Back in the early ’80s, Late Night with David Letterman would book up-and-coming acts that the 11:30 shows wouldn’t take a chance on. One of these groups was R.E.M. who made their U.S. television debut on the NBC program on October 6, 1983. The Georgians sat for an interview and played Radio Free Europe and So. Central Rain. Take a look at the best quality clip of the spot to surface yet…

R.E.M. – Radio Free Europe and So. Central Rain 

The city of Athens, Georgia has always been known for its beauty and vibrant musical heritage. A plan by an Atlanta-based developer to build a massive mixed-use development anchored by a Wal-Mart has threatened to cut into the beauty and vibe that makes the city special. Patterson Hood has fought back by writing a song about the threat of a Walmart in the heart of the downtown that nurtured the band’s career and assembled the Downtown 13, a musical collective made up of some of Athens’ finest musicians to record and film a video for the tune, named After It’s Gone.

R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, members of DBT and Todd Nance and John Bell of Widespread Panic all participated in the making of After It’s Gone along with members of Futurebirds, Hope For Agoldensummer, Lera Lynn, Justified True Belief and The Quick Hooks to draw attention to this matter. “This Atlanta developer wants to clog our cultural heart and build a bunker the size of three city blocks next to the vibrant downtown scene,” says Hood in a press release. “They hit The Easy Button: a big box store in our downtown district is clearly misguided and a somewhat ridiculous notion. Downtown Athens is a dynamic network of local businesses–Athens already has a meaningful brand and we are extremely protective of it.”

Head over to protectdowntownathens.com to download the song and to read more about how the proposed development will hurt Athens.

In a bit of a shock, alt-rock giants R.E.M. have announced a breakup via their website. As a fan since the Document days who saw his first show on the Green Tour, I’m saddened by this decision. At the same time, I haven’t been thrilled by one of their albums since Automatic For The People.

Here’s the official announcement…

“To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening.” R.E.M.

The group was formed 31 years ago in Athens and embarked on their last tour in 2008. R.E.M. built a huge following slowly and steadily throughout the ’80s before bursting into the mainstream with Green, their major label debut, in 1988. Arguably among the band’s best songs were Radio Free Europe, Fall On Me, Superman and Night Swimming, while R.E.M.’s biggest hits were Drive, What’s The Frequency Kenneth, Stand, Shiny Happy People, The One I Love and the ubiquitous Losing My Religion.

Original drummer Bill Berry left the band in 1997 after valiantly coming back from a brain aneurysm that he suffered on stage two years earlier. The group went on as a three-piece, utilizing additional musicians in the live setting to fill out their sound. Collapse Into Now, which came out in March, currently stands at the band’s last studio album.

Were you an R.E.M. fan? What do you think of this news?

READ ON for my remembrance of watching R.E.M. perform at MSG in 1989 and for the band member’s statements on the breakup…

There are some out there that want you believe we’re about 24 hours away from Judgement Day. Others are taking a much more cynical view of things, so maybe you might want to join this Facebook group and get involved in the post-rapture looting. We’re pretty confident that we’ll be back on Monday with a full day of posts for you, but just in case here’s what seemed like the most appropriate video to post today – R.E.M.’s wordy 1987 classic hit It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)…

R.E.M. – It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

Whether Peter Buck’s claims that R.E.M. won’t be touring in support of their latest studio album, Collapse Into Now, turn out to be true or not, what we do know is that the Athens, GA-based band has recruited 12 different directors to create promo clips for each of the tracks on the record. The latest video comes from NYC filmmaker Jem Cohen, who is “best known for his observational portraits of urban landscapes”.

Let’s check what he came up with for Oh My Heart…

R.E.M. – Oh My Heart

This year has already gotten off to a good start where studio albums from our favorite artists are concerned, but as we enter the third month of 2011 samples from a number of releases we’ve had our eyes on are now available. We wanted to take this opportunity to point our readers in the direction of places to check out these new LPs.

R.E.M. – Collapse Into Now

Head to NPR’s First Look to listen to what the band and some reviewers consider a “return to form” for the seminal alt-rock band.

