CURSIVE made their network TV debut playing "From The Hips" at the Ed Sullivan Theater.

THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART talk to Decider Austin at SxSW. Singer-guitarist Kip Berman on the importance of lyrics: "It doesn't have to be hyper-literary, like, 'I'm Colin Meloy, and I imagine myself as a 17th-century space-faring pirate.' It's more about trying to say something genuine and emotionally direct..."

THE DECEMBERISTS, btw, will be streaming the live premiere of The Hazards of Love, a sprawling 17-part narrative song-cycle.  That's tonight, but I'll probably remind you when it goes on demand, too.

FAKE PROBLEMS do the four free songs thing for Daytrotter, including a raw cover of CCR's "Travelin' Band."

SxSW: NPR is offering a 100 song stream from bands playing the big fest. Playlist at the link.

PUBLIC ENEMY decided to "Bring The Noise" to Jimmy Fallon, with an assist from The Roots.

BEN FOLDS has created a new album, Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella, a collection a cappella groups covering his songs. MP3 and Tube clip at the link.

GRIZZLY BEAR: Filter has first impressions of the band's highly-anticipated Veckatimest album.

THE STONE ROSES are readying a 21 gig UK reunion tour this summer to accompany the boxed set reissue of their debut LP.

WHICH ONE OF YOU IS PINK? A collection of 12 drawings by Syd Barrett created in 1965 are being auctioned for charity this month.

WEST SIDE STORY is revisited by Vanity Fair, with Jennifer Lopez, Robert Rattinson and more...

NATASHA RICHARDSON, actress and Liam Neeson's wife, was critically injured in a ski accident in Quebec.

JOHN MAYER is Twittering about his latest breakup with Jennifer Aniston, who claims she dumped him.

MADONNA is threatening to adopt another kid from Malawi. Meanwhile, her ex, Guy Rtichie, was spotted with Elle Macpherson.

CHRISTINA RICCI is engaged to her co-star in All's Faire in Love, Owen Benjamin.

BELINDA CARLISLE of the Go-Gos got booted from Dancing With the Stars. She don't got the beat.

JULIA ROBERTS nastily snubbed Fox's Roger Friedman, wrongly believing that he'd written bad things about her.  Oops.

BOLLYWOOD SUPERMAN: Truth, Justice and the Indian way. With subtitles.

SEAN CONNERY has profiteering claims against him dismissed by a Swiss court.

ISLAMISM in the UK: In London's Muslim neighborhoods, an Afghan reporter finds a few too many uncomfortable reminders of home.

PAKISTAN: Pres. Zardari has endorsed the reinstatement of Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry as Chief Justice. US Rep. Jane Harman says A.Q. Khan's black nuclear market has not been closed down yet completely.

IRAQ still has many problems -- apart from lingering outbreaks of violence, there are still shortages of electricity and water, and corruption is rampant. But after six years of war, the nation is finally starting to move toward a life that feels normal.

SLUGS GET IT ON: Let's go to the video.

FORTY-ONE BULL SNAKES in a CRAWLSPACE: "Snakes.... why did it have to be snakes?"

FROGS MARRY to please Indian rain gods.

MATING NEPHILIDEA SPIDERS: More exciting than you imagine? I dunno... I can imagine quite a bit.

ST. PATRICK'S DAY STARTS HERE:

...with JOE STRUMMER and THE POGUES putting a Celtic spin on "London Calling" and "I Fought The Law" for St. Patrick's Day, 1988. Follow that up with the Dropkick Murphys' videos for "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" (which you may have heard in Martin Scorsese's The Departed) and "The Wild Rover."  That's a Twofer Tuesday times two. Round it out with an Old Grey Whistle Test of my Fave Pogues songs, "Sally MacLennane" and a Shamrock Shake.

THE POGUES' "If I Should Fall From Grace With God" MP3 album is on sale at Amazon for 3.99.

NEW RELEASES: Metric, Superdrag and Willie Nelson are among those streaming this week via Spinner. The new Bonnie "Prince" Billy album is out today, too.

SxSW: Did you know there is about 6GB of free, legal MP3s of bands at the fest posted as torrents? Or you can stream songs from the official site.

HACIENDA does the four free songs thing for Daytrotter, including a nifty unreleased tune.

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE Presents Brendan Canning, with "Love Is New."

DEATH, a Detroit power trio, was Punk before Punk was Punk. MP3 at the link, too.

REGINA SPEKTOR talks to Pitchfork about her next album, which has four producers, including Jeff Lynne.

1000 SONGS EVERYONE MUST HEAR: An ongoing series at The Guardian.

AKRON/FAMILY: Dana Janssen talks to Decider Denver about carrying on after Ryan Vanderhoof's departure from the band. (Thx, LHB.)

