Okay I Hafta Say This Guys

The "former" is depressing in that it connotes the idea that REM could possibly be a thing without him; any REM fan would go absolutely scorched Earth if they even considered doing anything with another singer.

(This is from a talk last week about Stipe being a 2025 McNair Honoree, whateverthehell that is, you can watch it all here if you don't wanna just sit here listening to me bitch & moan about it.)