that his childhood ended when Harry Potter ended. I now understand him.
My childhood* has officially ended. I’m 27, and my childhood has ended. R.E.M. is gone as a band. I understand you now, Tim.
*By “childhood” I mean all those years that I grew-up with R.E.M.
