THE BRIGHTON PORT AUTHORITY (f/k/a Fatboy Slim, Norman Cook) teams up with Dizee rascal and David Byrne for "Toe Jam," which is probably NSFW above and beyond the F-bomb Byrne drops. You have never seen so many black bars in one video.

NEW RELEASES: Wolf Parade, Tilly & the Wall, Verve remixes and Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue are among the albums streaming in full via Spinner.  The Silver Jews release Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea. My Brightest Diamond unleashes A Thousand Shark's Teeth.

THE TING TINGS' Katie White talks to Daytrotter about how she and Jules De Martino celebrated topping the UK charts, the difference between playing London and Helsinki and more...

SPOON does the four free songs thing for Daytrotter, including a cover of Paul Simon's "Peace Like A River."

THE OLD 97s frontman Rhett Miller answers the usual 20 questions from PopMatters.

VAMPIRE WEEKEND  drops an F-bomb on the way to covering Tom Petty's "Dont Come Around Here No More" with Andrew W.K. at NYC's Centerstage.  Pair it up with TP & the Heartbreakers on "Here Comes My Girl" for Twofer Tuesday.

THE HOLD STEADY gets a positive review for Stay Positive in the New York Times.

JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN:  Joan Wasser, violinist for artists like Lou Reed, Antony and the Johnsons, and Jeff Buckley, chats and plays a couple of her own songs for WNYC's Soundcheck.

R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe talks to Metromix about the millennial angst that drives the new Accelerate LP.

ARTS & CRAFTS: The Canadian label fueled by Feist, Broken Social Scene, The Constantines and more is profiled by the National Post.

JEN & JOHN: Aniston and Mayer headed for a little R&R at Casa Aramara, the sprawling beachfront home of Girls Gone Wild mogul Joe Francis, in Punta Mita, Mexico.  Meanwhile, Aniston is said to have demanded that her He's Just not That Into You co-star Jennifer Connelly not appear with her in a cast photo for the cover of Marie Claire.

AMY WINEHOUSE has been hospitalized after fainting at home, her rep tells US magazine.

GEORGE CLOONEY has clearly got over his recent love split, as he is reported to be enjoying a visit at his Lake Como villa, from two beautiful house guests.

JESSICA SIMPSON likes to eat meat, much to the chagrin of Tony Romo's ex-girlfriend, country superstar Carrie Underwood -- and PETA.

BRITNEY SPEARS swam with the dolphins at the Mirage in Vegas over the weekend. Plus, the pop wreck will not be charged over an incident last year in which she allegedly ran over the foot of a paparazzo.

DENISE RICHARDS is considering shedding her clothes for Playboy magazine once again: "I think that my niche is as a sex symbol. I'm never going to be the girl next door, so why not play up my niche?"

ROBERT DOWNEY, JR, is in negotiations to star in DreamWorks/Universal's "Cowboys & Aliens," a pulpy mix of the sci-fi and Western genres that could serve as a potential 2010 tentpole.

HAYDEN PANETTIERE & MILO VENTIMIGLIA of Heroes were... wait for it... caught canoodling at the Kira Plastinina US Launch Ace Gallery in Los Angeles.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY's mother has attacked 'playground bullies' for a whispering campaign suggesting the 23-year-old actress is anorexic.

THE DARK KNIGHT; A tantalizing new video has popped up at Why So Serious?

STAN WINSTON the Oscar-winning visual effects artist whose resume stretched from the Terminator and Jurassic Park movies, to Iron Man and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but with a ton of credits in between, has died at age 62 after a seven-year struggle with multiple myeloma.

"IOWANS are at their best when their backs are against the wall," said Gov. Chet Culver said Saturday, as the Hawkeye state was hit by floods and tornadoes. A tornado that smashed through a Boy Scout camp in western Iowa with little warning killed four of the campers and injured 48, but the state's governor and scout leaders said they marveled at how the surviving boys rallied to dig out their friends, set up triage sites and administer first aid.

OUR FRIENDS, THE SAUDIS will raise oil production to record levels within weeks in an attempt to avert an escalation of social and political unrest around the world.

IRAN: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced plans Monday for new European sanctions against Iranian banking, oil and natural gas interests, signaling a growing willingness by Western allies to join President Bush in punishing Tehran for its nuclear enrichment program.

