LITTLE BARRIE put a British pop spin on American blues forms, not unlike an update of some British Invasion bands.  My picks to click would be "Love You" and the older, Stax-influenced "Free Salute," but they have a few more streaming at TheirSpace, and even more are on the ol' HM at the moment.

WILCO:  Pitchfork interviews frontman Jeff Tweedy about (among other things) the collaborative nature of Sky Blue Sky, which is due next week, but is streaming from Spinner this week.  ALSO:  The band will be playing on a Prairie Home Companion this weekend.

NICK CAVE talks with The Japan Times about the "impotent rage" behind his latest group Grinderman, his fetish for violence and how Kylie Minogue killed his career in the land of the rising sun.

FEIST has a live broadband session streaming via AOL Canada.  (Thanks, Chromewaves.)

COCOROSIE have been arrested, resultting in the cancellation of the rest of their North American tour.

KEREN ANN talks to Time magazine about her songs and building an international fanbase: "It's great doing it the old-fashioned way... Touring and touring and touring."  You can stream her languid pop via HerSpace.

FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE will be touring with the reunited Squeeze and Crowded House this summer after getting chummy with Glenn Tilbrook, according to Spinner, which also has more on Crowded House.  The Fountains have been posting their old videos on the Tube, including their oh-so-new-wavey clip for "Denise."

RYAN ADAMS has settled on the track listing for his ninth studio album, Easy Tiger, due June 26 via Lost Highway.

THE PONYS:  The Chicago quartet visited The Current for a chat and mini-set you can stream from MPR on demand. 

NEIL YOUNG and RICK JAMES were in the same band in the mid-'60s -- Spinner has the backstory.

THE PHIL SPECTOR TRIAL:  There was no testimony Tuesday, but on Monday, former assistant Dianne Ogden testified that the producer put a weapon to her head and forced her to stay when she tried to leave his home after a 1989 party.  Spector's colorful defense attny, Bruce Cutler, must be over his health issues, as he was in full dramatic form, earning a reprimand from the judge on cross-examination.

THE FRENCH HOTEL is urging her fans to join her in a desperate plea to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to keep her out of jail.  I can think of few things more likely to boost the Governator's popularity than denying the celebutante a pardon.  The heirhead has reunited with PR flack Elliot Mintz and spent Monday night at attorney Robert Shapiro's "Sober Day USA" event on the Paramount Studios lot in L.A.

GEORGE MICHAEL pleaded guilty to a charge of driving while unfit through drugs, admitting he was in the unusual situation of being ashamed of something he had done.`  I guess he was proud of trying to pick up that undercover cop in the rest stop bathroom.

PRINCE will play 21 concerts in London this autumn and plans to take time off music to study the Bible.  A PR company helping to publicize the tour said Prince would be performing his greatest hits "for the very last time," but the artist did not confirm the claim.  Indeed, Prince said he planned to change his show every night, including a possible cameo from Amy Winehouse.

AMY WINEHOUSE, btw, is rumored to be in the running as a "Bond" girl, as 007 producer Barbara Broccoli is a fan of the singer.

PAULA ABDUL hired a "personal life coach" to get her through the downward spiral that began when she lost a multimillion-dollar deal for her own fragrance and cosmetics line by taking a personal call on her cell phone during a meeting with the company's chief execs, according to the National Enquirer.

SPIDER-MAN 4:  Sony Pictures chief executive Michael Lynton tells the BBC: "Everybody has every intention of making a fourth, a fifth and a sixth and on and on" and that there would be "as many as we can make good stories for."  But there's the rub.  Kirsten Dunst doesn't want to strap on the padded bra without director Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire.  For his part, Maguire has said it depends on if there's a story worth telling.  Sony is reportedly interested in a fourth flick with The Lizard and Carnage as villains, with or without Raimi.

LINDSAY LOHAN has been forced to assure friends and family that photographs allegedly showing her snorting cocaine in a nightclub toilet are fake.

JESSICA SIMPSON tells Extra that she is naturally brunette: "People don't know that about me... I was really blond as a kid, but then I just started getting darker and darker."  You would think that some, maybe a lot, of people would know that about her... or maybe only her waxer knew for sure.  TMZ has video from the same appearance of Jessica grinding with Eva Longoria.

MELANIE GRIFFITH, with skin tauter than ever, seems to have paid a visit to the trout pout shop.

CATE BLANCHETT, sadly, appears to be the latest actress on the Skeletor Diet.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY talks to London's Observer about Pirates, her post-Pirates career, and perfume, but tries hard not to talk about her weight or love life.

TERROR in the US:  You probably already know that six foreign-born Muslims were arrested and accused Tuesday of plotting to attack Fort Dix and slaughter scores of US soldiers.  The Council on American- Islamic Relations (CAIR) today applauded the bust, but requested that media outlets and public officials refrain from linking this case to the faith of Islam.  Defendant Eljvir Duka was reportedly recorded as saying: ``In the end... when someone ... attacks your religion, your way of life, then you go jihad.''  Defendant, Serdar Tatar allegedly said, "I'm doing it in the name of Allah.''  And the group was busted after they asked a store clerk to copy a video of them firing assault weapons and screaming about jihad.  So it is fair to say that these defendants linked their actions to Islam.  CAIR's attempt to squash any discussion of the topic tends only to remind one of how many CAIR officials have themselves been charged with (and some convicted of) offenses related to the support of Islamic terrorism.

IRAN:  The head of state-run television has said all homegrown drama programs should feature scenes showing characters praying or they will be denied airtime.

IRAQ:  the Pentagon announced the deployment of 35K troops as replacements for others currently operating in Iraq, not any addition to the "surge."  Members of the Iraqi Parliament are miffed that Pres. Bush and assorted Congressfolk are suggesting it's a bad time for them to take a two-month vaction.  The US is letting members of Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army continue to guard the most revered Shiite shrine in Baghdad, to avoid diverting resources from other parts of the city where security is worse.  Al-Hayat reports that anti-al Qaeda Sunni groups have finally announced their public opposition to AQ and its "Islamic State of Iraq" front group.  Tribal leaders from the Anbar Salvation Council - having successfully driven out most al-Qaeda elements from Anbar province - are attempting to assume a larger political role over their areas and their interests are colliding with those of the US-appointed governor, who is seen as a dictator.  The L.A. Times reports on improved conditions in Ramadi, where the number of uniformed Iraqi police officers and provincial troops on Ramadi's streets has multiplied to 6,700 from only 200 last July.  Michael Yon files another gritty dispatch with British forces in Basra.

THREE DOGS and a CAT were inducted into the Purina Hall of Fame for feats of bravery and determination that saved lives.

ALEX the GOLDEN RETRIEVER has lawyered up in a custody dispute after his millionaire owner died without a will.

A DRAGON is on the loose in West Palm Beach, Florida.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT:  A squirrel scratched one child, bit another, and chased the police in Mechanicsburg, PA, before succumbing to the application of deadly force.  The cops took it to the state Department of Agriculture laboratory in Harrisburg for rabies testing, but they may want to check for plague, just to be on the safe side.

CRAFTY OCTOPUS UPDATE:  We now have a picture of the octopus at the National Aquarium of New Zealand, which is able to screw open bottles filled with her favourite crab meat as well as play with her handlers.  Octi's keeper, Libor Mach, said: "She's quite happy to be here because she can actually take the lid off her tank and climb out if she wants."