It may not have begun with an earthquake, birds, or snakes, and more like some well-timed indie rock perfect for college radio in the 1980s, but now everybody hurts: R.E.M. is breaking up. more ›

Now that I have recovered from nine days and nights at SXSW, I can tell you that it's all downhill from here for the world's greatest music festival. No way could anything top that. 1750 bands and hardly any of them sucked. How does that happen? Plenty of free food, beer, no lines if you had a badge. Stalwarts like The Stooges, Pete Townshend, Robyn Hitchcock, Public Enemy, Peter Case, Rickie Lee Jones, and... more ›