The R.E.M. Post That Turned Into a Hootie Video

Iconic rock band R.E.M. has retired.  They made the big announcement yesterday.

AP Photo/Warner Brothers

I honestly have not thought about R.E.M. in YEARS, but I had a twinge of nostalgia when I heard the news. R.E.M.’s song “Superman” was my college anthem.  I’m a Delta Gamma and we would play that song at every party and sing, “I Am. I Am. I Am. Delta Gam.”  My entire sorority even went on a bus trip to see R.E.M. in concert.  It was just a bunch of girls (okay, there were boys too) hanging on the lawn and singing all the words.  We watched Michael Stipe shimmy all around that stage and we danced right along with him.  There might have been some beer drinking too. You know, for those of us 21 and up.

It’s weird because R.E.M. also made me think of Hootie and the Blowfish’s power ballad “Let Her Cry.” Remember that one?  Of course you do.  You still hear it every day on that elevator music radio station.  But have you really LISTENED to it?  It’s a great song and it’s my favorite Hootie song of all time.  Here’s a fun fact: two of the guys in Hootie went to my high school.  I told them that when I met them at a record store signing back in 1993.  It was just me and maybe 10 other people because their album had just been released.  They sang an acoustic set right there among the cassette tapes.  It’s a great memory.  Well, here’s Hootie’s Darius Rucker, now a successful country music artist, singing a stripped down version of “Let Her Cry.”  Michael Stipe’s not far behind.

RIP R.E.M.