PAUL WELLER: The former Jam master and Style Councillor asks, "Have You Made Up Your Mind?"

PHONOGRAPH bring their brand of Americana to Daytrotter for the four free songs thing, one previously unreleased.

BON IVER: Justin Vernon talks to Pitchfork about his personal code of conduct, couch-surfing past, favorite quotes, Fleetwood Mac and more...

MARTHA WAINWRIGHT's latest album, I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too, is streaming in full via MuchMusic.

R.E.M. axeman Peter Buck talks to the Examiner about laying down the law to his bandmantes before making the Accelerate album:  "Everybody knew I wasn't happy, and I wanted everyone to understand that I had absolutely no interest in making records the way we'd been doing it, like we were making an Eagles album or something. So I said, ‘If we don't make a great record, I'm not doing this anymore.'"

WE FIVE were on my mind when I woke up this morning, introduced by no less than Fred Astaire.

THE FAVORITE 100 ALBUMS of the 1970's, as picked by the staff at Pitchfork, with many shocking omissions.

BEN FOLDS talks to DC's Express about his upcoming album: "The new record is just like an explosion - it's a pretty full-on record," he said. "There's a lot of energy and I thought we kind of captured the live show for the first time (in the studio)."

VASHTI BUNYAN talks to Crawdaddy about about her early success, her long period in her own blissfully self-imposed exile, and her heartening revival.

JELLO BIAFRA made a second career as an anti-censorship advocate, but is now calling for the censorship of insane radio talk show host Michael Savage.

ASHLEE SIMPSON & PETE WENTZ officially admit she is knocked up.

JESSICA SIMPSON & TONY ROMO are reportedly back together, on the condition that creepy dad-manager Joe leave them alone' and stifle his tendency to tell Romo how to run his life, career and endorsement deals.

BRITNEY SPEARS could get some songwriting help from Johnny Rotten, who feels sorry for the pop wreck.

MILEY CYRUS: A photo of Hannah Montana's first kiss could be worth between 30K and 150K, depending on who she kisses.

MADONNA & GUY RITCHIE's adoption of David Banda has been officially approved, more than a year and a half after the duo picked up the boy at an orphanage in Malawi.

GEORGE CLOONEY has broken up with Sarah Larson after nearly a year of dating.  Clooney reportedly moved out of his LA home while the 29-year-old former Las Vegas cocktail waitress removed her belongings.

CSI COACHELLA: Gary Dourdan pleaded guilty to two of the felony drug possession charges against him and won't have to serve any jail time.

R. KELLY TRIAL: The young girl who allegedly appears in a sex video with R. Kelly visited the R&B star's recording studio regularly, did her homework there and once brought an overnight bag, Kelly's former personal assistant testified Tuesday.

ALLY SHEEDY is divorcing actor David Lansbury, her husband of 15 years.

JULIANNE MOORE talks to The A.V. Club about crying on cue, paying the bills, and the TV shows she wishes she was on.

JACK NICHOLSON's alleged penchant for prostitutes has been outed in former co-star Debra Winger's new autobiography, Undiscovered.

ROBERT RODRIGUEZ & ROSE McGOWAN are shopping around "Women in Chains!" a violent exploitation TV series set at a woman's prison.

EARLE HAGEN, who co-wrote the jazz classic "Harlem Nocturne" and composed memorable themes for "The Andy Griffith Show," "I Spy," "The Mod Squad," "That Girl," "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C." and other TV shows, has died. He was 88. Video at the link. Stream themes via the ol' HM.

IRAN's new parliamentary Speaker has used his inaugural address to give warning that Tehran could set limits on future co-operation with the UN's nuclear watchdog, after an unusually critical report from the agency.  Meanwhile, Iran and its close ally Syria have signed a new defense cooperation pact, Iranian media reported on Wednesday.

IRAQ: Newly-promoted Brig. Gen. H.R. McMaster, a senior Petraeus adviser known for leading a successful counter-insurgency effort in the Iraqi city of Tal Afar, recently gave a briefing on Iraq at AEI.  ABCNews has a look at how Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki turned his and Sadr City's fortunes around. After an absence of nearly three years, Salman Pak's three judges have returned to the bench at the city courthouse, where security conditions have improved enough that the justices have opted to come out of a self-imposed exile. The Iraqi Ministry of Interior dismissed more than 7500 police members in 2008, usually for absence, negligence, or corruption.  The "Triangle of Death" has boomeranged to become a bastion of relative peace on the edge of a violent capital, while Sunni militants remain elusive in the north. US troops do the dirty work needed to maintain the security berm in Mosul.

