REST IN PEACE, ALEX CHILTON:

Pop hitmaker, cult hero, and Memphis rock iconoclast Alex Chilton has died, reportedly of a heart attack, at 59.  To many, Chilton is best known as the 16-year-old lead vocalist of the Box Tops, which scored hits with "The Letter," "Neon Rainbow," "Cry Like a Baby,"  "Turn On a Dream" and "Soul Deep." But he was far more influential as a chief singer and songwriter in Big Star, which was perhaps "The Unluckiest Band In America."  Chilton dropped out of music in the 1980's, but interest from indie bands including R.E.M. and The Replacements brought him back to the stage, and ultimately to reform Big Star with original drummer Jody Stephens, plus Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of the Posies.  That lineup brought the should-be classic "In The Street" to a national TV audience, and should-be classics like "September Gurls," "Ballad of El Goodo," "Feel," "Thirteen," and "Back Of A Car" to audiences around the world.  Original members Chris Bell and Andy Hummel shot the footage that appears in this all-too-apt clip for "Thank You Friends." BONUS: The Replacements' "Alex Chilton," natch:  "Children by the million / Sing for Alex Chilton / When he comes 'round / They sing, ‘I'm in love / What's that song? / I'm in love with that song.'"

THE WEAKERTHANS are streaming Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre via Exclaim, which also interviews John K. Samson.

LAURA MARLING is advance streaming the Brit-Folk of I Speak Because I Can.

DEATH gets a feature plus tracks via NPR's Morning Edition.

SxSW: You can stream sets live from IFC.

DEVENDRA BANHART dropped the cameo-laden video for "Baby" at Spinner.

THE RUNAWAYS: Promoting the biopic, Joan Jett talks to Interview and Cherie Currie talks to Shockhound. (Thx LHB.)

JAMIE LIDELL talks to Paste about his cameo-laden upcoming album.

FREELANCE WHALES: Chuck Criss talks to Chicagoist about the band's album, heading from Pigeon Forge to SxSW, and more...

A RARE LED ZEPPELIN BOOTLEG was found in a car trunk and sold for two or three pounds.

SANDRA BULLOCK: A tattoo model claims Jesse James is cheating on the Oscar winner.  Bullock has abruptly pulled out of the London premiere of The Blind Side, "due to unforeseen personal reasons." That might have been just to avoid the media feeding frenzy that would certainly ensue from the story, true or not.  But Bullock has reportedly moved out of the house.

KATE WINSLET had grown increasingly frustrated with her husband Sam Mendes's friendship with the young actress Rebecca Hall, friends claimed to the ever-reliable Daily Mail.

TIGER WOODS: Elin Nordegren had a marathon session with her lawyer earlier this week, according to RadarOnline.

AMY POEHLER and WILL ARNETT are expecting a second child.

KEVIN COSTNER and wife Christine Baumgartner are expecting their third child in June. It'll be his seventh child in total.

DANICA McKELLAR (a/k/a/ the Wonder Years' Winnie Cooper and a notable mathemetician) is pregnant.

COREY HAIM: Corey Feldman did not attend the funeral, but posted a eulogy online.

BRITNEY SPEARS and her talent-agent boyfriend reprotedly called it quits at the end of February.

JESSICA SIMPSON's new VH1 reality show was beaten in the ratings by the History Channel's Pawn Stars. 

AMANDA SEYFRIED has forbidden her dad from seeing her new movie "Chloe," in which she has a love scene with Julianne Moore.

CONAN O'BRIEN's comedy tour may spawn a documentary.

ISLAM ONLINE was on the brink of collapse yesterday after a mass walkout and strike provoked by religious pressure from the Islamic Message Society, which funds the news site.

IRAN: US officials said progress in Iran's nuclear program has slowed, leaving room for continued pressure. Of course, they've thought that before.

PISCO, the Surfing Alpaca. Let's go to the video.

ALASKAN WOLVES suspected of fatally mauling a school teacher were killed outside Anchorage.

SEVEN NEW CAT SPECIES found in one forest. That's a record.

BABY OTTER hitches a ride on its mom. Aw.