LES SAVY FAV rolls out a minimalist video for "Patty Lee," but the song is catchy and funky enough to carry it.

LOU REED talked to Pitchfork's Amanda Petrusich about the CD & DVD release of a 2002 classical performance of the infamous and influential Metal Machine Music.  Even if you don't dig the album, Lou is always worth a read.

THE FOO FIGHTERS album drops next week, but you can stream it now via MuchMusic.

QUEENS of the STONE AGE team up with celeb chef Anthony Bourdain for the weirdest holiday special ever.  Pics of hideous sweaters at the link.

NICK LOWE mixed in old faves with tunes from his new album, At My Age, at the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA.  You can stream the whole gig via NPR.

THE PRIMITONS play "Seeing Is Believing" at an in-store appearance from 1985.  Proof positive that the Internet makes the "Where Are They Now?" file bottomless.  Background at Trouser Press.

THE BLACK LIPS discuss their misformative years and world tour with the NY Sun, and with Baltimore's City Paper about working with a nuclear technician to produce a vodka-based, Brazilian herb-infused sexual energy drink.

THE MENDOZA LINE is streaming its final mini-album and oddities in full via e-card.  (Thx, Chromewaves.) 

THE HOLD STEADY frontman Craig Finn will be honored by his alma mater, Boston College, next week for his musical accomplishments.

JOE JACKSON:  Licorice Pizza has posted tracks from a May 14, 1979, show at the Old Waldorf in San Francisco.  You can jukebox it via the ol' HM.

BRITNEY SPEARS, hours after a judge ordered her to undergo random testing for the use of controlled substances and alcohol, spent the night at L.A. hotspots Winston's and Hyde.  Sheer genius!  Her friends are also worried sick that her starve-and-binge relationship with food may be pushing her even deeper into despair.  Justin Timberlake admitted to Oprah that he doesn't know what's going on with his troubled ex.

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE also told the Big O that he stays in touch with galpal Jessica Biel via webcam.  Where are the hackers when you need them?

OJ SIMPSON made bail and snuck out the back door of the Clark County Courthouse.  An hour after OJ's 11 raided a Vegas hotel room, the alleged victims were planning their media moves, according to a tape obtained by TMZ.  One alleged victim, Alfred Beardsley, was arrested by Vegas cops Wednesday for a parole violation.  One suspect in the incident is still outstanding.

ROSE McGOWAN has a new diamond engagement ring from her Grindhouse director, Robert Rodriguez. 

BRADGELINA:  Pitt gives his stamp of approval to costar Mary-Louise Parker's decision to adopt a child from Africa.  Jolie told Cosmopolitan magazine she has only "slept with four men in my life - and married two of them!"  In the past, she has confessed to casual affairs with close male friends and admitted to meeting suitors for raunchy hotel bed-sessions.  Apparently, there was no actual sleeping involved in those cases.

CHRISTINA AGUILERA is either having a baby boy, or her friends are all very bad at picking out shower gifts.

DENISE RICHARDS & CHARLIE SHEEN are back at each other's throats.  In newly-filed papers, Richards levels some explosive accusations against Sheen, claiming he still exhibits "inappropriate behavior... and conduct," including "his attraction to underage women and his sexual explicitness on the Internet, including revealing his private parts."  Sheen blasts back in a written statement: "Clearly the mother of my children has no interest in responsible co-parenting when it comes to my relationship with our girls. She behaves as though she OWNS our children. She does not..."

MARILYN MANSON does not carry new Lolita-esque galpal Evan Rachel Wood's luggage.

SHERRI SHEPHERD, the newest co-host on The View, was not so sure the Earth is round, but now says she was just nervous and having a "senior moment."  Someone probably took her aside and told her she does not have to be crazier than Rosie O'Donnell and dumber than Elizabeth Hasselback all at once.

DAN RATHER, whose career at CBS News ground to an inglorious end over his role in an unsubstantiated report questioning Pres. Bush's National Guard service, filed a 70 million dollar lawsuit against the network, its corporate parent and three of his former superiors.  The New York Times -- certainly not part of any vast, right-wing conspiracy -- reports: "Rather charges that CBS and its executives made him 'a scapegoat' in an attempt "to pacify the White House," though the formal complaint presents virtually no direct evidence to that effect..."  Rather also fails to appreciate the irony of claiming the network "seriously damaged his reputation" in a complaint that portrays him as "little more than a narrator of the disputed broadcast."  CBS issued a brief response: "These complaints are old news and this lawsuit is without merit."  And the net may not be as willing to settle this case involving the news division as it was to pay off Don Imus.

NATALIE PORTMAN does nude scenes in the Wes Anderson short, Hotel Chevalier, confirms movie nudity expert Mr. Skin, who is coincidentally profiled by Reuters.

ALICIA SILVERSTONE goes naked for PETA to promote vegetarianism.  Video at the link.  Some think this is a clever tactic, but meat-eaters may conclude that if they go vegetarian, attractive celebs will stop stripping for PETA and they'll be stuck with the far less attractive members of groups like Breasts Not Bombs (nsfw, or if you've eaten recently), who hope the opposition will cave in just to get them to cover up.

CARTOON JIHAD:  Websites run by militant Islamists have listed the names of over 100 Swedish companies as possible targets, calling for their readers to boycott these firms and "take revenge" on Sweden for in the ongoing row surrounding the publication in Swedish newspapers of a caricature of the Muslim prophet Muhammed.

IRAN:  Officials in NYC have denied Pres. Ahmadinejad's request that he be allowed to lay a wreath at the World Trade Center site during the opening of the UN General Assembly next week.  He's planning to go anyway.

IRAQ:  US civilian officials have been barred from road travel outside the Green Zone because of possible attacks after a deadly shooting involving the US security firm Blackwater USA.  Indeed, this is affecting key CIA station personnel in Baghdad - along with most State department diplomats and teams building police stations and schools.  US-led forces killed an Al-Qaeda terrorist allegedly responsible for a string of car bombings, including an attack that killed 202 people in Baghdad.  AQI seized control of an village in Diyala province after a two-day battle with insurgents-turned-allies from the Brigades of the 1920 Revolution.  The village had been attacked after its 300 or so inhabitants refused to align with AQI.  If it took two days to beat the 1920s, AQI won't be able to hold it against ISF or US troops.  Bill Roggio reports on a joint operation carried out with the Georgian Army in Wasit province aimed at disrupting the flow of arms from Iran and ultimately maintaining a presence along the Iranian border.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT:  One crafty rodent trains on an obstacle course, while another raids a candy machine.

THE DEATH HAMSTER sunk it's tiny teeth into Mr Green's thumb and palm and within minutes he had turned grey and begun making a gargling sound...

GOATS are evading being tasered by police in Alabama, and developing extra ears and limbs in Uganda.

RUSSIA'S SPECIAL DAIRY MOOSE provide healthy product!  Niiiiice.

THAT 7-FT LONG BOA CONSTRICTOR was not a Halloween decoration.  And it is slithering around Burr Ridge, IL on Wednesday, eluding authorities, confounding experts and sending residents into a panic.  Video at the link.