HENRI the CAT seems to suffer even more ennui than the typical cat.

A BEAR was spotted scoping out the pool area of the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Studios in Florida. Hey, it's almost summer.

AN OWL is being framed in a murder case in Durham, NC.

A CROCODILE is roaming on a river in central Germany.

A "SPIRITUAL PIGEON" is accused of stealing penises in Nigeria.

WEEZER take on viral videos and Internet celebs in the new clip for "Pork and Beans."

THE RACONTEURS played DC's 9:30 Club last night, so you should be able to stream the gig on demand now via NPR.

LOU BARLOW talks to the Jerusalem Post (from Dublin) about juggling his gigs with Dinosaur, Jr. and Sebadoh.

NEW RELEASES: Albums from Islands, Free Kitten, Futureheads, Butcher the Bear, Health and more are finally streaming in full via Spinner, icymi.

SPOON continues to roll out a free download every month; May brings the demo version of "Don't Let it Get You Down."

THE RAMONES remember rock 'n' roll radio -- do you?

CHESS RECORDS: Hollywood is making tow movies about thelegendary record label; Marshall Chess talks to The Independent about a history that stretches from Muddy Waters to the Rolling Stones to the Sugarhill Gang.

THE URBAN VERBS, a short-lived, Brian Eno produced, New Wave combo in the late 1970s, played a reunion show at DC's 9:30 Club last weekend -- and the club might not exist without them.  It's like George Bailey was a New Wave band.  You can stream the gig and an interview now via NPR.

THE HOLD STEADY's upcoming Stay Positive album gets a track-by-track review in The Riverfront Times.  Springsteen gets name-checked (natch), but so are ELO, The Cars, Cheap Trick, Guns ‘n Roses, Led Zeppelin and early Elvis Costello.

THE LAST of the SHADOW PUPPETS may turn out shimmering pop songs of "the kind you might hear if Sinatra and Dusty Springfield knocked boots," but Arctic Monkey Alex Turner and Rascals' vocalist Miles Kane developed their sound after sampling early David Bowie.

LINDSAY LOHAN & SAMANTHA RONSON:  US magazine claims Lindsay's ex-con dad sent them an e-mail saying that their relationship "is evident to anyone with half a brain." OK! magazine reports that Michael Lohan denies any such statement.

JESSICA SIMPSON has released her first country track, "Come On Over." And for contemporary country, it's not as bad as I thought it would be.

BRADGELINA have reportedly signed a three-year lease on the 70 million-dollar, 880-acre estate called Chateau Miraval on the French Riviera.

BRITNEY SPEARS:  There are pictures in the Daily Mail of her new dude, who just happens to be an agent with the powerful William Morris talent agency that looks after the star.

PATRICK SWAYZE gives everyone an update on his medical condition via People magazine.

KIRSTEN DUNST tells E!'s Mark Malkin that she went to the Cirque Lodge center in Utah for treatment of depression, not substance abuse.

CHRISTIAN BALE talks to Details magazine about being the Dark Knight, never having a plan B, and always swimming against the current.

SHARON STONE thinks the Chinese earthquake which claimed tens of thousands of lives may be karmic payback for China's policy towards the Tibetans. I think she could get a slot on the 700 Club.

THE HOBBIT: Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro answered 60 live questions from fans for a site affiliated with the special effects wizards of WETA. Transcript at the link.

THE REAL INDIANA JONES? Otto Rahn was an archaeologist who fell foul of the Nazis while searching for the Holy Grail.

SYDNEY POLLACK, an eclectic and prolific director, actor and producer, died of cancer Monday at 73. The NYT's A.O. Scott surveys Pollack's wide-ranging career in film. At The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg has a funny little reminiscence of his brushes with Pollack.  Watch him work in Tootsie and Michael Clayton.

ISLAMISM in the US: No one knows how many Muslims in the US live in polygamous families. But according to academics researching the issue, estimates range from 50K to 100K people.

UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPERS have been sexually abusing children as young as six years old, according to a new report from a UK charity.  This is at least the fifth such scandal, which seem to be an annual event.

