Now that he’s unemployed, former R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe has plenty of time on his hands, which might explain his drop-in at the end of Thursday night’s ‘The Colbert Report.’ Stephen Colbert paid fitting tribute to ‘legendary rockers The R.E.M.s,’ then permanently enshrined Stipe on his ‘rock ‘n’ roll shelf of fame.’

This week’s new releases include a new HD, career-spanning box set from This Mortal Coil, plus new albums from The Mission’s Wayne Hussey and former Ministry member Chris Connelly, plus a new Brian Eno EP.

Amoeba Music recently posted the latest in its ‘What’s In My Bag?’ video series, and this installment’s latest subject is none other than Peter Murphy — filmed, presumably, during the former Bauhaus leader’s June visit to the San Francisco outlet for an in-store performance promoting the release of ‘Ninth.’

This week’s new releases include expanded 2CD/1DVD reissues of Erasure’s ‘Wonderland’ and ‘The Circus,’ plus new albums from Brian Eno (‘Drums Between the Bells’) and Blondie (‘Panic of Girls’), and a 2DVD/1CD live set from The Damned (‘Machine Gun Etiquette Anniversary Live Set’).

More than a year after premiering at South By Southwest, the David Byrne concert film ‘Ride, Rise, Roar’ — documenting the creation and staging of the ‘Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno’ tour in 2008 and 2009 — arrives on DVD and Blu-ray next week.

This week’s new releases include ‘Staring at the Sea,’ the second post-reunion album from The Blow Monkeys; ‘Bordeaux,’ a new collaboration between Cocteau Twins’ Robin Guthrie and Harold Budd; and the belated U.S. release of Heaven 17’s ‘Live at Scala’ DVD.

The Pixies’ hefty box set ‘Minotaur’ scored a Grammy nomination tonight for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package.

This week’s new releases include a brand-new best-of from the Pet Shop Boys, a 2CD reissue of The Jam’s ‘Sound Affects,’ a live DVD from INXS, new studio albums from Brian Eno and Elvis Costello, and reissues from The Fall, UB40 and The Motels.

Occasional Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry this week unveiled the cover art for his forthcoming solo album ‘Olympia’: an upside-down shot of waif-like supermodel Kate Moss lying in bed with some serious jewelry around her neck.

Fans who shelled out big cash for the just-issued mega-deluxe edition of U2’s new ‘U2 360° at the Rose Bowl’ concert DVD received a nice bonus: a red-vinyl 7-inch single featuring the previously unreleased song ‘Soon,’ a 2-minute track left over from the ‘No Line on the Horizon’ sessions.

‘Ride, Rise, Roar’ — a new concert film documenting the creation and staging of David Byrne’s ambitious ‘The Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno’ tour in 2008 and 2009 — will receive its world premiere next month at the South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.

Rough night for the handful of ’80s college-rock vets nominated for Grammy Awards this year: Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, U2, Elvis Costello, David Byrne and Brian Eno, and Ministry all were shut out tonight for trophies in their respective categories, losing, in most cases, to more current acts.

Tweet The nominations for the 52nd annual Grammy Awards were announced last night, and this year’s list features a slew of ’80s college-rock vets, including […]