THE CONCERT FOR BANGLADESH -- actually two benefit concerts held o­n the afternoon and evening of August 1, 1971 -- organized by George Harrison to help Bengali refugees, was commemorated with a plaque in Madison Square Garden's "Walk of Fame." It is the first concert so honored at MSG. Here's an outtake from the film of the concert of Harrison and Bob Dylan playing the latter's "If Not For You." You can find the whole concert o­n YouTube, along with a clip of Harrison talking to Dick Cavett about selecting the group to which the proceeds were to be donated.

BOB DYLAN and YUSUF ISLAM (f/k/a Cat Stevens) did phone interventions with Welsh (to Nashville) singer-songwriter Cerys Matthews that prompted her to kick heroin.

PITCHFORK FEST REVIEWS poured out o­n Tuesday, from regular press outlets like Rolling Stone, the Village Voice and Live Daily. In the blogosphere, YANP has added reviews, pics and MP3s of Destroyer, Art Brut, the Mountain Goats, and Band of Horses. Skatterbrain did the same for Tapes N' Tapes and Jens Lekman. Marathon Packs has a two-parter that includes a visit to the third stage Ken and I passed o­n, and nice pics of Mission of Burma and Spoon. There's yet another roundup at Fluxblog, which may be o­ne of the first MP3 blogs. Interesting, differing opinions -- except that virtually everyone thought it was frickin' hot and that Art Brut rawked (both true).

ERIC BACHMANN, formerly of Archers of Loaf and Crooked Fingers, has not o­nly been living in his van, but has also recorded his first solo LP, To the Races, primarily in a hotel room at North Carolina's Outer Banks. You can stream two advance tracks via the Hype Machine.

YO LA TENGO: Pitchfork notes the band has another new track posted for downloading from the upcoming I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your A**. It's a bit more like the typical Yo La Tengo sound than the leaked tracks I linked o­n Monday.

VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR: I forgot to mention that yesterday was MTV's 25th anniversary. Heather Browne remembered by posting the song that launched the channel -- both the original by The Buggles and a cover by The Presidents of the United States of America. I'll make up for my lapse by linking the original Buggles video and a clip of the first time they played it live... in 2004. A beefier take o­n the tune, too. And because it's o­ne of Pate frontman Jon Pratt's favorite ditties ever, I give you the original MTV promo bumper and a longer version.

THE PIPETTES trash talk Razorlight, Dirty Pretty Things, Pete Doherty and the Kooks in a new radio interview. Which is another excuse for me to remind you to listen to the ladies via the Hype Machine.

SWAN LAKE is the name of a Canadian collaboration featuring Dan Bejar (New Pornographers, Destroyer), Carey Mercer (Frog Eyes), and Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown).

BILL BERRY: The former R.E.M. drummer's birthday was celebrated at Timedoor by posting two solo tracks released under the name Thirteen-One-Eleven, streamable from the Hype Machine.

GORILLA VS. BEAR: Dallas music blogger Chris Cantalini was profiled by o­ne of his local TV stations, WFAA. You can stream his blog from the Hype Machine.

MAD MEL UPDATE: While Disney exec Oren Aviv seems to forgive the anti-Semitic outburst that accompanied Gibson's DUI arrest, Disney's ABC has canceled a development deal Gibson's company o­n a non-fiction TV mini-series about the Holocaust. Nikki Finke quotes a trusted source as claiming that the outburst, like driving 94 m.p.h, was part of a death wish arising from his alcoholism (which doesn't mean he didn't mean it, imho). Gibson issued a second apology directy addressing his anti-Semitic comments and asking to meet with Jewish leaders for a "one-on-one discussion" to find "the appropriate path for healing." I hope Gibson will redeem himself or reap what he has sown. In the meantime, I will still be amused by the lovely photos of Mel before the bust.  As a side note, I observe that those calling for a Gibson boycott have not made similar calls for folks like Susan Sarandon to boycott activities with Cindy Sheehan, who has made similar comments. I also note that Oscar-winner Paul Haggis may be directing a 9/11-themed movie, yet Tinseltown does not care that Haggis spent a weekend speaking at a rally for International A.N.S.W.E.R., a group that is clearly anti-Israel and gives a platform to anti-Semites and 9/11 conspiracy theorists like Muslim cleric Abdul Malim Musa. Third, Hollywood's criticism of Gibson does not address the clearly misogynistic epithet he hurled at a female cop during the arrest, perhaps because anyone who did so would have to face the ways in which Hollywood routinely exploits women.

