BRIAN WILSON & ZOOEY DESCHANEL interview each other at the Hollywood Bowl as part of the "Artist on Artist" series.  And Wilson is relatively normal for it.  He does tell Deschanel that she's a "very pretty girl" at the end, but there plenty of people who might blurt that out.

THE NATIONAL frontman Matt Beringer discusses lyrics from The Boxer album with Paste.

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

JASON & THE SCORCHERS get a nifty profile with A/V at the Tennesseean in advance of a lifetime achievement award from the Americana Music Association Thursday night at the Ryman Auditorium. (Thx, LHB.)

SPIRITUALIZED frontan Jason Pierce talks about the intersection of the personal and the musical for The A.V. Club: "It's a weird situation, doing interviews. Nowhere else in the world can you talk about yourself and have people listen like they're interested over and over..."

THE SEA & CAKE help you ease into the week with the new video for "Weekend" from the Car Alarm album.

JACK WHITE says he had nothing to do with the decision to use his music in that James Bond-themed Coke Zero ad.

DRESSY BESSY has posted three new songs at DressySpace.

JESCA HOOP talks about her favorite songs, advice she got from Tom Waits and more with LAist.

GIANT SAND mastermind Howie Gelb talks about "harmony mixed with calamity" with Blurt.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Burn After Reading won the weekend with 19.4 million -- the first Coen Bros.movie to debut at No. 1 and their biggest weekend ever.  With a slight 37 million budget, this one will be a winner if it has any legs. Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys came in second with 18 million -- a bit below average, but probably not bad for a TP movie without Medea.  Righteous Kill came in third with 16.5 million, a not-so-righteous debut for a Pacino-DeNiro pairing budgeted at 60 million.  The Women debuted in fourth with about ten million, which is not good, but not bad, given it had a ridiculously low 16 million budget (I'm thinking stars took points and will be low-paid).  The House Bunny hangs in to round out the Top Five, while sixth-place Tropic Thunder broke the 100 million mark.  Bangkok Dangerous tumbled from first to eigth; Babylon A.D. plunged from sixth to 11th.

JENNIFER LOPEZ finished the Nautica Malibu Triathlon in 2 hours, 23 minutes and 28 seconds.

BRITNEY SPEARS apparently went on a date with Russell Brand, a former drug user who has been treated for sex addition.

SIR PAUL McCARTNEY has been threatened that he will be the target of suicide bombers unless he abandons plans to play his first concert in Israel.

O.J. SIMSPON: The jury has been selected in Simpson's kidnapping and armed robbery trial.  The trial judge rejected defense motions challenging the exclusion of individual African Americans and another motion challenging the entire jury.

ROB LOWE and his wife claim their ex-nanny terrified their children by discussing gang activity in her neighborhood "in graphic" detail, used "racially inappropriate" terms and even told stories of her sexual activities.

THE WORLD'S MOST GENEROUS CELEBS, according to Parade magazine.  Some obvious, some not.

BRADGELINA donated two million dollars to the Global Health Committee to establish a center to aid children affected by tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia.

PINK has reportedly turned to Scientology to help her move on after her split from husband Carey Hart.

THE SIMPSONS will pay homage to It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and Transformers this Halloween.

NANOTECH: Tiny ships loaded with a cargo that can identify and destroy cancerous tumors are being tested on mice and could one day ply the human bloodstream.

OUR FRIENDS, THE SAUDIS: The Kingdom's top judicial cleric has issued a fatwa saying it is permissible to kill the owners of satellite TV networks that broadcast immoral content. But TIME claims that jihadism is waning there.

ISRAEL is buying 1000 bunker-busting smart bombs from the US, and upgrading its missile defense system. Hmmm.

THE STANS: NPR reports that last week's Special Ops raid in Pakistan last week was part of a three-phase plan, approved by Pres. Bush, to strike at Osama bin Laden and top al-Qaeda leadership.

IRAQ and the US have prepared a "final" draft of a security pact which could clear the way for a large-scale troop withdrawal by 2011 and it is now awaiting a political decision. Iraq is prepared to restart talks with the US and Iran, and is checking with both sides to see if a fresh round can be scheduled. Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih met with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to discuss the viewpoint of the Kurdish leadership on the latest political developments and on the security situation in Iraq. Stars & Stripes reports on detention facility reform.

