BLACK KIDS & CUT COPY join forces on a cover of Blondie's "Union City Blue."  It put me in the mood to hear the original, too.

CALEXICO: Joey Burns tlks to PopMatters about the influence of the Southwest -- and various styles of music -- have on the band and its latest Carried To Dust album.  Plus, bits on backing other artists, John Covertino's drumming and more...

THE WALKMEN stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set you can stream on demand via MPR.

SILVER JEWS: David Berman talks to Indy Weekly about how touring and time have influenced his songwriting.

SAM PHILLIPS, Christian rocker turned ornate popsetr and ex-wife of T-Bone Burnett, played the Ram's Head in Annapolis, MD, so you can stream the full gig on demand via NPR.

CHEAP TRICK: Have you seen her face? She's got a face that would stop a clock...

UNCLE TUPELO: Prefix lists the 10 Best Albums to crawl from the band's wreckage.

RA RA RIOT did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter.

NICK CAVE talks to the L.A. Times about songwriting, the differences between The Bad Seeds and Grinderman, and more... (Thx, LHB.)

ALT-FOLK, ANTI-FOLK, ETC. is essayed, in of all places, The National, which originates in the United Arab Emirates. (Thx, Chromewaves.)

EVA MENDES claims 50 men in 50 states. The best states were Arizona and Colorado; the worst was Alaska.

PAUL McCARTNEY has refused to cancel a Tel Aviv concert to celebrate Israel's 60th anniversary despite threats from an Islamic extremist.

KATE HUDSON shared some of her best and worst dating moments to promote her new comedy, My Best Friend's Girl.

BRADGELINA: Newly-discovered pics of a 16-year-old Jolie run in the Daily Mail, because it's a slow news day and it's Jolie.

MISCHA BARTON & JOSH HARTNETT both headed back to his hotel at the end of the night after they bumped into one another at trendy London club Bungalow 8.

MAD MEN: Rich Sommer ("Harry Crane") talks to the official MM blog about his fellow cast members, doing DVD commentary and his video entry for AMC's "Be On Mad Men" contest, in which he read for the part of Peggy.

JENNA FISCHER (a/k/a "Pam" in The Office) is a cat lover, bordering on cat lady.

CHRIS ELLIOTT: His generation's most underappreciated comic genius?

IRAN: The Revolutionary Guards Corps has assumed control of the defense of the Persian Gulf. The IAEA's nuclear inspections are at a "dead end" after Iran halted cooperation. China said no further sanctions will be imposed by the UN.  The parliament ratified a bill under which any Muslim who converts to another religion would be put to death, with no possibility of pardon.

IRAQ: In one of his last acts as the top US commander in Iraq, Gen. Petraeus drafted a final letter of thanks for the troops ­- and underscored his view that the struggle to bring stability there is far from over.  Sunni Arab insurgents, routed or weakened in Baghdad and cities, are making a stand in Mosul during Ramadan. US and Iraqi forces killed al Qaeda's leader in Tamin (Kirkuk) province and captured the leader of Diyala province. Iraqi forces detained 63 suspected AQI operatives in Ninewa province.

NINJA KITTY: Let's go to the video.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: A chicken-footed duck, scared of water.

SNAKES in a SPIGOT: She looks and, to her utter horror, discovers the stuff of urban legend: A skinny, foot-long snake had fallen from the faucet to her bathwater...

120 MILLION-YEAR-OLD ANT discovered by German scientists. Dead, but still notable.

IGUANAS may be labeled as "reptiles of concern" in Florida.

RICHARD WRIGHT, the founding member of Pink Floyd whose piano and synthesizer work played a critical part in the pioneering British psychedelic rock band's ethereal sound, died Monday after a short battle with cancer at 65.  Wright co-wrote songs including "Atom Heart Mother," "Echoes," "The Great Gig in the Sky," "Us and Them," and "Shine On You Crazy Diamond." Include his vocals on "Comfortably Numb" with David Gilmour via Spinner for your Twofer Tuesday Tribute. 

NEW RELEASES: Dressy Bessy, Mother Mother and Raphael Saadiq are among the albums streaming in this week full via Spinner.  Lisa Loeb has released a kid's album, Lisa's Camp.

