ANIMAL COLLECTIVE:  "Peacebone" is the first video/single from the collective's new album, Strawberry Jam, which comes out next week.  If you have not heard the band, I should add that the music may be much different from what the still above might suggest.

THE GO! TEAM:  MuchMusic is streaming the new album, Proof Of Youth, in advance of its release next week.  (Thx, Chromewaves.)  Team leader Ian Parton talks to Drowned in Sound about working with Chuck D, licensing songs for ads, and keeping it trashy.

INDIE SELLS OUT:  The Ads of the Weird blog slags TIAA-CREF's use of Bob Mould's "See A Little Light" (with video), though not Mould himself: "The issue is that advertisers think co-opting our favorite songs will get us to buy their products instead of just ruining the songs for us."  BONUS:  Be sure to read Mould's response in comments.  (Thanks, LHB.)

ROGUE WAVE is streaming their new album in full from RogueSpace.

THE MOST PERFECT SONGS are led by a song that loop-samples the Rolling Stones, according to a songwriters' poll conducted by Q magazine.  The songwriters' individual picks are better, and come with Tube video.  However, you won't get why Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody picked Marlena Shaw's version of "California Soul" -- the version my friends know I favor -- unless you stream that last link.  That drum break just slays me.

AMY WINEHOUSE, for all of the bad pub she brings on herself, can sing, as her unplugged version of "Love Is A Losing Game" from the Mercury Prize awards shows.

PYLON:  The Athens combo releases its long out-of-print debut album, Gyrate, as a remastered and expanded CD in October.  The band has come off hiatus in recent years, but their "final" show from 1983 is Tubed in three segments -- Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.  I was never a huge fan, but you can certainly hear tell they come from the same Georgia stew as the B-52s and R.E.M.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN:  You can watch the "Radio Nowhere" video exclusively at Amazon, with fleeting glimpses of the E Street Band.

BO DIDDLEY has been released from the hospital and is now resting at home, after suffering a heart attack during a routine medical exam on Aug. 24.

THE KNACK:  He's A Whore has posted tracks from "Live at Carnegie Hall 1979," which he calls "perhaps the pinnacle of Knack-mania, if you will."   You can stream it via the ol' HM.

BLOC PARTY:  For some reason, this band never quite jelled for me, but singer Kele Okereke has a nice story about their security putting Madonna in a headlock at Live Earth.

SIR PAUL McCARTNEY is a chick magnet, keeping company with supermodel Elle Macpherson and later attracting the attention of Natalie Imbruglia at GQ magazine's Men of the Year ceremony.

JUDE LAW has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a photographer outside the actor's home in Maida Vale, West London.

BRITNEY SPEARS has been cleared of recent complaints to child welfare workers, but one of her goons has been charged with one count of battery in connection with an altercation with a photographer last month.  Meanwhile, Vegas magician Criss Angel is a "press whore" who's just "using" the pop tart to get more attention and fame for himself, friends of his say.  Nice friends, even if honest!

LUCIANO PAVAROTTI:  Sadly, it sounds like the fat lady is warming up... and she sings.

ANNA NICOLE SMITH IS STILL DEAD, but Larry Birkhead is explaining why he and fmr rival Howard K. Smith attended a gay pride parade.  NTTAWWT.

BRADGELINA: Pitt laments losing some of his looks at 40, but is otherwise happy that Jolie got him involved in social causes.

THE DARJEELING LIMITED:  TimeOut London reports from the Venice Film Festival that Wes Anderson's latest film finds the talented director on good form but very much playing to the gallery.  Before the screening, Anderson presented a seventeen-minute short called Hotel Chevalier-- originally conceived to play before the main feature, but which may only be available to see online.  The short provides some "backstory" to the feature and allegedly has Natalie Portman nude -- but how could you not show that before the main feature?  Anyway, it's a good enough excuse to re-link the trailer on the Tube and in glorious Quicktime,

OWEN WILSON ex-gf Kate Hudson has been trying to get in touch with him in his time of need, but his family "doesn't want her anywhere near him." NYDN's Gatecrasher reports that Owen's ex has been "very frustrated" that she's getting the cold shoulder from the Wilson clan, who "don't think Kate is good for him."

TOMMY LEE and a blond party girl "were flat-out (bleep)ing" on a banquette at Dune in the Hamptons on Sunday night, according to multiple witnesses.

ZACH BRAFF, the Garden State auteur and toxic bachelor, was almost as public with Roswell star Shiri Appleby at the Four Seasons on Hawaii's Big Island over the Labor Day weekend.