Robbie Robertson – How to Become Clairvoyant

I’ve had a chance to listen to the whole album and it’s by far my favorite of 2011 thus far. You can sample He Don’t Live Here No More and When The Night Was Young through Robertson’s Facebook Page.

READ ON for tastes of a few more new releases…

Pale Blue eyes is track four of the self-titled third album by The Velvet Underground. Covered by what I find to be a surprising amount of artists, we have narrowed it down to six diverse entries this week. Check in next week for the beginning of the annual Cover Wars March Madness.

The Contestants:

Leading off this week is this stunning rendition from Alejandro Escovedo that illustrates the positive atmosphere produced from an extremely quiet and attentive live audience:

READ ON for five more covers of Pale Blue Eyes…

While Femme Fatale, which appears on 1967′s The Velvet Underground & Nico, is written about Edie Sedgwick – feel free to think about your favorite Femme Fatale as you listen to this week’s covers. Maybe it’s even someone in your life, has anyone written you down as #37 in her book?

The Contestants:

Beck: Last Summer, Beck announced his Record Club project where he would bring in guest musicians and record entire album covers in one day. The first album they did was The Velvet Underground & Nico. He has since also recorded: Songs of Leonard Cohen, Skip Spence’s Oar, and they are currently still posting new tracks from INXS’s Kick every Thursday. Source: Record Club

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Video of the recording of Record Club:

READ ON for the scoop on the rest of this week’s contestants…

In a totally objective and almost too close to call race, Phish fans placed second in Spike TV’s assessment of the worst fans in all of music just behind fans of Screwdriver, a white supremacy themed punk band from the U.K. in the ’70s. Normally, I would probably take offense to such ridiculous claims (while quietly wondering if we wholeheartedly agree), but I’m pretty sure this guy’s balls are hanging out of his gym shorts and he is holding a ventriloquist doll, so i’ll just shake it off and just piggy back off his idea.

So, instead of letting loose with a defensive Phish tirade, let’s take a look at more crappy fanbases in music. To up the stakes a bit (and refrain from a pointless list about Clay Aiken), i’ll stick to music I actually quite like, but do not always share the same affection for the other concert goers.

Dave Matthews Band – Let’s just get this one out in the open real quick and move on. Dave Matthews’ fans suck the joy out of otherwise good music like a pack of Dementers. And no, Harry Potter references do not detract from our credibility in evaluating the tolerability of music fans. Drunk meatheads, incessant clapping, high school girls and loud yapping are simply not my idea of a good time.

String Cheese Incident – Here’s another one that pains me a bit to throw under the bus, but ever since I met this feller in Denver who told me verbatim, “You don’t know the first thing about the space funk. Why don’t you go back to Michigan you cow f*cker? String Cheese rules the space funk,” I’ve been a little salty on the fan base. Plus, I do not like screaming, be it group or otherwise.

READ ON for more of Ryan’s least favorite fanbases including REM…

Over the last couple of years, Knitting Factory founder Michael Dorf has put together a string of highly successful tribute concerts honoring Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John and other rock legends. The next act that has been lined to receive the same treatment will be Athens’ alt.rock legends R.E.M. The concert is set to take place on March 11 at NYC’s Carnegie Hall with the likes of Patti Smith, Vic Chesnutt & Elf Power, Rachel Yamagata, Calexico, Guster, Kimya Dawson, Glenn Hansard of The Frames & Swell Season and Apples in Stereo confirmed to appear. 100% of the event’s net proceeds will benefit musical education programs for underprivileged children.

If you can’t make it to New York for what is sure to be a great night, than maybe you’ll be able to make it out to one of these tours…

• Department Of Eagles schedule a five-date January run (begins: 01/15)
• Singer/songwriter Brett Dennen lines up a lengthy cross-country tour (begins: 01/16)
• Country legend Loretta Lynn scatters dates throughout 2009 (begins: 01/16)
• Fountains Of Wayne put together a string of ’09 dates (begins: 01/14)
• Irish folk-rockers The Pogues return to the states in March (begins: 03/09)
• African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo map out long US run (begins: 01/24)

Finally, two months after the organizers behind ATP New York revealed that they’d be returning to Kutcher’s Country Club in mid-September of 2009 comes the news of some early artist confirmations. The three day fest once again provides an eclectic lineup featuring comedy and music, as well as its  trademark full album sets. Among those that have already signed on include Animal Collective, Panda Bear, David Cross along with Suicide performing their first album and Dirty Three performing Ocean Songs.

