R.E.M.

On the 1990 Roky Erickson tribute album, "Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye," R.E.M. offered a memorable sendup of the legendary rocker's "I Walked with a Zombie." Some believe the song is a recounting of the legendary performer's time in Rusk State Hospital in Texas, where he was sent after a pl...

Athens' own Modern Skirts have had an awesome month, kicking off July with an opening gig for R.E.M. in Amsterdam, followed by a show at the Rock Werchter Festival in Belgium and then the O2 Wireless Festival in London's Hyde Park.

Makin' Athens proud, Widespread Panic will be the third Athens band inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in this decade; the B-52s (which got its start in Athens in 1977) earned the honor in 2000 followed by R.E.M. in 2006.

R.E.M. this week released a new live digital EP, "Live in London," available exclusively on iTunes and featuring nine songs recorded during the band's March 26 performance at the Apple Store on London's Regent Street.

It was a fortuitous typo for the Fred Meyer retail chain. This spring, an employee intending to order a special CD-DVD edition of R.E.M.'s latest release "Accelerate" inadvertently entered the "LP" code instead. Soon boxes of the big, vinyl discs showed up at several stores.

R.E.M. wrapped up its North American tour in front of a packed house - nearly 20,000 fans - Saturday night at Lakewood Ampitheatre in Atlanta.

Related articles from athensmusic.com, REMHQ and more.

R.E.M. performs at Lakewood Amphitheatre in Atlanta on Saturday night. The band's new album, "Accelerate," was released April 1 to critical acclaim.

Related articles from athensmusic.com, REMHQ and more.

While R.E.M. has grown far beyond its hometown roots, its music is as poignant as ever in the music city where the band got its start.

Now it can be told: In 2004, during the recording and release of the "Around the Sun" (Warner Bros.) album, R.E.M. was on the ropes.

On March 31, nearly 300 people gathered at the Melting Point for an Athens pre-release party for R.E.M.'s "Accelerate" album to benefit Community Connection of Northeast Georgia and Family Connection/Communities in Schools.

As it turns out, the various means employed to keep R.E.M.'s newest album under wraps (and out of the hands of Internet pirates - Arrr!) until its Tuesday release haven't kept "Accelerate" from already being heard 'round the world.