As promised, former R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe today followed up the October release of his debut solo single “Your Capricious Soul” with a second single, “Drive to the Ocean,” released on his 60th birthday. Like its predecessor, this single also benefit a climate action group. Hear it right here.

The Pet Shop Boys this week debuted the third single off their upcoming 14th studio album Hotspot, a dance track called “Monkey Business” that will be released as a physical and digital single next month with remixes and a brand-new B-side called “At Rock Bottom.” Hear the new single right here.

Former Oingo Boingo frontman and Oscar-nominated film composer Danny Elfman will make a rare concert appearance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April, appearing on a bill toppped by headliners Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott and Frank Ocean. Details right here.

Former R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe will follow up the October release of his debut solo single “Your Capricious Soul” with a second single, “Drive to the Ocean,” to be released on his 60th birthday on Jan. 4. Like its predecessor, this single also benefit a climate action group. Details right here.

Vaughan Oliver, the British artist and graphic designer who helped create the visual identity of the 4AD record label and so many of the legendary imprint’s best-known bands, including the Pixies, Cocteau Twins, Throwing Muses, The Breeders, This Mortal Coil, Dead Can Dance and more, died Sunday.

On this Christmas Eve, Nick Cave has dropped a little gift for Bad Seeds fans: He’s streaming the band’s recent 2-hour, 23-minute concert film “Distant Sky Live in Copenhagen” — filmed on Oct. 20, 2017, at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen — on YouTube for free. Watch it right here.

What better way to celebrate the holidays to finally — at long last — deliver the results of the sixth installment of our Best of the ’80s Redux series, the sporadic Slicing Up Eyeballs readers poll in which our readers have now determined the Top 100 songs of 1985. Check out the full list right here.

We’ve created a Spotify playlist to accompany our just-posted Top 100 songs of 1985 readers poll results. As you can see (and hear), the playlist opens with The Cure’s “Inbetween Days” and closes with Felt’s “Primitive Painters” — with 98 more songs in between. Yes, this time, all 100 of our selections are streaming on Spotify.

Cherry Red Records early next year will continue its series of imagined sequels to the NME’s famed C86 cassette compilation with the release of the three-disc, 63-track C90 box set, featuring U.K. indie artists such as The Charlatans, Spiritualized, Manic Street Preachers, Lush, Slowdive and more. Full tracklist right here.

The reunion of goth-rock legends Bauhaus will extend beyond the three shows the band played in Hollywood in November and December as the group — Peter Murphy, ‪Daniel Ash‬, Kevin Haskins, David J — today announced additional concerts in London and New York City. Full details right here.

The complete take of The Smiths’ first known recording — a bedroom tape featuring Johnny Marr and Steven Patrick Morrissey performing The Cookies’ “I Want A Boy For My Birthday” in August 1982 — appeared online Sunday, courtesy of an early associate of the band. Hear the full song right here.

The Punk Rock Bowling & Music Festival in Las Vegas last month announced that Madness will headline its 2020 installment along with the reunited Circle Jerks and Oi! pioneers Cock Sparrer. Now the 2 Tone-era ska heroes have announced three more rare U.S. concerts around that festival next May.

Seven years after Bob Geldof reunited with The Boomtown Rats for the first time since their 1986 split, the group is set to release a new album , marking 2020 — the Year of the Rat — with a new 10-song collection called Citizens of Boomtown, the band’s first LP since 1984. Details and tour dates right here.