Seemingly out of the, uh, blue, R.E.M. this week debuted a music video for the song “Blue” off swan song ‘Collapse into Now.’ The clip, posted here, is directed by actor James Franco and features a hodge-podge of visual imagery, including shots of Lindsay Lohan.

For this week’s “120 Minutes” Rewind,we present a great 20-year time capsule: It’s the full, hour-long “120 Minutes Presents: The Alternative Year in Rock” special that aired on on Nov. 24, 1992 — the Tuesday before Thanksgiving — and features host Dave Kendall in what likely was one of his final “120” appearances.

For a generation raised by MTV — particularly in the late ’80s and early ’90s — they were ubiquitous: those 30-second “Rock the Vote” promos featuring stars ranging from R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe to Anthony Keidis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Madonna imploring viewers to register to vote and cast their ballots.

Our latest link round-up includes stories about following Morrissey around on tour, plus items on Dinosaur Jr frontman J Mascis’ stolen guitar, the Happy Mondays’ reunion album and a new solo record from Cocteau Twins’ Robin Guthrie, plus an interview with former R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck.

This week’s new release include the CD debut of “Athens, GA – Inside/Out,” paired with a DVD, plus Clan of Xymox’s cover album “Kindred Spirits,” featuring their take on The Cure, Depeche Mode and more, as well as three Kirsty MacColl reissues and an audiophile vinyl pressing of R.E.M.’s ‘Document.’

Peter Buck finally announced his debut solo album today, posting a note on R.E.M.’s website that reveals the album — we’re still not sure what it’s called; he doesn’t mention its title — will be released this Friday in a super-limited, 2,000-copy vinyl-only run by Portland, Ore.-based Mississippi Records.

In honor of this week’s release of the expanded 25th anniversary reissue of ‘Document,’ R.E.M. has posted the album’s original electronic press kit, a 6-minute, black-and-white video dubbed “A Conversation with Michael Stipe” that would have been sent to music journalists in 1987 to promote the then-forthcoming record.