Stereogum — First Aid Kit covered R.E.M.’s Up track “Walk Unafraid” for the soundtrack to Reese Witherspoon’s new backpacking movie Wild. Whereas the original broods and jangles in equal measure, First Aid Kit’s version takes a dark-tinged chamber-folk... more info

Stereogum — R.E.M., Neutral Milk Hotel, and of Montreal are donating to the restoration of the St. Mary’s Church steeple in Athens, Georgia. The steeple was once attached to the church in which R.E.M. played their first show in 1980. The church is no longer a ... more info

LargeHeartedBoy — Big Shiny Robot and Fresh Air interviewed Amy Poehler about her new memoir Yes, Please. R.E.M frontman Michael Stipe discussed coming out at the Guardian. Tin House interviewed author Rene Steinke. Paste recommended music videos for Halloween. Blake ... more info

Stereogum — Michael Stipe has published a piece for The Guardian in which he reflects on how his life has changed since publicly coming out at the height of R.E.M.’s career. “In 1994, most people had a largely binary perception of sexuality — the message w... more info

Stereogum — Recently, R.E.M.’s Mike Mills traveled to 1093 Boulevard Studios in Athens, GA to perform a new composition called “Concerto For Violin & Rock Band.” He played alongside his childhood friend and professional violinist Robert McDuffie and a few ... more info

LargeHeartedBoy — Austin Kleon shared a "manifesto for reading." Stream the trailer for the documentary R.E.M. by MTV. Vita.mn interviewed Dee Dee Penny of Dum Dum Girls. Poet Billy Collins shared his love for Yeats' "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" at the... more info

Stereogum — MTV isn’t really in the business of saluting important musical figures, but the network has put together a new documentary honoring R.E.M., going back through their own faults of footage to tell the band’s story. From the looks of things, the doc... more info

NME — The collection will feature a new documentary about the band, who split in 2011 more info

Brooklyn Vegan — Former REM frontman Michael Stipe dropped out of the University of Georgia (he was an art major) when R.E.M. took off, but has been focusing once again on art since the band split in 2011. He's back at a... more info

Stereogum — Line & Circle have always attracted comparisons to early R.E.M. “Wounded Desire,” from the LA band’s new self-titled EP, affirms those comparisons not just in terms of style but quality. On the other hand, There’s a certain point where a band... more info