IRAN may be withholding information needed to establish whether it tried to make nuclear arms, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Monday in an unusually strongly worded report. Cue Claude Rains.

IRAQ: Iraqi Special Operations Forces have captured a senior Mahdi Army Special Groups leader in the Shula neighborhood in the Ghazaliyah district in northwestern Baghdad. As violence continues in Sadr City, public tolerance for the Mahdi Army, and by association the Sadr movement, seems to be shifting toward the same sort of resentment once reserved for US and Iraqi forces. US forces captured a Special Groups EFP expert in Suwayrah. Iraqi troops seized 17 EFPs, 28 IEDs, 99 anti-tank mines, and a host of weapons in Sadr City. Muqtada al-Sadr is calling on followers to hold weekly protests against a long-term security deal that the Iraqi government and US are negotiating. Iraq's main Sunni Arab political bloc said on Wednesday it had suspended talks to rejoin the Shi'ite-led government after a disagreement with Prime Minister al-Maliki over a cabinet post.

TAMA the CAT saves a struggling train company, is promoted and given her own office.

BULLDOG PUPS: Awww...some pics.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: Militant squirrels are eating the displays at a popular open-air museum in Helsinki.

THE HORROR FROG:  Bizarre and hairy, Trichobatrachus robustus actively breaks its own bones to produce claws that puncture their way out of the frog's toe pads, probably when it is threatened.

SCORPION ATTACK in a West Virginia Wal-Mart.  No doubt it was attracted by the falling prices.

R.E.M.'s appearance on Austin City Limits aired over the long weekend, including "Supernatural Superserious."

NEW RELEASES: There may or may not be new albums streaming in full from Spinner when you read this. John Hiatt is the Same Old Man -- which is a good thing. Spiritualized releases Songs in A&E. Julie Ocean debuts with Long Gone and Nearly There.

WIRE has released "One of Us," the single and opening track from the legendary UK post-punkers' 11th studio album.  You can download it from the 'Gum or stream it from the 'Gum Mix.

THE DECEMBERISTS frontman Colin Meloy tals to The Sun about his solo excursion, his inspirations and the follow-up to The Crane Wife.

PAUL WELLER is interviewed by The Scotsman and profiled by The Independent.

DUFFY performs a mini-set for The Interface, including 'Mercy,' 'Stepping Stone,' 'Warwick Avenue' and 'Syrup and Honey,' plus an interview.  That's more than Twofer Tuesday.

ISLANDS frontman Nick Thorburn talks to the Montreal Mirror about how the band's break-up and re-configuration resulted in the Arm's Way album.

THE B-52's singer Fred Schneider talks to the Orange County Register about the impact of the Internet on new and old fans coming to their shows.

LAURA CANTRELL talks to PopMatters about Trains and Boats and Planes, a new record of traveling cover songs.

TAPES N' TAPES drummer Jeremy Hanson talks to the Birmingham Post about the impact of music blogs and MySpace on indie music-making.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull took in an estimated 151 million bucks domestic over the holiday weekend, a bit below the average projection, but the actuals may boost this total past last year's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.  Indy seems to have rolled like a giant boulder over Prince Caspian, as the second Narnia film dropped 48 percent to make 28.6 million in its second weekend; it is making far less than The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe while burdened with a bigger budget.  Iron Man held up much better in its third weekend at 25.6 million and could finish over the 300 million mark in the US.  What Happens in Vegas continues to survive as counter-programming, making another 11 million, while Speed Racer continues to tank, even in the fifth slot, with 5.2 million.

TEN CLASSIC SPIELBERG MOMENTS, courtesy of PopMatters.

JESSICA SIMPSON & TONY ROMO: According to TMZ, Romo was paid to show up at Ashlee Simpson's wedding, because a pic of Jessica & Tony was key to People paying over a million for the wedding photos.  However, the pair looked like they were on a dinner date at N9NE Steakhouse in Dallas on Saturday. Have they made up, or is it made-up?

ROBERT REDFORD has announced he is engaged to his girlfriend Sibylle Szaggars, whom he has dated since 1996.

KATE HUDSON & LANCE ARMSTRONG were... wait for it... caught canoodling in Cannes, at a party thrown by designer Dolce and Gabbana.

LINDSAY LOHAN & SAMANTHA RONSON were... wait for it... caught canoodling and cavorting in Cannes, atop P Diddy's party yacht.  More pics at Egotastic.