BRIDGET MOYNIHAN is already wheeling her newborn around without dad Tom Brady.

NICOLE KIDMAN let slip that she was secretly engaged for a short time after her marriage to Tom Cruise and before she wed Keith Urban, to a man she refused to name.  Page Six says it was Lenny Kravitz.

WHOOPI GOLDBERG got her backpedal in motion once PETA heard her comments rationalizing Michael Vick's dogfighting.

SEXY STRUT STUDY SHOCKER:  The "study" reported in London's Telegraph last week, purporting to show that Jessica Alba has the sexiest walk in the world was corporate flack from Clarion Communications, a PR firm that reps a hair removal product!  Internal e-mail reveals that Alba actually ranked seventh in survey data and had the second-best hip-to-waist ratio.  Professor Weber, cited by the PR firm and the media, tells the Guardian's Ben Woodacre: "The Clarion press release was not approved by me and is factually incorrect and misleading in suggesting there has been any serious attempt to do serious mathematics here. No 'team of Cambridge mathematicians' has been involved..."

SWAZILAND:  Tens of thousands of bare-breasted virgins lined up for inspection by King Mswati III on Sunday in Swaziland's annual reed dance.  The 39-year-old king, who already has 13 wives, sometimes controversially uses the occasion to select a new bride.

TERROR in GERMANY:  The three suspected terrorists seized Tuesday were allegedly planning bomb attacks with more explosive power than those used in the Madrid and London terror attacks.  According to German Federal Prosecutor Monika Harms, the three men belong to a German cell of the terror group "Islamic Jihad Union," a group that reportedly originated in Uzbekistan, but whose German network has recently attracted recruits of other nationalities. Investigators also suspect it may have established contact with Al Qaeda's high command.  The case also has possible Turkish links which trouble some terrorism experts.  Threats against USS facilities in Germany seem to have been bubbling up since last April.

IRAQ:  CBS anchor Katie Couric is in country, noting that despite mutual distrust, Sunnis and Shiites are working together in the ISF to fight AQI in places like Anbar province.  The Fighting 6th Marines report that the Iraqi Army has ceded their counterinsurgency operations in Fallujah to the Iraqi Police.  Blogger Bill Ardolino is doing another embed and reports that the positive change in Fallujah since his January visit is astounding.  The Christian Science Monitor reports that as security concerns recede, Anbar's tribal chiefs are turning to the US for more mundane community needs.  The Times of London reports that the former chief of staff of the Provisional IRA, who is now Deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive, was one of 30 participants at the four-day seminar for Iraqi Sunni and Shia groups held at a secret location in Finland.  Lord Alderdice, the former Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, was also present at the talks, as were representatives from South Africa.

THE IRAQI POLICE FORCE is so rife with corruption it should be scrapped entirely, according to a new independent assessment led by retired Marine Corps Gen. James Jones.  The Pentagon opposes the idea, but is attempting to reform the police without a sweeping dissolution of the body.  I would note that one of the big criticisms of the Bush Admin's Iraq policy has been that the old Iraqi Army should not have been disbanded, because it put all the old Baathists out of work and helped make them insurgents.  That's arguable, insofar as  keeping a Baathist Army would have caused some reaction by the Shiite majority -- and probably not a good reaction.  But if you buy the criticism, disbanding the Iraqi Police could similarly exacerbate the problem of Shiite militias.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT:  One week after a bushy-tailed rodent bedeviled the New York Yankees, a squirrel disrupted play between the Pittsbugh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals (Part1, Part 2).  Coincidence?  I think not.  BONUS: The Benny Hill music is the icing on the cake.

THE ANT THREAT:  Kevin and Gail Gued were attacked by dozens of stinging ants in their honeymoon suite at the Country Inn & Suites in Brandon, FL.  Pics and video at the link.

GOAT SACRIFICE seems like an unlikely method of aircraft maintenance.

MYSTERY CAT BEAST stalks the suburbs of Caracas, Venezuela, as the carcasses of small animals turn up in the wake of its eerie howling.

A COKED-UP CAT had trouble walking, but paced incessantly, according to reports in the Sydney Morning Herald and the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery.  I almost missed this story, assuming it was Pete Doherty's cat.

MENOMENA:  The video for "Evil Bee," a track from the Friend Or Foe album, has some birds in it, too.  Literally and figuratively.

BRIAN WILSON has re-teamed with Van Dyke Parks -- the lyricist behind Smile -- for a new work titled That Lucky Old Sun. You can stream "Midnight's Another Day" from Wilson's website.