SHORTY the COW ran loose through Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ, before being lassoed and returned safely to her owner. Video at the link.

OVER 700 TURTLES, one house -- near the Washington-Oregon state line.. Video at the link.

THE OKAPI, an African animal so elusive that it was once believed to be a mythical unicorn, has been photographed in the wild for the first time.

LARGE LIZARD AT LARGE in a Salisbury neighborhood.

SPEEDING HAMSTER in a playball overtook rush-hour traffic near Carlisle in the UK.

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with HUSKER DU! Recorded live at the Stone in San Francisco, on March 1, 1985. Part 1 includes "Diane" "Hate Paper Doll" and "Green Eyes." Part 2 includes "Divide and Conquer," "Pink Turns To Blue" and "Eight Miles High." Part 3 features "Makes No Sense At All" and "Louie, Louie" (w/ members of the Minutemen and the Meat Puppets).

THE HOLD STEADY: Frontman and MN Twins fan Craig Finn plays ball in a chat seesion on ESPN.com, with a fair amount on Kent Hrbek, though rock fans may be more interested in his take on the 70s: "I just read Neil Young's bio. The things that went down in the 70s for sure don't go down in the 2000s. After the show we get on the bus and go away. I don't understand when all this stuff is supposed to happen." Plus a link to stream the band's version of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."

THE TOP 100 HOT 100 HITS of ALL TIME, according to Billboard -- one of a number of new charts, including "Artists With The Most Hot 100 Appearances" (The King is King, but the Fabs are Four), "One-Hit Wonders" and "Cover Me: Same Songs to Hit No. 1 By Two Different Artists," to name just a few. Plenty of A/V links as well.

THE EAGLES OF DEATH METAL answer a few questions for the Houston Chronicle.

JAY NASH & FRIENDS... do the four free songs thing for Daytrotter.

THE LAST SHADOW PUPPETS roll out more retro British pop in "My Mistakes Were Made For You."

THE 80s REDUX: At he NPR Monitor Mix blog, drummer Carrie Brownstein defends the decade a little more, even wading into the comments section to remind people she already wrote about the genius of The Replacements. 

BILLY IDOL talks to the Las Vegas Sun about the upsides and downsides of the current technological age.

MATTHEW SWEET talks to JamBase about the upsides and downsides of the current technological age.  And he talks to Paste about a broad array of musical topics.

RHETT MILLER talks to the San Antonio Current about the mean side of Owen Wilson and more...

CUTOUT BIN: From Green to the Black Keys, from Morrissey to Johnny Thunders, from Let's Active to Kenny Rogers to the Flaming Lips covering David Bowie, from Rhythm Heritage to Buffalo Springfield to M Ward, the Minutemen and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds can be jukeboxed or streamed separately via the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases include the remake of The Women, currently scoring 7 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; the Pacino-DeNiro thriller Righteous Kill, currently scoring 17 percent on thin reviews; The Coen Bros.' Burn After Reading, which is scoring 76 percent overall (but only 50 percent among the "cream of the crop" critics); and Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys, wich goes unscreened for critics, per usual.

LINDSAY LOHAN & SAMANTHA RONSON: Sam used her DJ slot at Chateau Marmont to announce: "By the end of this year, my love will be Mrs Ronson" -- eliminating all doubt as to who wears the pants in that relationship.

ANNE HATHAWAY: The Smoking Gun catalogs the expensive jewelry the actress had to surrender to the feds when her ex-boyfriend was busted and pleaded guilty to fraud charges.

KANYE WEST was arrested at LAX for felony vandalism in a confrontation with a paprazzo.  More details via TMZ.

SARAH McLACHLAN and her hubby-drummer have called it quits after 11 years.

JESSICA SIMPSON: Wearing a skirt for a windy outdoor show was a bad choice.

JENNIFER ANISTON: Going out with Gerard Butler ("300")?

MAD MEN: John Slattery ("Roger Sterling" talks to USA Today about his Emmy nomination and originally wanting the lead in the acclaimed AMC drama: "Yeah, but who wouldn't? James Bond would want the role of Don Draper."

