FRIDAY NEWS ROUNDUP


R.E.M. will be heading back into the studio in just under two weeks to begin putting the finishing touches on their next album. In the meantime, we have announced the release date for R.E.M. Live, the band’s first live effort in their 27-year history. R.E.M. Live will be

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WATCH R.E.M LIVE CLIP FOR LEAVING NEW YORK HERE


Over the course of the next few weeks we’ll be posting exclusive video clips from “R.E.M. Live” which is set to be released on October 16th.

Here’s the video for “Leaving New York”:

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READ EXCERPTS FROM MICHAEL’S Q MAGAZINE INTERVIEW


While the band was in Dublin this summer, Q Magazine interviewed Michael for their special Songwriters’ issue (now available). Michael and Rufus Wainwright talk with William Shaw of Q about their approaches to songwriting and other topics.

Photos were taken by Soeren Solkaer Starbird.

Please click on the links below

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MICHAEL SINGS ON 1 GIANT LEAP RE-LAUNCH


1 Giant Leap creators Jamie Catto and Duncan Bridgeman are set to re-launch the follow up to 2002’s Grammy-nominated “The Unity in Diversity” sometime in the coming year, and Michael, once again, will lend his vocal talents to the pair’s project. This time around, Michael has recorded “I Have

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THE MINUS FIVE HEAD TO SOUTHERN CAL


The Minus Five’s starting lineup of Scott McCaughey, Peter Buck, Jon Ramberg, and Bill Rieflin will take a road trip to Southern California this weekend where they are scheduled to play shows on Friday and Saturday. Here are the details:

Friday Aug. 31 — Lake Arrowhead Village, Lake Arrowhead CA.

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R.E.M. DONATES LIVE TRACK TO NOMRF RELIEF EFFORT


R.E.M. has joined together with New Orleans Musicians’ Relief Fund in an effort to raise funds and awareness for displaced NOLA artists by donating proceeds to NOMRF from an exclusive download. The track R.E.M. donated is “So. Central Rain” from the Olympia Theatre Working Rehearsals this past July.

Please click

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CHRONIC TOWN TURNS 25!


Today is the 25th anniversary of the release of Chronic Town, R.E.M.’s seminal five-song EP, recorded at Drive-In Studio in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in October 1981. Chronic Town was produced by R.E.M. and MItch Easter (Let’s Active) who had previously worked with the band on the famous

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R.E.M. LIVE CD/DVD RELEASE OUT OCTOBER 16TH!


October 16th will see the release of R.E.M.’s first ever live CD/DVD in the course of a career that has spanned 27 remarkable years. The dual package, titled R.E.M. LIVE features 22 songs from the group’s memorable performance at the Point Theatre in Dublin on February 27th, 2005.

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JACKNIFE LEE IN THE TIMES


R.E.M.’s producer Jacknife Lee has released a self-titled solo record (in stores Monday). The Times London has interviewed Jacknife and you can read it all here.

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JIM HERBERT INTERVIEW


Long-time friend and collaborator with the band, Jim Herbert , is featured in the latest issue of Flagpole Magazine. You may remember Jim’s work with R.E.M. from the videos Driver 8, Low, It’s The End Of The World As We Know It, Life And How To Live

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NEW ORLEANS MUSICIANS RELIEF FUND UP FOR MYSPACE IMPACT AWARD


As many of you know, the band has been very supportive of the New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund, an organization devoted to providing financial support to displaced NOLA musicians. You may have seen the moving video R.E.M. and Entertainment Weekly put together recently along with photos of

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MOJO TOP TENS WORKING REHEARSAL TRACK


Mojo has listed one of the band’s tracks from the recent working rehearsals in Dublin among its Mojo Playlist Top 10. These are the songs Mojo calls the “best songs on the box, at the movies, on album, and online right now…” Click this