THE WHITE STRIPES rock a city bus in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with an impromptu performance of  "The Wheels of the Bus" and "Hotel Yorba."

SLY STONE says he plans to start work on a new album in the fall, and even test new material on the road.  Given his track record, I'll believe it when I see it.

THE SONGS of SUMMER:  At NPR, Christian Bordal urges folks to lighten up for the summer season with plenty of streaming tracks, including ABBA, Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta, and even the dreaded Mungo Jerry.

VAN HALEN:  The reunion tour derailed by Eddie's rehab may be resurrected as a fall arena run.

HALFTIME SHOW:  With June over, you can consider candidates for the "Best of 2007 so far" at Metacritic, CokeMachineGlow, and Pop Tarts Suck Toasted.  Regular Pate visitors will see a lot of familiar names, but there are always a few that slip by (and I will return to later).

GUIDED by VOICES had a brief reunion at a Dayton, OH, BBQ joint; "A Salty Salute" made it to the Tube.

ANDY PARTRIDGE:  The once (and future?) XTC frontman talks about Rasputin's penis, tinnitus, possibly the worst record deal in the history of the music industry, and more with JunkMedia... which still hosting Ken King's review of the Pate box set.

JELLYFISH:  The power-poppers once called "deliberately derivative" by the New York Times are essayed for the stypod feature of Stylus magazine.  You can jukebox the tracks via the ol' HM.

THE OLD '97s frontman Rhett Miller has kind words for the band's former label, Elektra Records.

DOC POMUS, who survived a childhood case of polio and went on to write hits for Ray Charles and Elvis Presley, among others, is given an audio tribute via NPR's Fresh Air.

PETE DOHERTY UPDATE:  The troubled singer was more than two hours late for his latest court appearance, according to reports, and when he finally showed up, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and ketamine, as well as to two drunk driving offenses.  Still no jail time, though... he's off to rehab (again).

BRITNEY SPEARS uses an apology to the paparazzi at X17 as a passive-aggressive attack on Fed-Ex.  Her umbrella attack was previously the subject of a portrait at the Gallery of the Absurd.

THE FRENCH HOTEL assured everyone that jail left her a changed woman.  And a changed woman must need a change of clothes, as the heirhead went on a Hawaiian shopping spree last week and has rented a beachfront home in Malibu.  At least she urged folks not to drink and drive over the holiday.

NICK LACHEY & VANESSA MINNILLO may be cashing in on their hardcore sex photo scandal by granting an exclusive interview to OK! Magazine.

EDDIE MURPHY galpal Tracey Edmonds is shooting down rumors that she and Murphy have split, saying his positive DNA test for paternity of Scary Spice's baby had "no impact on our relationship." 

JOHNNY KNOXVILLE (a/k/a P.J. Clapp) has filed for divorce after nearly twelve years of marriage to wife Melanie.

TOM-KAT UPDATE:  After considerable confusion about whether WWII drama Valkyrie would be granted the necessary permits, and the role Cruise's high-profile association with the Church of Scientology was playing in the decision, the German Finance Ministry has declined permission to shoot at a Defense Ministry building where Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (played by Cruise in the film) was executed for attempting to assassinate Adolf Hitler.  Another request to shoot at a Berlin police station was rejected after "intensive review," according to a spokesman for the Berlin police department.

JOHN TRAVOLTA has blasted gay rights activists who plan to boycott his new movie Hairspray, insisting that he and Scientology are not homophobic.  The evidence on the topic is mixed, theough Time Magazine had some interesting info on point a while back.

ISAIAH WASHINGTON, still unable to stop digging a deeper hole for himself, siad that if he could do it all over again, he would have used the "n-word" instead of an anti-gay slur during an October argument with former Grey's Anatomy castmate Patrick Dempsey that got him fired from the hit show.

GIRLS GONE WILD has been hit with a lawsuit claiming sexual harassment, sexual battery and various unfair business practices.  Founder Joe Francis responds.  Certainly, it would be shocking to learn that some of the men working for GGW were anything less than perfect gentlemen.

INDIANA JONES IV will reportedly be shooting on the garden island of Kauai within a few weeks.  Indy should know the place well; it's where the opening scenes of Raiders of the Lost Ark were shot.

JESSICA SIMPSON and DANE COOK were caught in a near-canoodling incident at Prince's V.I.P. concert at L.A.'s Roosevelt Hotel last Saturday.

TERROR in the UK:  Several doctors arrested over the London and Glasgow car bomb plot were on the files of MI5.  US intell sources suggested that some cell members were recruited by al-Qaeda in Iraq up to three years ago, but British security sources insisted there was no intell that al-Qaeda commanders plotted to infiltrate the NHS.  The Times of London reports that an al-Qaeda leader in Iraq boasted before last week's failed bombings in London and Glasgow that his group was planning to attack British targets.  BTW, the notion of doctors as terrorists is not new.  New PM Brown has pn_bbsmile/pnimages/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="icon_biggrin" /> on">banned ministers from using the word "Muslim" in connection with the case, and the AP is following suit, reporting on the "diverse backgrounds" of the suspects, with no reference to religious extremism whatsoever.  A Glasgow cabbie damaged a tendon in his foot kicking the flaming driver of the Jeep in the groin.

IRAN'S new English-language TV channel debuted claiming that the Glasgow attack was staged by Britain to discredit Muslims, which is ridiculous, but mentions Muslims more than the British gov't.  Venezuela agreed to sell Iran gasoline on Tuesday, less than a week after Iran unveiled a rationing program to limit its dependence on gasoline imports.  Pres. Ahmadinejad has announced his intention to ration electricity as well.

PAKISTAN:  Bill Roggio has background on the clashes between Pakistani security forces and followers of Taliban supporters Maulana Abdul Aziz and Ghazi Abdul Rasheed at the notorious Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, in the heart of Islamabad, the nation's capital.  Pakistani forces early Thursday demolished the front walls of the radical mosque, where battles between security forces and students have raged for two days.  Time magazine just happened to be there beforehand, and now seems convinced that these radicals mean what they say.  Even so, the leader of the radicals was been caught trying to escape wearing a woman's burqa.

IRAQ:  Iraqi troops have detained a senior official and operator in the Al-Qaeda network in central Baghdad.  US troops won a fierce battle outside Al-Qaeda's former stronghold in western Iraq, as commanders warned that recent victories must not be taken for granted.  The use of tribes by US forces, pan-Arab, London-based  al-Hayat claimed, "is causing an acute conflict among tribes and armed groups."  Parliament replaced a well-known, controversial Sunni Arab legislator wanted on corruption charges.  The Cabinet approved a revised bill to share the country's vast oil wealth, which will be debated in Parliament; the Sadrist bloc has announced its reservations over the draft oil law.  The latest Iraqi Red Crescent report shows the number of internally-displaced people leveling off at just over one million.

THE STURGEON THREAT on the Suwannee River finally has been noticed by The New York Times.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT has descended on Bald Knob, Arkansas.  It's like The Birds, but with bushy little tails.

A PINK DOLPHIN was spotted in Calcasieu Lake, an estuary just north of the Gulf of Mexico in southwestern Louisiana.  Pic at the link.

AN ALBATROSS that landed in a pensioner's garden is believed to be from a species never before seen in Britain: "We are talking about an endangered species on a par with the tiger and lowland gorilla."

SHERBORN, MASS:  Where boys will be boys, and sheep will be scared.

PET HOARDING?  Not really, considering that a Lake View, IA  man is accused of dumping more than 140 dead pigs into the Raccoon River.