IRAQ: Although the Shiite bloc serving as the backbone of the current government joined the other political forces in rejecting the terms of the preliminary draft of the US-Iraqi security pact, it has taken steps to prevent the negotiations from breaking down under the pressure of opposition from much of the Iraqi political spectrum. A representative of top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani on Friday called Iraqi officials to show patience during the US-Iraq negotiations, terming pledges of withdrawing foreign troops from Iraq as transitory and elections-oriented. The signatures of more than two million Iraqi Shi'ites, demanding that Iran cease its interference in Iraq, were presented on Saturday during a convention in Ashraf, northeast of Baghdad, the London-based daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat reported. The government will take over responsibility of Anbar and Qadisiya (Diwaniya) provinces in the coming weeks. Iraq's security forces tightened their grip on the southern city of Amara on Monday and appealed to Shi'ite militias to hand over heavy weapons before a government deadline for launching a crackdown.

IRAQ and the MEDIA: The Associated Press that violence is down, armed extremists are in disarray, government confidence is rising and sectarian communities are gearing up for a battle at the polls rather than slaughter in the streets -- but that these positive signs are attracting little attention in the US.  Indeed.  If only there were an international news service that could get the word out...

QAHR: Hey! Did you happen to see the Most Beautiful Goat in Riyadh?

ORPHANED BIRDS are learning how to sing by listening to recordings of the dawn chorus. Tim Thomas, of the RSPCA, said: "The ability to sing is extremely important to the males of most bird species because it is vital for them to form and then defend their own territory and find a mate."

THE BIRDS: Train services were disrupted in parts of eastern India for three hours after flocks of agitated crows snapped overhead powerlines when railway workers tried to clear their nests, officials said on Monday.

A BEAVER took a nibble out of a fiber optic cable northeast of Hope and knocked out telephones and other services to part of southwest Arkansas. No evidence of squirrel involvement... yet.

SCREW THE POOCH: Leona Helmsley's pet pooch, Trouble, is going from rich ***** to good dog by throwing a 10 million bone to charity. A Manhattan judge quietly reduced the notoriously ill-tempered canine's 12 million trust fund and signed off on a deal to pay the late billionaire's two disinherited grandchildren $6 million amid allegations that Helmsley wasn't mentally competent when she signed her will.

MY MORNING JACKET drummer Patrick Hallahan lists common misconceptions about the band for the Toronto Star. Frontman Jim James "spins" clips featuring James Brown, Jim Henson, Muhammad Ali and John Prine as TubeVJ for a day at Velocity Weekly. (Thx, LHB.)

SHEARWATER hit DC's Black Cat last night, so you should be able to stream the gig on demand via NPR.

LEONARD COHEN is profiled in the Independent as he sets out on his first British tour for 15 years.

JAMES HUNTER brought his classic-tinged soul to the World Cafe on Friday; you can stream his set on demand via NPR.

JIM DICKINSON and the North Mississippi All-Stars: sort of a Father's Day story.

LOVE IS ALL does an art-punk take on the  Flock of Seagulls' classic "I Ran (So Far Away," sans the asymmetric haircuts.

WILL JOHNSON explains the duality of his bands -- the noisy Centro-matic and the contemplative South San Gabriel -- to the Boston Globe.

FLEET FOXES are "the Beach Boys gone feral," according to the Observer -- and it seems that Robin Pecknold has a little of Brian Wilson's reclusive streak as well: "The Foxes are still green enough to be humbled by the applause. 'I spend most of my time in my parents' basement,' confesses Pecknold sweetly, 'so this is very strange.'"

WEEZER frontman Rivers Cuomo is interviewed for NPR's Weekend Edition about changes to the band's music and the brave new world of the Internet. There's also a sidebar from a first-time Weezer listener.

BETTYE LaVETTE talks to Chicagoland's Northwest Herald about preserving her voice and returning to Alabama to record "The Scene Of The Crime."

