CHEAP TRICK'S BUN E CARLOS has his own brand of coffee. You can even get an autographed bag at auction.

BOB MOULD: Chromewaves is your source for rich, bloggy goodness o­n the man and his new album.

HE WAS SO MUCH OLDER THEN: London's Telegraph has an article suggesting that the Martin Scorsese documentary No Direction Home is part of Bob Dylan's plan to market himself to the younger generation.

DON'T GO BREAKIN' MY HEART: Stereogum kills music by posting an MP3 of the song as performed by ODB and Macy Gray. In this context, I use the term "music" loosely. Very loosely. The "killing" part, however, is near-literal. If you thought Elton and Kiki made this as bad as possible, you thought wrong.

JOHN DOE, promoting the new Knitters album, talks to the Chicago Sun-Times about the similarities of punk and country music.

FRANZ FERDINAND may have o­nly o­ne album out, but has already spawned a bluegrass tribute record.

THE RUNAWAYS: Edgeplay, a documentary about the all-girl rock band written and directed by their second bassist, Victory Tischler-Blue, debuts o­n Showtime this week. It has all the elements of a VH1 Behind The Music, but cooler. It appears that Joan Jett didn't cooperate with this production, though she does get called a really good kisser by o­ne of her ex-bandmates.

DOWNLOADS AND STREAMS: Stereogum rounded up guilt-free MP3s o­n Friday. Imho, the cuts from Koufax, The Double, longwave, Hard-Fi (someone has the Clash Collection), and the Fruit Bats were okay. Brooklyn Vegan linked up the streams from Merge Records o­n Monday, including Man-Made by Teenage Fanclub (which sounds quite a bit like Teenage Fanclub, but less fuzzy overall) and Gone Ain't Gone from Tim Fite. What I heard of The Rosebuds' Unwind was pretty cool, too.

MP3 BLOGS: o­n the heels of the Chicago Tribune article noted yesterday, the Boston Globe runs a pice citing The Suburbs Are Killing Us, The Number o­ne Songs in Heaven and Soul-Sides.

BEST OF 2005 (SO FAR): This time all the way from Shanghai. o­nline retailer Insound lists its best of the rest of the year in its newsletter.

THE GODFATHER OF SOUL was encouraged to keep o­n keepin' o­n by Pope John Paul II. That's in o­ne of two books James Brown has "co-written." Martha Bayles' review tells which is the o­ne to get.

THE DAVE MATTHEWS BAND seems like it gets a good review from Page Six, but we later find that "the show didn't find its groove" until ex-Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio made a cameo.

PETE DOHERTY UPDATE: The troubled singer gats no respect from cartoons. Damon Albarn of Gorillaz: "The concert was all about raising awareness, but Peter looked like he was having trouble raising his own awareness - he looked wasted. He is well overrated."

BLAXPLOITATION: No doubt Quentin Tarantino is killing music if he ever visits Blaxploitation, which has plenty of soundtrack sample downloads available.

JACKO JUSTICE: Michael Jackson's latest greatest hits album has sold just 8,000 copies in its first week of release in the U.S. Even the hideous Invincible sold two million units.

CAT STEVENS thinks the problem behind the London terror bombings is that there's not enough Islamic education in Britain. Another theory might be that the problem is people like the converted Yusuf Islam, who publicly endorsed the death sentence issued by Ayatollah Khomeini against Salman Rushdie in February 1989. And who attends fundraisers for Hamas front groups at which he calls Judaism a "so-called religion." I don't think you want to be followed by Cat's moonshadow.

LONDON: Ramzi Mohammed, suspected of being responsible for the failed Oval bombing, tried to get the imam at his mosque sacked for preaching against terrorism. Yet the people in his community describe him as "sweet" and "an extremely nice, peaceful man."

BRADGELINA UPDATE: Pitt is rumored to have given up smoking under the threat of no sex from Jolie... but what about afterward?

HUGH JACKMAN and his wife have adopted a second child. Trying to keep up with Mr. & Mrs. Smith?

JUDE LAW, who admitted having a fling with his kids' nanny, told seemig ex-fiancee Sienna Miller he wants to have her baby to prove his commitment to her. It would also prove Law has a womb. The article notes that Miller's personal humiliation has been good for her career, landing her the Edie Sedgwick role in Factory Girl.

SCARLETT JOHANSSON now says that kissed her "like a 16-year-old schoolboy." Do you think she would have said that if The Island had not flopped?

CHRISTINA RICCI Cured Of Nymphomania By Samuel L. Jackson In Black Snake Moan: Whoever wrote that headline had a good day. However, I think starring opposite Justin Timberlake would have the same effect.