RICK RUBIN is the subject of a lengthy profile in The New York Times magazine, as Columbia has brought the famed producer onboard to save the label -- and maybe the music business.

JEFF TWEEDY:  Heather Browne is streaming his 2006 Living Room concert, one of a series of charity gigs where he auctions himself for a fan-directed concert.

WOODY GUTHRIE died in 1967, but is releasing his first live album and collaborating with Lou Reed, jazz bassist Rob Wasserman, cabaret satirist Nellie McKay, the rapper Michael Franti and Son Volt's Jay Farrar.

PETE SEEGER belatedly comes out against Stalin's gulags and imagines what Woody Guthrie might have written had he been around to see the death of his old Communist dream. 

BEIRUT has released an advance track, "A Sunday Smile" from the upcoming sophomore LP, The Flying Club Cup.  Steam and download at the link.

IAN HUNTER & MICK RONSON deliver the goods on "All The Young Dudes" in Cleveland on June 18 1979.  Because Cleveland rocks (nsfw).

ROCK STARS DIE YOUNG:  A Liverpool John Moores University study of 1,050 US and European artists found they are twice as likely to die early than the rest of the population.  And if you're thinking, "What about Keith Richards?", remember that he is the Lord of the Undead.

WRINKLY ROCKERS: Mocked in Germany! (Danke, Ken King.)

LED ZEPPELIN are planning to play a huge comeback concert at the O2 arena, the UK concert hall housed in the former Millennium Dome.  The Zep already has a history with Denmark, but not Germany.

MAN MAN maven Honus Honus tells Stylus that "Modest Mouse is a gateway drug to better music" and "Unless you're independently wealthy or a masochist you're not going to make money off selling records. Bands survive now from playing."

RHORDRI MARSDEN, otoh, writes about how the Internet can make you a pop star for almost nothing.

THE MERCURY PRIZE:  Amy Winehouse ended her run of no-shows to sing "Love Is A Losing Game," but The Klaxons took home the prestigious award.

KATE MOSS enjoyed a 30-hour bender at the weekend with Jamie Hince, guitarist for the garage rock group The Kills, putting to rest rumors she is back with on-off boyfriend Pete Doherty.

HALLE BERRY is knocked up, a source close to the upcoming Lionsgate film Tulia told TMZ.  Berry later confirmed the story to Access Hollywood.

NICOLE KIDMAN has revealed for the first time that she suffered a miscarriage at 23, shortly after marrying Tom Cruise.

BILL MURRAY explains that he was just dropping off people after a party when he was stopped in downtown Stockholm driving a golf cart.  He could face drunken driving charges, though a Stockholm police official has said fines were more likely than a prison sentence.

ANNA NICOLE SMITH IS STILL DEAD, but former ANS boytoys Larry Birkhead and Howard K. Stern have branded a woman who claimed they're gay lovers a liar and a "loser" with a grudge against them.  The Today show has pulled the plug on the Rita Cosby interview about her book which reports those claims after Today received a threatening letter from Howard's lawyer.

THE FRENCH HOTEL, after years of intense practice, has vowed to have children by next year.

MADONNA and husband Guy Ritchie face another setback in the adoption process of Malawian tot David Banda - the welfare official overseeing the case has been replaced after "compromising" his position.

SIENNA MILLER launched a foul-mouthed, drunken tirade at photographers at her new shop, shouting: "F*** off, you f***ing ****s... See you in court, you f***ing rapists."  Video at the link.  She was there with "friend" Rhys Ifans, who was hitting the sauce heavily as well.

JERRY LEWIS called someone - or something - an "illiterate f*ggot" in the 18th hour of his Labor Day telethon.  Video at the link.  GLAAD has accepted his apology.

GWYNETH PALTROW:  OK! magazine claims that all may not be well in the nearly four-year marriage of the Oscar-winning actress and hubby Chris Martin, of the band Coldplay.  Seems pretty flimsy to me, though she is leaving the family to do a cooking show.

HEATHER MILLS McCARTNEY was slapped with a 250-dollar ticket for by a New York traffic cop for parking in a handicapped space, even after she knocked on her false leg!

TOBEY MAGUIRE married the mother of his 9-month-old daughter in a secret Hawaiian ceremony last night, according to the ever-reliable In Touch Weekly.

IF I BLOG IT:  A blog started with the express purpose of getting Kevin Costner to send a photo of himself looking at a blog about himself fulfilled its mission over the Labor Day weekend.