THE INCREDIBLE HULK: Mr. Green Genes returns to the big screen in a film that is much more what people expect than Ang Lee's 2003 take, with plenty of "Hulk smash" action, though not as good as this summer's adaptation of Iron Man. Ed Norton makes for a more convincing Bruce Banner than Eric Bana, and reportedly polished the screenplay from Zak Penn (who has plenty of experience adapting Marvel comics, including X2 and X-Men 3, Elektra, and the Fantastic Four).  Variety's Anne Thompson has the backstory on Norton's struggle with the studios.  Liv Tyler's Betsy Ross suffers by comparison to Jennifer Connelly, but the script gives her enough time that the viewer cares about her fate as well as that of Banner.  (We can hope the DVD will include the outtakes where Tyler splits her pants repeatedly.)  William Hurt brings his own twist to Gen. "Thunderbolt" Ross; one suspects that we have not seen the last of him.  Tim Roth is suitably nasty as Emil Blonsky, the core villain of the piece.  Stan Lee and original TV Hulk Lou Ferrigno are only two of the cool cameos.

The weaknesses of the film are generally what I always found to be the weaknesses of the comic.  The Hulk - at least the classic Hulk - is inherently simplistic, a manifestation of suppressed rage.  He is so powerful that he is most often opposed by either the military or a comparable behemoth, and there is nothing new on that front in this movie. One of the great bonuses of the film is that Marvel Studios continues to bring the audience into the wider Marvel Universe.  Those who have seen Iron Man will spot some familiar names; comics geeks will recognize the allusions to the Captain America saga. Non-comics geeks reading this will be able to deduce what those allusions are.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE:  The Incredible Hulk won the weekend with 54.5 million -- not as good as the 2003 opening, but exceeding projections with an impressive per screen average and likely more legs than the 2003 version.  Overall it ranks about average for a Marvel movie opening. It opened bigger than the last major comics-franchise reboot, 2005's Batman Begins, and is the best debut ever for Edward Norton and Ed Norton's hair. Kung Fu Panda placed second, falling a respectable 43% to 34.3 million -- it seems likely to end up somewhere between Shark Tale and Madagascar in the Dreamworks catalog, and a big seller on DVD at the holidays.  M. Night Shyamalan' The Happening came in third with 30 million -- beating expectations, though nowhere near the opening of Signs or even The Village.  Bad buzz will likely cause a big tumble next weekend.  You Don't Mess with the Zohan fell a stiff 57% to 16.4 million -- not as good as Adam Sandler's other recent movies over this time span, but okay.  Rounding out the top five is Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which remains a little ahead of Iron Man over the same time frame for top earner this summer.

MADONNA & GUY RITCHIE have reportedly turned to the Kabbalah to help them through their latest marital problems, taking private his-and-hers ‘teachings' at their local center in Oxford Street, London, every Friday night.

R. KELLY was acquitted of child pr0n charges that he appeared on a videotape having sex with a girl as young as 13. Several jurors said one weakness in the prosecution's case was that neither the alleged victim nor her parents testified, even though 14 people personally identified the girl and 12 of them identified Kelly.  Classic celebrity justice.

GEORGE CLOONEY has been dating a woman in her mid-30s" for months now, even before he split with Sarah Larson, according to Page Six.

SIENNA MILLER, who is rumored to be separated from her Welsh actor boyfriend Rhys Ifans, thinks she is too selfish to have children right now.

TONY ROMO denies rumors that creepy dad-manager Joe Simpson has been meddling in his nearly seven-month-old courtship of the pneumatic Jessica.

ADRIANNA LIMA received an engagement ring Thursday night - her birthday - from basketball star Marko Jaric. Let's celebrate by checking out her last photoshoot and video for GQ.  And her new photoshoot for Elle.

NAOMI CAMPBELL almost tumbled to the ground after a night out with friends in Italy. Pics at the link.

KID ROCK was rushed to the hospital minutes before he was to head on stage Friday, suffering from stomach cramps and dehydration.  It seems unlikely that Kid Rock would ever be short of hydration.

TERROR in the UK: More secret government documents detailing the UK's policies towards fighting global terrorist funding, drugs trafficking and money laundering have been found on a London-bound train and handed to 'The Independent on Sunday'.

THE STANS: Afghan President Hamid Karzai threatened Sunday to send Afghan troops after notorious Taliban leaders inside Pakistan in an angry warning to his eastern neighbor that he will no longer tolerate cross-border attacks.

THE A.Q. KHAN weapons smuggling ring that sold bomb-related parts to Libya, Iran and North Korea also managed to acquire blueprints for an advanced nuclear weapon, according to a draft report by a former top UN arms inspector that suggests the plans could have been shared secretly with any number of countries or rogue groups.

