Are r.e.m. the best singles band of the 80's?

In the 1964 Pink Panther film, A Shot in the Dark, there’s a scene in which Inspector Clouseau opens up a car door and immediately falls into a fountain.

“You should get out of these clothes immediately,” says the heroine. “You'll catch your death of pneumonia, you will.”

“Yes, I probably will,” Clouseau replies. “But it's all part of life's rich pageant, you know?”

The film was a favorite of the members of R. E. M. And that particular line became a favorite catchphrase as they were working on their newest album in Indiana. Whenever something would go awry, they would merely deliver those words by way of explanation.