THE STANS: Pres. Bush secretly approved orders allowing US Special Ops ground missions in Pakistan without the prior approval of the Pakistani government. A raid last week involved more than two dozen members of the Navy Seals who spent several hours on the ground and killed about two dozen suspected al- Qaeda fighters who had been conducting attacks against a US forward operating base across the border in Afghanistan.  Joint Chiefs Chair Mullen is warning that thousands more US troops as well as greater US military involvement across the border in Pakistan's tribal areas are needed to battle an intensifying insurgency in Afghanistan.

IRAQ is still waiting for a response from the US to proposals regarding the controversial security deal between the two countries. Iraqi soldiers arrested three leaders of Al-Qaeda in a raid in Diyala province late Wednesday, and killed three would-be suicide bombers. The US military has intercepted a letter in which senior Al Qaeda operatives reveal their fury over militants' failure to keep up with the campaign against US-led forces in Iraq.

ANGORA KITTY saved from fire is given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

PUPPY survives eating six pounds of rocks. Video at the link.

SCOOBY-DOO has become the first animal in the world to appear as a witness in a murder trial.  Yes, really. And the guy would have gotten away with it, too, if not for those meddling kids.

AND THERE WERE PIGS ALL OVER THE HIGHWAY, 25 miles south of Des Moines, IA, closing I-35 for about nine hours. Video at the link.

MOUSE sabotages trafic stop. No word yet on involvement with any squirrel conspiracy.

SHARK ALERT in effect for all of Hawaii.

CONSTANTINES: "Our Age" is not really my age anymore, but parts of it seem vaguely familiar.

JENNY LEWIS is advance streaming her new album via JennySpace.

SONIC YOUTH has signed with Matador.  Those of you fearing it was Starbucks can get off the ledge.

FRIGHTENED RABBIT stopped by KEXP for a chat and mini-set you can stream on demand via NPR.

GOT A FEE-VAH? Here is your prescription.

ELBOW wins the UK's esteemed Mercury Prize. Here's the video for their latest single, "The Bones of You."

OKKERVIL RIVER frontman Will Sheff shares a few of his favorite things for Pitchfork's "Guest List" feature.

THE SPINTO BAND performs a dramatic reading from the novelization of "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" for Daytrotter.  Yes, really.

THE WHO are set to receive a Kennedy Center Honor on December 7 in Washington for their contribution to American culture.  Perhaps Pete will break out his Union Jacket.

DEVENDRA BANHART tells Rolling Stone he had a panic attack while recording his upcoming LP, of which he says some songs have a "weird vibe of cowboy songs" while another has an '80s-style electro-pop beat reminiscent of Hall And Oates' "I Can't Go For That."

ANNE HATHAWAY  is breaking her silence about her split from Italian beau Raffaello Follieri, who yesterday pleaded guilty to 14 counts of con-artistry in a Manhattan Federal court.

KIRSTEN DUNST says rumors she is romancing Justin Long "are the funniest thing on planet Earth," adding, "I don't know him from Adam," though the two have been photographed repeatedly over the summer.

THE DARK KNIGHT: Philip Seymour Hoffman says no one has approached him about playing The Penguin in a Batman film, and he doesn't know if he would make a good Penguin,  But he is a fan of comic-book movies and Nolan.

MISCHA BARTON dumps Rooney frontman Taylor Locke after about seven months together.

UMA THURMAN is "absolutely not pregnant," according to her rep.

HOLLYWOOD'S MOST OVERPAID MOVIE STARS, according to Forbes magazine. You are looking at number three.

PAM ANDERSON laughs off rumors that she is dating Jacko: "He just wants me to be in a video."

WILLIAM SHATNER does not appear in the Star Trek reboot, according to director JJ Abrams.

9/11: The first five minutes of CNN coverage. I came out of the shower, saw the second plane hit on NBC, and knew had had to contact my boss, whose daughter lived in NYC. Today, only 9 of 17 nations surveyed have a majority who think Al Qaeda was responsible for the attacks.

