It's been a long wait for the fans of R.E.M. Not so much to see their band play live, but to grab hold of such a high quality piece of work as this year's "Accelerate.

This time of year is consumed with unanswered questions in a myriad of fields. Who will be the Democratic nominee? Who will win the NBA's MVP award? When will The Office come back? I feel that it is my duty to put at least one national existential crisis at rest - what am I listening to these days on my iPod.

The 2000s will most likely be remembered for the dispersion of culture throughout a variety of media outlets. Because there are so many different places to take in entertainment, there are likewise just as many styles to be distributed. This is the primary reason for the lack of one coherent movement or group, like Grunge and Nirvana

R.E.M. -- which is singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, and bassist Mike Mills -- are counting down the time to the release of Accelerate, their 14th studio album, on a website,

The Flaming Lips will premiere their long-awaited Christmas On Mars movie at the Sasquatch! Festival in Washington in May.

When I first comprised this list, I had all the usual suspects: Thriller, Closer, Daydream Nation, Purple Rain - you know, the albums you see on every other top 10 list for the 80s.

On March 25, Counting Crows will release their fifth studio album (and their first in five years), Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings, on Geffen/Interscope.

On February 19, 2008, ATO Records will release Golden Delicious, the new album from singer/songwriter Mike Doughty.

Johnny Marr has dropped the biggest hint yet his band The Smiths could reform. Guitarist Marr, who currently tours with rockers Modest Mouse, has previously played down rumors of a reunion for the 80s rockers.

Veteran rockers Pearl Jam turned political during their closing set at U.S. music festival Lollapalooza on Sunday, launching a blistering attack on oil giant BP and calling for an end to the war in Iraq.