IRAQ: Prime Minister al-Maliki said negotiations over the security pact with the US had reached "a dead end"... but would continue, while rebuffing Iranian overtures. "Dr. iRack" looks at the positioning of different factions over the proposed pact. Moqtada al Sadr ordered the Sadrist political movement to boycott the upcoming provincial elections, one day after his order to disband the Mahdi Army as a fighting force and the creation of a small, armed wing to attack Coalition forces exclusively. The Iraqi Army has begun an offensive against the Mahdi Army in Maysan province. The US Army detained a senior Mahdi Army commander in Baghdad. Iraqi Special Operations Forces captured two Mahdi Army operatives in Baghdad.

MUSCHI & MAEUSCHEN:  This odd couple are so close that zookeepers in Berlin have had to reunite the pair after they were separated.  More pics at the link.

A SPIDER MONKEY new to the the Washington Park Zoo in Michigan City, IN, used a garden hose to scale the walls of a moat and make a break for freedom.

A LEATHERBACK TURTLE has nested on a Texas beach, at the Padre Island National Seashore near Corpus Christi, for the first time since the 1930s.

NEARLY 800 RATS have been trapped from one house in Sutherlin, OR.

MAN & SHEEPDOG survive a 220 ft. plunge off a cliff.  The dog fared better than the driver.

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with THIN LIZZY!  Won't be long 'till Summer comes, now that Thin Lizzy is back in rotation.  Here's Phil Lynott & Co. live at the Sydney Opera House in 1978, playing "Jailbreak," "Bad Reputation," "Cowboy Song," "The Boys Are Back In Town," "Waiting For An Alibi," and "Are You Ready?"

BONNAROO: You can listen live to selected sets from this weekend's big fest at AT&T's Blueroom starting with the Drive-By Truckers at 12:30 EDT today.

MISSION OF BURMA: Roger Miller talks to the Boston Herald about playing their Vs. album live for the Pitchfork/ATP fest this year.

IRON & WINE: Sam Beam stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set you can stream on demand via MPR.

SILVER JEWS mastermind David Berman talks to Prefix about the upcoming album and its musical simplicity.  He is also the subject of an essay at the Village Voice.

JAMIE LIDELL brought his own brand of four-eyed soul to the Peacock network with this take on "Another Day."

FLEET FOXES lead singer Robin Pecknold talks to Drowned In Sound about how the band came together, songwriting and more...

THE TOP 25 GUITAR SONGS, according to Rolling Stone readers, as opposed to writers. Oof.

WOLF PARADE talks to the Montreal Gazette about the recording of their new album.

CUTOUT BIN: From the Undertones to King Curtis, from the Sweet to the Polyphonic Spree, from Los Hombres to Exile  to the Beatles, Talking Heads, Stevie Wonder, Patterson Hood covering Big Star and more, this Friday's fortuitous finds can be jukeboxed or streamed separately via the Pate page at the ol' HM.

TOM-KAT UPDATE: In next month's Playboy, Dr. Drew Pinsky, host of VH1's "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew," says: "A lot of people in the public eye who behave strangely have mental illness we can learn from, and much of it is based on childhood trauma, without a doubt. Take a guy like Tom Cruise. Why would somebody be drawn into a cultish kind of environment like Scientology? To me, that's a function of a very deep emptiness and suggests serious neglect in childhood - maybe some abuse, but mostly neglect." Cruise's lawyer compared the TV doctor's analysis to Nazi methods.  Pinsky issued a tempered apology.  I would note that Scientology generally despises psychology and psychiatry and claims they led to the rise of the Nazis.  Cruise's lawyer knows his client.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases are The Incredible Hulk, which is currently scoring 73 percent on the ol' Tomatometer, and M. Night Shamalayan's The Happening, which is currently scoring 14 percent.

EDWARD NORTON -- and Edward Norton's hair -- have slipped off to a desert island rather than do publicity for "The Incredible Hulk." Norton re-wrote parts of the script but fell out with Marvel and Universal -- supposedly over the final cut, but there may be money issues involved.

PAM ANDERSON & TOMMY LEE -- together again.  Check your survival gear.

