Musician turns to social media to help recover stolen guitar

True guitarists have an unbreakable bond with certain guitars. Rollin’ in the Hay’s Rick Carter is no exception to this concept.

Carter has spent many years picking his Santa Cruz acoustic guitar. His love for the instrument can be seen in the pick scars left from years of playing. Recently, Carter’s car was burglarized at his home in Indian Springs Village, Ala., and his favorite guitar was stolen.

Since the crime occurred, Carter has turned to social media to help him recover his guitar, and the response has been amazing. Hopefully, the guitar will be returned to Carter, or the authorities will recover this instrument and bring the thief to justice.

The instrument is a Santa Cruz acoustic with the serial number 1884. The guitar was last seen in a white Calton guitar case that is covered in stickers. Carter is offering a $500 reward. Anyone with any info should call 205-527-9202.

Special bundles to delight R.E.M. fans

R.E.M. was of the many bands that defined the alternative rock genre, and helped build Athens’ reputation for music. The group developed a group of dedicated fans that still remain zealous about their music, and the Azalea City has plenty that meet this description.

R.E.M. fans will be going wild for a collection of “special bundles” that have recently been released. These bundles will allow fans to own the ultimate collection of this prolific band’s music.

The “Complete I.R.S. Studio Albums” is the first bundle. This collection begins with R.E.M.’s 1982 debut EP “Chronic Town.” This bundle also includes “Murmur” (1983), “Reckoning” (1984) “Fables of the Reconstruction” (1985), “Life’s Rich Pageant” (1986) and “Document” (1987).

The “Complete Rarities-I.R.S. 1982-1987” bundle is a collection of 25 rare tracks. This includes alternative versions of “Gardening at Night” as well as B-sides such as “White Tornado” and “Voice of Harold.” This collection also includes “Windout” from the “Bachelor Party” soundtrack. Finally, fans will experience live, in-studio covers of Roger Miller’s “King of the Road,” Andy Williams’ “Moon River,” and the Velvet Underground’s “Pale Blue Eyes” and “There She Goes Again.”

The “Complete Warner Brothers Studio Albums, Vol. 1” bundle takes listeners to the height of the band’s popularity with albums such as “Green” (1988), “Out Of Time” (1991), “Automatic For The People” (1992), “Monster” (1994) and “New Adventures In Hi-Fi” (1996).

The “Complete Rarities-Warner Brothers 1988-2011” bundle spans two decades and holds 131 tracks including non-album tracks “Memphis Train Blues” and “Redhead Walking.” This bundle also holds live performances of “Everybody Hurts” and “Bang and Blame,” as well as covers of Syd Barrett’s “Dark Globe” and Leonard Cohen’s “First We Take Manhattan.”

This is a must for any R.E.M. fan. The bundles are available on iTunes and can be downloaded individually.