Back in June, R.E.M.’s Mike Mills and Peter Buck traveled to Norway for the Sun Station Vadsø festival, featuring performances by a series of intertwined bands including The Dream Syndicate, Filthy Friends, The Minus 5 and The Baseball Project. Watch footage of them playing R.E.M. songs.

Former R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck’s commitment to making new music — and releasing it on vinyl — continues this fall when he follows up his recently released second solo album with a brand-new four-track 7-inch EP titled Opium Drivel. The 33 rpm EP will be released Oct. 21 on Buck’s usual label, Mississippi Records.

By now you’ve heard about R.E.M.’s Mike Mills breaking the news of David Letterman’s retirement yesterday, but here’s the reason he was even there: Mills and former bandmate Peter Buck reunited on “The Late Show” to back Joseph Arthur’s performance of “Walk on the Wild Side.”

Buren Fowler — who played lead guitar in Southern rock act Drivin’ n’ Cryin’ from 1988 to 1993 after working as Peter Buck’s guitar tech and an occasional second guitarist on two R.E.M. tours — passed away Friday night, according to messages posted to both Drivin’ n’ Cryin’s official website and Facebook page.

This week’s new releases include the second solo album from R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, as well as a new studio record from Suzanne Vega, a reissue of the debut album from New Zealand’s Verlaines and a reissue of a Shane MacGowan & The Popes live CD/DVD set.

Peter Buck is back with his second solo album, another vinyl-only release — ambitiously titled I Am Back To Blow Your Mind Once Again — that he’ll support with a short round of dates later this month in the Midwest and South opening for and then backing roots-rocker Alejandro Escovedo

Peter Buck this month hosted his third-annual Todos Santos Music Festival in the southern Baja region of Mexico, a week-long event that featured performances by The Minus 5, Live’s Ed Kowalczyk, Drivin’ N Cryin’, The Dream Syndicate and, of course, Buck himself.