THE POLYPHONIC SPREE used to say "live and let live," but now they say "Live and Let Die."  The first version has the balloon drop, but the second lets you see more of the instruments and dancing, plus the backstory.  The third version has a grittier club vibe, courtesy of Emo's.

THE REPLACEMENTS:  Jim Walsh's book on the band, "All Over But the Shouting: An Oral History," gets a write-up from the Mpls. Star-Tribune, with an excerpt about the classic Let It Be album.  And there are more excerpts at the publisher's website.

RYAN ADAMS performed old and new songs for Morning Becomes Eclectic on Friday.  You can listen or watch at KCRW.

LED ZEPPELIN are about to break the record for the most expensive concert tickets in British history.

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED features songs from The Go! Team and tunes picked by its founder, Ian Parton.

LINDA STEIN:  The personal assistant to former Ramones manager Linda Stein has been arrested in connection with her death.  Natavia Lowery reportedly made implicating statements to the police.

PRINCE has released a statement denying claims that he is suing a number of fansites.

RADIOHEAD did a webcast from their site Friday, including covers of Bjork's "Unravel," the Smiths' "Headmaster Ritual" and New Order's "Ceremony."  Meanwhile, some are questioning comScore's estimates of paid downloads for the band's In Rainbows album.

SILVER JEWS:  I just ran across a two-parter from the Village Voice about Michael Tully's film Silver Jew, which covered the band's trip to Israel.

CHUCK PROPHET, who made a name for himself as the young guitarist in L.A.'s Green on Red, tells Harp magazine ten things you don't know about him.  One thing we do know is that he played the World Cafe Friday, so you can stream the gig on demand via NPR.

AN AQUARIUM DRUNKARD, a/k/a Justin Gage, talks about his music blog -- and others -- at Yahoo! Picks.

WILCO will not have to pay the Marina Towers Condominium Association for the cover of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

AMY WINEHOUSE's husband Blake Fielder-Civil was sensationally arrested in front of her last night over a claimed £200,000 plot to fix a trial.  Video at the link.  Plus, she's again getting support from Pete Doherty.

BRITNEY SPEARS blew a red light at a notoriously dangerous intersection Thursday night, with her kids in the back and a court-appointed monitor crouched down in the front.  Video at the link.  She also reportedly flunked one of her drug tests, though the pop tart's camp claims it's a false positive.  The ever-reliable Star magazine claims that Mama Lynne's upcoming book may disclose that Britney's break-up with Justin Timberlake was orchestrated by agents and publicists, without regard to the pop tart's feelings. 

NORMAN MAILER, author and provocateur, died of acute renal failure on Saturday.  He was 84.

TOM-KAT UPDATE:  Cruise's Lions for Lambs co-stars, Robert Redford and Meryl Streep, reportedly "can't stand" him.  Cruise tells an interviewer that he has "no iPhone, no mobile, no email address, no watch, no jewellery, no wallet."

NICOLE KIDMAN tells  USA Today that she lost her self-identity during her nearly 10-year marriage to Tom Cruise because of the couple's constant traveling.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE:  Jerry Seinfeld's Bee Movie buzzed past American Gangster to the top of the weekend box office; the duo took in 26 million and 24.3 million, respectively.  The holiday weekend no doubt helped the family demographic, though Fred Claus failed to crack the 20 million mark and settled for third place.  The star-studded Lions for Lambs flopped into fourth place with a mere 6.7 million.  Dan in Real Life dropped a mere 25 percent to round out the Top Five with 5.8 million.  Saw IV plunged another 52 percent with 5 mil.  The Game Plan took the seventh slot with 2.4 mil.  P2 debuted in eighth place with 2.2 mil.  30 Days of Night slid another 44 percent with 2.1 mil.  Rounding out the Top Ten was Martian Child, which dropped 48 percent in its second weekend.  The new Coen Bros. film, No Country for Old Men, opened in 15th place, but with a near 43K-per-screen average for its 28 screens.

ETHAN & JOEL COEN talk to PopMatters about their latest film, No Country for Old Men, their working methods and the importance of movie stars' haircuts.  "Q: What's the benefit of working together as brothers?  JC: I haven't detected any benefit yet.  EC: We didn't do it on purpose."

