Topic: Karl

KATE PIERSON trades Fred Schneider for Fred Armisen in "Mister Sister," the single from her upcoming solo debut.

NOISE TO THE WORLD 2, featuring tracks from Deer Tick, Dum Dum Girls, and more, is streaming.

ROBYN HITCHCOCK stopped by World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

BENJAMIN BOOKER plays the Rockwood Music Hall.

MIKE DOUGHTY stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

PATSY CLINE & FERLIN HUSKY: "Let It Snow!"

MY MORNING JACKET: Jim James talks to Rolling Stone about two new albums.

KATHLEEN EDWARDS talks to the Toronto Star about quitting music (for now, anywat) and opening a cafe named Quitters.

JOHNNY MARR talks to Willamette Week about Portland, beards, the theremin, and more.

NPR's 50 FAVE ALBUMS of 2014, with streaming tracks.

BILL COSBY: One of the women accusing the comic of sexual assault may have found a way around the statute of limitations.

TAYLOR SWIFT is secretly dating The 1975's Matt Healy.

KATE HUDSON was spotted making out with Derek Hough before she and Muse rocker Matt Bellamy publicly split.

FREIDA PINTO & DEV PATEL: The Slumdog Millionaire costars have called it quits on their relationship after almost six years.

EVANGELINE LILLY talks about about marching to her own drum in Hollywood.

THE SAG AWARDS nominations were announced.

LIBYA: The UN is expanding peace talks in Libya to include the rival government based in Tripoli, in addition to the internationally recognized government currently in Tobruk.

UNITES STATES Secretary of State John Kerry asked Congress for a green light to go after Islamic State affiliates anywhere in the world as debate on a new authorization for use of force got underway Tuesday.

THE ISLAMIC STATE has executed several of its own militants, including the group’s top official in Mosul, on charges of espionage, Kurdish sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Tuesday.

A YELLOW LABRADOR opens the fridge.

A TURQUOISE CAT has been turning heads on the streets of a Bulgarian seaside resort.

...AND THERE WERE CALVES all over the Turnpike.

A SHEEP wearing a festive red-and-green sweater who was found wandering around Omaha has been reunited with his owner.

OFF! dropped a video for “Over Our Heads” featuring Jack Black, skydiving, LSD, gore, a grizzly bear, and more...

EX HEX performs in the WNYC Soundcheck studio.

STRAND OF OAKS performs on Soundcheck in the Greene Space at WNYC.

CHARLI XCX is streaming Sucker via iTunes.

THE RED AUNTS stream their deluxe greatest hits compilation, Come Up For A Closer Look.

OF MONTREAL drops “Bassem Sabry” ahead of Aureate Gloom.

DENT MAY drops "I'll Be Stoned For Christmas."

SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS: “Ain’t No Chimneys In The Projects.”

JACK WHITE launched his own virtual reality app.

JOANNA NEWSOM talks about her side gig in Paul Thomas Anderson's big-screen adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s 2009 novel Inherent Vice.

THE PIXIES: The A.V. Club looks at Doolittle, 25 years later. Get Off My Lawn.

THE TOP 50 ALBUMS of 2014, according to SPIN.

CHARLIE SHEEN settled his latest custody war with Brooke Mueller, who accused him of drunken visitations with his kids and excessive corporal punishment.

RAPPER EARL HAYES & VH1 STAR STEPHANIE MOSELEY are dead in an apparent murder-suicide. Reportedly, Floyd Mayweather witnessed it via FaceTime.

PRINCE WILLIAM & KATE & BEYONCE & JAY-Z: Paparazzi Apocalypse.

CAM NEWTON: The Carolina Panthers QB suffered two “transverse fractures” in his lower back following a car wreck and will remain in the hospital overnight, according to the Carolina Panthers.

CHRISTIAN BALE meant no disrespect to George Clooney when he publicly advised him to stop whining.

JOAQUIN PHOENIX is engaged to his yoga instructor.

NICOLE KIDMAN talks to Elle about babies, breakups, and life with Keith Urban.

IRAQ's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi pressed outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Tuesday for more air strikes and weaponry to accelerate what he called the "descent" of Islamic State.

IRAN: The US has privately accused Iran of going on an international shopping spree to acquire components for a heavy-water reactor that American officials have long feared could be used in the production of nuclear weapons-grade plutonium.

A DOG comforts a friend having a bad dream.

DONKEYS enjoy a beer as much as the next guy.

ROGUE SHEEP on the lam in Ypsilanti, MI.

FRANKENLOUIE, the world's oldest two-faced cat, has died at the age of 15.

SEAN ROWE covers Richard Thompson's classic "1952 Vincent Black Lightning," live in Troy, NY.

