You wouldn't think Club Passim, the smallish folk venue in Cambridge, Mass., that housed Joan Baez and Bob Dylan's start decades ago, would be buzzing with requests to play Michael Jackson songs the day after the King of Pop's death. It would especially seem out of place if the man onstage is known as a country and roots rock stalwart.

It makes more sense if you know that the musician in question is Robbie Fulks, who has been covering 'Billie Jean' for 10 or so years, stretching back to a Jackson tribute show he staged in 1999. At the end of Fulks' near two-hour set last Friday with guitarist Rob Gjersoe, the encore requests heavily favored 'Billie Jean,' and Fulks obliged. "If you came here expecting smart ass Michael Jackson jokes," he said, "you'll be disappointed."

It was a different world when His Purple Majesty released his landmark album with the Revolution back in 1984, and it's been a different world ever since that classic 'When Doves Cry' riff blasted through millions of music fans' speakers.

In honor of the 25th anniversary of the release of 'Purple Rain,' Spinner takes a look at what other musicians have said about Prince's wide-reaching influence. Share your 'Purple' memories in the comments!

Assembly of Dust ringleader Reid Genauer's previous band, Strangefolk, was based in Burlington, VT in the mid-'90s, right around the same time that a certain foursome from that area were blowing up nationally, as they are once again, now that they've reunited and recently headlined Bonnaroo twice in one weekend. Genauer's bands always had a -- pardon the pun -- strange relationship with Phish fans as they were a jammy band from the same town but weren't a "jam band" per se.

Still, when Genauer came up with the idea of recording a CD filled with marquee-name collaborators (a la Santana's 'Supernatural'), the thought of including Phish bassist Mike Gordon was a natural notion. "Truthfully, I nearly fell off my chair when he got back to me saying he would do it," Genauer tells Spinner. "He did it in his home studio. He was text messaging me during the session with comments like 'This is rockin!' and 'Sounding amazing' and I was just pacing with excitement."

It's hard to believe it's been 25 years since R.E.M. cemented their status as the kings of college rock with the release of their second album, 'Reckoning.' Now the band is celebrating the anniversary with a deluxe edition of the classic album, which includes a bonus disc of previously unheard live and studio recordings. Spinner has the exclusive on the liner notes and artwork for the occasion. Have a look.

The ever-inventive Beck has outdone himself once again, this time with the launch of his own Record Club. With the help of indie rock pals like Devendra Banhart, Jamie Lidell, MGMT and Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, the musical chameleon intends to cover a classic album in its entirety in a single day and then post the results.

Beck plans to release one song a week on his Web site, starting with its relaunch next month. He'll begin by taking on 'The Velvet Underground and Nico'. The plan is to tackle the songs from the 1966 disc without rehearsing or arranging them, which should produce some pretty rad takes on the likes of 'Heroin,' 'Femme Fatale' and 'I'm Waiting For The Man.'

Courtney Love is reviving Hole for her next album, 'Nobody's Daughter', which is expected by early 2010. But if you're expecting the return of the band's co-founding guitarist, Eric Erlandson, you're out of luck, as Love takes a cue from her old friend Billy Corgan by resurrecting her band in name only.

Hole's first record since 1998's 'Celebrity Skin' will feature bassist Melissa Auf der Maur -- on backing vocals only. And although Auf der Maur will tour with Hole, the disc is predominantly the work of Love and English guitarist Micko Larkin, with songwriting assistance from pop tunesmith Linda Perry and production duties rounded out by Michael Beinhorn.

If you've ever wanted to hear how Crosby, Stills and Nash developed their trademark sound as one of rock's first supergroups, now is your chance. Their latest release, 'Demos,' features a dozen tracks recorded between 1968 and 1971 that would end up on the band's albums and the members' solo albums. "They're very revealing," David Crosby tells Spinner of the collection. "They're also very damn good, actually."

The demos exist because the group's songwriting process, which is similar to that of many bands, according to Crosby. "When you write a song, the first thing you want to do is to show it to somebody, because we're all approval-seekers," he says. "I'll even do it over the phone. I'll call Graham Nash up and go 'listen to this.' The next thing you want to do is record it some place so you don't forget it. These are those recordings -- the first time you sat down in front of a microphone and tried to see what the song was actually going to do."

Listening to the tracks is like going in a time machine, according to Crosby. "Sometimes you get an almost gestalt kind of picture of you sitting there," he says. "You can almost smell the smells and taste the tastes, one of those really strong impressions of the moment will happen when you hear it." Two tracks in particular really stand out to him. "'I Almost Cut My Hair' was a very strong memory -- it was a ballad when I wrote it," he says. "'Music is Love' is kind of an improvisation. It was Neil Young, Nash and I goofing off in the studio, just screwing around, and this thing kind of accidentally happened. It was a very delicious moment."