ANNA NICOLE SMITH IS STILL DEAD, and the psychologist accused of conspiring to fuel her with illegal prescription drugs, is officially behind bars.

LINDSAY LOHAN's arrest warrant got recalled.

JENNA JAMESON and her boyfriend of two years, Tito Ortiz, welcomed twin boys Monday morning, who are in for some fun times on the playground.

JESSICA SIMPSON forgot the lyrics to two songs on the last show of her tour.

GWYNETH PALTROW suggests JOAQUIN PHOENIX should visit the projects to gain rap authenticity.

BIJOU PHILLIPS & DANNY MASTERSON, who have starred in several films together, are engaged.

RICKY GERVAIS + ELMO: Let's go to the video.

MICKEY ROURKE, just hangin' out in a Russian prison.

DAVID CHASE, creator of The Sopranos, is developing "A Ribbon of Dreams," a miniseries about the early days of Hollywood, for HBO.

MacGUYVER is in development as a feature film.

ROBERT RODRIGUEZ is hot on Machete and Nerveracker, not so much on Sin City 2.

IRAN: "Moderate" fmr pres Khatami will not challenge Pres. Ahmadinejad in the upcoming presidential election, the state-run Fars news agency said Monday.  Pres. Obama and his aides are preparing to send a secret message to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, inviting him to open a clandestine "back channel" for direct talks between the United States and Iran. Are secret messages discussed in the L.A. Times really, y'know, secret?

IRAQ: Violence and insecurity are no longer the main concern of most Iraqis, for the first time since the 2003 US-led invasion, an opinion poll suggests. It says Iraqis are much more hopeful about the future and are increasingly pre-occupied with more conventional worries like the economy and jobs.

SEAHORSE GIVES BIRTH: Let's go to the video.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: Militant squirrels took down a radio station in Britain, and torched a house containing as much as 30K worth of firearms and ammunition in Florida.

THE PYTHON has a terrier-sized bulge.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: A pigeon stuck in a bagel.

ESSY the DUCK thinks she's a dog.

A DAY LATE, but never late than never.  Beware the friendly stranger with candy!

LUCKY SOUL has a nifty new single, "Whoa Billy," you can -- and should -- stream at Frank Yang's place.

BELL X-1 brought its Irish pop-rock to the World Cafe, so you can stream the gig on demand via NPR.

MARIANNE FAITHFULL landed an interview plus tracks on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday, with covers of Duke Ellington, Morrissey and Randy Newman.

75 ALBUMS EVERY MAN SHOULD OWN, according to Esquire magazine, along with 50 Songs Every Man Should Be Listening To, and more...

THREE GEEKS, SIX KEYBOARDS, 15 Hits of the 80s.

THE PIXIES are back on again, for at least one festival gig...

BOB MOULD and his upcoming memoirs get coverage in Billboard.

THE KLAXONS at least publicly agree with their label that their second album needs a poppier retooling.

THE PET SHOP BOYS talk to former rival Johnny Marr about their inspirations, idols and the perils of too much Pernod.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Race to Witch Mountain debuts at No. 1 with 25 million, which is okay for Disney March release. Watchmen plummets 67 percent in second place with 18 million. Taking in below 20 suggests the movie will struggle to recoup its 150 million production budget in US theaters. The remake of The Last House on the Left takes the third slot with 14.7 million -- that's actually soft for a remake of a horror classic, though its budget is likely low enough to avoid a loss in the end. Taken comes in fourth with 6.7 million, showing pretty remarkable legs.  Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail rounds out the Top Five with 5.1 million, and has now grossed over 83 million. Below the fold, Miss March opened at No. 10, but Slumdog, Paul Blart, He's Just Not That Into You and Coraline all held pretty well.

ANNA NICOLE SMITH IS STILL DEAD: Her boyfriend Howard K. Stern and two doctors have bee charged with giving thousands of prescription drugs to the former Playboy playmate in the years leading up to her 2007 fatal overdose.

LINDSAY LOHAN & SAMANTHA RONSON got a visit from the cops in response to a domestic disturbance. The cops did not execute the outstanding arrest warrant on Li-Lo for failing to enroll in an alcohol ed program for her DUI probation, which her lawyer calls a "misunderstanding."

CHARLIE SHEEN and wife Brooke welcomed twin boys Saturday night.

JACKO sells out 50 dates at London's O2 arena, while we learn that the Neverland Ranch was filled with sculpted boys.

RON SILVER died after a long battle with cancer at 62.

HUGH JACKMAN gets groped by a young man on Japanese TV.

DREW BARRYMORE: Back with Justin Long?

JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT is dating her Ghost Whisperer co-star, Jamie Kennedy.

