Karl 
FIERY FURNACES: The prolific Matthew Friedberger talks to Good Hodgkins about his upcoming solo album, writing long, multi-part songs and his rep for writing “difficult” music: “I don’t understand 'difficult.' Popular things are either about gratification or surprise. I like, and the band likes, surprises. You know, which game do you like to play—'Again?' Or, do you like to unwrap boxes? Do you see what I mean?” You can unwrap “Benton Harbor Blues,” I'm In No Mood and “Black-hearted Boy” via the Hype Machine.
NEW RELEASES: The Raconteurs, T-Bone Burnett, Doves, Dinosaur Jr. reissues and the soundtrack to Over the Hedge (Ben Folds, William Shatner, etc.) are streaming in full from AOL Music. There's also new indie psych-folk from Drag City artists Faun Fables and Espers. Plus there's British pop by way of Austin TX on the new Voxtrot EP.
FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY: Former Del Fuego Dan Zanes has a new kids' record out, with cameos from The Blind Boys of Alabama, Natalie Merchant, Nick Cave and more… Johnny and June Carter Cash also have a children's album out today.
THE RACONTEURS are scoring a respectable 76 on Metacritic. Pitchfork notes that it's not all about Jack White: “Benson is an equal partner in this operation, and it's his power-pop rubric that largely dictates the sound of the album. Benson-sung songs like “Hands” and “Intimate Secretary” crackle with a Cheap Trick kind of charm, given extra heft by White's predilection for harder guitar sounds.”
THE FLAMING LIPS: Wayne Coyne is encouraging aspiring musicians to move to Oklahoma City: “People should come to Oklahoma City, take advantage of how cheap it is to live here, play in a band, work at a restaurant that affords you the freedom to create your own identity — but it also affords you the ability to fail.” Just don't sound like the Flaming Lips; Wayne doesn't want a scene, man.
RICHARD HAWLEY talks to Popmatters about the politics of his songwriting: “I don't like to write songs that look at the big picture of the downtrodden masses, but that doesn't mean I don't understand. This is no time for foolish complacency. My way of thinking is to treat human beings with respect on a one-on-one level. That's what I do in my songs. I think that itself is a political statement, even if it boils down to 'don't be an a*sehole.'”
FINAL FANTASY: Owen Pallett brought the chamber-pop to the Music Gallery in Toronto in April, including “The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead.” But you might be more interested in the twofer — Pallett and Ed from Grizzly Bear performing Mariah Carey's “Fantasy” at The Luminaire, Kilburn on May 10th.
LEONARD COHEN made a rare public appearance in Toronto this past weekend. The reclusive singer is said to be planning a tour this autumn and is working on a new album. And the press seems to be figuring out that Cohen having a nine million dollar judgment against his former manager is not the same as collecting it.
RICHARD BUTLER recently stopped by the World Cafe, so you can stream it (including a kinda eerie acoustic take on “Love My Way”) from NPR. And he doesn't shy from talking about the Psychedelic Furs, either.
THE 40 MOST AWESOMELY BAD METAL SONGS… EVER, as counted down (with audio clips) by VH1.
MUSIC BLOGS are killing Rolling Stone for Scott Galupo… and probably many more. Galupo quotes Sean Michaels of Said the Gramophone: “It's this new intermediary between music and the audience.” I've noticed this also, because it used to be said that one of the big effects of the Internet would be “disintermediation,” or what folks without pointy heads call “eliminating the middle man.” But MP3 blogs and — in a different way — services like MySpace and YouTube are the new middlemen. There is now so much information instantly available that people will seek out bloggers with similar (or challenging) tastes to help sort through it. I do it, and if you visit here regularly, you do it too. BONUS: PBS's Mediashift looks at “Do-It-Yourself Ways to Find Good Music.”
HOW DOES YOUR LIGHT SHINE? Most longtime Pate fans also know The Service — they were the flagship of Pate's label (Paul Westerberg pretends to be them at the start of the Replacements' When the Sh*t Hits The Fans, too). The Service used to do a wicked version of Three Dog Night's “Shambala,” so when the original popped up on the Hype Machine, I felt compelled to post it.
BRITNEY SPEARS is off Kabbalah because her baby is her “religion.” Apparently, this is a religion practiced by bad car seat usage. The rest of the world will make do with her promise that there will be some “crazy-a*s stuff” on her next album. Did we expect otherwise?
