THE WHITE STRIPES go bullfighting in the video for their cover of Corky Robbins's "Conquest," popularized in the 1950s by Patti Page.  Olé!

WOXY is streaming the season indie-style via its Holiday Mixer.  As I write this, the last songs heard included cuts from The Kinks, XTC, Sonic Youth, Spinal Tap and The Bangles.

THE TOP TEN LATE NIGHT TV MUSIC PERFORMANCES, with embedded video, courtesy of Culture Bully.

BEST of 2007:  Paste magazine's Top 100 albums are discussed at the 'Gum.  The comments are funny; the comments on the comments are priceless.

MARK OLSON, a founding member of The Jayhawks, did an interview, mini-set and video for The Bryant Park Project, which you can stream on demand via NPR.

FIND YOURSELF A CITY REDUX:  No sooner does the Guardian run a playlist about US cities than The A.V. Club runs a list of 18 kiss-off songs to cities.

UNCLE EARL has everybody Kung Fu Dancin' to their bluegrass in "Streak O' Lean, Streak O'Fat," with a cameo from their producer, Led Zep bassist John Paul Jones.

LED ZEPPELIN:  Speaking of which, the hype surrounding the release of the Mothership collection last week and the Zep reunion show in London next month led Culture Bully to post a two-parter of the 4-disc Complete BBC Radio Sessions (1969-71), which you can jukebox via the ol' HM at the moment.

OVER THE RHINE -- one of those married duos that are so hip these days -- stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set you can stream on demand via MPR.  Before I even listen, I'm guessing "North Pole Man" is on their new Christmas album, "Snow Angels."

THE KINKS:  Ray Davies' second solo album is finally due Stateside on February 19.  A deluxe CD/DVD version of the album containing bonus artwork, live performance footage and a video interview with Davies will also be released, as well as a limited edition 180 gram vinyl record.

BOB DYLAN:  The movie "I'm Not There" led the nominations for the 2008 independent Spirit Awards announced Monday in Los Angeles.  LA Weekly calls the song "I'm Not There" his most mysterious recording.  At the moment, you can stream the original and Sonic Youth's cover (recorded for the movie by the same name) via the ol' HM

AMY WINEHOUSE has called off all gigs and other public appearances for the remainder of 2007, after her doctor advised her to take complete rest.

MARILYN MANSON wants to break the world record for sharing a bath with snakes, currently held by "Texas Snakeman" Jackie Bibby.

BRITNEY SPEARS will get to spend Christmas morning with her sons, after a holiday visitation schedule was hammered out between the pop tart and Fed-Ex in a closed-door court hearing in Los Angeles on Monday.  Meanwhile, Details magazine has named Fed-Ex one of its "50 Most Influential Men under 45."  Indeed, he is listed as a "Good Father" alongside Anna Nicole Smith's baby daddy, Larry Birkhead.  Ouch.

THE FRENCH HOTEL -- a changed woman sice her short stint in jail -- took to the street in a lingerie-style slip of a silk dress so short it left her matching blue tights exposed and barely covered her modesty.  Actually "modesty" is a word used charitably by the Daily Mail, as it's far from clear the heirhead has any.

THE NATIONAL LIMO ASSOCIATION sent an open letter to celebrity handlers and agents, reminding them that a limo is cheaper than the cost of a DUI charge.

BRADGELINA:  Jolie is reportedly not held in high regard by Julia Roberts, according to the ever reliable Star magazine, which also claims that Roberts hubby Danny Moder - who worked as a cameraman on Mr. & Mrs. Smith - said that  "People on the set called her the Spider-Woman because she was spinning a web" for the then-married Pitt.

GEORGE CLOONEY & DON CHEADLE will be presented with the 2007 Peace Summit Award by a collection of Nobel laureates at their annual meeting in Rome next month.  Clooney and Cheadle are being honored for promoting peace in Darfur.

MADONNA is hoping to sprinkle a little stardust on hubby Guy Ritchie's latest gangster flick, which has been retooled for its delayed US release.  Yhe flick was marketed to British audiences as a comedic romp similar to Ritchie's "Snatch" - but it left them confused by its more "cerebral" theme. (Or "pretentious style and fractured storytelling," as The Hollywood Reporter sniffed.)

MISS CONDUCT?  Ingrid Marie Rivera won the beauty pageant that selected Puerto Rico's representative in the Miss Universe contest, even though Rivera's evening gowns and makeup reportedly had been secretly doused with pepper spray.  However, police are now said to be investigating whether the pepper-spray claim may have been imaginary.