ISLAMISM in the UK: The Observer's Nick Cohen observes that it's little wonder liberal Muslims feel betrayed; their views are seldom heard as ministers prefer to court radical Islamists.

PAKISTAN: As the government claims to seek reconciliation with Nawaz Sharif, 100 lawyers and 20 of Sharif's followers were arrested, and house arrest orders were approved for Sharif and two other political leaders.

AFGHANISTAN: Gen. David Petraeus said Friday that an Iraq-style surge cannot be a solution to the problems in Afghanistan. "We must help our Afghan partners create the breathing space that'll allow the people to stand up for themselves as the Iraqi people did during the awakening movements there," he said.

IRAQ: Pres. Talabani will step down from office after his term expires at the end of the year.

MOUSE PLAYS POSSUM, then intimidates pussycat.

A HUNGRY CALICO CAT was discovered inside a used couch bought for 27 bucks.

MOOSE on a ROOF: The downside of building on a hill.

MAYFLOWER the PONY's legs are so short that passers-by think she is sinking in mud and keep ringing the emergency services.

HEN & PUPPIES, living together... mass hysteria.

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with DEVO! Four-fifths of the classic combo is working on its first album since 1990 and playing SxSW, so it seems like an opportune moment to revist thier heyday. Here they are on Fridays (ABC's ill-fated attempt to ape SNL) in 1980, playing "Girl U Want" and "Gates of Steel," along with "Whip It" and "Uncontrollable Urge" -- each with costume changes.  The band returned in 1981, where they played "Theme From Adventures of The Smart Patrol" and "Jerkin' Back 'n' Forth," followed by "I Saw Jesus" and "Through Being Cool," then their cover of "Working in a Coal Mine."  BONUS: Vintage Devo, covering "Satisfaction" on French TV.

THE DEAD WEATHER: Jack White's newest supergroup includes members of The Kills, Queens of the Stone Age and The Raconteurs. Tube at the link.

BONNIE "PRINCE" BILLY: Will Oldham stopped by WNYC for a chat and mini-set (and a movie recoomendation) streaming via NPR.

THE ANNUALS have a Lounge Act session downloadable at WOXY.

TWICE IN A WEEK: No sooner do I post Kermit's cover than "Once In A Lifetime" becomes the latest entry in the upgraded NPR 100. 

NEKO CASE, whose new record made No.3 on the Billboard charts, is profiled by Sasha Frere-Jones for The New Yorker.

HANDSOME FURS: "I'm Confused," the first video from the new album Face Control, is a zombie love thriller for the ages, according to SubPop. More Fake Cowbell!

OASIS: You know how some rock stars are really into the environment? Noah Gallagher isn't one of them.

BILLY BRAGG, KT TUNSTALL, BADLY DRAWN BOY and others are launching the Featured Artists' Coalition, a new protest group aiming to give musicians a voice in big deals and decisions in the music industry.

CALEXICO: Joey Burns talks to JamBands about this week's REM tribute and benefit concert at Carnegie Hall.

PHIL SPECTOR's defense attorney has rested his case in the music producer's murder retrial involving the death of actress Lana Clarkson.

HYLOZOISTS:  Multi-instrumentalist Paul Aucoin talks to BeatRoute about wrapping up his run with The Sadies and other side projects to return to the band's next album. (Thx, Chromewaves.)

NELS & ALEX CLINE talk to PopMatters about their similar, yet divergent, musical paths.

CUTOUT BIN: From the Flying Lizards to the Flaming Lips, from The Embarrassment to XTC, from Holsapple & Stamey to Hazlewood & Sinatra to KC & the Sunshine Band, from Sugar to Garbage, plus The Kinks, Springsteen, Smith, Clarence Carter and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases are Disney's Race to Witch Mountain, which is currently scoring 42 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; the remake of The Last House on the Left, also scoring 42 percent; and Miss March, currently earning the rare goose egg.

JENNIFER ANISTON & JOHN MAYER: Dunzo again?

MADONNA & BRITNEY SPEARS: Together again. Meanwhile, the pop wreck has been secretly dating her longtime talent agent, Jason Trawick.

JOAQUIN PHOENIX jumped off the stage and attacked a fan at a Miami show last night - but, like anything with him these days, the whole thing could be one big set up. Video at the link.

BRADGELINA: The Jolie-Pitt Foundation got a 250K donation from E! Television last year... (and Jolie blew off Ryan Secrest on the red carpet twice this year. Heh).  Meanwhile, Jolie caught Pitt massaging the nanny, according to the ever-reliable Star magazine.

JADA PINKETT SMITH is opening a private school, for pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, using instructional methods developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. The school's director has said it isn't a Scientology facility. M'kay.

HARRY POTTER & THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE has a new trailer online.

