Today marks the 40th anniversary of the release of R.E.M.’s iconic first album Murmur, a record that’s widely considered among the best rock debuts.

R.E.M. will reissue its debut single “Radio Free Europe” for the first time in 40 years this summer, pressing up new 7-inch vinyl copies of the original Hib-Tone version of the song released in 1981 — and different than the re-recorded version that appeared on 1983’s Murmur. Full details right here.

For this week’s installment of Vintage Video, we present what is believed to be the earliest pro-shot video footage of R.E.M. in concert: a 50-minute live set filmed on Oct. 10, 1982, for broadcast on TV by a South Carolina station about six months before the release of the band’s debut, Murmur. Watch it here.

It’s a nearly unparalleled landmark in the history of ’80s college rock: R.E.M.’s peerless debut album, Murmur, was released on April 12, 1983 — exactly 30 years ago today. Today we celebrate this milestone by looking back at the building blocks of the album we know and love.

The break-up of R.E.M. won’t stop the release of new product from the beloved college-rock vets, and the next title in line is a 25th anniversary reissue of the band’s fifth album, ‘Document,’ which is expected to be formally announced next week and appears likely to be released as soon as mid-September.

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.’

R.E.M. will mark the 25th anniversary of their third album, ‘Fables of the Reconstruction,’ this summer with the third installment in the band’s ongoing reissue series, a double-disc re-release featuring 14 previously unreleased demos — including one never-before-heard song.

With touring and promotion of 2008’s Accelerate now finished, R.E.M. this year will issue, at a minimum, a pair of archival releases, hitting both ends […]