It had a swag of classy albums, from Murmur to Automatic for the People.
But in 1997 drummer Bill Berry left, and an album came out a year later called Up, which not many liked.
REM singer Michael Stipe said upon the album's release - ``it's probably our turn for the critics not to like us''.
It certainly was their turn - the album went down like a lead balloon and the band began its long descent into oblivion.
Highlanders centre Malakai Fekitoa must know what Stipe was saying.
For whatever Fekitoa does these days, people seem to bag him. It's his turn to face the music. And no matter how he strums it, it ain't going to be liked.
If it is not his bad hands, it is his so-called wrong options. Then there is his hot temper, or his poor lines, or lack of pace.
It seems whatever the guy does, he does it wrong.
In a short time he has gone from the next big thing to the next worst thing.
But let's get real - Fekitoa is still a very good and talented rugby player.
He is right up there in the top midfielders around the country. He is nowhere near as bad as many have been saying.
The Tongan-born Highlander is a class player, who is being unfairly slated by many.
His defence is second to none. And defence is half the game.
On Saturday afternoon against the Crusaders, Fekitoa came across in cover early in the game and basically stopped a Crusaders attacker dotting down.
He got under the attacker and managed to lift him away from the tryline with a display of tremendous strength.
Not many people remember it but in the 2015 final, early on Fekitoa made a tackle on a flying Julian Savea down the wing. If that had not been made, who knows what would have happened in that game?
Fekitoa's tackling is first rate and that is a massive part of the centre's role these days.
He drops the ball a bit, but what centre doesn't?
Sonny Bill Williams dropped the ball for the Blues against the Highlanders at Forsyth Barr Stadium when the Blues were attacking the line and that lost the game for his side. But no-one noticed that as it was all about him covering up a label on his jersey.
Anton Lienert-Brown has been very anonymous for the Chiefs in games this year as Damian McKenzie has been their stand-out player.
Rieko Ioane obviously has talent but is still too young.
Fekitoa does have bad hands at times and spills the ball more than he should but that is just a one small dent in his armour.
He managed to hang on to the ball pretty well when he scored a match-winning try against the Bulls in Pretoria last month.
But that try was hardly recognised. If someone else had scored it the praise would have been heard far and wide.
But that seems to be the way things are going for Fekitoa these days. Compliments for him are as rare as a REM concert.
