Ex-Bauhaus leader Peter Murphy finally shot back at would-be tourmate Brendan Perry today, slamming the former Dead Can Dance ‘other half’ for his ‘pretentious musical tourism’ and threatening to ‘take no hesitation in suing your bad ass.’

And here it is: ‘Tiny Daggers,’ the final installment from Beck and his Record Club cohorts — St. Vincent, Liars and Os Mutantes — as they complete their cover of INXS’ 1987 hit album ‘Kick.’

The Library of Congress today added R.E.M.’s debut single ‘Radio Free Europe’ — one of the cornerstones of ’80s college rock — to its National Recording Registry, honoring the landmark song as ‘culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.’

The bat-like Peter Murphy — who hits the big screen next week with a cameo as a vampire in ‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’ — today announced he’ll release his ninth solo album, the fittingly titled ‘Ninth,’ in the fall, following this summer’s Dirty Dirt Tour.

Lloyd Cole will release ‘Broken Record’ — the former Commotions leader’s first full-band album in a decade — this September, and says he’s ‘happy we got these songs finished because I’m not sure I’ll make another record like this again.’

This week’s new releases include brand-new studio albums from Laurie Anderson (‘Homeland’) and Front Line Assembly (‘Improvised Electronic Device’), plus expanded reissues from Spandau Ballet (‘True,’ ‘Parade’) and A Flock of Seagulls (‘Listen’).

Squeeze co-leader Chris Difford is in the midst of releasing his third solo album, ‘Cashmere If You Can,’ piece-by-piece each week through the Saturday Morning Music Club, which delivers multimedia bundles to subscribers’ desktop apps each Saturday.

The producer of ‘Playing the Angel: The Musical’ — which was to have been based around Depeche Mode songs such as ‘Personal Jesus’ and ‘Walking in My Shoes’ — has pulled the plug on the project, citing ‘miscommunication and misunderstanding’ over his rights to use the band’s music.

Reunited 2 Tone ska legends The Specials performed ‘Gangsters’ and ‘Nite Klub’ on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ last night, and have begun setting dates for a late-summer return to North America, with concerts announced so far in New York, New Jersey and Toronto.

This week Beck and his Record Club gang tackle one of the lesser-known tracks on INXS’ ‘Kick,’ ‘Calling All Nations,’ offering up a nice, mellow jam with St. Vincent’s Annie Clark once again taking the mic.

Scottish dream-pop trio Cocteau Twins later this month will reissue their first three albums and a bonus EP on audiophile quality, 180-gram vinyl in a super-limited 5LP box set designed by 4AD’s famed Vaughan Oliver.

A cutting-edge theater company on the Mediterranean island of Malta has acquired the rights to use Depeche Mode songs such as ‘Personal Jesus’ and ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’ in ‘Playing the Angel: The Musical,’ which is set to open early next year.

This year may be nearly half over, but it’s certainly not too late to catch up with The Smiths Project, an ambitious and impressive effort by San Jose, Calif., musician Janice Whaley to record layered vocal arrangements of every song ever released by The Smiths — all by the end of 2010.