WHOOPI GOLDBERG  started her regular gig on The View by defending convicted former QB Michael Vick, arguing that he didn't know dogfighting was wrong due to being raised in the "Deep South."  Except that Vick was raised in Virginia -- hardly the Deep South -- and his dad urged him to quit dogfighting in 2001, in part for legal reasons.  Her claim that she had not heard anyone else talk about the culture of dogfighting also strains credulity.

TERROR in DENMARK:  Danish intelligence agents arrested eight alleged militants with links to leading al-Qaeda figures early Tuesday and said the suspects were plotting an attack involving explosives.

TERROR in GERMANY:  German authorities said Wednesday they had arrested three suspected Islamic terrorists for allegedly plotting attacks on Frankfurt airport and the nearby US military base in Ramstein.

IRAN:  Former Pres. Hashemi Rafsanjani was picked Tuesday to head a powerful clerical body.  The AP declares this "another defeat for the current president's hard-line faction," which it is.  But Rafsanjani has been implicated in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish charities office in Argentina (among other terror attacks), gives sermons about nuking Israel and blamed the US for Tehran's then-secret nuke program.  So "hard-line" and "moderate" are relative terms.  Meanwhile, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei blames the US for starting both WWI and WWII.

IRAQ:  The "surge" is having an impact in the former "Triangle of Death," with an assist from Retired Iraqi army Brig. Gen. Mustafa al-Jubouri and his group of "Concerned Local Citizens.''  The AQ-linked Islamic State of Iraq is planning its own "surge" for Ramadan, as it has in past years.  The warning came as Iraq's parliament got back to work after a month-long summer break.  Three members of Saddam's regime -- including the man known as "Chemical Ali" -- will be executed within 30 days, senior appellate Judge Munir Haddad said Tuesday.  Tribal justice can be harsher in Anbar, where the US is trying to stand up the judicial system.  Excerpts from an interview with Sheik Ali Hatem Ali Sleiman of the Anbar Salvation Council, which aired on Al-Jazeera TV and Al-Alam TV in July and August, touch on law enforcement issues, his attitude toward Maliki and the central gov't (not identical) and much more.  Some of it probably should be taken with a grain of salt, but still interesting.  Also in the fwiw bag -- the Crisis Management Initiative claims that Muqtada al-Sadr, Adnan al-Dulaimi (a leader of the largest Sunni Arab political group) and Humam Hammoudi (the Shia chairman of the Iraqi parliament's foreign affairs committee) agreed to work towards peace during talks in Finland.  You can download the text of the "agreement" in. pdf format from CMI's website.

MAXIMUS the BEAGLE crash lands on the highway outside Ottawa, Canada.

A BABY SHARK was saved by a Rockaway Beach lifeguard from a mob of angry swimmers.

THE MICROSHARK is the second rare creature brought up alive by the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii, which operates pipelines that bring up cold sea water from 3,000 feet below the ocean surface.  (The first was the octosquid.)  We're gonna need a smaller boat.

GOING TO SNAKE CITY, 'cause it's two-to-one...

CHINESE CHOCOLATES contain a wriggly surprise for South Koreans.  Still no Crunchy Frog.

BIG STAR 2.0:  Alex Chilton & Co. play the classic "In The Street" for the late-night show with the lantern-jawed host.  Auer & Stringfield wear their Sunday best.  If you have never heard Big Star for some reason, stop cheating yourself.

NEW RELEASES:  Hard-Fi, Black Lips, Liars, Pinback, the Guilt By Association comp and more are streaming in full via Spinner.  Jon Spencer side project Heavy Trash releases a second album.

ECHO and the BUNNYMEN are the "bridesmaids of rock," according to Guardian music blogger Alan McGee: "There was only one thing that stopped the hugely influential band from reaching the superstardom they deserved - themselves."

OKKERVIL RIVER frontman Will Scheff tells the Arizona Star that the music blogosphere is like Oz, the great and terrible.  The band also gets a streaming audio feature from NPR's All Things Considered.

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENESTER KEVIN DREW tells the Edmonton Sun that he and BSSer Brendan Canning "wanted to do an Outkast thing but his wasn't done in time and I needed this thing out of my life," so he's putting his solo LP out on Sept. 18.  Drew also says that the video shoot for "Backed Out On The ...," which features the members of Dinosaur Jr., "is going to go down on my top three evenings."

CHEAP TRICK:  Rick Nielsen and Bun E. Carlos join King Crimson's Tony Levin to back John Lennon on "I'm Losing You."  Add the full band's signature take on"Surrender" at Budokan and you have your Twofer Tuesday.

