MICK JONES talks to Blender about seeing Clash artifacts in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, what he's doing and listening to now, and the power of positive thinking. I figured I would split the time difference for Big Audio Dynamite's “The Bottom Line.” The horses are on the track…
AHMET ERTEGUN, who co-founded Atlantic Records in 1947, was left fighting for life after falling backstage at the Rolling Stones' gig for Bill Clinton's 60th birthday party. He was unconscious in the intensive care unit, but doctors are now listing him as stable.
YO LA TENGO: I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat your A** gets a streaming review from Ken Tucker at NPR.
RYAN ADAMS has stopped goofing with rap long enough to post a new serious song, “Hello, Gracie.”
MODEST MOUSE: Rolling Stone reports that the band is still working out how ex-Smith guitarist Johnny Marr fits in, but that “Float on” never sounded better.
SEEN YOUR VIDEO: Obviously, I should have posted That Petrol Emotion's “Big Decision” on Election Day. My apologies. “Whatcha gotta do in this day and age?” “You gotta agitate and educate and organize…”
THE WHITE STRIPES: Jack and Meg are working on songs during Jack's breaks from touring with the Raconteurs.
THE DECEMBERISTS frontman Colin Meloy talks to the Chicago Sun-Times about the influences prog rock and a new drummer had on The Crane Wife. He talks to the Boston Globe about his love of the archetypes and motifs that pop up in folk tales, and writing a children's book with his wife.
JOANNA NEWSOM is nobody's pixie, sprite, bear, fairy, or folk freak, but her latest album got assists from Van Dyke Parks, indie auteur Steve Albini, and Jim O'Rourke. You can stream a bunch of Newsom tracks via the Hype Machine.
BRITNEY SPEARS IS DIVORCING SPENDERLINE: Spears has lawyered up with Laura Wasser, who has repped celebs including Angelina Jolie, Nick Lachey and Kiefer Sutherland. The pop tart reportedly has an iron-clad prenup, with reports suggesting that while Spears is worth 124 million, K-Fed may get a mere 363K and half the value of their Malibu pad. No wonder Spears was looking less trashy on The Late Show with David Letterman, joking that she was there to meet Will Farrell (and not wearing her wedding ring), while Spenderline played to a near-empty house elsewhere in NYC. The AP helpfully provides the life and times of Britney Spears. Lost in the shuffle is the dismissal of the libel suit brought by the pop tart accusing Us Weekly magazine of fabricating a story about a sexually explicit video she and hubby Spenderline made together — in part because of her career of selling herself as a sexpot. UPDATE: K-Fed, seemingly blindsided by the news, may contest child custody.
TOM-KAT UPDATE: The Italian newspaper Il Messaggero reports that Cruise and Holmes plan to marry at Castello Odescalchi on the shores of Lake Bracciano. A receptionist at the castle — which has hosted Popes and Kings — denies the report. Vatican officials pondered the conundrum of whether to grant a Roman Catholic wedding to a divorced celebrity and prominent Scientologist, particularly with word that a Scientology ritual is scheduled for the day after the wedding.
TERRY JONES is celebrating his “miraculous recovery” after being diagnosed with the early stages of bowel cancer. It was but a flesh wound!
BRADGELINA: Jolie and Pitt have reportedly abandoned their plans to adopt an Indian baby because of the controversy surrounding Madonna's recent adoption. Meanwhile, folks are noticing that Pitt may be going gray, based on the photos from the Babel premiere.
ANNA NICOLE SMITH tried to persuade a sterile man to put his name on her newborn baby's birth certificate, according to TMZ's “unimpeachable sources.”
THE McCARTNEYS: Sir Paul, who was last heard talking about trying to divorce with dignity, was very publicly complaining about Heather Mills in a London cafe: “She is going to take me for