Karl 
LED ZEPPELIN REDUX: NME is collecting the Tubed video from the reunion show. Your pick to click? "Kashmir," though "Good Times, Bad Times" would have been even better without the feedback. And :42 of "Rock and Roll" leaves you wanting more. BONUS: At Glide, Ace Cowboy has a fab video from Ween. Yes, Ween.
BEST of 2007: At Chromewaves, Frank Yang has an A/V-laden "Class of 2007." And don't forget Largehearted Boy's continuously updated list of lists.
FEIST. who nearly drove off the road in a blizzard when she got the good Grammy news, got tourist tips for Japan during an interview for Thirsty. (Thx, LHB.)
LET IT DIE: 23 Songs That Should Never Be Covered Again, with embedded videos, courtesy of the A.V. Club.
THE DIRTY PROJECTORS play some of their ethereal re-imagining of Black Flag's Damaged album (w/video) for The Bryant Park Project, streamable via NPR.
THE NATIONAL: Aaron Dessner relives the story of how his latest album – Boxer – nearly didn't happen at all.
THE DARKNESS wuz robbed when "Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End)" only made it to No.2 in the UK for 2003. Frontman Justin Hawkins was reportedly very bitter about the defeat.
CHRISTMAS NUMBER ONES: At the Guardian's Music Blog, Peter Robinson argues that Simon Cowell and X Factor are killing the UK holiday tradition, leaving it to indie bands to set things straight. Malcolm Middleton talked to Drowned In Sound about his entry, "We're All Going To Die" (w/ embedded video) and had nice words for The Black Arts' entry (w/link).
LILY ALLEN covers ELO's "Mr. Blue Sky." Not bad, though I still prefer the original. The Decemberists, too.
FIERY FURNACES: Matthew Friedberger talks to the Montreal Gazette about the band's classic rock influences, while sister Eleanor Friedberger talks to the Boston Herald about selling album-oriented progressive music to the singles-driven iTunes throng.
NELLIE McKAY stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set, including "A Christmas Dirge," which you can stream via MPR.
AMY WINEHOUSE is "determined" to make it to the Grammys. She's currently in a program being supervised by doctors – and, her rep said, writing a lot.
BRITNEY SPEARS wanders lost and aimless in a parking garage near the Hustler store on Sunset Boulevard. Maybe she was freaking over her imminent deposition.
MADONNA stands ready to help Hillary Clinton combat the Oprah-powered campaign of Barack Obama. Somehow, I don't see the HRC camp as eager to invite those "Blonde Ambition" references. Madge was also seen with what looked like two black eyes – prompting renewed speculation that she has had a facelift.
ALEX TREBEK suffered a heart attack, but it's not final jeopardy for the game show host.
CHARLIZE THERON wuz robbed! Really, not in the awards season sense.
JODIE FOSTER came out of the panic room and paid tribute to her lesbian partner of more than 15 years – in a thank you speech at an awards ceremony, finally confirming Hollywood's most open secret.
THE SPICE GIRLS played to a half-empty Mandalay Arena auditorium in Vegas the other night. Ouch.
JESSICA BIEL was voted the "cleanest" female celebrity by SoCal Cleanse Detox users, while Amy Winehouse was voted the "dirtiest."
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE was recently named King of Sex by Rolling Stone magazine, and he insists that trumps George Clooney and Brad Pitt's poll-topping achievements. Juliette Lewis — who dated Pitt pre-Jolie — might just agree with him.
BRADGELINA: Jolie Jolie calls her blonde-haired blue-eyed natural child Shiloh, 20 months, the "outcast" in her ethnically diverse family.
PEE WEE HERMAN is looking to expose himself in theaters again: "A lot of the kids who grew up with the show are young adults. The college kids are middle-aged adults. I feel like I have enough of a built-in audience to make back an investment."
THE OLSEN TWINS are the latest target of PETA, which has launched a new ad campaign unveiled at the Olsens' Walk of Fame star on Hollywood Boulevard.
AWARDS SEASON: The Critics' Choice Awards nominees are announced. The winners usually end up being a good Oscars barometer.
JESSICA SIMPSON is chasing a movie role requirng a number of quite graphic scenes including a full-frontal nude scene. The pneumatic blonde is also reportedly mad at pal Eva Longoria for being friendly and polite to Simpson ex John Mayer, though Simpson's rep denies it.
ISLAMISM IN CANADA: A 16-year-old girl has reportedly died after being choked by a man believed to be her father, apparently after a dispute with her family over her refusal to wear the hijab, the Islamic headscarf worn by some Muslim women.
PAKISTAN: The nation's main alliance of Islamist parties was near collapse Tuesday after cancelling a last-ditch meeting to resolve differences over a possible election boycott, party officials said.
IRAN needs to install 50000 centrifuges within five years so it can make enough fuel for one nuclear power plant, Pres. Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday. The Iranian opposition group that first exposed Iran's nuclear-fuel program said the new US National Intelligence Estimate is correct that Tehran shut down its weaponization program in 2003, but claims that the program was relocated and restarted in 2004. However, the National Council of Resistance of Iran is controversial, to say the least, so take it with a grain of salt, though it does gibe with prior statements by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Iranian and UN nuclear officials began a new round of talks to probe the source of traces of weapons-grade uranium found at a university in Tehran.
IRAQ has asked the UN Security Council to extend the mandate of US-led foreign forces for another year, saying it will be the last extension and it may ask for the mandate to be ended early. A suicide car bomb exploded near the homes of senior Iraqi politicians in Baghdad on Tuesday, killing two people and wounding 12. An "honor agreement" among southern clans sets the stage for the handover of security authority in Basra. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. W.E. Gaskin says that he believes the postive trends in Anbar province are "permanent."
Wii DOG will take you on at video tennis.
PETS of BEL AIR, a trendy pet shop that boasts Paris Hilton, Denise Richards, Demi Moore, Britney Spears and Robin Williams among its clientele, gets their puppies from puppy mills, according to the Humane Society of the United States. The L.A. Dept. of Animal Regulations has shut the store down, reportedly because three of its permits have expired.
GIANT SPIDER attacks the space shuttle.
DEAD PARROT returns to haunt its owner in a bag of cheese and onion crisps. African Grey — beautiful plumage.
DEAD DALMATION is paid tribute in housepaint by his former owners.
WHEN GEESE ATTACK: Don't expect a big payout from the jury.
WHEN SHARKS ATTACK: Don't figuratively get right back on that horse.