ST. VINCENT:  Annie Cark lists a few of her favorite things for Pitchfork's Guest List.  You can still stream a few tracks from the singer-songwriter at HerSpace.

DEVENDRA BANHART, the freak folkster who doesn't care for the label, takes a pop quiz at the San Francisco Chronicle in which he reveals his menagerie, as well as which member appears on his upcoming album.

UNCLE EARL, an all-star, all-female, old-time string band, named in honor of the band members' mutual appreciation for Earl Scruggs and Steve Earle, played a full set for the World Cafe last Friday, which you can stream now via NPR.  They have a nice story bout playing the MN State Fair, too.

THE WORST JOBS in ROCK & ROLL, according to Blender magazine.  Hard to argue with "Pete Doherty's lawyer."

AN AMY WINEHOUSE-PETE DOHERTY CONVERGENCE?  Make sure your Apocolypse survival gear is packed.

ANNA NICOLE SMITH IS STILL DEAD, but an explosive tell-all book about the late spokesmodel's sad demise alleges the two men who battled for custody of her baby girl and control of her fortune were gay lovers.  Larry Birkhead has threatened suit against the book's author, fmr. FNC and MSNBC reporter Rita Cosby.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE:  Rob Zombie's horribly-reviewed remake of "Halloween" made a Labor Day-weekend record of 26.5 million.  "Superbad" is still doing well in its third weekend, with 12.2 million.  Debuting at No. 3 was "Balls of Fury," which grossed 11.5 million; its total slighly exceeds its budget.  "The Bourne Ultimatum" slipped to No. 4 with 10.2 million, bringing its US total over the 200 million mark.  "Rush Hour 3" slid to No. 5 with 8.6 million; it has made 162 million worldwide on a 140 million budget.  "Mr. Bean's Holiday"  took in 5.93 million;   Scar-Jo and "The Nanny Diaries"  made 5.11 million; revenge flick "Death Sentence," debuted to 4.2 million of Kevin's Bacon; "WAR" plunged from fifth to ninth with 3.61 million; and "Stardust" continued to bomb with three million.

BRITNEY SPEARS has reportedly hired a hotshot CA P.I. to monitor Fed-Ex as the couple begins its child custody battle.  Meanwhile, her former assistant Shannon Funk not only sold her down the river by giving an exclusive to OK! Magazine about the singer's odd behavior, but Funk is doing all she can to be famous in her own right.

BRADGELINA:  Pitt says that with four children, "sleep is non-existent," but says he and Jolie were ready for a fifth child.  Meanwhile, we have pics of Pitt being attacked by a crazed fan at the Venice Film Fest. And video.

X-RATED HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL?  Nude photos Vanessa Hudgens took for her boyfriend Zac Efron have been leaked, the ever-reliable National Enquirer is reporting.  If true, it could threaten the gazillion-dollar Disney franchise.

OWEN WILSON may be looking a bit haggard, but he is doing well and even making colleagues laugh, according to director Wes Anderson.

JOHN MAYER is non-exclusive with Cameron Diaz, while a friend explains one reason he dumped Jessica Simpson: she "used to call photographers and set him up all the time."

BRIDGET MOYNIHAN & TOM BRADY got a thousand-dollar gift basket from Gisele Bundchen, including a onesie with the word "supermodel" written across it.  As NYDN gossip Ben Widdicombe notes: "Which is exactly what you want when your boyfriend leaves you for a Brazilian supermodel just after you get pregnant. Tactful!"

JERRY LEWIS:  This year's MDA telethon raised another record 63.7 million.  The broadcast returned to Lewis' home town of Las Vegas last year after 11 years in Los Angeles.

JULIETTE BINOCHE, promoting her new film A Few Days in September, reveals herself to be a 9/11 conspiracy theorist.

STATUTORY RAPE at RON WEASLEY'S birthday party.  Not involving Hermoine, but you figure Dumbledore is still going to hit the roof.

MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL is not your typical sex symbol, yet Agent Provocateur has picked her for its saucy new campaign. Why? Because she appeals to women, too.

BILL CLINTON & MICHAEL DOUGLAS are having a hand war.

IRAN, still defiant on its nuclear program, has appointed Mohammad Ali Jaafari as head of the Revolutionary Guards.  Not only was he in charge of anti-American activity in Iraq, but he also seems to be one of the 1979 kidnappers of Americans at the US Embassy in Tehran.  And why not?  Pres. Ahmadinejad's mad math skillz tell him the US will not attack: "I am an engineer and I am examining the issue. They do not dare wage war against us and I base this on a double proof."