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN is scoring 95 percent on the ol' Tomatometer, and deservedly so.  I was tempted to call it a return to form for the Coens after their weak remake of The Ladykillers, but this film -- an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's book -- is quite different in tone from the Coens' prior movies.  While not without its moments of humor, it is much less quirky and much more dark than a movie like Fargo.  Yet in its own way -- particularly in its conclusion -- No Country for Old Men is the Coen Bros' least conventional film; I could see a casual moviegoer leaving unsatisfied.  Although Tommy Lee Jones probably did not have to stretch his chops much as the Sheriff of the piece, Javier Bardem is terrifically creepy and menacing by underplaying an extreme character, and Josh Brolin turns in a really good performance entirely different in tone from his equally good turn earlier this year in Grindhouse.  The technical aspects of the film -- cinematography, editing, etc. -- are as top-notch as any Coen movie.

BRADGELINA reportedly are set to buy Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch?  I doubt it, but it's just too funny not to pass on.  Jolie joined British people marking Remembrance Day by wearing a traditional poppy pinned to her coat in memory of thousands of soldiers who lost their lives in the line of duty.

KATE HUDSON & ORLANDO BLOOM were... wait for it... caught canoodling at her Halloween party, according to OK! magazine.

ELLEN DeGENERES crossed the Writers' Guild picket lines to tape her show last week.  Though she praised her writers on-air, an anonymous blogger claiming to have worked for her on the 2001-02 season of her show tells a quite different story.  A TV insider said DeGeneres is unwilling to honor the picket line because "this is her last chance in show business."

KATE MOSS may break up with guitarist Jamie Hince because he is too nice.  Combine that with her overlong entanglement with Pete Doherty and some psychologist could be set for life.

WINONA RYDER has been cast to play the human mother of young Spock in JJ Abrams' Star Trek reboot.

VETERANS' DAY was yesterday, but is observed by the gov't today.  "Mustang" at Social Sense reviews the holiday's history and thanks vets for the present.  Army Maj. Elizabeth L. Robbins reports that the current war has inspired a remarkable level of civic involvement that goes largely unnoticed -- except by those in the field or recovering stateside.

BAND of BLOGGERS:  The History Channel has been running a documentary on milbloggers this weekend; it's airing today at noon and 6:00 p.m. ET.

HUGO CHAVEZ was told to shut up by the King of Spain when Chavez tried to interrupt a speech by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.  Spanish-speakers can enjoy the video.

IRAQ;  Operation Iron Hammer netted more than 200 suspected militants in a week, the US military said on Sunday.  Prime Minister al-Maliki claims sectarian violence "is closed now," which is an overstatement.  Former Sunni insurgents asked the US to stay away, and then ambushed members of AQI, killing 18 in a battle that raged for hours north of Baghdad, while the 1920s Revolution Brigades launched a military-style operation against AQI in Diyala.  The US effort to organize nearly 70000 local fighters is facing severe political and logistical challenges, primarily resistance from the Shia-led national gov't.   The head of police intelligence in Karbala province has been detained after roadside bombs and other weapons were found in a raid on his house.  Iraqi police -- and scores of angry residents --  say al-Sadr's Mahdi Army has been involved in killing of hundreds of people in the mainly Shia Muslim province of Karbala.  US military officials are pushing interrogators who question Iraqi insurgents to find incriminating evidence pointing to Iran.  Note that the quoted interrogator has a bit of a political agenda, though; it would make sense that Iran would be the focus near the Iranian border, where this guy works.

BRUCE NEWTON, who -- along with wife Claire -- designed children's television original Garfield Goose, star of WGN Television's Garfield Goose and Friends show, which aired from 1952 to 1976, died at 80 of complications related to diabetes.  The couple also worked together on other pioneering children's television shows, such as "Kukla, Fran and Ollie" and "Mr. Wizard."  The couple's beloved Garfield Goose puppet will be donated to the Aurora Historical Society sometime after the funeral.  You can read more about Garfield Goose at TVParty.  Newton was a WWII vet who assisted in the clean-up of Hiroshima two days after the bomb dropped.  (Thanks, Debbie.)

SOME FEMALE TOADS are rather open-minded when it comes to choosing a mate, a study reveals.

A WILD DEER jumped from the top of a 20 foot wall into the tank of two young polar bears at the Pittsburgh Zoo last Friday morning.  If you guessed how this story ends, you would probably not be exactly right.

A SIX-POINT BUCK fights a hunter to the death.

A HOUSE-TRAINED BEAR is looking for a new home.  Awww...some pics at the link.