BRITNEY SPEARS is planning a Kabbalah blessing for her baby. Why not? The kid is going to need all the help he or she can get.

KATE HUDSON: A reporter for the Guardian seems vaguely peeved that Hudson handled her so easily. Imagine how that reporter would feel if she knew that Hudson splashes water over herself as protection her from her "negative" Hollywood peers.

SAUDI KING FAHD: Dead. The former Crown Prince Abdullah, Fahd's half brother, has been named the new Saudi king. Abdullah may be more reform-minded than others in the House of Saud, which may be faint praise. He has promised that women will be able to vote in local elections in 2009. That reformist streak also may extend to economic policy.

IRAQ: The big story in Iraq Monday may be what didn't happen. The head of the panel drawing up the new constitution did not seek a 30-day extension, announcing that a draft would be ready by the mid-August deadline. Iraqi blogger Omar (a dentist, iirc) thinks about potential compromises over some of the more controversial questions.

IRAQ II: Saddam's hidden money may be funding many of the diverse groups engaged in terrorism in Iraq and elsewhere. Michael Yon has posted a prelude to a major report o­n progress and challenges in standing up Iraqi forces in Mosul, which takes you to his first major dispatch from that city for a review. Arthur Chrenkoff has his biweekly round-up of under-reported good news. Steven Bochco's Over There gets another scathing review from someone who has been over there. And Army Staff Sgt. Dale L. Horn has been named a sheik by elders in the region he patrols.

CULT OF THE iPod: An article in the Detroit News starts off with word that iPod bar nights are cropping up in Motown, but touches o­n a number of iPod-related societal issues.

PODCASTING: It looks like Fox is embracing podcasting to offer recaps of episodes of Fox shows and even recaps of last season for selected shows like 24 and Arrested Development for listening before the new season's launch.

THIS JUST IN: Men still hog the remote control.

THIS JUST IN II: When we have a hot Summer, more people buy ice cream.

THIS JUST IN III: Ford Motor Co. is ending a newly formed relationship with rapper Eminem. Turns out the young man uses cuss words!

UZBEKISTAN: The U.S. has lost a strategically significant base near the border with Afghanistan because it stood up for political liberty in a country rarely mentioned in the nightly news.

DOGS: Jake, a 4-year-old golden retriever, placed 72nd in the South End Rowing Club's 10th annual Alcatraz Invitational -- a 1.2 mile swim from the infamous prison island to the San Francisco shore -- beating 428 humans.

CATS rule the Internet, according to Sara Boxer of The New York Times. Imho, Ms. Boxer is often wrong about such things, so I take this with a grain of salt. And Ms. Boxer has never had much good to say about bloggers, hence this: "Those cats are like so many bloggers sitting at home staring into their computer screens and watching other bloggers blog other bloggers. Cats, who live indoors and love to prowl, are the soul of the blogosphere. Dogs would never blog." So, in that analogy, what sort of animal is the o­ne stuck having to write about bloggers for the NYT?

FUGITIVE TURTLE out cruising for chicks?

HORDES OF MONKEYS are invading Puerto Rico's agricultural fields, devastating crops and eluding capture. Primates are not native to Puerto Rico, but the island has been home to a species of monkey dating back to the 1950s, when scientists brought them here for medical experiments.

REMOVING AN ALLIGATOR FROM UNDER YOUR CAR: It's not as easy as poking it with a stick.

CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH gets a big ol' love letter from MSNBC. Although the band's album is still hard-to-get, you can download three songs from the website. I'm not as ga-ga over 'em as MSNBC or Pitchfork, but at least two of the songs have an interesting David Byrne-fronts-The Reivers vibe.

BIG STAR: The new album is now set to drop September 26th. Posie Jon Auer gives some backstory to Billboard. Carl Wilson starts revving up by reprinting his 2003 essay o­n the band, which has two nifty pop culture metaphors.

TEENAGE FANCLUB gets a boffo writeup in the New York Daily News.

FEELGOOD HIT OF THE SUMMER: The New York Daily News lists past summer smashes and lists the requirements for a "blaze of pop glory."

R&BS: In an article charting the the decline and fall of rhythm and blues, PopMatters' Mark Anthony Neal lists worthy artists still below the radar.

ROCK AND BASEBALL: At Pop (all love), Aaron Wherry analyzes which is the Best Band in the World by comparing rock bands to baseball teams.

MINDY McCREADY not o­nly apparently attempted suicide, but was also found with a man charged last spring with trying to kill her.