JEN & JOHN: Aniston's relationship with her much younger beau Mayer is giving her a glowing new sense of self.

CHARLIZE THERON blasts celebrities who constantly court media attention, branding their attitude "sad" and "ugly", in the July issue of British GQ magazine.

MADONNA and BRITNEY SPEARS are about to get socked with scandalous, tell-all books about their wild and crazy lives.

MATT DAMON has transformed into Fat Damon for his new role in The Informant.  Now he sorta looks like a Wahlberg.

THE 50 WORST SEX SCENES IN CINEMA, according to IFC.com and Nerve.com.  Embedded videos galore.

ZOOEY DESCHANEL talks about her first acting gig with Letterman.  Let's go to the video.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA's Tricia Helfer and Katie Sackhoff are biker chicks. They took up motorcycling last year because they were each "tired of being on the back of a guy's bike," said Sackhoff.  Video at the link.

ISLAMISM in the USA: Textbooks at a private Islamic school in northern Virginia teach students that it is permissible for Muslims to kill adulterers and converts from Islam, according to a federal investigation released Wednesday. Other passages in the school's textbooks state that "the Jews conspired against Islam and its people" and that Muslims are permitted to take the lives and property of those deemed "polytheists."

TERROR in the UK: Top secret documents about al-Qaeda left on a train could have been useful to terrorists, a security expert said today.

OUR FRIENDS, THE SAUDIS: The Cassation Court on Tuesday declined to endorse a general court ruling to sentence a girly man to 10 years' imprisonment and 1,500 lashes.  Girly man?

IRAQ: Basra residents are both hopeful and fearful more than two months after the Iraqi military sent thousands of US-backed reinforcements to pry Iraq's second-largest city from the grip of Shiite militias and criminal gangs.  But if the housing market is an economic indicator, then Iraq's southern city of Basra is in the midst of an economic boom. Iraqi reinforcement troops deployed to the oil-producing southern city of Amarah on Thursday as the military geared up for another crackdown against Shiite militiamen.

THE COW was not happy with the service from the local auto repair spot.

A SMALL, UPPITY DOG is being sought by the Poughkeepsie Police.

A RARE UNICORN DEER is drawing hundreds of curious visitors to the nature preserve in Tuscany, NY. Pic and video at the link.

GEORGE, who is 14, was awarded the "The Oldest Living Rabbit" honors by Guinness after several vets confirmed his age.

SCENT of a DINGO: Keeps kangaroos and other marsupials out of places they're not wanted... but drives the ladies wild!  Okay, maybe not that last bit.

R.E.M. was joined by Modest Mouse axemeister Johnny Marr for a rendition of "Fall On Me" at Chicago's United Center.  The first time I saw the band play this, it was not quite finished.

SHE & HIM kick off a new series produced by the legendary Steve Lillywhite at NPR. The duo is also featured in the roll-out of Blurt, which comes with a bonus feature on Zooey Deschanel.

MY MORNING JACKET frontman Jim James rejects comparing the band's new LP to Prince at the outset of a piece at Blurt.

SLOAN is streaming their new Parallel Play album via YepRoc. (Thx, Chromewaves.)

VAMPIRE WEEKEND bassist Chris Baio takes a look back at the band's crazy year with the Village Voice.

THE OLD 97s have Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfer in the video for "Dance With Me," which is pretty much a command.

BLACK MOUNTAIN: Stephen McBean talks to ChartAttack about the group's sophomore effort, from the depths of a haze of cold medication.

T-BONE BURNETT talks to NPR's Day to Day, which also has a couple of streaming tracks from his music for a new version of Sam Shepherd's play, Tooth of Crime,

EMMYLOU HARRIS talks to Pitchfork about her many collaborations, interpreting other people's songs, Johnny Cash, and the downside of staying so busy.

THE BBC & EMI have struck a deal to release thousands of hours of previously-unreleased music from the likes of Paul McCartney, Coldplay, The Beach Boys and David Bowie.

KATHERINE HEIGL withdrew her name from contention for an Emmy, blaming the Gray's Anatomy writers for not giving her worthy material: "In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials."

GEORGE CLOONEY & SARAH LAWSEN split over her boob job?

ANGELINA JOLIE does a Q&A with Entertainment Weekly, explaining what attracted her to the film adaptation of Wanted.

