News

MICHAEL AND PETER JOIN PATTI SMITH ONSTAGE IN NOLA

Michael and Peter joined Patti Smith onstage last night at her show in New Orleans at Tipitina’s for a handful of songs. Peter came out first and played guitar on The Seeds “Pushin Too Hard.” Later on, Peter and Scott McCaughey jumped on stage for a cover of

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IT’S RECORD STORE DAY

Today is Record Store Day. If you have a favorite independent record store in your town, please stop by and support them. As we reported last week, a limited edition and individually numbered, blue vinyl 12″ re-issue of R.E.M.’s long out of print debut e.p., Chronic Town,

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A WEEKEND ROUNDUP

Lots going on leading into the weekend as R.E.M. finishes up week one of their 2010 return to the studio. Stay tuned for a report from the studio later today. In the meantime, here are some of the various things of note we’ve rounded up

BAND RESUMES WORK ON NEXT RECORD

Peter, Mike, and Michael are back in the studio this week and have resumed work on their next record with Jacknife Lee and his team. As we reported back in November 2009, the band recorded demos with Lee in New Orleans in the Fall for what will

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R.E.M. 30: THE AIRWAVES

Athensmusicjunkie has a nice recap of the recent five-hour R.E.M. radio marathon put together by WUOG at the University of Georgia in celebration of the band’s 30th anniversary. The station has also posted the playlist from the April 5th show.

REM @ 30

All the best

PETER & THE DECEMBERISTS TEAM UP

Colin Meloy of the Decemberists reported via Twitter recently that Peter played alongside the Portland-based band at one of their recent recording sessions: “First official day of #6 practice; made Peter Buck play my fake-REM riffs and he didn’t seem perturbed. Nor litigious.” Read more about the

MIKE COVERS BILLY BRAGG FOR THE VOICE PROJECT

Click on the video below to watch Mike playing “Sing Their Souls Back Home,” a Billy Bragg song which Mike covered for The Voice Project. The Voice Project is a song-driven movement inspired by the women of Uganda who are using their voices and songs as

ALL MEMORIES ARE LOCAL

I decided to think of 30 places meaningful to the band over the years– so what follows is not by any means comprehensive– no way it could be that. It is more of a memory exercise, aided occasionally by the amazing chronology of R.E.M. performances found at

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ACTION! An Anniversary Photo Celebration:

With the onset of the 30th anniversary of R.E.M., we asked a few photographers who have worked with the band over the years to send along the image they like the best for the occasion. Four answered the call, Sandra Lee Phipps and Laura Levine from the early days

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY R.E.M.

Happy birthday to R.E.M. who started out thirty years ago to the day on April 5th, 1980. To commemorate the milestone, we’ve posted a photo essay including shots by a few of the essential photographers who have chronicled R.E.M.’s past in pictures. Also be sure to

R.E.M. @ 30 VIDEO RETROSPECTIVE SCREENS TONIGHT

The festivities surrounding the 30th anniversary of R.E.M.’s first performance conclude tonight with the final screening of the “R.E.M. @ 30: A Video Retrospective” at Cine at 7:30 p.m. The 90ish-minute collection includes clips of rare footage, interviews, performances, and other videos since the band’s beginnings up through more recent

SHARK PATROL DJ TO HOST R.E.M. MARATHON MONDAY NIGHT

“Shark Patrol,” the weekly Monday night DJ series curated by longtime Cambridge-based music critic Tom Kielty at the Independent in Union Square, Somerville, Massachusetts, will devote the entire evening to R.E.M. from 10PM to 1 AM on April 5th. Kielty will play official releases from throughout the band’s career

R.E.M. 30TH ANNIVERSARY ROUNDUP

As we reported earlier this week, Athens is abuzz with activity this weekend in anticipation of R.E.M.’s 30th anniversary which takes place on Monday, April 5th. Music, film, and a music history tour are on tap. Also, be sure to have a look at two great