BLACK KIDS & CUT COPY join forces on a cover of Blondie's "Union City Blue."  It put me in the mood to hear the original, too.

CALEXICO: Joey Burns tlks to PopMatters about the influence of the Southwest -- and various styles of music -- have on the band and its latest Carried To Dust album.  Plus, bits on backing other artists, John Covertino's drumming and more...

THE WALKMEN stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set you can stream on demand via MPR.

SILVER JEWS: David Berman talks to Indy Weekly about how touring and time have influenced his songwriting.

SAM PHILLIPS, Christian rocker turned ornate popsetr and ex-wife of T-Bone Burnett, played the Ram's Head in Annapolis, MD, so you can stream the full gig on demand via NPR.

CHEAP TRICK: Have you seen her face? She's got a face that would stop a clock...

UNCLE TUPELO: Prefix lists the 10 Best Albums to crawl from the band's wreckage.

RA RA RIOT did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter.

NICK CAVE talks to the L.A. Times about songwriting, the differences between The Bad Seeds and Grinderman, and more... (Thx, LHB.)

ALT-FOLK, ANTI-FOLK, ETC. is essayed, in of all places, The National, which originates in the United Arab Emirates. (Thx, Chromewaves.)

EVA MENDES claims 50 men in 50 states. The best states were Arizona and Colorado; the worst was Alaska.

PAUL McCARTNEY has refused to cancel a Tel Aviv concert to celebrate Israel's 60th anniversary despite threats from an Islamic extremist.

KATE HUDSON shared some of her best and worst dating moments to promote her new comedy, My Best Friend's Girl.

BRADGELINA: Newly-discovered pics of a 16-year-old Jolie run in the Daily Mail, because it's a slow news day and it's Jolie.

MISCHA BARTON & JOSH HARTNETT both headed back to his hotel at the end of the night after they bumped into one another at trendy London club Bungalow 8.

MAD MEN: Rich Sommer ("Harry Crane") talks to the official MM blog about his fellow cast members, doing DVD commentary and his video entry for AMC's "Be On Mad Men" contest, in which he read for the part of Peggy.

JENNA FISCHER (a/k/a "Pam" in The Office) is a cat lover, bordering on cat lady.

CHRIS ELLIOTT: His generation's most underappreciated comic genius?

IRAN: The Revolutionary Guards Corps has assumed control of the defense of the Persian Gulf. The IAEA's nuclear inspections are at a "dead end" after Iran halted cooperation. China said no further sanctions will be imposed by the UN.  The parliament ratified a bill under which any Muslim who converts to another religion would be put to death, with no possibility of pardon.

IRAQ: In one of his last acts as the top US commander in Iraq, Gen. Petraeus drafted a final letter of thanks for the troops ­- and underscored his view that the struggle to bring stability there is far from over.  Sunni Arab insurgents, routed or weakened in Baghdad and cities, are making a stand in Mosul during Ramadan. US and Iraqi forces killed al Qaeda's leader in Tamin (Kirkuk) province and captured the leader of Diyala province. Iraqi forces detained 63 suspected AQI operatives in Ninewa province.

NINJA KITTY: Let's go to the video.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: A chicken-footed duck, scared of water.

SNAKES in a SPIGOT: She looks and, to her utter horror, discovers the stuff of urban legend: A skinny, foot-long snake had fallen from the faucet to her bathwater...

120 MILLION-YEAR-OLD ANT discovered by German scientists. Dead, but still notable.

IGUANAS may be labeled as "reptiles of concern" in Florida.