Billy Corgan reformed the Smashing Pumpkins last year for an extremely successful album and tour, but didn’t invite original bass player D’arcy Wretzky or original six-stringer James “Don’t Call Me Jimmy” Iha to join in on the fun. Now comes the long-expected announcement that the Pumpkins will celebrate their 20th anniversary with a handful of shows in August and September.

Billy Corgan told Billboard.com in March the group would hit Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, among other locales, and that guests will appear at some of the anniversary gigs. While the Pumpkins have always been about Billy’s lyrics and music, we hope he doesn’t forget about Wretzky or Iha’s major contributions to the band’s sound. Time heals all wounds or something, so let ‘em play!

• R.E.M. kicks off their tour in Vancouver with a few bust outs
• Look for Tea Leaf Green’s new album, Raise Up The Tent, on 7/22
• Stereogum unveils the Black Kids’ new video for Hurricane Jane
• Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Billy Powell undergoes emergency surgery
• Blame Canada: The CRIA orders a shutdown of torrent sites
• Panic compiles the best of Spring Tour for Driving Songs Vol. III

If you thought Jamband Fans were obsessive compulsive stat geeks, we’ve found a group of dudes who take it to the next level. A few extremely zealous record collectors have spent the last ten years working on The Whitburn Project in an effort to preserve and share high quality recordings of every popular song since 1890′s. Be sure to download this ridiculously complete spreadsheet they’ve come up with to track the chart progress of the tunes they’re collecting.

We envy Taylor Hawkins. Not only does the guy have a cushy job as the Foo Fighters’ drummer, but he’s gotten to live out his childhood dreams. Hawkins spent the majority of his time growing up in Fort Worth, Texas listening to Queen and Rush records. A few years back Taylor got to play with Queen’s Roger Taylor and Brian May, and Saturday night he jammed with Rush’s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson at a Foo Fighters gig in Toronto. That’s one lucky dude.

Geddy and Alex joined the Foo Fighters an hour into their set just as Taylor Hawkins started his drum solo. The trio improv’d for a bit before busting out a killer YYZ that showed off Hawkins’ prowess on the kit. Check out the crowd’s reaction on this decent video of the YYZ.

Here’s a look at what else went down this weekend:

• You can watch the Black Crowes’ recent Unplugged taping on VH1.com
• Ultimate Guitar unveils the first inductees to the Groupie Hall of Fame
• Jimmy DeRo finds out why Ticketmaster isn’t so necessary of an evil
• R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe talks to Billboard about the making of Accelerate
• It’s time for yet another classic rock lyrics quiz [via Here Comes TFlood]
• Girl Talk’s Greg Gillis discusses the “leak” of the Night Ripper follow-up
• Joshua Redman delivers on the promise he showed as a young phenom
• Find out why Bob Marley’s heirs are jamming the Weinstein Brothers
• Miss Cellania finds photos of nearly every Abbey Road parody ever made

We loved the lo-fi feel of the Black Kids demos that made the rounds a few months ago, so we were a little worried that the band would overproduce their Almost Gold debut. Well perhaps we should spend less time worrying and more time writing, because the re-recorded version of I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You sounds pretty fuckin’ good.

Read on after the jump for the deliciously bizarre video for the single…

In case you missed it earlier this week, the New York Daily News on Tuesday reported that R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe used his interview in April issue of SPIN to officially venture out from the closet. Again. I think. No? First time? I thought…wait, didn’t this happen two or three times already?

Old news or breaking news, it don’t matter to me. I just hope that maybe now Monsieur Stipe will feel confident enough to publicly respond to my ad in Relix Personals: “GWM fanboy seeks GWM musician to dip his bald head in baby oil and rub it all over my body ’til I forget my troubles.” Fingers crossed, my friends.