HULK HOGAN is said to be "devastated" his wife, Linda, filed for divorce, and friends are shocked at the bleached blonde's "erratic" behavior.

POLITICAL MOVIES:  Dismal returns for politically themed films in 2007 won't stop the genre from continuing well into next year.  But expect fewer studio movies to get the green light for 2009 because of the box-office backlash.

INDIANA JONES IV:  Non-spoilery pics are visible at Ain't-It-Cool-News.

THE DARK KNIGHT does not return to theaters until next summer, but has already launched a viral marketing campaign on the Internet, centered on a Gotham City newspaper.  ALSO:  The Joker adorns the cover of this month's Empire magazine.

THE GOLDEN COMPASS gets a good advance review from Roger Friedman.  There has been gossip of bad buzz about the holiday fantasy blockbuster, as well as an early review suggesting the CGI may shine more than Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig.  The official trailer is online, natch.

VENEZUELA:  As Pres. Hugo Chavez lost his lead eight days before a referendum on ending his term limit, Chavez warned that anyone voting against his proposed constitutional changes would be a "traitor."  Now he has threatened to strip the country's industrialists of their assets if they continued to oppose his indefinite presidency.  Sean Penn, Danny Glover and Kevin Spacey were unavailable for comment.

FRANCE:  "Youth" violence was escalating into urban guerrilla warfare in Villiers-le-Bel, with shotguns aimed at officers; more than 80 have been injured so far.  The local library was set ablaze.  The media continues its oblique reporting -- the BBC finallly reported that the two teenagers whose deaths sparked the violence on Sunday evening were "of Algerian origin."  The NYT (1st link) interviews youths "of Turkish origin" and "of Algerian descent," along with others whose names do not seem historically French.  CNN briefly notes that Villiers-le-Bel is "a town of public housing blocks that is home to a mix of Arab, black and white residents in the French capital's northern suburbs."  But the racial, religious, cultural and class aspects to the story will be downplayed or unreported.  Imagine if the Rodney King story and subsequent riots in south central L.A. had been reported in this way.

IRAN said on Tuesday it had built a new missile with a range of 2,000 km (1,250 miles), a step analysts said could add more power to Tehran's conventional arsenal when tensions over its atomic plans are rising.  Former Spook has analysis of the Iranian missile program.  Meanwhile, Iran has attacked Syria's participation in the Middle East peace summit in Annapolis, saying the move will further isolate the country in the region.

IRAQ:  Pres. Bush's war czar, Lt. Gen.l Douglas Lute quietly announced that the US and Iraqi governments will start talks early next year to bring about an end to the allied occupation by the close of Mr. Bush's presidency.  Grand Ayatollah Sistani urged his Shia followers to protect Sunnis. Preparations are currently underway to hold the first national meeting between Shiite and Sunni clerics in the city of Najaf.  Hundreds of Iraqi refugees in Syria boarded buses for home on Tuesday in the first convoy from an Iraqi-funded effort to speed the return of families that fled the country's violence and insecurity.  The UN High Commissioner for Refugees noted there was already a fluctuating average of 1500 departures to Iraq and 500 arrivals in Syria per day.

IRAQ II:  Twenty-eight al Qaeda fighters were captured in Kirkuk. US forces killed a senior al Qaeda leader in Mosul and two al Qaeda leaders north of Baiji. The Mosul bridge damaged by an al Qaeda truck bombers was repaired in three days. The Islamic Army in Iraq in Mosul split from the central organization.  Michael Yon, who spent Thanksgiving with Gen. Petraeus, reports that the mood is of cautious optimism, with a concern that some of the very positive media lately might set expectations too high.  Yon also reports from Basra, where the heat may have been as bad as the insurgents.  The chief of the Basra police department on Tuesday denied any idea of bringing new Iraqi forces to launch attacks on some armed groups (e.g., the Mahdi Army) in Basra.  The Asia Times reports on covert warfare along the Iraq-Iran border among the US, Iran and the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan.

TAFFY, a springer spaniel, underwent surgery after finding the Bob the Builder undies undigestible.  Clearly, the invention of edible underwear has confused someone.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT:  A militant squirrel was caught on video breaking into a home via the doggy door to steal the dog's food.

LUCKY the BURMESE PYTHON:  Sambath Uon won't go to bed without him.  NTTAWWT.

PANDA CUB at the San Diego Zoo finally gets a name.  Panda cam at the link.

TROUBLE, the Maltese who inhereited 12 million bucks from Leona Helmsley, is receiving death and kidnapping threats he doesn't understand.