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Of course I ignored Radiohead. They really can't do any wrong in my eyes. So they fully support your case for REM being one of the biggest musical influences America has ever spawned. But I'd love to hear more bands of that caliber that were deeply inspired by REM.

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R.E.M. was basically the first college rock / indie rock band and their success paved the way for others to do the same. Basically any band that has found success in a similar format owes them at least a little debt of gratitude, and we haven't even started talking about stylistic influences, etc.