FITZ & THE TANTRUMS can be seen at Rolling Stone (including a cover of the Raconteurs' tune "Steady, As She Goes") and stopped by KEXP's Bumbershoot Music Lounge for a session.

JOE HENRY is advance streaming Reverie.

FUTURE ISLANDS is advance streaming On The Water.

TV ON THE RADIO stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

JEREMY MESSERSMITH played a Tiny Desk Concert at the offices of NPR.

WILCO drops "Speak Into The Rose" from the deluxe version of The Whole Love (available via iTunes).

THE CATCHIEST POP SONG EVER, according to scientists, is Queen's "We Are The Champions."

FEIST talks Metals and Muppets with The Guardian, the Toronto Star and Morning Edition.

THE SMITHS: Jon Savage and some of their fans explain their enduring appeal.

KAREN O talks to the New York Times about her involvement in an opera of sorts.

REMemories from Athens, via Flagpole. (Thx, LHB.)

BRIAN WILSON will not be on the Beach Boys' 50th anniversary tour.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Dolphin Tale is the somewhat surprising champ this weekend with 14.2 million, a feat all the more impressive given the competition from the 3-D Lion King holdover (which came in 3rd with 11 million) and the faith-based Courageous doing strong per screen (rounding out the Top 5 with 8.8 million).  Moneyball held the second slot with 12.5 million on an alright 36 percent drop.  50/50 debuted in the fourth slot with 8.9 million, which is below what tracking numbers predicted (12 million)  and low for a movie co-starring Seth Rogen, but (imho) not bad for a comedy based around someone having cancer.  Below the fold, Dream House opened in sixth place with 8.2 million, suggesting the horror market remains soft heading into October.  Abduction looks like a flop in seventh place, as does Killer Elite in tenth.  What's Your Number? opened at No. 8 with 5.6 million which looks near-floppy against a 20 million budget.  Drive drops out of the Top 10 in just 3 weeks, but has grossed 27 million against a 15 million budget.

50/50: Cancer is never funny. How people deal with adversity, however, can be as funny and moving as this dramedy is throughout.  This is the sort of movie that can fail in a thousand ways; this one avoided all of them, probably due to the extent it relies on writer Will Reiser's own experience.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt successfully underplays both the comedy and the pathos, while Seth Rogen mixes some of his usual comedic touches with subtle drama; their chemistry makes for a fine buddy movie (although 50/50 is more than that).  Angelica Huston nails a smaller, but important role as Adma's (JGL) mother; Anna Kendrick is effectively appealing as his therapist; and Bryce Dallas Howard is effectively unappealing as his girlfriend.

ASHTON KUTCHER stopped following wife Demi Moore on Twitter and it appears Demi stopped following Ashton as well for a period of time.  Kutcher's alleged mistress has deleted her social media accounts.  The couple reportedly reuninted at the Kabbalah Centre in Los Angeles.

GENE SIMMONS & SHANNON TWEED got hitched.

ELIZABETH HURLEY is engaged to Australian cricketer Shane Warne.

JAMES MARSDEN is getting divorced by his wife of 10 years, Lisa Linde.

IDRIS ELBA would consider playing James Bond, but the current talk is pure gossip.

CHRISTOPH WALTZ dislocated his pelvic bone during training for his role in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained.

A-LISTERS are lining up to record audiobooks.

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT creator Mitchell Hurwitz says that a movie is still in the works, along with a new set of television episodes that would serve as a prelude to the film.

AMERICAN PIE REUNION: Who got paid what? BONUS: Jason Biggs got an unusual gift from his wife.

IRAN quietly hosted a delegation of Taliban members in Tehran this month in a powerful and unusual signal of its ambition to shape the trajectory of the Afghanistan conflict as US troops begin to withdraw.

PAKISTAN's terror groups are splintering.

AFGHANISTAN: Special operations forces captured the Haqqani Network's top commander in Afghanistan, along with his deputy and bodyguard. The Afghan government plans to suspend peace talks with the Taliban.

IRAQ: General Perkins said al Qaeda has been severely weakened in the north.

DOG vs BATHTUB: Who you got?

AN INDESTRUCTIBLE DUCK hit by a car at almost 100kmh survived with bruises after getting stuck inside the vehicle's grill for a day.

ILLEGAL CHICKENS surrendered in New Jersey.

HEY ARE THOSE HUMMING BIRDS IN YOUR PANTS, or... oh.