IRAQ:  In the NYT/IHT, Michael Gordon has a detailed look at the turning of Sunni sheikhs and insurgents against AQI.  Stars & Stripes also has a piece on Sunni recruitment from the same area south of Baghdad.  Near Abu Ghraib, new Iraqi volunteers are making gains but are not always well-received.  The US military said Muqtada al-Sadr's order to suspend his Mahdi Army militia for the next six months would enable the U.S.-led coalition and Iraqi security forces to "intensify their focus on al Qaeda in Iraq...without distraction from (Mahdi Army) attacks."  Even so, gunmen killed an aide of Shiite Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Basra.  Bill Roggio rounds up security ops following the crackdown in Karbala.

IRAQ and the MEDIA:  The L.A. Times, the Associated Press and The New York Times all report that civilian casualty numbers rose in August, based on unofficial reports from anonymous Iraqi gov't officials.  The L.A. Times numbers partially match the paper's prior report, which ostensibly dealt only with Baghdad.  LAT reporter Tina Susman -- who did both stories -- has told NPR that we really have no reason to believe the Iraqis have accurate numbers... which hasn't stopped her from reporting them. The AP claims that August had the second-highest monthly casualty count, which is at odds with the AP reports compiled by the iCasualties website.  And the NYT numbers are out of whack with everyone else's numbers by around thirty percent.  BTW, the "official" number from the Iraqi Interior Ministry is 1011... not that I buy that any more than I do the "unofficial" numbers.  The relatively transparently calculated numbers from iCasualties currently show a slight decline from 1690 in July to 1674 in August.  Coincidentally, that's very close to the average of the "official" and "unofficial" Iraqi numbers.

THE WORLD'S HEAVIEST PIG has been sacrificed as part of a religious ceremony, sparking fury among animal welfare groups.

SAVE THE WHALES... from the cats.

COYOTES are stalking grocery shoppers in Phoenix, AZ.  Pics and video at the link.

HAS THE CHUPACABRA been found in Cuero, TX?  Or is it just some sort of mutant dog?

FERAL CAT CASSEROLE:  Tastes like chicken!

THE LONG WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...LEFT OF THE DIAL!  It's that back-to-school time of year, so here is the BBC's documentary on US indie rock of the 80s-90s, which Rolling Stone's David Fricke reminds us was known then as "college rock."  The Nirvana story is the pull for the casual viewer, but the Brits work their way back to Black Flag, with a fair amount of R.E.M. as well.  Sadly, The Replacements and Husker Du get mere cameos, (despite being the Godfathers of Grunge).  But The Pixies get their props as a major influence on Kurt Cobain.  Tubed into seven segments:  Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7.

BACK-TO-SCHOOL MUSIC:  Speaking of which, IGN surveys 25 upcoming albums to make the first few months of the school year more bearable.

GEORGIE JAMES, a duo out of DC, cite Chic, The Cowsills, Cheap Trick, The White Album and K-Tel compilations in describing the four classic pop numbers streaming at TheirSpace, including a mournful take on "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)," the Peruvian folk song popularized by Simon & Garfunkel.  Saddle Creek will be issuing the band's' debut album, Places, on Sept. 25, 2007. (Thx, MOKB!)

PETER BJORN & JOHN have made whistling cool again, according to the Boston Globe.

CROWDED HOUSE:  You can watch their recent gig at Chicago's House of Blues, courtesy of Mister Softee.

THE WOMBATS:  "Let's Dance to Joy Division," and celebrate the irony.  Afterward, you can stream some more of this Brit combo's punk-pop at WombatSpace.  Kinda in the ballpark of The Kooks and Art Brut.

LUCINDA WILLIAMS did an interview and mini-set for NYC's WFUV, which you can stream (or skip right to the songs) via NPR "Sitting behind a music stand with a big, black binder full of songs, she paged through her book, reminisced about this song and that - and, after a fashion, started to open up about everything from her songwriting process to her wedding plans."

THE NATIONAL: Matt Beringer talks to The A.V. Club about songs -- playing 'em live, writing them and even revising them.  NPR has reposted a World Cafe segment on the band from this past June.

ACL FEST:  Austinist has set up a special section for the upcoming Austin City Limits festival, which already features a lineup, interviews with The National, The Decemberists, Gomez, Midlake and more, plus previews of a swath of artists, from the Broken West, Patterson Hood and the Little Ones to Charlie Musselwhite and The Gospel Silvertones.

HILLY KRISTAL:  The late CBGBs founder gets an audio tribute from WHYY, streaming via NPR.