The cynic in me thinks this reeks of extra publicity for the R.E.M.’s forthcoming album, Accelerate, but my Bambi-esque naiveté believes his motives are pure. Stipe’s quoted as saying, “I recognize that to have public figures be very open about their sexuality helps some kid somewhere out there,” and that’s admirable as fuck. With teenage suicide rates among young homosexters way out of proportion with the rest of society, it’s important for sexual role models to emerge. Where are the openly gay rock stars? The lead actors? The ballplayers? The Republican politicians? I mean, a confused 16-year-old boy needs someone cooler to look up to than Melissa Etheridge and Jim J. Bullock.

So yesterday I called Stipe on behalf of the longstanding and celebrated “Out” section of Hidden Track, and we sat down for a lengthy interview on the subject (no baby oil). Unfortunately my digital recorder jammed half way through the proceedings, and all I’m left with are the 10 original R.E.M. song titles that he felt obligated to change lest he out himself before he was ready. Interesting list:

• Shiny Happy People are Fabulous!
• Top or Bottom, Kenneth?
• Everybody Hurts (Hey, You Know What Else Hurts? Eleven Inches of Hard Black Dong In Your Intestinal Tract. Hurts So Good, Yo)
• Nightswimming; Cornholing
• It’s The End of the World as We Know It For Christian Evangelicals
• The One I Love (Loves Assless Chaps)
• Monty Got a Raw Deal [sic]
• Losing My Religion After Father Tony Showed Me His Holy Spirit
• Stand (And Now That You’re Standing, Grab Your Ankles)
• Man in My Moon
• Fall On Me, Bruce

Yup, the original parenthetical for Everybody Hurts surprised me too. Look, I don’t even work here any more. But, on the figurative serious, I asked the new HT Overlords for some brief air time in order to say one genuine thing (for once in my life): Good shit, Stipe. We kid ‘cuz we care. You may have surprised, well, nobody, but the public sentiment you’ve shared is golden. If what you said is true, I think that’s noble and honorable, and I’m behind you. Well, not too close — you’re about 25 years too old for me. Nonetheless, I salute you, sir. Eyes up here.

How does an aging alt.rock band connect with a new generation of music fans? Well if your R.E.M. you hook up a the music discovery website iLike and allow people to stream your new album – Accelerate – for free a full six days before it hit stores for what the site is calling their first world-wide listening party. Here’s what lead singer Michael Stipe had to say about this unique collaboration…

Collaborating with iLike, and debuting Accelerate across the Web is in keeping with the spirit and immediacy of the album. We wanted to do something superfast and super real. Music, art, and pop culture are about right now, and nothing else matters. Accelerate is our turbo-charged response to the times we live in.

So starting on March 24th folks will be able to embed a player on the social networking site of their choice and give it a spin.

As many of you prepare to head down to “Hippie Spring Break,” we thought we would check in again with Ethan Schwartz – one of Langerado’s founders and promoters – about the move from Sunrise to Big Cypress, late-night sets, and two bands that his mom has actually heard of plus so much more…

Some Dude: Sunrise had been home to the festival for the past three years, why did you guys decide to make the move to Big Cypress? Was the switch in sites in hopes of being able to secure it for the long term, like Superfly has done with Manchester?

Ethan Schwartz: We were limited to 15,000 attendees at Markham Park, and last year we reached that. We’d been in discussions with the Seminole Tribe for a few years, and last year they came out, loved what they saw, and invited us to our new home. We’ve got a lot of room to grow at the new site, but at our own pace.

SD: What will the new site offer that you weren’t able to in the past?

ES: It’s actually a lot easier for the attendees this year. Besides offering on-site camping for everyone, the late night shows will take place on site this year, so that will keep people from having to drive 30 minutes to downtown Ft. Lauderdale to see a late night show. Plus, there’s no chance the late night shows will sell out, so no one misses anything. It’s actually cheaper to attend Langerado this year, camp and do the late nights than it has been in the past. Read on for more of Some Dude’s interview with Ethan Schwartz about Langerado…