THE RUNAWAYS' drummer Sandy West has died of lung cancer at 47. Bandmate Joan Jett: "I am overcome from the loss of my friend... She was an exuberant and powerful drummer." You can see West really pound the skins o­n the classic "Wild Thing" and with the Runaways o­n Lou Reed's "Rock and Roll." Jett, meanwhile, made NPR's Song of the Day with a cover of the Sweet's "A.C.D.C."

NEW RELEASES: Who's Left, Bright Eyes, Sparta (ex-At the Drive-In), Paul Stanley, The Walkmen remake of PussyCats, and The Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack are all streaming in full from AOL this week. Pulp has a Comlete Peel Sessions disc. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin gets a re-release of their 2005 album, Broom, o­n a bigger indie label. Jeff Tweedy's Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest comes out o­n DVD.

COURTNEY LOVE producer Linda Perry told Billboard not o­nly that Love is "the queen of rock 'n' roll," but also that "Courtney Love's name should be right next to Bob Dylan when they say best lyricist of all time." Sorry if you just snorted your drink back out through your nose; I really should have warned you.

THE SHINS' next album, Wincing the Night Away, is not due until January 23rd, 2007. Rolling Stone has been digging their advance copy, and the album has leaked o­nto the internet. The lawyer-types are contacting music bloggers posting tracks and having them taken down. But things don't disappear quite as quickly from the Hype Machine, so you might still be able to stream the Spector-esque "Turn o­n Me," not to mention "Sleeping Lessons," "Phantom Limb" and "Australia." And even if they have disappered into the ethernet, you can enjoy the band's unplugged goof o­n "Hot For Teacher." Yes, that "Hot For Teacher."

THE 50 MOST ESSENTIAL CDs SINCE 2001, according to Harp magazine (via Each Note Secure, which discusses some obvious omissions).

SEEN YOUR VIDEO: John Hiatt does a little Dracula impression at the outset of this live take o­n "Something Wild" from Austin City Limits.

RICHARD HAWLEY: An Aquarium Drunkard has an interview and unplugged tracks to stream or download from SXSW 2006.

ART BRUT: USA Today blogger Whitney Matheson recently posted a brief live review and interview with frontman Eddie Argos which touches o­n a few points I didn't get to in my recent live review. And yes, it's a cheap excuse to point everyone back to the band's MySpace page, because they rawk.

MAXWELL'S, the New Jersey club well-known to fans of indie bands including the dB's, The Feelies, Yo La Tengo, and many more, is profiled in the Hudson Reporter.

A SAD DAY FOR MUSIC-BLOGGING: Frank Yang of Chromewaves is going to try to slow down a little, while Jennings of the bootleg-rich rbally is taking a more serious hiatus.

PETE DOHERTY-KATE MOSS UPDATE: The supposedly sober supermodel arrived back from a romantic trip to Italy with the troubled singer wearing a ring o­n her wedding finger. She later tried to conceal the ring from the paparazzi.

MADONNA is going o­n the Oprah Winfrey Show this week to discuss her decision to adopt a 13-month-old boy from Malawi. Will she be asked about the boy's father's claim that he didn't know he was giving up custody permanently? If so, Madge will probably note that a senior Malawian government official has dismissed the father's claims as untrue.

WARNER BROS. stands accused of making empty promises to provide prosthetic limbs to orphaned African amputees and then reneging so that the studio's movie Blood Diamond could get extra publicity.

TOM-KAT UPDATE: For the first time this season, Cruise and Holmes were a no-show at Cruise's daughter Isabella's soccer game this weekend, re-igniting rumors that their wedding is imminent.

WESLEY SNIPES, indicted o­n US tax fraud charges, has been snapped in Namibia, where the actor is reportedly filming a movie titled, Gallowwalker.

ANNA NICOLE SMITH reportedly confessed during her pregnancy that Larry Birkhead was the father of her baby. The model is getting the boot from her Bahamas pad at the end of the month. And she can look forward to some fresh grief