THE HYPE MACHINE:  TechDaily has posted a video interview with Anthony Volodkin, the man behind the music blog aggregator so often used here to bring you the tunes.

THE CUTOUT BIN:  This Friday's fortuitous finds from the ol' HM are: Bob Dylan - Music v. Message (1967); Brian Wilson - This Whole World; Electric Light Orchestra - Mr. Blue Sky; The Apples in Stereo - Energy; R.E.M. - Shiny Happy People; Joey Ramone - What a Wonderful World; Husker Du - Celebrated Summer; The Jesus & Mary Chain - Just Like Honey; Flesh For Lulu - I Go Crazy; Go-Gos - Our Lips Are Sealed; The Vapors - Turning Japanese; Frente! - Bizarre Love Triangle; The Flaming Lips - The W.A.N.D.; David Bowie - Rebel, Rebel; The Stooges - No Fun; The Replacements - Beer For Breakfast (nsfw); Teenage Fanclub - Mad Dog 20/20;  The Left Banke - Walk Away Renee; The Turtles - Elenore; Looking Glass - Brandy (You're A Fine Girl); Joe Jackson - You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want); The Jam - Stoned Out of My Mind; The Go! Team - Doing It Right; The Pipettes - Dance and Boogie; Manfred Mann - Blinded By The Light; The Decemberists - The Sporting Life; The Zombies - Walking In The Sun; The Ronettes - Walking in the Rain; Roy Orbison - Crying; Sam Cooke - Chain Gang; Johnny Cash - Jackson ("lost" performance w/ June Carter Cash); and Paul Simon - Kodachrome.

GREGORIOUS:  I don't speak Finnish, but the message seems to be that it's fun to stay at the "NMKY."

OWEN WILSON may have slit his wrists, but there was no drug overdose, an attorney for Wilson told Access Hollywood.  The attorney said Wilson had been taking antidepressants, but was not aware of any other drugs in his system at the time of the incident.

NOW SHOWING:  In addition to the ping-pong comedy Balls of Fury, which is currently scoring 28 percent on the ol' Tomatometer, this traditional lull at the cineplex includes Rob Zombie's remake of the slasher classic Halloween, and Kevin Bacon in the revenge flick Death Sentence, neither of which were generally screened for critics.  The few published reviews suggest there was a reason for that.

BRITNEY SPEARS is planning to make her opening act for MTV's Video Music Awards "a big comeback performance," with the goal of making it "shocking."  More shocking than showing the world her privates?  Maybe the only thing that would be shocking at this point would be if the performance and music were actually good.  The song samples leaked to TMZ suggest that's not going to happen.  Meanwhile, Spears' former manager was served a subpoena by Fed-Ex's lawyers today, outside of Sunset Tan in West Los Angeles.  And TMZ has obtained documents from the Britney/Fed-Ex hearing last Monday, where it was revealed the popwreck rakes in an average of 737868 bucks a month.

MADONNA, not content to shoot up vitamins herself, is now administering eye-watering vitamin injections to the bottoms of the cast members in her director hubby Guy Ritchie new movie.

BRIDGET MOYNIHAN & TOM BRADY may be proud parents, but there's still bad blood between them, with a source telling the NYDN: "Tom was only allowed to see the baby for a short time... He was only allowed to come after the baby was born. The woman would not see him, period. And she gave the baby her last name."

ANNA NICOLE SMITH IS STILL DEAD, but OK! magazine has dropped her ex Larry Birkhead from a 1.7 million-dollar deal, alleging he has "tricked us all."  The magazine has not revealed the exact reason for the decision, however it is reported to be based on rumours Birkhead struck a "backroom deal" with Howard K Stern -- his supposed long-standing rival -- regarding baby Danielynn.  Birkhead calls this a "smear campaign" and that OK! was bent out of shape after Us Weekly put Dannielynn on its cover -- he and the mag dispute the scope of their exclusive deal. 

BRADGELINA:  Jolie complains to Germany's Der Spiegel magazine that people take her politics "less seriously" because she is an actress.  Imho, the press takes Jolie more seriously than most celebs and she would not have a high-profile gig as a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador if she was not an actress.  Moreover, I think she knows it, as she added "I think we should be looking for great leaders in people who have dedicated their lives to those issues. And the reality is that actors spend a great deal of their time making films."

LINDSAY LOHAN's ex-con father makes a string of allegations against his ex-wife in an interview with celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, which are denied, natch.  Michael states Dina is a compulsive liar, her new boyfriend is a drunk, she has cocaine delivered to her house and that she has knowingly left the scene of a number of car crashes.