RYAN ADAMS and his band performed an extensive set for WFUV at the legendary Electric Lady Studios in the West Village.

REAL ESTATE joined Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

TOM WAITS: Nighthawks on the Radio (1976) has been re-upped.

JASON MOLINA: North Star Blues Session (2003) has been re-upped.

THE RAMONES: "Merry Christmas (I Don't Wanna Fight Tonight)."

THE WRENS finally finish their album, after a harrowing trip to the ICU with near-death pneumonia.

PRINCE: Author Alan Light tells the Purple Rain story on All Things Considered.

PARLIAMENT: George Clinton goes into detail about partying with Sly Stone, encountering zombies and recording some of the funkiest records of all time.

BRADFORD COX: The Deerhunter frontman has been hospitalized after a car accident and is currently in a hospital in his home state of Georgia.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Mockingjay Part 1 remains atop the chart with 21.6 million in the traditionally slow post-Thanksgiving weekend.This third film continues to lag the second, but at 560.5 million worldwide, it's profitable marketing for the big finale (at least,if it follows the Harry Potter trajectory).  Penguins of Madagascar shows again with 11.1 million on a 56 percent drop. Although this franchise does well worldwide, it's getting hard to see how this one profits before the home market.  Horrible Bosses 2 climbs two notches to show with 8.6 million, though that's a 44 percent drop from its opening -- usually not a great hold for a comedy, but probably alright for this weekend.  Big Hero 6 slides to the fourth slot with 8.1 million on a 57 percent drop that shows how much this weekend hits family movies; having recouped its production budget domestically, it stands a good chance of profiting in Asian and European markets later this month.  Interstellar rounds out the Top 5 with 8 million on a 49 percent drop; this one is likely well into the black at 593 million in worldwider receipts.

THE GRAMMY nominations are announced. Not exactly a banner year, but then I'll be less disappointed when the winners are announced.

BILL COSBY will likely face investigation by the LAPD.

MILEY CYRUS & PARIS HILTON made out in front of Miley's new boyfriend.

MEGAN FOX & BRIAN AUSTIN GREEN escaped unharmed from an accident with a drunk driver.

EMILY DESCHANEL is pregnant and expecting her second child with husband David Hornsby.

AMANDA PEET gave birth to a baby boy on Sunday, her third child with husband David Benioff.

THE UNITED STATES  released six Guantanamo detainees to Uruguay, including Jihad Ahmed Mujstafa Diyab, who had been assessed a "high-risk" detainee with extensive connections to al Qaeda's global network. The US handed over Latif Mehsud and two others detained by US forces in Afghanistan in 2013 to Pakistani authorities. US officials said the unsuccessful raid to rescue US hostage Luke Somers and Pierre Korkie, a South African, from AQAP in Yemen was undertaken after receiving intelligence that the two men were about to be executed.

FRANCE: Nabil Ouerfelli and Yasmine Znaidi, two leaders of the Paris and Gaza-based Islamic charity Pearl of Hope, have been charged with financing terrorism, and the charity has been shut down.

SYRIA: The Associated Press has a five-part look at the embattled city of Kobani.

A PYGMY GOAT acts like a puppy dog.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: Much of the Tampa campus at University of South Florida was without electricity Thursday morning, the work of a militant squirrel.

MICE implanted with human brain cells become smarter.

COWS ON THE LAM in Red Wing, MN.

IAN McLAGAN, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, keyboardist for the Faces and Small Faces, Rod Stewart and the Rolling Stones (to name but a few), has passed away in Austin TX at 69. The Rolling Stone obit embeds classics "Stay With me" and "Itchyco Park," but I'll throw in "Tin Soldier" as a bonus tribute track. BOUNUS: His recent session at The Current.

JAMES gives KEXP listeners a live performance from The Cutting Room Studios in New York City.

STARS stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

THE SUN RA ARKESTRA plays a Tiny Desk Concert at the offices of NPR. 

JUKEBOX THE GHOST stopped by World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

ARIEL PINK isn't a misogynist but a nymphomaniac, according to his cal Arts schoolmate John Maus.

CAKE's one-time drummer Peter Ivan McNea has been sentenced to 15-years-to-life in state prison for molesting a three-year-old girl at a Thanksgiving 2009 party.

DAVID BOWIE: Ten of the Best.

ROUGH TRADE'S Top 100 Albums of the Year.

LINDSAY LOHAN is launching a clothing line, named...wait for it...My Addiction.

JIMMY FALLON and wife Nancy welcomed their second child on Wednesday.  He's also Entertainment Weekly's Entertainer of the Year.