JOSS STONE was rumored to have been dumped by the Gap for moving in with boyfriend Beau Dozier at the tender age of seventeen. And, I would speculate, for outing her butt double in the commercial. The Gap denies it, but says Stone will now be o­ne of three musicians featured in their ads, along with Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child and Alanis Morissette.

WES ANDERSON may be better when he collaborates with Owen Wilson. I admit that the thought crossed my mind while watching The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, which I liked nonetheless.

NICOLE KIDMAN: Hey, I'd be glad to help, but someone who married Tom Cruise clearly has issues.

IRAQ: Defense Secretary Rumsfeld met with the Iraqi Prime Minister and the top U.S. commander in Iraq to discuss speeding preparations for the withdrawal of some U.S. troops as early as next spring. Gen. George Casey told reporters, "If the political process continues to go positively and if the development of the security forces continues to go as it is going, I do believe we'll still be able to take some fairly substantial reductions after these elections in the spring and summer." Iraq's national security adviser thinks that many cities are prepared to transfer the authority from foreign forces. In June, Lt. Gen. John Vines, who runs day-to-day military operations in Iraq, said that he thought a drawdown of 20,000 was possible next year.

DISCONTENT OF THE PEOPLE is as widespread as it has been in forty years in Cuba and erupting in violent protests across Iran.

DIAMOND NIGHTS: The Pitchfork review calls the band's EP "pure frat party filth." At Coolfer, Glenn adds, "...as if there's something wrong with that?" Both liked "Destination Diamonds," which is a download at the band's site.

FILESHARING: People who are killing music by illegally sharing tracks over the internet also spend four and a half times as much o­n legit digital music as those who do not, according to the latest research.

LOLLAPALOOZA: More photos at My Old Kentucky Blog, including pics of Sara (of Tegan and Sara) succumbing to the heat. Also, when Perry Farrell checked into Chicago's W Hotel, he got a a complimentary copy of Giant magazine, featuring the article "Lollapathetic," which accused him of turning the event into a crassly commercial cash cow.

PETE DOHERTY UPDATE: The troubled singer recently got some life coaching from Johnny Depp. Meanwhile o­n-and-off galpal Kate Moss won substantial libel damages o­n Wednesday over a tabloid newspaper's claims that she had collapsed in a cocaine-fueled coma.

VENUE: An article at PopMatters asks, "When should you feel more cheated at a rock show -- when the venue seems like a museum, an ersatz bazaar, or a toilet?" A look at how space affects performance.

PAYOLA: There are some funny e-mail quoted in NY AG Eliot Spitzer's press release o­n the Sony settlement.

JESSICA ALBA suffered from anorexia a few years back: "When I went from a girl's body to a woman's body with natural fat in places, I freaked out." So did most men and a fair number of women.

SIENNA MILLER has her rep denying the Orlando Bloom story, but gossips are now adding her ex-bf David Neville into the mix.

JANN WENNER is in early talks with MTV to do a reality show modeled after Donald Trump's Apprentice.

AL GORE got jokes and coaching from Johnny Carson. However, Ray Siller, Carson's long-time head writer, is apparently not a Gore fan.

LONDON: Suspected bomber Yasin Hassan Omar has been arrested. ABC News reports that the July 7th plot may have been much larger than previously known, as 12 more bombs were discovered in a car believed linked to the attack. ABC News also has a photo gallery of the devastation inside the Tube and x-rays of the bombs. Scotland Yard believes that the fugitive bombers who bungled their attacks last week returned to their secret cache of explosives to rearm themselves. David Ignatius of the Washington Post, looking at the photo of bombers o­n a pre-attack whitewater rafting trip in Wales, recognizes a "revolt of the privileged, Islamic version," but that's just the tip of his intriguing article. A new poll finds that Britons' sense of national identity depends far more o­n shared values and institutions than o­n nostalgia for warm beer and village cricket. But I think it does depend in part o­n the British sense of humor.

EVA LONGORIA is rumored to be engaged to NBA star Tony Parker again.

SCARLETT JOHANSSON is not proud of her films and thinks acting is a relatively pointless profession. If I was starring in an unauthorized gazillion-dollar remake of a fairly obscure no-budget sci-fi flick from 1979 called Parts: The Clonus Horror, I probably would say the same thing.

KATE BECKINSALE wants to play Wonder Woman o­n the big screen, which would certainly be preferable to Katie Holmes in the role.

DREAMWORKS SKG may get bought out by NBC Universal.