CHUCK NORRIS may run for President of Texas. Who would dare tell him, "No"?

THE UNITED NATIONS, having brought peace to the entire planet, will be discussing Battlestar Galactica on March 17.

ISLAMISM in INDONESIA: As candidates hit the campaign trail in preparation for July's presidential election, Indonesian rights groups have voiced strong opposition to an increasing number of Shari'ah-inspired laws they say discriminate against religious minorities and violate Indonesia's policy of the Pancasila, or "unity in diversity."

AFGHANISTAN: Michael Yon relays word from Colonel Bill Hix that the Afghan National Army is more independent than some think.  Whether it's effective enough yet is another matter.

WHAT'S NEW PUSSYCAT? Wanna good paddling? Me-OW!

HORSE chomped on a man's privates. "Luckily the horse did not chew up or swallow his testicle, but spat it on to the pavement," a bystander was quoted as saying.

MOSHA the ELEPHANT looks happy learning to walk with her new jumbo-sized prosthetic leg. But she could use a parrot, matey.

DOG SAVED from choking; owner lands in hospital, loses finger. But not before dropping the chocolate Lab at the vet.

DEER make a run at the Beer Arena. Let's go to the video.

BOB MOULD does a Q&A + plays a new song, "I'm Sorry, Baby, But You Can't Stand In My Light Any More," for Newsweek. 

DAN AUERBACH stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set streaming via MPR.

STEVE EARLE is advance streaming two songs from his upcoming tribute to Townes van Zandt, with a cameo from fmr RAtM axeman Tom Morello. (Thx, Chromewaves.)

BISHOP ALLEN: Justin Rice talks to YANP about marimbas, freaky arthouse movies, and Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist.

RYAN ADAMS & MANDY MOORE secretly wed in Savannah, GA on Tuesday.  Adams is putting out two books this year.

M WARD hit the keys on "To Save Me" for Craig Ferguson.

YEAH YEAH YEAHS: Karen O talks to Pitchfork about album leaks and rock star fantasies.

A.C. NEWMAN talks to the Boston Herald about Neko Case, covering a-Ha, and... oh yeah, his new album.

DUKES OF UKE: Once viewed as the corny, cringeworthy cousin of the guitar, the ukulele is now being championed by a new generation of artists.

MATT & KIM are profiled by CMJ.

BRITNEY SPEARS is getting her act so together that her father's control over her affairs will end? I'll believe it when I see it.

LINDSAY LOHAN and SAMANTHA RONSON had another bust-up - which ended when the actress' lesbian partner stormed off.

AMY WINEHOUSE's recuperation period is well and truly over. Shocka!

HAYDEN PANETTIERE is trying to get co-star/ ex-bf Milo Ventimiglia kicked off of Heroes.

MEGAN FOX is back on with fiancé Brian Austin Green, though it's unclear whether they were ever really done.

ANNE HECHE and beau James Tupper welcomed their first child together (her second) over the weekend, named him Atlas. *Shrug*

KELLY CLARKSON breaks out TMI for Blender magazine.

PAUL RUDD & JASON SEGEL are covering a couple of Rush classics for their bromance flick I Love You, Man. New York magazine has their take on "Limelight."  And Segel got roped into doing "Dracula's Lament" (from Forgetting Sarah Marshall) while Rudd holds the mic at a preview screening for the new flick. BONUS: Of course I'm going to relink Rudd and David Wain singing "More Tahn A Feeling" with Of Montreal. Are you nuts?

IRON MAN 2: Nikke Finke reports that Mickey Rourke is thisclose to signing on, and that Scarlett Johansson has signed a "terrible" deal to replace Emily Blunt (who had scheduling conflicts).

ISLAMISM in the UK: Muslim extremists shouted abuse at British soldiers during a home-coming march by the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment.

PAKISTAN: Former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf suggested the Army will have to do something, one way or another, about the internal and external threats to the country.

AFGHANISTAN: The commander of a secretive branch of America's Special Operations forces last month ordered a halt to most commando missions in Afghanistan, reflecting a growing concern that civilian deaths caused by American firepower are jeopardizing broader goals there. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court in Afghanistan has upheld a 20-year prison sentence for an Afghan university student journalist accused of blasphemy (he had written and distributed an article about the role of women in Islam).

AN OBESE SPIDER MONKEY turns up in a Tennessee backyard: Let's go to the video.

FROG'S LEGS saved by hospital. Pic (and X-Ray) at the link.

A 12-FT TIGER SHARK ATTACKS: The Daily Mail has the pics.

A TINY FISH with vampire-like fangs has been discovered by zoologists in northern Burma.

GOU GOU the POODLE has become a local celebrity in a Chinese city where it goes for a walk every day - on two feet. Two legs good!