One of the most fruitful and resilient musical partnerships in Twin Cities music history, Soul Asylum's Dan Murphy and Dave Pirner will no longer be working together, as Murphy has officially quit the band. The lead guitarist and sometimes-singer since the group formed in 1982, Murphy was already replaced at a gig in Spain by a fill-in player. He said he harbors no ill will toward the frontman Pirner's plans to carry on without him.

"I have total respect for the band, but I don't have any respect for the music industry anymore," Murphy said, laughing off other concerns raised by his announcement. "A few relatives have asked me: No, I'm not dying or anything like that. And there wasn't any kind of big blowout."

Soul Asylum fans aren't taking the news lightly. YouTube clips of the gig in Spain without Murphy drew 11 pages' worth of comments on the band's forum page, including this one: "Without Dan, Soul Asylum is just the Dave Pirner Band."

Pirner is the only original member left, but former Prince drummer Michael Bland has been a full-time Soul Asylum player for a decade. Bassist Tommy Stinson stepped in after the 2005 death of co-founder Karl Mueller but exited after making the group's new album, "Delayed Reaction." With the new record, the band got back into the thick of touring this year, which weighed heavily on Murphy. "It was getting to be too much for me," he said.

Pirner and Murphy twice graced the cover of Rolling Stone together and sold more than 3 million U.S. copies of their 1992 album "Grave Dancers Union," which won a Grammy for best rock song ("Runaway Train"). Murphy sang their single "Cartoon" and was also a singer/songwriter in the all-star side band Golden Smog, but he did not hint at any kind of new musical plans. He has long run a business with his wife outside of his music career selling vintage pin-up art (Grapefruit Moon Gallery).

The rest of the band issued this statement on its website Tuesday: "We would like to thank Dan for his many years of hard work, as well as his Soul Asylum defining guitar playing."

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

POPCORN WITH YOUR 'PEANUTS': Charlie Brown and his "Peanuts" pals are coming to the big screen. Charles Schulz's beloved characters are starring in their own animated film scheduled to hit theaters Nov. 25, 2015. That year marks the 65th anniversary of the "Peanuts" comic strip and the 50th anniversary of "A Charlie Brown Christmas," the first of the gang's many TV specials. The as-yet-untitled film will be produced by 20th Century Fox and its Blue Sky Studios animation unit.