Sometimes it's easy: "The Beatles are my favorite band."
Sometimes it's not: "Arcade Fire are mine... IS mine?"
What do you think? Does a band's name refer to its members (plural), or to a unified collective (singular)?
I know, I know, you could argue it depends, but I need an answer:
Are you happier that REM are no longer together, or that REM is no longer together?
I treat a band's name like any other collective noun. It's singular when writing of the group acting in unison and plural when writing of the members acting as individuals.
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