The Music Fix — Stipe finds his voice and Buck cranks it up. Gary K on REM's re-issued fourth album. more info

ContactMusic — Musicians including John Mayer, Maroon 5 and R. E. M. have thrown their weight behind a campaign to stamp out concert ticket fraud. More than 30 artists have signed up to support America's Fans First Coalition, an organisation dedicated to protecting... more info

Guardian Music — Malcom Lacey has made a breakup album of such sustained sorrow it feels like you're intruding on someone's private griefHometown: South Florida.The lineup: Malcom Lacey (vocals, music).The background: Plantation by south Florida teenager Malcom Lacey... more info

Guardian Music — Previously unpublished images of stars including Madonna, Michael Stipe and Chrissie Hynde go up in Manhattan gallery• See a gallery of pictures from the exhibitionA revealing archive of unseen photographs of music stars taken more than 20 years ag... more info

Pop Candy — Greetings! Today is kind of a big day on the blog, so stay tuned for some news. more info

LargeHeartedBoy — I am most looking forward to the 25th anniversary edition of R.E.M.'s Life's Rich Pageant, which as been remastered and includes a 19-track bonus CD of demos. Another reissue worth noting this week is the 4-LP Dead Can Dance's... more info

Stereogum — Thirty years ago today (7/8/81), R.E.M.’s first single, “Radio Free Europe” b/w “Sitting Still,” was released by the small independent Atlanta-based label Hib-Tone. The label’s owner Jonny Hibbert mixed both tracks. The A-Side was subsequ... more info

The Vinyl Villain — It’s Independence Day over on the other side of the pond, and I thought I’d mark the occasion with a wee mention of my favourite American band of the moment….or indeed of the past 15 years or so.I can’t claim to have known much about The Nati... more info

Guardian Music — Whether or not their later stuff really is that bad, REM were once unbeatable, says Alexis PetridisA month or so ago, the comedian Stewart Lee gave a fascinating interview to the online magazine the Quietus about his favourite albums, during which ta... more info

ContactMusic — Courtney Love has penned a song about R. E. M. star Michael Stipe. The Hole frontwoman and her late husband Kurt Cobain became friends with Stipe in the early 1990s, and after years of working on a track about the singer, Love has finally finished it... more info