Because I have been a bad blogger lately, I will only have one post dedicated to Peter Buck’s 360 JetGlo Rickenbacker guitar. In the time since my last R.E.M. post, someone stole and then returned this iconic symbol of the band.

Peter has had the guitar since the early 1980s. He looks almost strange playing something other than the Rick on stage. This is the guitar most people probably remember him playing from almost any photo, like this one from a 1986 concert.

What I can’t get is how someone steals a guitar from the stage after a show by a band like R.E.M. This isn’t some club or bar. This was in an arena in Finland on a world tour.

When I saw them play earlier this summer, you could see all the activity. There were people everywhere, and the guitars were right where everyone could see them. I have no idea how anyone could grab the guitar and leave without drawing a lot of attention.

I guess all of that is kind of moot since Peter got his instrument back. But this makes me laugh at people who always try to trot Scandanavia out as some utopia when they bash life in the U.S.