After 31 years and 15 albums, rock band R.E.M. is breaking up. The group, fronted by Michael Stipe, announced the split on its website on Wednesday. “As lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band,” they wrote. “We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished.” Their last album, Collapse Into Now, was released in March.