IRAQ II: Iraqi commandos captured an alleged associate of al-Qaeda's number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Drafters of the new constitution have summoned leaders of Iraqi religious, ethnic and political blocs to an emergency national summit this week in an attempt to hash out the toughest, deadlocking issues in reshaping the country. These issues include federalism, the role of religious law in the constitution, women's rights and the official name of the country.

CULT OF THE iPod: Some industry observers believe Apple's recalcitrance in opening-up its formats will doom the iPod someday. OTOH, dudes don't like being told, you're getting a Dell and Napster, either.

THIS JUST IN: Teenagers use the internet. A lot.

VIDEOGAME WIZARD: There has to be a twist.

HACKER SHUTS DOWN U.S. ARMY COMPUTERS: Gary McKinnon is accused of deleting files that shut down more than 2,000 computers in the U.S. Army's military district of Washington for 24 hours, "significantly disrupting governmental function."

GLOBAL WARMING: The U.S. and Australia are developing a new pact o­n climate change with a group of Asian countries. "We're going to have a 40% increase in emissions under the Kyoto Protocol, and the world needs a 50% reduction," said Ian Campbell, Australia's Environment Minister. "We've got to find something that works better."

THE SUPREME COURT: Democrats demand more of Supreme Court nominee John Roberts' legal documents, including his legal writings from when he was principal deputy solicitor general. However, every living Solicitor General of both political parties has opposed such requests in the past: "Any attempt to intrude into the Office's highly privileged deliberations would come at the cost of the Solicitor General's ability to defend vigorously the United States' litigation interests -- a cost that also would be borne by Congress itself."

THE SPACE SHUTTLE hit a bird, which has to be tough to get off the windshield. Pics at the link. o­n a more serious note, NASA has grounded future shuttles until engineers solve the recurring problem of falling debris.

NANOTECH: The National Cancer Institute is o­n its way to becoming a Nano Cancer Institute as it prepares to spend 144.3 million dollars over five years o­n engineered nanoparticle research. Howard Lovy has more at his blog.

EDU-BLOGGING: The latest Carnival of Education is o­nline.

IRAQ III: Instapundit Glenn Reynolds interviews Michael Yon, who claims he is not a reporter, but whose dispatches from all over Iraq are a must-read. Austin Bay posts an e-mail that is both sobering and optimistic from an Iraqi he trusts. Jessica Simpson says ABC "mysteriously misplaced" footage of enemy attacks and shelling taped when she visited Iraq for a TV special -- footage she would have liked to show to America: "It put everything in perspective for me. It really did teach me the definition of sacrifice." Soldiers -- most of them Iraq vets -- thought Steven Bochco's Over There was "bogus." I was underwhelmed, but may tune back in if Dennis Franz does a cameo as a guard at Abu Ghraib.

LAP PILLOW: Turnabout is fair play as Japanese men turn to bizzare anthropomorphic pillows for comfort, as Japanese women do it also.

DO I LOOK FAT? The classic question is analyzed at The Columnist Manifesto.

TEEN WHO THREW UP o­n TEACHER sentenced to spend the next four months cleaning up after people who throw up in police cars. Very golden rule!

THE HOME FRONT: According to a new USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll, 32 percent say the U.S. can't win the war in Iraq; 21 percent say we could win, but they don't think we will; and 43 percent predict a victory. However, by 53-46 percent, those surveyed say the invasion wasn't a mistake, the strongest support since just after the Iraqi elections in January. Unfortunately, USA Today didn't post all of the questions and results -- as it usually does -- so we can't look behind the numbers. Some are less supportive than others. Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll apologized to the family of a Marine killed in Iraq for crashing his funeral, giving out her business card and telling his aunt that "our government'' was opposed to the war. In Ohio, vandals tore American flags out of the yard of a dead soldier's family the day after his funeral, then used them to set his sister-in-law's car o­n fire.

CHINESE PIGS are getting Harley-Davidson tattoos.

IGUANAS are overrunning Florida. They are o­ne of the many examples of exotic wildlife in Florida that thrive in the state's humidity - then cause problems. Walking catfish, Gambian giant pouch rats and Burmese pythons are just a few other examples of nonnative species wreaking havoc in South Florida. In the Tampa Bay area, nonnatives include Quaker parrots (those loud, green birds often seen in palm trees) and Bufo marinus toads (which can kill large dogs with their toxic secretions).

TURTLES discover there is no fury like a woman scorned.

CATS: A clever new software program will keep Mr. Cuddly's paws off your computer.

MARLIN ATTACKS TEEN: Video of the young man and the sea. He might have needed a bigger boat.