MADONNA & GUY RITCHIE went to Cannes together, but did little to scotch persistent rumors that their seven-year marriage is on the rocks.

BRITNEY SPEARS has been spied stepping out with the new man in her life, who has already earned the blessing of her dad.

PATRICK SWAZE, currently battling pancreatic cancer, was spotted with his wife in the crowd Friday as the L.A. Lakers beat the San Antonio Spurs in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference playoff series.

DENISE RICHARDS & CHARLIE SHEEN continue to blast each other; this time it's Richards's turn:  "I don't want Charlie's prostitute-tranny-infested sperm. I have two beautiful kids. We'll leave it at that. I am so over him. He's the one who can't move on. He's disgusting and he's hit an all-time low."

JEN & JOHN: Page Six claims the couple were quietly dating for three months prior to coming out earlier this month as a couple in Miami.  The ever-reliable Star magazine claims to have the details of their superhot, kinky sex life.

DICK MARTIN, the zany half of the comedy team whose "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" took television by storm in the 1960s, making stars of Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin and creating such national catch-phrases as "Sock it to me!" has died. He was 86.  Younger folks may have to look him up in their Funk and Wagnall's.

SHELDON ADELSON, the billionaire casino mogul who runs Las Vegas Sands Corp., brought 40 wounded soldiers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center to the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Vegas for an all-expenses-paid getaway with all the perks normally saved for casinos' richest regulars.

AL QAEDA is unraveling from within, according to new articles in The New Republic and The New Yorker.  Lawrence Wright, author of the latter article, tells NPR, "In some respects, they are not losing, they are regenerating. But they're still much reduced from what they were. They're clearly losing in Iraq. Their popularity all across the Muslim world is plummeting because Muslims are the main victims. And people are beginning to question the use of violence not only in the case of al-Qaeda but even in resistance movements in Palestine."

IRAQ: Less than one week after pushing into the northern two-thirds of Sadr City from the walled southern neighborhoods, the Iraqi Army is uncovering substantial weapons caches in the Mahdi Army stronghold. As the Iraqi security forces continue to work to secure Sadr City, US and Iraqi forces are pressuring the Mahdi Army in greater Baghdad and beyond. Al-Qaeda fighters and other Sunni insurgents have largely scattered from the northern city of Mosul in the face of a US-Iraqi sweep, fleeing to desert areas further south, an Iraqi commander said Sunday. The US military said AQI was "off-balance and on the run" but remains a very lethal threat. Iraqi legislators must hurry up and pass a provincial elections law by the start of July if they want the vote to happen on the agreed Oct. 1 date, the head of Iraq's Electoral Commission said on Friday.

CROC vs. SHARK: A clash of the titans in the wilds of Australia.

BELLA, a Labrador cross, may be the oldest dog evah at 203 years young. Pics at the link.

THUMBELINA, the world's smallest horse, had to have some dental work done in Connecticut.  Pic at the link.

A FULLY FORMED GECKO was found inside a hen's egg, trying to sell the yolk auto insurance.

POODLES bred as hunting dogs. Not as wacky as it sounds. Video at the link.

MEMORIAL DAY has become -- in the minds of some -- a day devoted to uncovering their swimming pools and barbeques. So take a moment (preferably at 3 p.m. local time) to remember what it's really about. Milblogger Blackfive remembers the fallen, while filmmaker JD Johannes has video of Memorial Day 2007 at OP Delta, Kharmah, Iraq. Maj. Bob Krumm e-mails Instapundit that in Iraq, Coalition Forces have just experienced their least costly week of the entire war. The Mudville Gazette reprints the remarkable story of Lt. Rick Rescorla. The Wikipedia entry for Memorial Day notes a race track connection unrelated to the Indy 500 -- and even mentions the Drive-By Truckers.  But that DBT number is nowhere near as well-known as Sgt. Barry Sadler's No. 1 smash, "Ballad of the Green Beret."

There's not much breaking news this weekend, so I'll be back tomorrow with the usual tripe.

THE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with ARETHA FRANKLIN, Live in Stockholm, 1968! The "Lady Soul" concert was broadcast on Swedish TV, including "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," "Come Back Baby," "Dr Feelgood (Love Is A Serious Business)," "Since You've Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby)" "I  Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)," "Chain Of Fools," and "Respect."

