Karl Bade 
ROBERT POLLARD has demos posted for free download.
NORAH JONES AND JOHN PAUL JONES JOIN THE FOO FIGHTERS, as guests on the band's forthcoming double-disc.
KINGS OF LEON is profiled in the Chicago Sun-Times.
ORIGINAL DINOSAUR JR. REUNION: J. Mascis and Lou Barlow will strap on the tools of ignorance together for the first time in 15 years. The hitch: they're doing it in Japan, which is almost Spinal Tap, ain't it?
ALSO ON THE PITCHFORK: The making of a compilation disc can be a very tricky thing…
LATE OSCARS TIDBIT: Oscar presenter Tim Robbins makes a gesture toward host Chris Rock, after Rock's comments about his politics during the 77th Academy Awards.
BRAD AND JEN UPDATE: The allegedly estranged couple made the post-Oscars rounds together.
OSCARS RATINGS DOWN: Although the early Nielsens had the Academy Awards scoring their best ratings since 2000, the final numbers showed a loss of 2 two million viewers from last year. The gap between the early and final numbers is the gap between the big cities and more rural areas. I guess Hollywood’s self-congratulation is not as big a draw in the “red states.”
THE INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS were held the Saturday before the Oscars, but I held them for now to give them their own space. As you might expect (and may have heard), it was a big night for Sideways, which swept all six of the categories where the movie or its stars were nominated. The Oscar-snubbed Paul Giamatti took home an award! Zach Braff accepted an award for Garden State as the best movie by a first-time director. And Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster was awarded best documentary.
THE PRO-SYRIAN LEBANESE GOVERNMENT abruptly resigned Monday during a stormy parliamentary debate, prompting a tremendous roar from tens of thousands of anti-government protesters in central Beirut. The Bush Administration is demanding that Syria comply with UN resolution 1559, which calls for the withdrawal of its troops from Lebanon, and wants to see free and fair elections take place this spring.
AND THE COWS STARE UNAMAZED: The London Sunday Times reports that “cows have a secret mental life in which they bear grudges, nurture friendships and become excited over intellectual challenges, scientists have found. Cows are also capable of feeling strong emotions such as pain, fear and even anxiety — they worry about the future. But if farmers provide the right conditions, they can also feel great happiness.” Presumably, that bit about “great happiness” does not refer to stories like this one from Neillsville, Wisconsin.
DAVID BYRNE is having his new book, New Sins, placed in hotel and motel bedside drawers next to Gideon's Bible.
PHOTO GALLERIES OF CLASSIC L.A. PUNKS: You can start at the photoblog of Theresa Kereakes, then follow the links in the sidebar.
BONO FOR PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD BANK: That's the opinion of the editors of The Los Angeles Times.
FILESHARING is starting to bother the television industry.
BLOGGERS FRIGHTEN Jon Friedman at CBS MarketWatch. He should chill out. The overwhelming number of blogs are probably crap, much like the overwhelming majority of most everything. Some will build a reputation over time, the way newspapers did in centuries past. only it won't take as long, as hyperlinking to source materials and competition from other blogs will allow people to judge the credibility and fairness of a blog much quicker than they could a newspaper.
VANISHING AMERICANA: Terry Teachout calls for an update of the book about items becoming obsolete in America to include things like “black discs and cassettes.” Jeff Jarvis picks up on the idea, adding more items to the list.
CULT OF THE iPod: Duke University's student paper reviews Duke's year-long experiment of providing 20-gigabyte Apple iPods to all freshmen. The Boston Globe gets around to doing the now-obligatory podcasting article.
ARE THE NATIONAL DEBT AND DEFICIT OVERSTRETCHING AMERICA? A new article in Foreign Affairs (which is published by the Council on Foreign Relations, for all you John Birchers out there) argues the answer is, “No.”
DOLLS FOR THE LONELY ELDERLY is a trend in Japan that I hope never takes hold in the U.S.