KINGS OF LEON are advance streaming their upcoming Only By The Night album.

BOB MOULD inks a deal to write an auto-biography with journalist Michael Azerrad, author of the fabulous Our Band Could Be Your Life.  Plus, he's got a "guitar album" coming in March.

THE BEATLES: Sir Paul rubbishes rumors that John wanted to have a sexual relationship with him. Audio at the link.

TEGAN & SARA premiere the new video for the lovely "Call It Off" at Spinner.

AKRON/FAMILY talks to Pitchfork about self-definition, the need to keep changing and the long, strange road between being a hipster and a hippie.

JULIANA HATFIELD talks to the AP about her new memoir and returning to music after a year-long hiatus.

EMMYLOU HARRIS diaries a week for the Telegraph.

TV on the RADIO is profiled by Jon Pareles for the Scotsman on Sunday.

MEGAN FOX was a teenage lesbian, with a major crush on a stripper. I mention this to point out that I didn't just look at the pictures from the new GQ feature.

LINDSAY LOHAN popped a paparazzi in the nose.

BRITNEY SPEARS will release her next album on December 2nd. Consider yourself warned.

AMY WINEHOUSE refused to go to her own birthday party after realising how drugs have ravaged her looks.

SARAH SILVERMAN took home a Creative Arts Emmy for her video, "I'm F****** Matt Damon," but thanked her ex, Jimmy Kimmel.

GEORGE TAKEI, best known as Star Trek's Mr. Sulu, boldly walked down the aisle with his long-time boyfriend, as stars of the classic sci-fi TV series looked on, including best man Walter Koenig who played Chekhov and matron of honour Nichelle Nichols who starred as Uhura.  The Daily Mail has the pics, but the AP has the details, including that the couple entered to the strains of "One Singular Sensation" from the Broadway musical "A Chorus Line."

THE DARK KNIGHT will return to IMAX in January -- the height of Academy Awards voting season. BONUS: Batgirl has much more of a pottymouth than I remember from reading comics.

ISLAMISM in the UK: Islamic law has been officially adopted in Britain, with sharia courts given powers to rule on Muslim civil cases. Rulings issued by a network of five sharia courts are enforceable with the full power of the judicial system, through the county courts or High Court.

OUR FRIENDS, THE SAUDIS: Sheikh Muhammad Munajid, a cleric,and former diplomat at the Saudi embassy in Washington DC, claimed Mickey Mouse is "one of Satan's soldiers" and must die.

IRAN: The International Atomic Energy Agency reports that Iran has repeatedly blocked their investigation into allegations it tried to make nuclear arms and the probe is now deadlocked. Elements in the Iranian state are sending weapons across the border to the Taliban in Afghanistan, a BBC investigation has uncovered.

IRAQ: Defense Minister al-Ubaidi affirmed that more than 6000 officers and 20000 recruits of the former army were enrolled into security forces. Iraq's parliament lifted the immunity of a Sunni lawmaker for visiting Israel last week to attend an international conference to fight terrorism.  US SecDef Gates expects the US combat role to keep shrinking.

CAT VS. PRINTER: Let's go to the video.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: Walruses with musical instruments.  Goo goo goo joob.

A LION rode out Hurricane Ike in Houston. Rescue workers aren't keen to check in on it.

BUDDY the GERMAN SHEPHERD: "What's that you say Buddy?" *Woof! Woof!* "Your owner has had a seizure? We'll be right there..."

FRANK MUNDUS, legendary shark fisherman said to have inspired the Captain Quint character in the movie "Jaws," died at 82 after a heart attack. Show him the way to go home.

BRIAN WILSON & ZOOEY DESCHANEL interview each other at the Hollywood Bowl as part of the "Artist on Artist" series.  And Wilson is relatively normal for it.  He does tell Deschanel that she's a "very pretty girl" at the end, but there plenty of people who might blurt that out.

THE NATIONAL frontman Matt Beringer discusses lyrics from The Boxer album with Paste.

THE FRATELLIS stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set you can stream on demand via MPR.

JASON & THE SCORCHERS get a nifty profile with A/V at the Tennesseean in advance of a lifetime achievement award from the Americana Music Association Thursday night at the Ryman Auditorium. (Thx, LHB.)

