Musician, mogul, throne-watcher, and Donda CEO Kanye West is finally returning to his roots as a filmmaker. According to the New York Observer, Ye is in the Middle East to shoot a follow-up short to “Runaway,” which, of course, was so good that it cured world hunger. This time, Yeezy has his sights set even higher, according to his reps:
“His reps seemed genuinely enthusiastic about creating a piece which highlights the culture accurately,” our source explained. “There’s a lot of preconceived notions and stereotypes about Emiratis and Qataris, which Westerners often play up. They discussed how Kanye is looking to bridge the cultural divide and break misconceptions.”
Yup, the film will indeed finally create peace between the West and the Middle East, so we have that to look forward to, along with Ye’s eventual Nobel Peace Prize (and subsequently shoving Philip Roth off the stage to demand the Nobel Prize for Literature should go to Haruki Murakami instead). Of course, its always possible that this is just a ruse to cover up the fact that Kanye is finally beginning work on The Jetsons movie, so more on this story as it develops.
After 31 years, R.E.M. are calling it quits. One of the most important bands of the last three decades, R.E.M. are responsible for the success and popularity of modern indie rock. There are obvious musical descendants, like The National, but every band on an independent label owes a little bit to R.E.M. for helping keep indies financially viable. Even after joining Warner Brothers, the band set the gold standard for artistic integrity in the MTV era, creating compelling, thoroughly enjoyable music without a hiccup for nearly 15 years. Though the band weakened a bit with the departure of drummer Bill Berry after 1997’s New Adventures in Hi Fi, the three remaining members went through a renaissance on their last two albums, 2008’s Accelerate and this year’s Collapse Into Now. Undoubtedly, their legacy will be centered into what they did between 1981 and 1995, but what the band leaves behind is a tremendous catalogue of music that very few bands can match.
It’s become a small tradition here at TUiW to report on every movement Neutral Milk Hotel frontman Jeff Mangum makes, but this one undoubtedly takes the cake. On the band’s newly redone website, Mangum announced the release of a massive vinyl box set of NMH material, including a slew of previously unreleased tracks. The box will contain the band’s two classics, On Avery Island and In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, as well as the out of print Everything Is EP and 7″ for Aeroplane single “Holland, 1945.” The exciting part is the bonus EP, Ferris Wheel on Fire, that features seven previously unreleased tracks (and “Engine,” a b-side), a single of unreleased versions of Avery Island‘s “You’ve Passed” and “Where You’ll Find Me Now,” and a single with studio and live versions of unreleased track “Little Birds.” Phew. The box is available for pre-order for $88, while MP3s of the unreleased tracks will be available as pay-what-you-want on November 22 at the new 
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The Internet has been full of tributes and obituaries for LCD Soundsystem this week, and while we may not have contributed to that here at TUiW, we’ll certainly miss the band in a big way. Jonah and I had the opportunity to see LCD a couple of times each, and we both remarked that when the band played in support of This is Happening last summer, they were on a whole new level, having perfected the live show. Walking away now and with a giant send-off at Madison Square Garden, James Murphy has added a mystic and level of adoration rarely seen in music. While Murphy will continue to make music in other capacities, last night felt like the end of something great. Farewell LCD Soundsystem.
Earlier in the week we shared the surprise news that Radiohead would be releasing a new album, The King of Limbs, tomorrow. The band pulled one last surprise and released it a day early with a video for single “Lotus Flower.” The tracklist features a couple of songs previewed by the band or Thom Yorke over the last few years of touring, including “Lotus Flower,” “Give Up The Ghost,” and “Separator” (previously known as “Mouse Dog Bird”), and the second track, “Morning Mr. Magpie,” was played by the band in on a webcast way back in 2002. If you didn’t pre-order the record, head 
It’s a sad day for White Stripes fans as the band has announced they’re calling it quits after 14 years. It’s been about four years since they’re last record, Icky Thump, and during the extended hiatus, Jack White has had a myriad of other projects, including The Raconteurs and the Dead Weather. Here is the statement from the band’s website:
Last year, 
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