Stipe is a jerk.
But I enjoyed their music in 80’s - early 90’s
I enjoyed their music when they were known as The Byrds. McGuinn and Hillman are both Christians and are still playing.
Back when they were kids - they raced their Jaguars up the Hollywood canyon roads to go fire David Crosby after his childish lefty political outbursts at Monterey Pop Festival. This was during JFK/LBJ’s Vietnam War when Democrat LBJ was president.
Check out a group called “The Decemberists” and an album called “The King is Dead”. It will probably sound very familiar. Seems like a guy named Peter Buck plays on several tracks. Yes, the same guy that left REM about the time they stopped making music and became totally political - wonder if there was a connection?