SPIRITUALIZED frontan Jason Pierce talks about the intersection of the personal and the musical for The A.V. Club: "It's a weird situation, doing interviews. Nowhere else in the world can you talk about yourself and have people listen like they're interested over and over..."

THE SEA & CAKE help you ease into the week with the new video for "Weekend" from the Car Alarm album.

JACK WHITE says he had nothing to do with the decision to use his music in that James Bond-themed Coke Zero ad.

DRESSY BESSY has posted three new songs at DressySpace.

JESCA HOOP talks about her favorite songs, advice she got from Tom Waits and more with LAist.

GIANT SAND mastermind Howie Gelb talks about "harmony mixed with calamity" with Blurt.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Burn After Reading won the weekend with 19.4 million -- the first Coen Bros.movie to debut at No. 1 and their biggest weekend ever.  With a slight 37 million budget, this one will be a winner if it has any legs. Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys came in second with 18 million -- a bit below average, but probably not bad for a TP movie without Medea.  Righteous Kill came in third with 16.5 million, a not-so-righteous debut for a Pacino-DeNiro pairing budgeted at 60 million.  The Women debuted in fourth with about ten million, which is not good, but not bad, given it had a ridiculously low 16 million budget (I'm thinking stars took points and will be low-paid).  The House Bunny hangs in to round out the Top Five, while sixth-place Tropic Thunder broke the 100 million mark.  Bangkok Dangerous tumbled from first to eigth; Babylon A.D. plunged from sixth to 11th.

JENNIFER LOPEZ finished the Nautica Malibu Triathlon in 2 hours, 23 minutes and 28 seconds.

BRITNEY SPEARS apparently went on a date with Russell Brand, a former drug user who has been treated for sex addition.

SIR PAUL McCARTNEY has been threatened that he will be the target of suicide bombers unless he abandons plans to play his first concert in Israel.

O.J. SIMSPON: The jury has been selected in Simpson's kidnapping and armed robbery trial.  The trial judge rejected defense motions challenging the exclusion of individual African Americans and another motion challenging the entire jury.

ROB LOWE and his wife claim their ex-nanny terrified their children by discussing gang activity in her neighborhood "in graphic" detail, used "racially inappropriate" terms and even told stories of her sexual activities.

THE WORLD'S MOST GENEROUS CELEBS, according to Parade magazine.  Some obvious, some not.

BRADGELINA donated two million dollars to the Global Health Committee to establish a center to aid children affected by tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia.

PINK has reportedly turned to Scientology to help her move on after her split from husband Carey Hart.

THE SIMPSONS will pay homage to It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and Transformers this Halloween.

NANOTECH: Tiny ships loaded with a cargo that can identify and destroy cancerous tumors are being tested on mice and could one day ply the human bloodstream.

OUR FRIENDS, THE SAUDIS: The Kingdom's top judicial cleric has issued a fatwa saying it is permissible to kill the owners of satellite TV networks that broadcast immoral content. But TIME claims that jihadism is waning there.

ISRAEL is buying 1000 bunker-busting smart bombs from the US, and upgrading its missile defense system. Hmmm.

THE STANS: NPR reports that last week's Special Ops raid in Pakistan last week was part of a three-phase plan, approved by Pres. Bush, to strike at Osama bin Laden and top al-Qaeda leadership.

IRAQ and the US have prepared a "final" draft of a security pact which could clear the way for a large-scale troop withdrawal by 2011 and it is now awaiting a political decision. Iraq is prepared to restart talks with the US and Iran, and is checking with both sides to see if a fresh round can be scheduled. Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih met with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to discuss the viewpoint of the Kurdish leadership on the latest political developments and on the security situation in Iraq. Stars & Stripes reports on detention facility reform.

SHORTY the COW ran loose through Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ, before being lassoed and returned safely to her owner. Video at the link.

OVER 700 TURTLES, one house -- near the Washington-Oregon state line.. Video at the link.

THE OKAPI, an African animal so elusive that it was once believed to be a mythical unicorn, has been photographed in the wild for the first time.

LARGE LIZARD AT LARGE in a Salisbury neighborhood.

SPEEDING HAMSTER in a playball overtook rush-hour traffic near Carlisle in the UK.