JESSICA SIMPSON is "really jealous" that ex John Mayer is seeing Cameron Diaz, according to US Weekly.

DAVID LETTERMAN finally returns the favor with his first visit to Oprah's couch next month.  Presumably, he will not conclude their showbiz feud by jumping on it.

SPEED RACER:  Susan Sarandon explains why the Wachowski Brothers' live-action take on the classic Japanimation will look like nothing we have seen before.

INDIANA JONES IV:  New pictures from location shooting give you a better look at rising star Shia LeBouf with Harrison Ford.

TGIF: Whatever you do, never get into a game of Quarters with this dude.

GLOBAL WARMING:  A new examination of  528 total papers on climate change published from 2004 to February 2007 reportedly shows some surprising results: Only 38 (7%) gave an explicit endorsement of the "consensus view," defined as humans were having at least some effect on global climate change. If one considers "implicit" endorsement (accepting the consensus without explicit statement), the figure rises to 45%. However, while only 32 papers (6%) reject the consensus outright, the largest category  (48%) are neutral papers, refusing to either accept or reject the hypothesis.   The results have been submitted to the journal Energy and Environment.

AFGHANISTAN:  Though the remaining South Korean hostages taken last July by the Taliban have been released, the terrorists have vowed they will abduct more foreigners: "We will do the same thing with the other allies in Afghanistan, because we found this way to be successful."  Appeasing terrorists emboldens them -- Who'da thunkit?

IRAN:  Pres. Ahmadinejad has launched a new verbal attack against Israel, accusing Zionists of sowing conflict, publishing offensive cartoons and "lying about being Jewish."  The UN nuke watchdog said Thursday that Iran was producing less nuclear fuel than expected and praised Tehran for "a significant step forward" in explaining past atomic actions that have raised suspicions. OTOH, the report confirmed that Iran continued to expand its uranium enrichment program, reflecting Tehran's defiance of the UN Security Council.  I hope someone is wondering whether Iran really produced less nuclear fuel than expected, or whether some might be going unaccounted.

IRAQ:  Iraqi security forces have arrested 72 gunmen following clashes in the city of Kerbala this week that forced hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to flee a religious festival there.  Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army disappeared from the streets of Baghdad's Sadr City on Thursday, apparently obeying their leader's order to lie low.  US security analysts believe al-Sadr's decision to suspend Mahdi Army activities is a tactic to weed out rogue elements as the young cleric struggles to maintain control over his militia.

IRAQ II:  Iraq's foreign minister says the government had made progress in responding to US goals for improved security and political reconciliation ahead of key reports soon to be delivered to the US Congress.  The GAO's congressional auditors find that the Iraqi government has failed to meet the vast majority of political and military goals laid out by lawmakers.  The White House believes the criteria set for the GAO report allow no room to report progress, only absolute success or failure; Pentagon policy officials have "made some factual corrections" and "offered some suggestions on a few of the actual grades" assigned by the GAO.  At the Small Wars Journal's blog, David Kilcullen -- who has just completed a tour in Iraq as senior counterinsurgency adviser to the Multi-National Force -- examines the potential upsides and downsides of "the growing tribal uprising against al Qaeda, which could transform the war in ways not factored into neat 'benchmarks' developed many months ago and thousands of miles away."  This is normally where I'd remind you that Kilcullen is a pretty good indicator of what Gen. Petraeus thinks, but Gen. Petraeus just gave an interview to The Australian that is likely an even better indicator of what Gen. Petraeus thinks.  And Michael Yon's latest photo-filled dispatch from Anbar details how principles from the new counter-insurgency manual are playing out on the ground.

AND THE FROG goes... "Meow?"

COW NEWS:  A herd of cows in the Yorkshire Dales are to have their every move monitored by satellite.  Meanwhile, scientists looking for an alternative to corn as an ethanol fuel source have discovered fluid from the largest chamber of a cow's stomach could be the answer to a new kind of fuel cell.

SOCHA the LABRADOR stepped on a wet manhole cover in SoHo and got zapped by 100 volts of electricity.  I thought stray voltage season in NYC didn't start until after Labor Day.

A MONSTER SPIDER WEB blankets several trees, shrubs and the ground along a 200-yard stretch of trail in a North Texas park. "There are times you can literally hear the screech of millions of mosquitoes caught in those webs."

"THAT'S A MORAY":  Fisherman-turned-comedian Taro Makeburu presents tales of sleeping with the fishes.