Two years after the last big swell of rumors, reports of an impending reunion of The Stone Roses once again are flying, thanks to a U.K. tabloid’s claim the band is ‘getting back together after Ian Brown and John Squire buried the hatchet on one of the most bitter feuds in rock ‘n’ roll history.’

To celebrate the birthday today of Black Francis, the songwriter whose lyrics gave name to this site, check out full video of the Pixies’ classic 15-song set opening for the Throwing Muses at London’s Town & Country Club on May 1, 1988

Mid-way through a short North American tour in support of the just-released Red Barked Tree, U.K. post-punk legends Wire dropped by ‘Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’ last night for their first American television performance in a quarter century.

Since the announcement last month that MTV plans to revive its ‘120 Minutes’ franchise as both a new monthly TV show and a quick-hit web series, the music-averse network has begun populating its MTV Hive website with performances by the likes of The Cure, Pixies, The Jesus and Mary Chain and World Party.

Monday night in New York City, Patti Smith sang and read poetry at Milk Studios for the opening of ‘Illumination: Who Are Poets,’ an exhibit by rock ‘n’ roll photographer Steven Sebring — and was joined onstage by Michael Stipe for an impromptu performance of R.E.M. smash ‘Everybody Hurts.’

This week’s installment of Slicing Up Eyeballs on Strangeways Radio featured all-new music by Thurston Moore, The Feelies, Depeche Mode, Peter Murphy, Robyn Hitchcock, The Cars and Juliana Hatfield — plus favorites from Primal Scream, The Stone Roses and more.

Dinosaur Jr will embark on a short East Coast tour this June to perform the band’s third album — 1988’s nine-track ‘Bug,’ featuring the trio’s break-out single ‘Freak Scene’ — in its entirety at five concerts.

Reuniting as Dalis Car for the first time in 26 years last fall, Peter Murphy and an ailing Mick Karn were able to record four new songs before the former Japan bassist succumbed to cancer in January — music that will be released as the ‘Dalis Car 2’ EP later this year.

Kate Bush returned to the studio to record all-new vocals for the 10 tracks off ‘The Sensual World’ and ‘The Red Shoes’ that comprise her forthcoming collection ‘Director’s Cut,’ the singer announced today, revealing both the set’s tracklist and its first single — a reworked ‘Deeper Understanding.’

Depeche Mode today posted the 7-minute ‘Never Let Me Down Again (Eric Prydz Remix),’ off the upcoming ‘Remixes 2: 81-11.’ Stream it here in its entirety.

This week’s new releases include a brand-new album from The Smithereens (‘Smithereens 2011′), INXS’ collection of re-recorded hits (‘Original Sin’), reissues of Material Issue (‘International Pop Overthrow’), The Art of Noise (‘Into Battle With…’), Sebadoh (‘Bakesale’) and Dead Can Dance (‘Spiritchaser’).

The playlist from tonight’s ‘Dark Wave’ — the weekly Sunday night ‘darker side of alternative’ show on Sirius XM’s 1st Wave — features tracks by The Mission U.K., Cetu Javu, Julian Cope, The Sugarcubes, The Psychedelic Furs and more.

Our friends over at Strangeways Radio today debut “Guest List,” which brings in musicians from across the alternative spectrum to spin some of their favorite tunes.