NAOMI WATTS has been named as the latest UN special envoy on HIV/AIDS. Can adopting children from the Third World be far behind?
PRES. BUSH OVERSTEPS HIS AUTHORITY: Pres. Bush's TV address on immigration bumped Oprah's Legends Ball special to next Monday. How could he do this to “a spiritual leader for the new millennium, a moral voice of authority for the nation?”
REESE WITHERSPOON insists she and her actor husband are blissfully happy despite reports claiming otherwise. Such talk may be exaggerated, but if she talks publicly about having the normal marital ups and downs, she shouldn't be surprised that some will occasionally surmise that they are having a “down” period.
GENEROUS CELEBS: Forbes has top ten philanthropists list.
JESSICA SIMPSON: Futuree ex Nick Lachey is already on the hunt for a new wife.
CHRISTINA AGUILERA: Yesterday, I wondered whether Xtina's shift to a jazz and blues-influenced sound might turn off fans who flocked to the “Drrrty” girl. Based on the latest issue of GQ, it seems that Xtina has it sussed.
EVA LONGORIA: The Desperate Housewife repeats as No. 1 on Maxim magazine's seventh annual “Hot 100” list of the most successful women in film, TV, music, sports and fashion. I guess the 100-foot cover in the desert should have been a hint. Jessica Alba is No. 2, followed by Lindsay Lohan, Angelina Jolie, Stacy Keibler (Dancing With the Stars), Scarlett Johansson, Cameron Diaz, Kate Bosworth and Keira Knightley. To celebrate, Double Viking has photoshopped Alba and Longoria into each other's bikini pics.
DENISE & HEATHER & RICHIE & CHARLIE & DAVID: Richie Sambora, on tour with Bon Jovi in Germany: “Tell my female fans I am single and ready to party.”
ELLE MACPHERSON is a believer in “joyous and spontaneous” sex. And, as a measure of how messed-up the self-esteem of supermodels is, says she was ashamed of her appearance when she was younger.
RIPPED FROM TODAY'S HEADLINES: Dick Wolf, creator of the Law & Order franchise, is eyeing the exploits of Tinseltown P.I.-under-investigation Anthony Pellicano as an inspiration for Power, a series he's developing about prosecutors going after corrupt Hollywood honchos.
BRADGELINA: Brad Pitt's ears will be burning once Jennifer Aniston and Gwyneth Paltrow start shooting a movie together.
THE ORIGINAL STAR WARS: Little-seen footage of Luke and Biggs cut from the original Star Wars has found its way to YouTube.
CULT OF THE iPod: This week, MTV is launching Urge as the latest competitor to Apple's iTunes. The service was developed in cooperation with Microsoft, and will be heavily promoted from within the latest version of the Windows Media Player and is relying on a subscription-based model.
IRAQ: Bill Roggio looks at a likely strike by Task Force 145 near Ramadi and the battle of Yusifayah. The AP picked up a story from the Hartford Courant about suicidal troops being sent into combat. The story notes that 22 US troops committed suicide in Iraq last year. What the story doesn't tell you is that the national suicide average is 21.5 per 100,000 for males ages 20 to 34. As there are more than 100K troops in Iraq, you don't even need a calculator to see that the suicide rate of US troops in Iraq is below the average for similar civilians. But for some reason, that fact is not news.
NOAM CHOMSKY, generally considered to be a key intellectual figure within the left wing of the US politics, has been visiting Lebanon and getting chummy with the leaders of Hezbollah, going so far as to imply that the US is the world's leading terrorist nation. For a number of reasons, folks who actually live in Lebanon think Chomsky is clueless.
A REAL LIFE BAMBI is growing up on a farm after surviving an accident that killed her mother in South Carolina. Video and pics at the link. Awww…
BEARS EAT MONKEY in front of horrified visitors at a Dutch zoo. WARNING: Pic at the link. Not overly graphic, but not pleasant. BONUS: Canadian Mountie fends off a bear attack.
GATORS BLAMED FOR TWO MORE DEATHS in Florida: “As the weather heats up, the alligators' metabolism increases and they have to eat more,” Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Willie Puz said Sunday.
SNAKES… WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE SNAKES? Narcotics agents raiding a house near Shreveport, LA, were confronted by a guard snake. In Barbados, a team searches for a Burmese python suspected to be 18 feet long, as well as other snakes near Joe's River, St Joseph.
A SQUIRREL burns down a municipal building in Red Bay, Alabama.
