R.E.M.’s multiplatinum Automatic For the People will mark its 25th anniversary with a 4-disc reissue this November, with the original 1992 album joined by a live disc featuring the band’s famed Greenpeace benefit concert at the 40 Watt Club, another disc of 20 unreleased demos and a Blu-ray.
More shameless self-promotion: Slicing Up Eyeballs founder/editor Matt Sebastian returns to the Rockin’ the Suburbs podcast to discuss this site’s artist polls, beginning with today’s show on the best of The Cure, followed by discussions of our Smiths and R.E.M. polls later this week.
Record Rack: A round-up of the week’s new albums, expanded reissues and/or box sets, appearing each Monday on Slicing Up Eyeballs. All releases due out this Friday unless noted. This week’s releases include titles from R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, The Fall, Alex Chilton, Devo, Sex Pistols and more.
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.
Police in Athens, Ga., this week arrested a former contractor accused of stealing $20,000 in audio gear from the 40 Watt Club, a burglary that had drawn offers of more than $15,000 in rewards from members of R.E.M., Camper Van Beethoven and others. The gear has been recovered, police said.
Today we unveil the results of Round 3 of our latest Slicing Up Eyeballs readers poll series, a 1-to-282 ranking of R.E.M.’s entire catalog of songs recorded between 1981 — the original Hib-Tone release of “Radio Free Europe” — and the band’s eventual break-up in 2011. Check out the full list right here.
Now that we’ve unveiled the results of our latest Slicing Up Eyeballs readers poll — one that ranks 282 songs recorded by R.E.M. — it seems like a good excuse to put that data to good use. Namely, we’ve thrown together a Spotify playlist of that ranked countdown. Well, minus the 38 songs that aren’t on the streaming service.
Q&A: Daniel Ash on Love and Rockets’ reunion, his new band — and figuring out how to play “So Alive” 
Q&A: Chris Frantz talks Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club and new book ‘Remain in Love’ 
Q&A: Steve Wynn on The Dream Syndicate’s first new album in nearly 30 years 
Q&A: Bauhaus’ David J on his ‘accidental’ concept album ‘Not Long For This World’ 
Q&A: Peter Murphy on ‘Ninth,’ Bauhaus’ break-up, reuniting Dalis Car 
Q&A: Joey Santiago on Pixies’ ‘Doolittle’ tour, possible ‘Surfer Rosa’ shows, new album talk 
Q&A: Prefab Sprout’s Paddy McAloon on new album, changing the world with music 
Q&A: Peter Hook talks ‘Unknown Pleasures’ tour, re-recording Joy Division 