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with HUSKER DU! Recorded live at the Stone in San Francisco, on March 1, 1985. Part 1 includes "Diane" "Hate Paper Doll" and "Green Eyes." Part 2 includes "Divide and Conquer," "Pink Turns To Blue" and "Eight Miles High." Part 3 features "Makes No Sense At All" and "Louie, Louie" (w/ members of the Minutemen and the Meat Puppets).

THE HOLD STEADY: Frontman and MN Twins fan Craig Finn plays ball in a chat seesion on ESPN.com, with a fair amount on Kent Hrbek, though rock fans may be more interested in his take on the 70s: "I just read Neil Young's bio. The things that went down in the 70s for sure don't go down in the 2000s. After the show we get on the bus and go away. I don't understand when all this stuff is supposed to happen." Plus a link to stream the band's version of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."

THE TOP 100 HOT 100 HITS of ALL TIME, according to Billboard -- one of a number of new charts, including "Artists With The Most Hot 100 Appearances" (The King is King, but the Fabs are Four), "One-Hit Wonders" and "Cover Me: Same Songs to Hit No. 1 By Two Different Artists," to name just a few. Plenty of A/V links as well.

THE EAGLES OF DEATH METAL answer a few questions for the Houston Chronicle.

JAY NASH & FRIENDS... do the four free songs thing for Daytrotter.

THE LAST SHADOW PUPPETS roll out more retro British pop in "My Mistakes Were Made For You."

THE 80s REDUX: At he NPR Monitor Mix blog, drummer Carrie Brownstein defends the decade a little more, even wading into the comments section to remind people she already wrote about the genius of The Replacements. 

BILLY IDOL talks to the Las Vegas Sun about the upsides and downsides of the current technological age.

MATTHEW SWEET talks to JamBase about the upsides and downsides of the current technological age.  And he talks to Paste about a broad array of musical topics.

RHETT MILLER talks to the San Antonio Current about the mean side of Owen Wilson and more...

CUTOUT BIN: From Green to the Black Keys, from Morrissey to Johnny Thunders, from Let's Active to Kenny Rogers to the Flaming Lips covering David Bowie, from Rhythm Heritage to Buffalo Springfield to M Ward, the Minutemen and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds can be jukeboxed or streamed separately via the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases include the remake of The Women, currently scoring 7 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; the Pacino-DeNiro thriller Righteous Kill, currently scoring 17 percent on thin reviews; The Coen Bros.' Burn After Reading, which is scoring 76 percent overall (but only 50 percent among the "cream of the crop" critics); and Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys, wich goes unscreened for critics, per usual.

LINDSAY LOHAN & SAMANTHA RONSON: Sam used her DJ slot at Chateau Marmont to announce: "By the end of this year, my love will be Mrs Ronson" -- eliminating all doubt as to who wears the pants in that relationship.

ANNE HATHAWAY: The Smoking Gun catalogs the expensive jewelry the actress had to surrender to the feds when her ex-boyfriend was busted and pleaded guilty to fraud charges.

KANYE WEST was arrested at LAX for felony vandalism in a confrontation with a paprazzo.  More details via TMZ.

SARAH McLACHLAN and her hubby-drummer have called it quits after 11 years.

JESSICA SIMPSON: Wearing a skirt for a windy outdoor show was a bad choice.

JENNIFER ANISTON: Going out with Gerard Butler ("300")?

MAD MEN: John Slattery ("Roger Sterling" talks to USA Today about his Emmy nomination and originally wanting the lead in the acclaimed AMC drama: "Yeah, but who wouldn't? James Bond would want the role of Don Draper."

THE STANS: Pres. Bush secretly approved orders allowing US Special Ops ground missions in Pakistan without the prior approval of the Pakistani government. A raid last week involved more than two dozen members of the Navy Seals who spent several hours on the ground and killed about two dozen suspected al- Qaeda fighters who had been conducting attacks against a US forward operating base across the border in Afghanistan.  Joint Chiefs Chair Mullen is warning that thousands more US troops as well as greater US military involvement across the border in Pakistan's tribal areas are needed to battle an intensifying insurgency in Afghanistan.