AXL ROSE became ill during a Guns 'N' Roses concert at London's Wembley Arena, after being diagnosed with low blood pressure and low blood sugar earlier that day. Former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach took Rose's place to complete the concert.

BOY GEORGE will be sweeping up garbage o­n the streets of NYC as part of his sentence for falsely reporting a break-in at his Little Italy loft last fall (with the police noticing cocaine there while investigating the phony crime). The Boy hinted he might report for duty wearing a bright yellow Big Bird outfit.

THE FRENCH HOTEL is back with her ex-boyfriend, Greek shipping heir Stavros Niarchos -- at least for now.

TOM-KAT UPDATE: Rumors of the couple having some sort of Scientology ritual are fueled by reports that they have twice visited L.A.'s Scientology Celebrity Centre as it has become covered in tents and outdoor chandeliers.

LINDSAY LOHAN: New boyfriend Harry Morton is reportedly a good influence o­n Lohan, because his half-sister -- model turned bounty hunter Domino Harvey -- died around this time last year of what was largely suspected to be a drug overdose.

KATE HUDSON: Life imitates You, Me and Dupree as the actress confesses she's a little tired of her husband Chris Robinson's friends flashing her when they visit her house.

WILL FARRELL and JOHN C. REILLY interview each other for Moviefone and AOL to promote their Talladega Nights.

THE DARK KNIGHT: Heath Ledger is signed to play the Joker in the next Bat-movie. I hope they make up for it by casting Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Penguin.

THE TOP 50 MOVIE ENDINGS, according to FilmCritic.com.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY and RUPERT FRIEND remind me that couples who dress alike often give me the willies. I would have spotted them the shirt and pants... but the hats and sunglasses?

IRAQ: The AP's usually pessimistic Antonio Casteneda delivers a semi-optimistic report o­n conditions in Fallujah, including a rare description of reconstruction efforts there. FOX's Steve Harrigan reports that Iraqi forces in Fallujah have improved, though his report is not as rah-rah as the network's rep would suggest. Sgt. R.J. Mitchell will receive the Navy Cross for saving five other Marines during a gun battle in Fallujah in 2004. Though the story ran o­n the AP wire, it looks like the story was published o­nly by press in Iowa and the L.A. Times.

MIDEAST CONFLICT: At the Counterterrorism Blog, Bill Roggio maps out Israel's expansion of the ground campaign, while Jeffrey Imm notes that CNN has included a group reported to have disturbing links to Jihadism in its list of "aid groups" to assist civilians in the "Mideast crisis." Regarding the Qana bombing, a Lebanese Christian website claims Hezbollah brought invalid children inside the building after using it as a rocket launching site, but such a group presumably has a bias. More significant (imho) is the fact that the Red Cross reported that 28 corpses were evacuated -- about half of the Lebanese number that was reported without question in much of the media. Egyptian blogger Sam asked his co-workers "some slightly uncomfortable questions" about the conflict and got some uncomfortable answers.

EUROPE'S ROLE: European Union foreign ministers have called for an end to hostilities in southern Lebanon, but not an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. What that means is that the UK blocked the other EU countries from calling for the latter. Which does not surprise me. The observations of Ron Rosenbaum, author of Explaining Hitler, o­n Europe's attitudes toward Israel and Jews generally in 2002, and updated in light of Iran's nuke drive, seem equally applicable here. Historian and Guardian columnist Timothy Garton Ash further writes that while Europe's history does not require uncritical solidarity with whatever the current government of Israel chooses to do, "(h)ow Europeans speak and write about the position of the Jews in the region to which Europeans drove them is also a matter of our own self-definition."

A BABY GATOR turned up on a woman's porch in Lexington, KY. But the woman will not be adopting it.

A DOG in a sweater speaks out. And it ain't pretty.

A BAND OF BABOONS had to be restrained from heckling workers renovating the primate enclosure at a safari park near Liverpool.

A MAN IS ACCUSED of biting the head off his own rooster. I'm sure there's a punchline there.

SNAKES o­n A PLANE? Not yet, but they are thriving near the Eelde airfield in Drenthe, Holland.