DUNGEN brew up an old skool psychedelic clip for "Familj" from the Tio Bitar album.  Guitarist Reine Fiske is interviewed by Stylus about the band, Swedish psychedelia, and more.

THE MEAT PUPPETS get a profile in the LA Times with a near-killer lead: "The bullet is still there in Cris Kirkwood's back, a permanent reminder of how bad it got for him..."  The piece further notes: "The simultaneous reemergence of the Meat Puppets and Dinosaur Jr. is a reminder of the remarkable output of SST Records in the 1980s, when the Lawndale-based label run by the South Bay punk band Black Flag released records by those two bands as well as Sonic Youth, the Minutemen, Flipper, Hüsker Dü and other groups that laid the groundwork for alternative rock, wearing grooves in the interstates for few rewards beyond the satisfaction of playing."

ROBBIE FULKS expertly wields the parodic skewer and the music theory on "Fountains of Wayne Hotline."

THE WHITE STRIPES:  Jack White talked to the New York Times about a number of topics, including the importance of smoke and mirrors.

THE BLACK KEYS -- the "down-and-dirty duo from Akron, Ohio" -- got a recent audio segment on NPR's All Things Considered, along with links to their DC gig last November.

RICHARD THOMPSON:  The Denver Post talks to the guitar master and cheery raconteur behind the dark song catalog.

JIMI HENDRIX and the ROLLING STONES celebrate Jimi's last birthday backstage at Madison Square Garden in NYC on November 27, 1969.  The soundtrack includes "My Little One," featuring Jimi, Brian Jones, Dave Mason and Mitch Mitchell.

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT talks to Newsday about the "kind of fast-paced, spitfire delivery of life that I seem to have right now, where I'm doing 12 projects, living in Manhattan, jet-setting around..."  You can stream his two-hour performance from New York's Gramercy Theater from Saturday night now via NPR.

LESLIE FEIST tells the Washington Post that she may decide to become ambitious someday.

MASON JENNINGS talked to Heather Browne about inspiring art, fatherhood, the impact of the Internet and more, plus embedded audio and video.

GREAT LAKES SWIMMERS brought their "sweetly rustic, warmly melancholic folk-pop" to the World Cafe last Friday; you can stream their gig now via NPR.

JEFF TWEEDY reviews the Uncle Tupelo and Wilco discographies with Harp magazine.

THE FRENCH HOTEL at the GREYBAR HOTEL:  The heirhead was "teetering on the brink" in the medical ward at Twin Towers, an L.A. County jail facility, refusing to eat or sleep -- perhaps from fear that someone would photograph her on the toilet, possibly with a cellphone hidden in a very intimate place.   Her condition improved over the weekend, perhaps under threat of being transferred to the mental ward.

GEORGE MICHAEL, otoh, will not serve any jail time after pleading guilty last month to driving while under the influence of drugs.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE:  Ocean's 13 led with 37 million -- slightly less than the openings of the first two in the series -- but will probably still do well world wide.  Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End dropped 52% to second place; it has made 714 million on a 300 million budget worldwide, two-thirds of that outside the US.  Knocked Up came in third, dropping only 34%; it has already made 66 million in the US on a 30 million budget.  Surf's Up debuted in fourth with 18 million -- surprisingly good reviews may not overcome penguin fatigue here.  Shrek the Third suffered a 44% drop to round out the Top Five, though it as made almost twice its 160 million budget worldwide.  Hostel, Pt. II opened in the sixth slot with 8 million (less than half the original's opening); good thing the budget was only about ten million.  Mr. Brooks dropped 50% in its second week, though it will end up making money on its 20 million budget.  Spider-Man 3 sild 40%, from fifth to eighth, though (again) it's going to make significant bucks worldwide.  Waitress dropped only 18% to go from sixth to ninth; it has made 12 million to date.  Disturbia again clings to the tenth slot on a 50% drop, having made over 77 million in the US on a 20 million budget.

