Today is oddball troubadour Robyn Hitchcock’s birthday — he’s 58 — and to mark the occasion, we dug up a pair of rare clips on YouTube featuring The Egyptians performing on something called ‘2Hip4TV’ in 1988.

Gang of Four today unveiled the second music video filmed for its new album ‘Content’: a moody, live performance clip for the slow-burner ‘It Was Never Gonna Turn Out Too Good.’ Watch it here.

The Meat Puppets today offered the first taste of their upcoming 13th studio album, ‘Lollipop,’ in the form of a free MP3 of the track ‘Damn Thing'” via RollingStone.com.

When The Godfathers hit Chicago last week on their first U.S. tour in 20 years, the band stopped by radio station KDHX to record an in-studio session. Hear the four-song set and a 15-minute interview here.

Although it still hasn’t been released in the U.S. yet, INXS has issued an official video for its re-recording of ‘Don’t Change’ to promote last year’s ‘Original Sin’ album, which found the band overhauling its old songs with new singers filling in for the late Michael Hutchence.

This latest round of links and such includes a story on Johnny Marr’s plans to record two solo albums, a look back at Talk Talk, a podcast featuring an interview with Gang of Four, and news that the Pogues’ U.S. tour will be their last.

Tonight’s episode of Slicing Up Eyeballs on Strangeways Radio featured brand-new music from The Cars, The Blow Monkeys and Bad Lieutenant, plus favorites from Husker Du, March Violets, The Dukes of Stratosphear, Guadalcanal Diary and more.

Much of R.E.M.’s new album has been intentionally leaked by the band over the past two months, but now — one week before ‘Collapse Into Now’ actually arrives in stores — you can hear the whole thing, streaming here.

While R.E.M. is busy promoting its forthcoming new album ‘Collapse Into Now,’ the band will continue its reissue series with the release later this year of an expanded 25th anniversary edition of 1986’s ‘Lifes Rich Pageant.’

Bandleader Mike Scott this spring will release an album’s worth of piano and vocal demos recorded for The Waterboys’ 1985 record ‘This Is The Sea.’ The 15-track ‘In A Special Place’ is due out April 25 on EMI.

Indie imprint American Laundromat Recordings this fall will issue a brand-new tribute album to The Smiths featuring newly recorded covers by the likes of Built to Spill’s Doug Martsch, The Wedding Present and its spin-off Cinerama, and former Throwing Muses member Tanya Donelly.

Further evidence that Robert Smith may be revving up for an active 2011: The son of bassist Simon Gallup posted on Facebook that he was in the studio with The Cure last week, news that lit up fan sites and forums over the weekend.

Although Grinderman’s been on the frontburner of late, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds move on to Round 3 of their extensive reissue campaign this spring, delivering expanded re-releases of 1994’s ‘Let Love In,’ 1996’s ‘Murder Ballads,’ 1997’s ‘The Boatman’s Call’ and 2001’s ‘No More Shall We Part.’