Just like serial killers, sociopathic children, and nudists, celebrity stalkers are much more fascinating when viewed through an artistic lens. A real person with a serious mental illness is not so much fascinating as he is sad. The people who stalk their psychiatrists, their exes, and, of course, celebrities and microcelebrities range from the seriously confused to the dangerously delusional, but the fear-inducing capabilities of a stalker may be misleading. According to The American Journal of Psychiatry, “Stalkers who are strangers and overtly mentally ill produce the most fear in victims, but those who assault are most likely to be rejected ex-partners." Maybe that’s why Fatal Attraction is more chilling than The King of Comedy.
R.E.M. is breaking up! Amicably, though. A statement posted on their website today reads: “To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening." Adds front man Michael Stipe, “A wise man once said — 'the skill in attending a party is knowing when it's time to leave.’ We built something extraordinary together. We did this thing. And now we're going to walk away from it." The band has remained consistently active for nearly three decades, with all the lulls and disappointments and would-be comeback albums along the way. Their last release, the stick-to-the-script Collapse Into Now, dropped in March of this year, and was warmly, if not enthusiastically, received. Anyway, are you thinking what we’re thinking? Peter Buck solo album?
