That's Great It Starts With an Earthquake

The latest news from R.E.M.:

• And I Feel Fine...The Best of the IRS Years (1982-1987) comes out next Tuesday. Most interesting for big fans is the bonus disc of tunes handpicked by the boys in the band. The whole set is somewhat of a companion piece to In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003 that was released a few years ago.
• The band is being inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame on September 16. For the first time in a decade, the three remaining members of R.E.M. will perform with original member Bill Berry for the occasion.
• While all four of them are together, there is talk of recording music that would be released for a charitable purpose.
• Best of all, they are beginning to talk about the next album. Around the Sun was not their finest and, in my opinion, a big disappointment after Reveal.