RESSE & RYAN BREAK-UPDATE:  Speculation over the romance between Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon is heating up after the duo were spotted leaving a doctor's surgery for the second time in as many weeks - sparking talk she may be pregnant.

XTINA AGUILERA, everyone's favorite dirrty girl, made a visit to a maternity doctor on Thursday - sparking talk that she may be pregnant, too.

LINDSAY LOHAN has allegedly asked pals to smuggle sleeping pills into rehab, according to the ever-reliable National Enquirer.  Insiders allegedly tell the Star that Lindsay's first four days were spent in detox, ridding her body of alcohol, cocaine, Percocet, Vicodin and other meds.  He ex-bodyguard is planning a tell-all book on Lohan, filled with tales of ten-hour cocaine binges, frenzied lesbian romps with scores of girls, suicide attempts and more.  Should the link at the uber-reliable News of the World change, you should be able to find it here.  (Yes, she's the kind of a girl that makes the News of the World.)  Meanwhile, stage mom Dina took ten days to visit her daughter in rehab, and has not bothered to show for custody hearings.

BRADGELINA:  Jolie has been officially approved as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, which no doubt delights her, as she does not want to be remembered as an actress.

GREY'S ANATOMY:  Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight have been invited back for a fourth season, but Isaiah Washington  has been shown the door after his anti-gay slur.  Washington's bizzare, yet official response was to quote Howard Beale: "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more."

SIENNA MILLER denies she is a slut.  Of course, if you have to make a Nixonian denial, chances are you'e already in trouble.

PAULA ABDUL:  Her new Bravo reality show is being called "train-wreck-tastic," a portrait of a needy celebrity who, in the lap of pampering, constantly believes herself to be mistreated by those around her.

SAMMY DAVIS, JR. is the subject of not one, but four biopics currently in development.  For now, you can watch him dance with James Brown or working the crowd for an MDA telethon.

TERROR in the US:  The investigation into the terror plot to bomb JFK Airport is widening beyond the four men in custody, with more suspects sought outside the US, a law enforcement official said Friday.  In Trinidada, the Jamaat al Muslimeen group denies ties to the plot.

AUSTRALIA'S TOP MUSLIM CLERIC, who complained about long sentences for gang rape and compared immodestly dressed women to uncovered meat, suggesting they invited sexual assault, and who was creating "The Australian Peace Party," has reportedly stepped down from the honorary title, though it's unclear as to whether he jumped or was pushed.

IRAN:  Anti-terrorist officers and MI6 are now investigating a British-based plot allegedly to supply Iran with material for use in a nuclear weapons program.  Meanwhile, satellite imagery links Iran to the attack in Karbala, Iraq which resulted in five US soldiers killed.

IRAQ:  The NYT/IHT rounds up US efforts to arm Sunni groups like the Anbar Salvation Council, even as rumors fly that the Anbar group may be evolving or dissolving.  US military officials say they are making progress in negotiating with tribal leaders in Diyala province.  The tribes around Tikrit -- Saddam's home area -- refuse to join the Salahuddin Salvation Council.  The Iraqi gov't is reportedly close to agreement on 80% of insurgents' requests in ongoing negotiations.  Iraq's leading political blocs agreed to replace the speaker of Parliament, a Sunni, after hearing accusations that his bodyguards assaulted a Shiite lawmaker.  Al Qaeda in Iraq has stepped up its bombing campaign nationwide against the Iraqi security forces.  Michael Yon has another photo-filled dispatch while embedded with the Brits in southern Iraq.

A TERRIFIED GAMEKEEPER had a lucky escape after he managed to sprint to safety from a charging hippopotamus.

POLICE DOGS have been sacked for lewd behavior in Thailand.

A DEER survives being hit by cars and shot by police... only to throw itself from the top of a parking garage in Lancaster, PA.

HE KILLED WEE WEE?  A man accused of fatally shooting a beloved pet goose named Wee Wee faces three misdemeanor charges in Yuba County, California.

A RACCOON took down the power grid in parts of Houston, TX.  But I think we all suspect the hand of the squirrels behind the scenes.