ARNIE HAMMER is a first-time father after welcoming a daughter with his wife, journalist Elizabeth Chambers Hammer.

EVA MENDES stopped by The Ellen DeGeneres Showto talk about her new daughter and parenthood with her man Ryan Gosling.

MARIAH CAREY  was so consumed with divorce talk Tuesday evening that she blew off her scheduled taped performance for the Rockefeller Center tree lighting ceremony... but she was to perform live Wednesday night.

ANNIE LENNOX questioned Mdonna's topless photoshoot for Interview magazine. Did she just now realize Madge is "attention seeking"?

CENTCOM reported that since Dec. 1, the US has carried out 14 airstrikes in Syria against the Islamic State, and that the US and partner nations carried out 11 airstrikes against the group in Iraq. Secretary of State Kerry refused to confirm reports that Iranian airstrikes had targeted the Islamic State in Iraq and added that the US is not coordinating militarily with Iran, but said that the net effect of such strikes could be positive.

IRANIAN jets helped Iraqi and allied forces, including Kurdish fighters and Shiite militiamen, chase Islamic State fighters from the two towns in Diyala in late November.

NATO and AFGHANISTAN on Tuesday formally launched the new training and advisory mission that will take over from departing alliance combat troops on Jan. 1.

SOPHIA the RHODESIAN RIDGEBACK: From 2 months to 3 years in 23 seconds.

RATS offer clues to why men like lingerie. It's Science!

SNAIL SLIME: The secret to youthful-looking skin.

BLADE the TORTOISE was fitted with a set of Lego wheels after losing the use of his legs.

BOBBY KEYS, longtime saxophone player, session musician and touring member of the Rolling Stones, has died in rural Tennessee at age 70.  Though he's undoubtedly best known for playing on classic Stones LP's including Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street, he got his start playing with Buddy Holly, and one of his first recorded solo's was on Dion & The Belmonts' "The Wanderer." His discography is truly impressive, as are these performances.

CONOR OBERST stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

SEAN ROWE stopped by WFUV's Studio A for a chat and mini-set.

THE RURAL ALBERTA ADVANTAGE  performs live in the KEXP Studio, with a set of tunes from their 2014 album, Mended With Gold.

THE GOODBYE PARTY is streaming Silver Blues via Bandcamp.

THE DECEMBERISTS drop a lyric video for "Lake Song" ahead of What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World.

SLEATER-KINNEY drops "Surface Envy" ahead of No Cities To Love.

THE KILLERS dropped a video for "Joel the Lump of Coal," with help from Jimmy Kimmel.

NATALIE PRASS: This 28-year-old Nashville singer/songwriter weathers heartbreak while backed by lush arrangements that recall the orchestrated, soulful pop of the 1970s.

AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd has entered a plea of not-guilty to charges of threatening to kill and possession of drugs. 

VINYL COMEBACK? Don't believe the hype.

THE 50 BEST ALBUMS of 2014, according to Stereogum.

BILL COSBY is being sued by a 55-year-old woman who claims the comedian sexually assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion in 1974 when she was 15 years old ... according to TMZ.

KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN is the next member of the family to do a nude photoshoot.

LADY GAGA revealed on The Howard Stern Show Tuesday that she was raped as a teen.

ROSARIO DAWSON adopted a 12-year-old girl in October.

BRADLEY COOPER tells Buzz Bissinger about his past struggles—including addiction, and the wrenching loss of his father.

SUICIDE SQUAD: Warner Bros announced Jared Leto, Will Smith, Tom Hardy, Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney and Cara Delevingne will make up the all-star cast of Warner Bros.' supervillain tentpole.

"BEAUTY WORK": The secret Hollywood procedure that has fooled us for years.

NATO will establish a prototype of a new rapid response force next year as it strives to improve its ability to deter a potential Russian attack, the alliance said on Tuesday. The new Army commander in Europe plans to bolster the U.S. armored presence in Poland and the Baltic states and keep rotations of U.S. troops there through next year and possibly beyond to counter Russia.

THE ISLAMIC STATE is expanding in Egypt.

SYRIA:  The latest effort to unify the fractured Syrian military opposition has done little to create a cohesive vehicle for foreign military aid that could fight insurgents in Syria, after at least two major rebel groups dropped out of the initiative.Meanwhile, the US hasn't started vetting so-called moderate rebels yet.

IRAN is bombing Islamic State targets in Iraq.

BARRY THE PUG takes a bath.

BUTCH THE BOSTON TERRIER experienced joy in his final days.

GIRAFFE numbers have plummeted by 40 per cent in the past 15 years.

JUMPING THE SHARK: Guess who photobombed a surfing competition off an Australian beach?