DAVID SPADE and Playboy Playmate Jillian Grace, who dated briefly, are expecting a baby girl.

REESE WITHERSPOON's gig as Avon's Global Ambassador has her donning a kimono in Japan to spread awareness about breast cancer.

BRITNEY SPEARS & MEL GIBSON had another of their ongoing guidance sessions -- at an exclusive Beverly Hills cigar club.

CAMERON DIAZ is continuing to heat things up with Jen Aniston's ex boy-toy, Paul Sculfor.

THE SMURFS are celebrating their 50th anniversary with a Hollywood movie deal announced on Tuesday by Columbia Pictures.  Aren't their heads already big?

IT IS THE YEAR OF THE TWEEN for the Forbes Celebrity 100 List, though none crack the Top Ten.

THE WEBBY AWARDS went to these folks, who are supposed to limit their acceptance speeches to five words.

THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE trailer is online. I want to believe this will be good...

PAKISTAN condemned a US and Afghan Army cross-border attack against Taliban forces in Mohmand agency. The US military said it warned Pakistan the fighting was underway.

AFGHANISTAN: US Marines who served in Anbar Province are bringing the lessons of Iraq to the fight against the Taliban.

IRAQ: The Guardian reports on the downward slide of AQI, while noting AQ may move more into places like Somalia and Yemen. The US is seeing a sharp drop in the number of foreigners entering Iraq to become AQI suicide bombers, according to intelligence and Bush administration sources.  CNN reviews internal AQI documents. The US military said on Wednesday that more than 500 insurgents who fought US and Iraqi forces had surrendered their arms in the past three weeks and joined the reconciliation process in central Iraq. High-level negotiations over the future role of the US military in Iraq have turned into an increasingly acrimonious public debate, with Iraqi politicians denouncing what they say are US demands to maintain nearly 60 bases in their country indefinitely.

WHITE TIGERS are thriving so much at one of India's top reserves that authorities have agreed to expand its boundary to give them a bigger area for the free swim.

A TRAPPED PUPPY was rescued from a storm drain under Interstate 95 in Miami after a couple walking near Northwest Sixth Avenue and 75th Street saw a female dog pacing on top of a metal storm-drain grate and heard a helpless puppy whimpering below.  Like the Jessica McClure story, but with a puppy.

A MAMA BEAR and her two cubs seated themselves at a Romanian raestaurant. "It was like Goldilocks and the three bears in reverse," said frightened customer Flaviu Lazar.

A REKNOWNED SCOTTISH FARMER was crushed to death by his tractor; the family believes the "accident" may have been caused by his dog.

A GREAT WHITE SHARK was spotted off the coast of Martha's Vineyard in two separate incidents over the weekend. What say you, Police Chief Brody?

GNARLS BARKLEY had it "Goin' On" for Dave on the Eye network the other night.

THE HOLD STEADY are advance streaming their new album Stay Positive.  Which should be enough for today, but I'll continue.

LOU REED talks to New York magazine about his new satellite radio show, then breaks bad when the subject of money is raised.

ISOBEL CAMPBELL is reluctantly interviewed by The Observer about a bunch of things, including her first take of current collaborator Mark Lanegan: "He was in Glasgow with Queens of the Stone Age in around May 2003. I don't go out much - I never have - so it was quite a new thing to be at this rock concert with all these kids going mad. I felt like a scientist observing some event. I got quite tired in the middle and had to go to the toilet for a sit down."

THE TING TINGS tell USAToday that they get lots of free merch named "Ting" or "ing Ting."  Kattie White: "I only wish we had known this. We would have named ourselves after something really expensive and hard to get hold of."

MY MORNING JACKET has a little mini-documentary on the recording and roll out of the band's new Evil Urges album (the mellow vibe of which is semi-controversial).  Frontman Jim James talks to The A.V. Club.

OF MONTREAL frontman Kevin Barnes blogs about the band's just-completed album: "i am so bored with art that makes sense and "works". i wanted to do somethings that didn't "work". very few things pique our interest while they are working as we expect them to, things are far more interesting when they are not working..."

FRANZ FERDINAND has posted snippets of songs in progress in the "Music" section of their website, with some departures from the usuall FF sound.

WILL JOHNSON of Centro-matic and South San Gabriel talks to the Phoenix about recording and playing as two different bands with the same members.

