R.E.M. has released it newest video, this one for “Man Sized Wreath,” from “Accelerate.” It was produced by Crush, a Toronto-based video production company that also produced the video for “Hollow Man.” The new video, which you can view here on spinner.com or sometime today on remhq.com, is a computer-generated “trail of cubes and a crudely designed motorcade are used to make a bold statement on the callous power of authority, and the distractions that keep people from recognizing the trouble around them,” according to Spinner. So don’t expect to see the band, though I did catch one clip of Michael singing during one short clip.

R.E.M. was in top form as the band ended its North American tour Saturday at Lakewood Ampitheatre, ripping through 28 songs that spanned the band’s 26-year career. Here’s a photo gallery from the show.

And as I figured, there are already several videos on YouTube from their performance. This one isn’t necessarily the best video out there, but it has good sound. It’s from the start of the show with “These Days” (probably my favorite R.E.M. song of all time) and “Living Well Is the Best Revenge” from “Accelerate.”

Paste Magazine gets a preview of Of Montreal’s new album, due out in October. They give a track-by-track review. Pretty good stuff, it sounds like.

The Windy City Times, a gay and lesbian publication, has a story about R.E.M., and of course it focuses on Michael Stipe’s sexuality. It’s the first time I’ve ever read a lead like this: “Michael Stipe, lead vocalist and auteur of R.E.M., is unquestionably the oddest contradictory queer rockstar on the planet.”

R.E.M. will appear on “Austin City Limits” to open the show’s 34th season tonight. The episode airs at 9 p.m. on GPB.

It’s the band’s first appearance on the show, and their performance was recorded in front of a small studio audience - about 350 people - during the band’s stint in March at Austin’s South By Southwest. Released in April, “Accelerate” was No. 1 in seven countries in its first week and debuted at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Charts.

“ACL” will feature some new songs from “Accelerate,” including “Hollow Man,” along with classics like “Losing My Religion.” Encore airings of the show will be at midnight May 31, 11 p.m. June 1 and 1 a.m. June 2.

A couple of R.E.M. stories/reviews as the band kicks off its tour: The Globe and Mail and on Jam! ShowBiz.

OnlineAthens had a lengthy look at the indie record store business on Sunday. Includes a video with a couple of faces/voices you might recognize.

A story on The Whigs in the (Boulder) Colorado Daily. They played there Thursday night.

The (Vancouver) Province has an interview with Mike Mills. R.E.M. plays there tonight.

A show review of Dark Meat and Quiet Hooves in the St. Louis Riverfront Times.

The Augusta Metro Spirit has a review of Jason Beckham’s new CD, “Union Park and Magnolia Street.”

The Boise Weekly has a very good story about The Whigs. They’re playing in Boise tonight as they continue their touring assault across the country, and even a foray into Europe in July.

The Baton Rouge Advocate has a story about The Packway Handle Band, who will be playing there next week. The band is also touring around the region, and will be home on June 2 for a show at Ashford Manor.

And the Canadian Globe and Mail has a story about a little band from Athens called R.E.M., who kick off their summer tour tomorrow in Vancouver.

A writer from the Times Colonist in Victoria (on canada.com) has compiled the “Top 10 contributions R.E.M. made to music.” It’s rather flattering: “At the controls of this masterplan was R.E.M., a then-unknown band from Athens, Ga. The ‘R.E.M. Model,’ as it became known, was so brilliant, it inspired a generation of bands that went on to become stars themselves.”

The National Post (Canada) has an interview with R.E.M.’s Peter Buck. Usually Mr. Buck gives some in-depth answers in his interviews. This is mostly short and pithy, i.e.: “Some people watch (”American Idol”), but kids nowadays are pretty smart. That horrible boy band sh-t and pop Idol crap is, I don’t know, some people listen to it. I’m lucky I guess - my kids don’t.”

The Daily Vanguard (student newspaper at Portland State University) posted an interview with Dark Meat’s Ben Clack today. Good interview. One of Clack’s lines: “Crazy shit happens all the time, we’re pretty wild.” Dark Meat is on tour all month and playing in Portland tonight.

R.E.M. has released the video for “Hollow Man,” the second single off “Accelerate.”