THE RASCALS absolutely rave out on this version of Holland-Dozier-Holland's "Mickey's Monkey," which was originally a hit for Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. Watch; you'll be glad you did. ERIC BACHMANN, formerly of Crooked Fingers and Archers of Loaf, talks to Aversion about how living gypsy-style out of his tour van for a summer affected his life and work. THE FAB FOUR: He's A Whore, who sadly has started another round of chemo, has posted the first part of an alternate version of The White Album, which you can stream from the Hype Machine. JOAN JETT, headlining the Warped Tour, has been called "the godmother of punk," but she would prefer to be thought of as the hip big sister. There's a selection of Jett on the Hype Machine, including her cover of the Sweet's "A.C.D.C.," which is mentioned in the article. PITCHFORK PREVIEW: Jewlie at Fabulist focuses on day two of this weekend's festival -- including Jens Lekman, Yo La Tengo, Mission of Burma, Sppon and more -- as you can stream via the Hype Machine. THE PIPETTES make Pitchfork's "Best New Music" with an 8.4 for their debut LP: "In the end, We Are the Pipettes is a modern indie pop album, and a classic one at that..." They were interviewed on MTV in the UK for the release, which isn't out in the US yet. Of course, you can still see the ladies play infectious tracks like "Pull Shapes" and "Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me" via YouTube, not to mention a live twofer of "Your Kisses..." and "Dirty Mind" from Channel Four's Album Chart Show. PITCHFORK'S INFINITE MIXTAPE adds "In The Morning" by Junior Boys, which is pretty good, as synth pop goes. You can stream it from the Hype Machine, too. ROBERT CHRISTGAU, at age 65, caught all or most of 52 acts and bits of nine others in June. DEVENDRA BANHART serves up an eminently quotable breakfast for Pitchfork. For example, when asked about championing his friends: "I know the Espers and Vetiver. I love their music. If I didn't I wouldn't talk about them. I'd just say they were great people if someone asked about them. I'm not going to try and rip anybody off. If anything, I'm ripping you off by making records. That's as far as I'll go (laughs). But I've never ripped anyone off by recommending music that sucks. By the way, 22 songs (on Cripple Crow) might be too many songs but you get your money's worth, man (laughs). There's plenty of Banhart streaming via the Hype Machine. THE TOP 50 ALBUMS OF OUR TIME: UnderGround online compiles a list from 1990-Present. PETE DOHERTY UPDATE: The troubled singer claims his soon-to-be-published diaries are full of "amazing nonsense." I believe at least half of that. BRADGELINA: Baby Shiloh joins the couple at Madame Tussaud's wax museum. Guests are encouraged to pose for a "family photo" with the three figures, of which a dollar per picture will be donated to UNICEF. Shiloh is the first baby to be given a waxwork honor. LANCE BASS, formerly of 'NSYNC, is so gay. I'm shocked. Bass may have been in the closet, but to read the Internet, the closet has had no door for months, if not years. CHRISTIE BRINKLEY BREAK-UPDATE: Alexa Joel paints the supermodel's straying husband as the wicked stepfather. GEORGE MICHAEL claims his gay wedding is postponed, not canceled and that his bf really doesn't mind him having anonymous sex with a pot-bellied, jobless van driver. TOM-KAT UPDATE: As marriage rumors begin to stir again, it seems that Holmes would like to start working again. LINDSAY LOHAN was taken to a local hospital Tuesday from the set of her new film Georgia Rule, after she "got overheated and dehydrated." TMZ notes it was over 100 degrees in L.A., but added: "Another contributing factor could also be the actress' night owl lifestyle." You think? It's not like she has been looking like a skeezy ho lately. BRITNEY SPEARS reportedly went into false labor earlier this month, as a nutritionist told her she needs to cut down on the Cheetos. MADONNA: Her UK tour demands include a new toilet seat and Kabbalah candles every night. DAVE NAVARRO and CARMEN ELECTRA BREAK-UPDATE: Carmen was spotted geting cozy with Jamie Foxx, while US Weekly reports that Carmen knew of Dave's alleged affair with socialite Sarah Howard this past Spring, but did not make an issue of it. BOLDLY GOING TO CAMELOT: The cast of the original Star Trek performs the musical number from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, thanks to the magic of video editing and YouTube. IRAQ: Medea Benjamin of Code Pink briefly disrupted Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki's speech to Congress, shouting "Iraqis want the troops to leave" and "Bring them home now." As to her first slogan, the most recent poll directly on point (Jan. '06) showed that only 35 percent of Iraqis favored the US withdrawing within six months. Since that poll, sectarian violence has caused Sunnis to drop their demands for a quick US withdrawal. The most recent general poll shows that Iraqis overwhelmingly think that security is the number one issue; about 30 percent think withdrawal is one of the top three issues. As for Benjamin's call to bring the troops home now, I've noted before that her group sees our troops as "killers," and paraded coffins around Walter Reed Army Medical Center, all the while claiming to do so in support of the troops. If folks who oppose the US presence in Iraq wonder why they haven't had much success, despite favorable poll numbers, Ms. Benjamin's role as a leader of the antiwar movement could be Exhibit "A." MIDEAST CONFLICT: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan -- who, afaik, has no experience as an artillery gunner -- says an Israeli attack on a UN observation post in Khiyam that killed four observers was "apparently deliberate." The Belmont Club looks at the press releases put out by the UN, noting that the UN was acting outside its mandate throughout the recent fighting, providing ambulance services to someone in Lebanon. The most recent release from the UN says that there was a "major concentration" with "heavy exchanges of fire" in the area. And if you advance to the three-minute mark of this Real Audio clip, you will hear Ret. Canadian Maj. Gen. Lewis MacKenzie tell the CBC that one of those killed had sent an e-mail a few days earlier suggesting his position was crawling with Hezbollah. But it was very diplomatic of Annan to leap to a conclusion like that. ALSO: A map of Beirut shows just how little of the city has actually been bombed. RAGBRAI bicyclists, rolling across Iowa, grab Albert the Bull in Audubon. I think someone could make a phrase out of that. A CLUB-WIELDING CHIMP is on the loose in Thousand Oaks, CA. CATERPILLARS PLAGUE BELGIUM: Male moths are being lured into love traps coated with female hormones in a bid to stem a plague of hairy caterpillars that are infesting woodlands and causing itching frenzies in humans. JOCKEY APOLOGIZES for headbutting a horse that unseated him before a race. Headbutt video at the link. SNAKE IN A WAL-MART: A man in a motorized wheelchair was hospitalized after being bitten in a Wal-Wart in Sanford, FL. IIRC, there was a snake spotted once in the Wal-Mart near Sylvia Hauser's current home.
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