EIGHTIES FASHION violates the laws of nature, going against the evolutionary process itself, according to a professor of mathematics.

MADONNA's publicist has hit back at claims on a celebrity gossip website that the superstar hired Heather Mills' hard-hitting divorce lawyer, suggesting a bitter feud with Guy Ritchie was about to erupt.

PAUL NEWMAN has quietly turned over the 120 million dollar value of his ownership in Newman's Own - the company that makes salad dressing and cookies - to charity.  Roger Friedman learned about this extraordinary gift as news started coming out recently about Newman's battle with lung cancer. Newman's rep denied reports that the cancer is terminal.

SHIA LeBEOUF says he's "embarrassed" by a video that made its way around the Internet yesterday, showing LaBeouf participating in a sophomoric slapping contest with a friend during what appears to be a boozy house party. LaBeouf successfully provoked his pal to whack him by calling him a "faggot."

JESSICA ALBA's baby girl looks just like her, according to her Uncle Josh.  I'm thinking she looks younger.  The Alba is claiming that she is unaware of the tabloid offers for the baby pics.

LINDSAY LOHAN & SAMANTHA RONSON look great together, says Sam's bro, producer Mark Ronson.

TOM-KAT UPDATE: They actually put out a teaser trailer for Valkyrie.  Be afraid.

PAM ANDERSON presented Hugh Hefner with his 82nd birthday cake in the nude.  Hef still living.

SPIKE LEE continued his latest showbiz feud-promotion, invoking America's bitter legacy of slavery in response to Clint Eastwood's comments to the Guardian.

IRON MAN 2 may lose director Jon Favreau because Marvel Studios head honcho David Maisel is being cheap regards to making Favreau's deal.  Penny wise, multi-million dollar foolish.

THE DARK KNIGHT has a new website (via Comcast) with behind-the-scenes video and more...  Plus, director Christopher Nolan tells SciFi wire that his vision of The Joker was inspired by Johnny Rotten.

DENISE RICHARDS & CHARLIE SHEEN are at loggerheads over whether to vaccinate their kids. He is convinced vaccinations are poison.  In contrast, I am convnced people will want to see Richards getting a nude spray tan.

VENEZUELA: Hugo Chavez has tossed out a controversial intelligence decree that would have forced Venezuelans to become informants and spy on their neighbors or face prison time. Chavez says the National Assembly will draft a new law from scratch in response to resounding criticism.

THE BBC has come under attack for paying expenses to a disgraced academic who says the 7/7 London bombings may have been an intelligence agency conspiracy.  His theory is that the Al-Qaeda inspired bombers were 'innocent patsies', set up by elements of the Israeli, British and U.S. security agencies.

IRAQ: McClatchy reports that recent substantial gains by the Iraqi army, flagging insurgent violence and civilians reclaiming a sense of confidence have produced expectations that are higher than at any time since 2003. Iraqi police captured 65 Mahdi Army fighters during operations in Dhi Qhar province. Iraqi and Coalition forces killed three AQI fighters and detained five during raids in northern Iraq. Iraqi Special Operations Forces detained four AQI operatives in the Tal Abtah area northwest of Mosul. Coalition forces detained two AQI cell leaders and three associates in Baghdad.  Bodybuilding and bodyguarding are booming businesses in Iraq. The State Department's top Iraq adviser says he believes a U.S.-Iraqi security agreement will be finalized by the end of July.  We'll see.

A CANE TOAD survived after being eaten by a dog and spending 40 minutes in the animal's stomach. The dog also lived to bark another day -- proving she's as tough as her owner, Darwin rugby league star Jackson Crews. It's like the story of Jonah and the big fish, but with a cane toad and a dog.

BIG IN BOOTS: The world's only porker who is afraid of mud.  Awww...some pics at the link.

AN ELUSIVE HEN that took up residence outside a McDonald's was finally captured after it engaging in acts of civil disobedience.

BEAUTY the BALD EAGLE gets a bionic beak.  We can rebuild her.  We have the technology.  Nuhnuhnuhnuh.

LONG-TAILED MACAQUES were observed four times over the past eight years scooping up small fish with their hands.  The species had been known to eat fruit and forage for crabs and insects, but never before fish from rivers.  Just keep your hands off me, you d*mn dirty apes!