KIM JONG IL is believed to be recovering from recent surgery, South Korea's spy agency said Wednesday. The NoKos claim reports questioning Kim's health are a "conspiracy plot."  Meanwhile, North Korea has quietly built a long-range missile base that is larger and more capable than an older and well-known launch pad for ICBMs.

IRAQ: Leaders of Iraq's political blocs have formed a panel to try to resolve a dispute over adopting a controversial provincial election law. US SecDef Gates said  the war in Iraq had entered its "endgame" and urged the next US president to continue a cautious approach to troop cuts.

ABUSED CAT shuns media attention, then goes all Sean Penn on the reporter.

PLAGUES of RATS devastate Burnese villages in a 50-year freak of nature.

A ROGUE KANGAROO has boxed its way out of its enclosure in a small German town and set off a chase with baffled emergency responders.

ZOOS are setting up an online dating service for rare species.

DIXIE the CAT returns home after nine years.

THE TEENAGERS are "Feeling Better" with help from fan footage.

PAUL WELLER talks to Pitchfork about the various twists and turns of his career at age 50.

ANNUALS have made "Confessor" downloadable at AnnualSpace.

ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO is profiled by the L.A. Times, with the near-inevitable comeback angle.

ALINA SIMONE does the four free songs thing for Daytrotter, one previously unreleased.

SPOON frontman Britt Daniel debuted new songs like "Who Backs Your Money" at Music Fest North West.

MAGAZINE will reunite for two gigs next year.

AIMEE MANN talks to the Baltimore Sun about the characters in the short stories on  her new album, @#%&*! Smilers.

THAO NGUYEN plays a four-song, Tiny Desk concert for NPR.

LOCKSLEY coughs up "All Over Again" as a free download via Spinner.

RICK ASTLEY judges various "Rick Rolls" for the Guardian.

JON FAVREAU & ROBERT DOWNEY JR. spill hints about future movies during a live commentary session for Iron Man. Video Q&A here and here.

JOSH HARTNETT is taking the Daily Mirror newspaper to court for alleging he had a "sexual dalliance" in a public area of a London hotel.  Even with the UK's plaintiff-friendly libel law, this strikes me as risky, unless he wasn't really in the hotel.

JESSICA SIMSPON halted a performance on live television Tuesday, but I think that's better than sounding bad because you can't hear yourself. Video at the link.

MISCHA BARTON has revealed she secretly checked into rehab after her drunk driving arrest in 2007.

KATE BECKINSALE talks to OK! magazine about balancing work and family.

THE BEST HIGH SCHOOL MOVIES, as compiled by Pop Candy's Whitney Matheson. Hey hey hey hey.

CHARLIE KAUFMANN, the scribe for Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Adaptation, gets a suitable unique behind-the-scenes-of-the-artcle treatment from Wired magazine.

NORTH KOREA: US intell officials said that Kim Jong Il may have suffered a serious health setback, potentially a stroke, amid reports that the 66-year-old dictator had failed to appear at an important celebration of his country's anniversary.  Maybe he's just ronery.

IRAQ: US and Iraqi officials are holding meetings to reassure Awakening and Sons of Iraq members about what the future holds for them once the Sunni-dominated citizen patrols begin reporting to the Iraqi government on Oct. 1.  Bob Woodward claims that the dramatic drop in violence in Iraq is due in large part to a secret program the US military has used to kill terrorists -- which he reveals in his new book, depite saying that blowing the secret would get people killed.  US troops foiled an insurgent terror plot against them originating in a bakery.  The Financial Times has a slideshow of calm returning to Basra.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: A base-jumping dog.

GIANT PANDA CUBS are being specially cared for by a team of workers in China.  Awww...some pics.

TACO the CHIHUAHUA tracks down a wanted felon, makes him drop the chalupa. Video at the link.

RARE BLONDE HEDGEHOG is returning to health after being found orphaned.  Sure to attract Spiny Norman.

HORATIO the GOLDFISH has stunned his owner by spending the last five years swimming around upside down.

THE KAISER CHIEFS "Never Miss A Beat" in their latest video.