MEMORIAL DAY RADIO: WOXY starts running its Modern Rock 500 on Saturday. Chicago's WLS reverts back to classic Top 40 format Monday for the Big 89 Rewind.

CAT POWER: The Guardian Music Blog wonders whether she can regain the momentum she lost to her breakdowns and misbehavior.  Yes, she can.

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED: New tracks from Mates of State and Sam Phillips highlight the latest edition of the long-running NPR series.

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS: TIME magazine profiles the 20-year phenomenon that spans the generations. Here's the video podcast for "Seven" mentioned in the profile.

KID ROCK: You may be hearing a mutant hybrid of Warren Zevon, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bob Seger "All Summer Long." Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.

TOP 5 DRIVING SONGS, as compiled by Carrie Brownstein, former guitarist for Sleater-Kinney and host of NPR's Monitor Mix blog.

RICHARD HAWLEY: Frank Yang, being lucky enough to see him play the Royal Albert Hall, has plenty of A/V linkage for someone you should know.

THE TING TINGS' meteoric ascent from TheirSpace to a major-label record deal and an iPod commercial, is chronicled on NPR's Day to Day.

THE CONSTANTINES guitarist Steve Lambke talks to JamBase as the band quits their day jobs.

CUTOUT BIN: From Elvis Presley to Elvis Costello, from Otis Redding to R. Dean Taylor, from Kenny Rogers to Devo, Janis Joplin, The Replacements, Faith No More and the Undisputed Truth, this Friday's fortuitous finds can be jukeboxed or streamed individually on the Pate page at the ol' HM.

CAMERON DIAZ plays a mother who shaves her head in support of her ill daughter in the upcoming My Sister's Keeper.

JESSICA ALBA's May 19 wedding to boyfriend Cash Warren might be one the most strategically sound decisions the actress has made in her career.

JODIE FOSTER cheated on her lesbian partner of 14 years with a younger, prettier woman who is now her new girlfriend, according to the National Enquirer.

TOM-KAT UPDATE: Cruise has sicked his lawyers on luxury baby boutique Petit Tresor, accusing them of babbling to the tabs about Suri's outrageously expensive designer duds.

SHANIA TWAIN: People has a pic of the alleged other woman in her separation from her husband of 14 years, music producer Robert "Mutt" Lange. Marie-Anne Thiébaud the longtime secretary and house manager at the couple's estate in Switzerland, denies that she split up the marriage.

WINONA RYDER & KEANU REEVES are not a couple, according to OK! magazine, contardicitng a prior claim in Star magazine.

OK!'s TOP 50 MAN CANDY: Considering I linked to Maxim's Hot 100, I thought it only fair to link something for the ladies (and gay dudes, I suppose).

BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA: The scariest trailer I have seen in years.

TERROR IN THE UK: Police arrested a "radicalized" convert to Islam after he was injured in a bomb explosion in a city center on Thursday. The 22-year-old, who suffered cuts to his eye and facial burns in the explosion and remains in police custody at a hospital, has a history of mental illness.

TRENDS IN GLOBAL TERRORISM: A study released on Wednesday reports a decline in fatal attacks of terrorism worldwide and says US think-tank data showing sharp increases were distorted due to the inclusion of killings in Iraq.

IRAQ: Iraqi soldiers moved unhindered through Baghdad's vast Sadr City district on Wednesday as Shiite militiamen who have long controlled the area faded from view and schools and businesses began to reopen after weeks of strife. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani expects Iraqi forces will take control of security of all Iraqi territories by the end of this year. Gen. Petraeus said on Thursday he expects to recommend further troop cuts this year after a 45-day pause in withdrawals that begins in mid-July. Joint US-Iraqi forces on Thursday arrested 29 AQI gunmen in a military operation south of Baquba. AQI is stepping up its racketeering campaigns as the military clamps down on its operations.

ANTEATER EATS WITH A SPOON: And sucks Cheez Whiz right from the can.  Let's go to the video.

RUPERT the TORTOISE has escaped through a hole in a garden fence. His owner has warned he can be aggressive and he has been known to bite children and dogs.

THE SWARM attacked two men at a Fountain Hills, AZ home and also stung six emergency workers trying to rescue them.

A HERD OF WILD BOARS thwarted a suspected car thief's getaway in northern Germany.

MEXICAN DONKEY UPDATE: "Blacky" has been freed from jail after doing time for assault and battery. Let's go to the video.