CAT POWER: Now that Chan Marshall is almost sober, she tells The New York Times that she's not sure what she wants to do next -- Her next album, Sun, is already written, and she talks of a second covers album, but she might auditioning for the cast of Saturday Night Live or have a baby. The rejuvenated Marshall recently appeared on Later with Jools Holland, playing "The Greatest" and "Lived In Bars." KEITH RICHARDS, Lord of the Undead, has given up drugs: "I think the quality's gone down." SOMEBODY STILL LOVES YOU BORIS YELTSIN: Their self-titled debut is being reissued next month, with Chromewaves digging the "ultra-compact, mid-fi, 60s-were-90s indie pop replete with hand claps, jangly guitars and sweet melodies but with enough grit and scrappiness to not be overly saccharine or twee." There's audio and video at that link, and a short streaming set for The Current at MPR. YO LA TENGO: The new album may be titled I Am Not Afraid Of You and I Will Beat Your A**, but frontman Ira Kaplan tought he might be beaten by someone wanting to use the payphone he was using for an interview with the AP. Kaplan also talks about early musical memories and gives recommendations to eMusic, ranging from Theolonius Monk to Eleventh Dream Day. (thx, Chromewaves!) The new album boasts "typical" YLT tracks like "Pass The Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind" and poppier fare like "Beanbag Chair," with plenty more to stream via the Hype Machine, including YLT backing Ronnie Spector on "Baby, I Love You," during which she gives a shout out to the late Joey Ramone. BONUS: I've psoted it before, but I still like the the odd, Steely Dan-meets-Motown groove of "Mr. Tough," also from the new album. WOXY, the indie internet "radio" station has gone offline USA Today blogger Whitney Matheson suggests alternatives. BONNIE "PRINCE" BILLY was on the N-network the other night, playing "Strange Form of Life" from The Letting Go album. See it before the lawyers do... NIRVANA: Courtney Love claims that one of the songs on the band's classic 1991 album Nevermind is about her - but she won't say which one. What would Carly Simon say? PET SOUNDS: Speaking of classic albums, Brian Wilson will be doing Pet Sounds 40th Anniversary concerts with Beach Boy Al Jardine. Also the anniversary podcasts are up through "God only Knows" this week. PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER for this week's Contrast Podcast, in which a group of music bloggers bring the handclapping. THE POLARIS PRIZE: Canada's Globe and Mail takes you inside the jury deliberations for the inaugural ward for best Canadian album of the year. I had more on the nominees and winner yesterday. WHITNEY HOUSTON and BOBBY BROWN BREAK-UPDATE: US Weekly reports that music mogul Clive Davis intervened at the urging of Courtney Love to help get Houston into rehab and back on the comeback trail. Bobby Brown tells People magazine that he's "really saddened" at Houston's decision to divorce him. ANNA NICOLE SMITH made hundereds of thousands of dollars by selling pictures of her dead son. Classy! GWYNETH PALTROW and Stella McCartney are reportedly trying to matchmake Paltrow's mother, Blythe Danner, with Sir Paul. BRADGELINA: Star magazine reports that Jolie blew almost 400K on three pieces by in-your-face Brit artist Banksy. You can see the ones she bought among the pictures at Supertouch. With that kind of extravagance, it's good PR for Jolie and Pitt to give two million bucks to Global Action for Children and Medecins sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders. TOM-KAT UPDATE: Holmes' former boyfriend, actor Chris Klein, says people have not asked him about the gossip that the Tom-Kitten looks like him. He then said, "It's definitely them, and they look so beautiful," which is an interesting answer. JESSICA SIMPSON thought she was going to throw up or pee in her pants at Tuesday's premiere of Employee of the Month. It's not clear whether that was from watching the movie or looking in the mirror and realizing that trendy 40s hairstyle is not working for her the way it does for Gwen Stefani and Christina Aguilera. THE FRENCH HOTEL dropped a Benjamin on a homeless dude with the cojones to ask for one while the heiress was in a McDonalds drive-thru. Video at the link. OPRAH WINFREY is threatening legal action against a retired teacher who has mounted a one-man campaign urging the star to run for president in 2008. Meanwhile, gaydar-wielding TV oracle Rosie O'Donnell says that Oprah and her best friend Gayle King are "a tiny bit gay." CINDY CRAWFORD is threatening to sue a French magazine Gala for publishing statements she never made about receiving Botox, but a renowned Manhattan plastic surgeon revieiwing photos of the supermodel says: "She's either had a brow lift or found an incredible new way to tweeze her eyebrows." BEYONCE KNOWLES is wearing Britney Spears' hand-me-downs? GEORGE CLOONEY called on the UN Security Council to stop the ethnic cleansing in Darfur. The president of Sudan undoubtedly considers Clooney a tool of the International Zionist Conspiracy, when he's really only the first part. IRAN: Pres. Ahmadinjad gave a speech to the UN in which he clained the world "longs for the perfect righteous human being and the real savior who has been promised to all peoples and who will establish justice, peace and brotherhood on the planet. Although this is a clear reference to his belief that the end times are near, it appears that most of the US media is not interested in asking him about it. Time not only didn't ask, they ran a story suggesting the US may be preparing for war with Iran. A retired submarine officer explains what's really going on. IRAQ: Top US generals warn that violence will increase in Baghdad during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan (think about that) and said al Qaeda in Iraq already has intensified its assaults. Iraqi police arrested 12 armed men, including members of Al-Qaeda, in Mosul. Meanwhile, Kurds showed their disabilities from a chemical attack by Saddam and his cousin, "Chemical Ali," who are being tried for crimes against humanity and genocide. Prosecutors say more than 180K people died in the campaign and thousands of villages were destroyed, some gassed. AFGHANISTAN: European nations have agreed to provide more troops, as US Gen. James L. Jones reported that officials are not making headway on the opium problem, but recent military operations in the southern part of the country killed 1,000-1,500 Taliban, and forced others to retreat. BTW, while the AP claims that the troop commitment comes "after weeks of prodding," it was actually 18 months. ELIZABETH TAYLOR FED TO THE SHARKS: I'm not going to beat that headline. You're gonna need a bigger shark. A COYOTE bit a woman at a Conneticut rest stop along I-95. And another was captured sunning itself in an alley in Oak Park, IL. Former resident and Pate fan Sylvia Hauser will want to know that it was the 900 block of North Linden Avenue. Pics at the links. PANDA BITES MAN? Not news; Man Bites Panda? News. It's one of the oldest rules of journalism. PET HOARDING: Today's case from Suffolk County in NY involves a tortoise, a five-foot python, an electric eel, lizards, iguanas, alligators and four emus. DEEFER the BULL MASTIFF has a taste for women's underwear. HEY, ARE THOSE PYGMY MONKEYS IN YOUR PANTS? Yes, according to airport customs agents. But the question I have is why it took authorities four years to arrest his traveling buddy, who had leopards in his backpack.
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