NEW RELEASES: Calexico, Passion Pit, and Chad Van Gaalen are among the albums streaming via Spinner this week.  Okkervil River releases The Stand-Ins. The Horse Feathers release House With No Home. The Lovely Sparrows Bury The Cynics.

JIMMY PAGE: Downplaying a Zeppelin reunion... or prodding Robert Plant?

RADIOHEAD: The full concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl is now steaming on demand via NPR.

JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE does six free songs for Daytrotter, including a conutrified cover of The Replacements' "Can't Hardly Wait."

BRIAN WILSON survives a phone interview with Pitchfork. Ironically, he seems more animated performing for AOL Sessions, which is your Fivefer Tuesday.  He even manages a few smiles during "Going Home," which is odd if you listen to the lyrics.

THE RAVEONETTES will trade you EPs for contact info.

THE MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR: The biggest online survey of personal memories ever conducted aims to see how Beatles associations shed light on the psychological effect of autobiographical memory.

TORTOISE: Doug McCombs talks to NOW Toronto about starting work on the band's first new album in four years.

DR. DOG: Scott McMicken talks to the Birmingham Weekly about the band's new album and current tour.

THE MTV VMAs, boiled down to two minutes of your life you'll never get back. Host Russell Brand insulted Pres. Bush and the Jonas Bros - and got in trouble for the latter.

BRITNEY SPEARS, the big "winner" at the VMAs is said to be "furious" with her mother, as Mama Lynne's book blames all of Britney's problems on her daughter's former managers, whereas Britney feels Lynne herself caused so many of her problems and issues.

JESSICA SIMPSON makes her debut at the Grand Ole Opry, with some in the audience thinking she should have put some clothes on.  Which seems to me to invert the entire Jessica Simpson singing-dressing equation.

MINNIE DRIVER became a first-time mom to son Henry Story Driver.

UMA THURMAN: Pregnancy rumors.

HEATHER MILLS is writing a book about a model who falls for a world-famous rock star and marries him before the relationship turns sour. Shocka!

THE DARK KNIGHT: Michael Caine kinda sorta confirms rumors about Jhnny Depp as The Riddler and Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Penguin in the next installment of the Batman franchise -- though afaik, there's been no work on a script yet.

BIG BUDGET AUTEURS: Blood pressure has risen for execs at Fox, Paramount and Warner Bros. over, respectively, "Avatar," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "Where the Wild Things Are."  James Cameron says Avatar makes Titanic look like a picnic. Avatar is being made in stereoscopic 3-D and combines live action and computer animation.  WTWTA is back on Warner Bros.' release schedule, set for a release on Oct. 16, 2009.

SCIENTOLOGY: Over a period of twelve hours, American Rights Counsel LLC sent out over 4000 DMCA takedown notices to YouTube, all making copyright infringement claims against videos with content critical of the Church of Scientology.  Meanwhile, a French judge has ordered two departments and seven prominent members of the Church of Scientology in France to stand trial on charges of organized fraud.

TERROR in the UK/US: Three men charged in an plot to explode bombs on trans-Atlantic airliners bound for the United States and Canada were convicted Monday in London of conspiracy to murder.

ADAM GADAHN, al-Qaeda's prize American recruit and propaganda chief may have been killed in a CIA-directed airstrike.

PAKISTAN: Despair among human rights workers over a rash of so-called "honour killings" intensified yesterday when it was disclosed that a girl forced into marriage with a 45-year-old man at the age of nine had been killed by her parents because she asked for an annulment.

IRAN's first nuke plant is almost ready.

IRAQ: Pres. Bush will announce plans to withdraw about 8000 US troops by February 2009 and deploy soldiers to Afghanistan where violence has been surging.

BELLA the LABRADOR, believed to be the oldest dog in the world, has died - aged around 203 in dog years.

HOMER the LABRADOR survived horrific injuries when he was hit by an express train -- because his wound was seared shut by the intense heat from the 125 mph train.

LEAPING CARP, Broken Jaw.

A SNAKE PARKED WAS ROBBED of money hard-earned by a man who has been living in a snake cage for 85 days.

A LARGE SHARK towed a surfer out to sea like a "powerful jet ski' after it became entangled in the leg rope of his surfboard. What say you, Police Chief Brody?