Screaming Females @ Permanent Records in February (more by Zach Pollack)

The full lineup for Wicker Park Fest 2012, taking place on July 28 & 29 on Milwaukee Ave., has been announced and includes the Andrew Jackson Jihad, Screaming Females, Fang Island, Exitmusic, Baseball Project, and many more.

Check out the full lineup-by-day below...

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Justin Townes Earle @ The Beach on Governors Island (more by Chris La Putt)

today in Chicago
* The Baseball Project @ Cubby Bear
* Love Inks @ Beauty Bar (Free Show)
* Audiences, Automata @ The Whistler
* Converge, Trap Them, Burning Love @ Reggie's
* Justin Townes Earle, Andre Williams @ Jay Pritzker Pavilion (Free Show)
* Ga'an, Pillars and Tongues, Axis:sovA, Ancient Ocean @ Empty Bottle (Free Show)

What else?

R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe

R.E.M.'s new LP Collapse Into Now comes out on March 8th, but you can currently stream it on NPR up until the release date. R.E.M.'s Peter Buck has been keeping busy, as he was featured a lot on The Decemberists The King Is Dead as a guest musician.

The Baseball Project, a recent R.E.M. side project has recently released their LP Volume 2: High and Inside via Yep Rock Records. You can stream the album in full via Spinner. A press release from Yep Rock is below.

Following the success of the outfit's first album Vol. 1: Frozen Ropes & Dying Quails -- the band performed on The Late Show with David Letterman, was featured in the official World Series Program and Sports Illustrated among others -- baseball's sardonic rock chroniclers are back with Volume 2: High and Inside, an even more detailed look at the stories behind the stories of America's Favorite Pastime.

Their second season finds band members Steve Wynn (The Miracle 3, The Dream Syndicate), Scott McCaughey (The Minus 5, Young Fresh Fellows, R.E.M.), Linda Pitmon (The Miracle 3, Golden Smog) and Peter Buck (R.E.M.) drilling down even deeper into the Byzantine, lore-laden annals of baseball history. Volume 2 also includes guests spots by Craig Finn of The Hold Steady, Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, Steve Berlin of Los Lobos, Yo La Tengo's Ira Kaplan, as well as Chris Funk and John Moen of The Decemberists, dispelling any fears of a sophomore slump. [Yep Rock]

Neither R.E.M., nor The Baseball Project have any upcoming Chicago tour dates.
R.E.M.'s video for their recent single "Mine Smell Like Honey" is below...

Continue reading "R.E.M. to release "Collapse Into Now" LP on March 8th"