Robert Smith this week announced that the first of two new albums from The Cure could be out as soon as September, ahead of the band’s European tour.

Neil Taylor — who co-compiled the magazine’s original C86 compilation tape and curated next month’s expanded 3CD reissue — is writing a book about the U.K. indie-pop scene between 1983 and 1986 that promises “be the gospel according to those who were truly passionate about the music.”

Cherry Red Records this week revealed the final tracklist for its deluxe-edition reissue of the NME’s legendary C86 cassette, which finds the original 22-song indie-pop compilation now expanded into a 3CD set — up from a planned two-disc collection — that will feature 72 total tracks.

Cherry Red Records next year will reissue the NME’s legendary C86 cassette — a compilation of jangly guitar-based indie-pop so influential that its title became synonymous with the genre itself — in an expanded 2CD edition, curated by Neil Taylor, one of three writers at the U.K. music weekly who compiled the original tape.

The NME later this month will bestow its “Godlike Genius” award to Johnny Marr, and in conjunction with the issue celebrating that honor the guitarist recorded a couple videos for the publication’s “Song Stories” series in which he offers insight into the writing of the Smiths’ “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.”

Morrissey today discounted rumors that he plans to retire in 2014, providing a statement to fansite True To You that says, ‘Morrissey would like to stress that reports of his ‘retirement,’ as excitably earmarked by several newspapers and websites, are ‘wishful thinking’ on behalf of the writers.’

With Morrissey’s libel case against the NME slated to go to trial in a month, the music weekly today apologized to the singer, writing, ‘We wish to make clear that we do not believe that he is a racist; we didn’t think we were saying he was and we apologise to Morrissey if he or anyone else misunderstood our piece in that way.’

The original five-person lineup of Scottish indie-pop outfit Close Lobsters — immortalized on the NME’s genre-defining C86 compilation cassette — will reunite for the first time since 1989 for a very brief ‘People of Europe Rise Up Tour’ this spring and summer that so far features performances in Madrid, Glasgow and Berlin.

Our latest roundup of stuff includes a stream of the NME’s seminal C86 cassette, plus a swanky photo gallery featuring Dave Gahan, Nick Cave, Bryan Ferry and more; some live video by The Church; and a look back at The Cure circa 1991.

Gang of Four will support its first all-new studio album in more than 15 years — ‘Content,’ due out on Jan. 25 on Yep Roc Records — with a 13-date North American headlining tour in February, the band announced on Wednesday.

Bassist Eric Avery, who has now twice quit Jane’s Addiction, has decided to open up for the first time about his experience on last year’s reunion tour by submitting to a series of video interviews conducted by long-running fan site Xiola.org.

No stranger to oddball photo shoots, Brit-rock iconoclast Morrissey appears on the cover of tomorrow’s Guardian Weekend magazine with a cat perched atop his unsmiling head for a feature headlined ‘Bigmouth strikes again: Morrissey lets rip.’

Tweet There was a bit of a hubub a few weeks ago when the NME reported that  The Clash’s classic 1979 double album London Calling […]