IRAQ is still waiting for a response from the US to proposals regarding the controversial security deal between the two countries. Iraqi soldiers arrested three leaders of Al-Qaeda in a raid in Diyala province late Wednesday, and killed three would-be suicide bombers. The US military has intercepted a letter in which senior Al Qaeda operatives reveal their fury over militants' failure to keep up with the campaign against US-led forces in Iraq.

ANGORA KITTY saved from fire is given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

PUPPY survives eating six pounds of rocks. Video at the link.

SCOOBY-DOO has become the first animal in the world to appear as a witness in a murder trial.  Yes, really. And the guy would have gotten away with it, too, if not for those meddling kids.

AND THERE WERE PIGS ALL OVER THE HIGHWAY, 25 miles south of Des Moines, IA, closing I-35 for about nine hours. Video at the link.

MOUSE sabotages trafic stop. No word yet on involvement with any squirrel conspiracy.

SHARK ALERT in effect for all of Hawaii.

CONSTANTINES: "Our Age" is not really my age anymore, but parts of it seem vaguely familiar.

JENNY LEWIS is advance streaming her new album via JennySpace.

SONIC YOUTH has signed with Matador.  Those of you fearing it was Starbucks can get off the ledge.

FRIGHTENED RABBIT stopped by KEXP for a chat and mini-set you can stream on demand via NPR.

GOT A FEE-VAH? Here is your prescription.

ELBOW wins the UK's esteemed Mercury Prize. Here's the video for their latest single, "The Bones of You."

OKKERVIL RIVER frontman Will Sheff shares a few of his favorite things for Pitchfork's "Guest List" feature.

THE SPINTO BAND performs a dramatic reading from the novelization of "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" for Daytrotter.  Yes, really.

THE WHO are set to receive a Kennedy Center Honor on December 7 in Washington for their contribution to American culture.  Perhaps Pete will break out his Union Jacket.

DEVENDRA BANHART tells Rolling Stone he had a panic attack while recording his upcoming LP, of which he says some songs have a "weird vibe of cowboy songs" while another has an '80s-style electro-pop beat reminiscent of Hall And Oates' "I Can't Go For That."

ANNE HATHAWAY  is breaking her silence about her split from Italian beau Raffaello Follieri, who yesterday pleaded guilty to 14 counts of con-artistry in a Manhattan Federal court.

KIRSTEN DUNST says rumors she is romancing Justin Long "are the funniest thing on planet Earth," adding, "I don't know him from Adam," though the two have been photographed repeatedly over the summer.

THE DARK KNIGHT: Philip Seymour Hoffman says no one has approached him about playing The Penguin in a Batman film, and he doesn't know if he would make a good Penguin,  But he is a fan of comic-book movies and Nolan.

MISCHA BARTON dumps Rooney frontman Taylor Locke after about seven months together.

UMA THURMAN is "absolutely not pregnant," according to her rep.

HOLLYWOOD'S MOST OVERPAID MOVIE STARS, according to Forbes magazine. You are looking at number three.

PAM ANDERSON laughs off rumors that she is dating Jacko: "He just wants me to be in a video."

WILLIAM SHATNER does not appear in the Star Trek reboot, according to director JJ Abrams.

9/11: The first five minutes of CNN coverage. I came out of the shower, saw the second plane hit on NBC, and knew had had to contact my boss, whose daughter lived in NYC. Today, only 9 of 17 nations surveyed have a majority who think Al Qaeda was responsible for the attacks.

KIM JONG IL is believed to be recovering from recent surgery, South Korea's spy agency said Wednesday. The NoKos claim reports questioning Kim's health are a "conspiracy plot."  Meanwhile, North Korea has quietly built a long-range missile base that is larger and more capable than an older and well-known launch pad for ICBMs.

IRAQ: Leaders of Iraq's political blocs have formed a panel to try to resolve a dispute over adopting a controversial provincial election law. US SecDef Gates said  the war in Iraq had entered its "endgame" and urged the next US president to continue a cautious approach to troop cuts.

ABUSED CAT shuns media attention, then goes all Sean Penn on the reporter.

PLAGUES of RATS devastate Burnese villages in a 50-year freak of nature.

A ROGUE KANGAROO has boxed its way out of its enclosure in a small German town and set off a chase with baffled emergency responders.

ZOOS are setting up an online dating service for rare species.

DIXIE the CAT returns home after nine years.