Scotsman.com — **** Warner 9362496271, £12.99 more info

Popdose — It’s not often that a band releases two solid albums in the same week — twenty years apart. But such a gesture is just all in a day’s work for R.E.M. Tomorrow, the Athens, Georgia, rockers release the excellent Collapse Into Now, their fifteent... more info

Unreality Music — Michael Stipe says he’s “80” per cent gay. The REM frontman has enjoyed relationships with both men and women in the past but says it wasn’t until meeting his current boyfriend that he realised he preferred men. He said: “On a sliding scale... more info

The Music Fix — Do R.E.M. stand tall or collapse on their 15th album? more info

LargeHeartedBoy — American Songwriter interviews DeVotchKa frontman Nick Urata. Tea Obreht talks to Weekend Edition about her new novel, The Tiger's Wife. An excerpt is also presented. Space.com recommends a playlist of wakeup songs for the space shuttle's final missi... more info

Totally Fuzzy — W said... DRIVE-IN MOVIES AT REDUX This week watch "FIRST SPACESHIP ON VENUS" (1960) and grab some music... * FRANK SINATRA Sinatra At The Sands (1966) * FRANK SINATRA Sinatra And Sextet: Live In Paris (1962/1994) * THE RAT PACK At Villa Venice, Chic... more info

Guardian Music — Enigmatic singer Michael Stipe on 'the massive insecurity of not being articulate', 30 years with REM, and why he's driven to remake his world in birch plywoodMichael Stipe wanders into the lobby of the Gramercy Park Hotel in Manhattan, looking flust... more info

The Telegraph — REM's Collapse into Now is mature and commanding. Rating: * * * more info

Powerpopulist — Weekends seem the ideal time to post a long list, especially considering up to what these great bloggers have been. Many thanks to them for hosting and posting the following. Click pretty much anything in colors below and away you shall be whisked.Se... more info

Culture Bully — New music video for "Überlin" by R.E.M., starring Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass) and directed by Sam Taylor-Wood. more info