THE LONG BLONDES have gone to the dogs in the new video for "Guilt."
JASON COLLETT the BSSer stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set of his '70s pop/rock & country-infused solo stuff, streaming on demand via NPR.
THE HOBOKEN SOUND: Banjamen Walker posts an excerpt from a 1985 documentary at WFMU's blog. The Bongos, The Feelies, The Cucumbers, Gut Bank and Maxwell's all get shout outs. Joe Piscopo makes a clueless cameo.
THE MORNING BENDERS, drawing from '60s pop heavyweights like the Beach Boys, the Beatles, and the Kinks, are profiled in the SF Weekly and the San Francisco bay Guardian. There's embedded video at the SFBG also. (Thx, LHB.) You can stream a few more at BenderSpace.
SLY STONE actually talks to PopMatters about why, at this relatively late date, he has chosen to make one of the most unlikely comebacks in pop history: "I could sit back and get royalties like people do at my age," he says. "But then I noticed that a lot of things were not being said."
MUDCRUTCH formed in the mid '70s, but just released its debut album. You may recognize at least one of the members in the video for "Orphan of the Storm."
THE CONSTANTINES singer Bryan Webb talks to Canada's Sun about the power of positive singing.
MOUNTAIN GOATS frontman John Darnielle, author of a book on Black Sabbath's Master of Reality, is guest-blogging at Powell's about other metal albums he might have chosen. (Thx LHB.)
NICK CAVE is featured on a segment of Fresh Air, streming on demand from NPR, along with tracks from his new LP with The Bad Seeds, Dig, Lazurus, Dig!
DO THE DOORS SUCK? Idolator offers a point and counter-point (sorta) on this vital question. IIRC, the Music Works position was that they could be a very passable bar band at times.
TOM-KAT UPDATE: Cruise sent Holmes to Scientology boot camp at a remote, supersecret compound in Hemet, Calif, according to the ever-reliable Star magazine.
JENNIFER ANISTON & JOHN MAYER were snapped looking very cozy in swimwear in Miami at InTouch Weekly.
ROB LOWE faces claims of sexual harassment and wrongful termination from a second nanny.
PAULA ABDUL seemed agitated and disoriented when asked to critique the first half of American Idol Tuesday, night, but claims it was an honest mistake that caused her to critique both of Jason Castro's songs (including one he had not performed yet).
ASHLEE SIMPSON & PETE WENTZ: Is creepy dad-manager Joe Simpson trying to land them a reality TV show like Newlyweds? Probably, though Ashlee and Pete's publicist tells OK! magazine they are not set to appear in Newlyweds. Meanwhile, Wentz is being sued regarding a fight between his band, Fall Out Boy, and a "fan" at Schuba's Tavern in Chicago.
JESSICA SIMPSON is calling Dallas QB Tony Romo her "future husband" and tells the June issue of Glamour that she was in fact set up with him through creepy dad-manager Joe.
UMA THURMAN prepares to take the stand Thursday in the trial of a man accused of stalking her for two years. Yesterday, her parents and employees testified about their encounters with the alleged stalker. In telephone calls to Thurman's mother and brother, and at least 19 emails to her father, Jack Jordan said he believed he and the Hollywood actress had met in a previous life and would never be happy unless they were together.
LINDSAY LOHAN & SNOOP DOGG? Collaborating on Li-Lo's new album, according to Roger Friedman.
JACK NICHOLSON said Wednesday that "one last big romance" would be on his "bucket list."
CHARLIE SHEEN: Nici, a former L.A. madam who managed a stable of prostitutes that included two Playboy Playmates, tells Rolling Stone that she booked her girls for the "Two and a Half Men" star until last year.
THE DARK KNIGHT: What do you know? A handheld bootleg of the new trailer.
KATE HUDSON is the cover of People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People list. There is a sneak peek at the list online.
COUNTERINSURGENCY: Dr. David Kilcullen, an adviser to Gen. Petraeus, has started writing a series on Political Maneuver in Counterinsurgency at the Small Wars Journal blog. Part 1 is a case study on Road-Building in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, 2006-08.
IRAN remained the world's "most active" state sponsor of terrorism as it tries to build regional influence and drive the US from the Middle East, a US government report said Wednesday. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday declared Iran was "not afraid" of sanctions over its contested nuclear program and would further step up its progress.
IRAQ: Sadr City is experiencing a relative lull after several days of intense battles between the Mahdi army and US and Iraqi forces. The Iraqi government reported over 900 have been killed since fighting broke out in Sadr City at the end of March. According to US and Iraqi reports compiled by The Long War Journal, 435 Mahdi Army fighters have been killed in and around Sadr City during the fighting. Leaders representing Moqtada Sadr are expected to meet with Iraqi leaders to discuss the violence. The US sees a window of opportunity to push for services – trash pickup, medical care, water, electricity – in a southern slice of the volatile district. Also, Iraqi leaders are hoping to pressure Iran to stop aiding militias in Iraq by presenting Tehran with the latest evidence of weapons and training crossing the border, a senior defense official said Wednesday. Good luck. Meanwhile, the Iraqi govt plans to hand over 12 Saudi detainees to Riyadh within a security agreement between the two countries. And Iraqi authorities welcomed back 701 ancient artifacts plundered in the chaotic aftermath of the US-led invasion, worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
A MAMA DUCK and her ducklings receive a police escort across Highway 512 in Washington state. Video at the link.
FUGITIVE MONKEYS, escaped from soon-to-be-opened Wild Safari animal park last Tuesday, remain on the lam near Lakeland, FL.
…AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: A wild and crazy pigeon.
LING LING, the only giant panda owned by Japan, died of old age Wednesday at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo, where he had been one of the most popular attractions, officials said.