Topic: Karl

RYAN ADAMS & NATALIE PRASS cover Patrick Swayze and Wendy Fraser's "She's Like The Wind."

SETH AVETT & JESSICA LEA MAYFIELD Sing Elliott Smith.

TWIN SHADOW advance streams Eclipse.

HOUNDMOUTH advance streams Little Neon Limelight.

CHASTITY BELT advance streams Time To Go Home.

FRANK BLACK drops the demo for  “How You Went So Far."

CARLY RAE JEPSON isn't my bag, baby. But I didn't want you to miss Tom Hanks in the video for  "I Really Like You."

SLEAFORD MODS' Jason Williamson rails against the state of the music biz.

EX HEX talks to The Guardian about fake friends, creating a scene and discovering the power of powerpop.

CHRISSE HYNDE of The Pretenders is working on an "an incredibly frank" memoir that will come out Sept. 8.

LED ZEPPELIN, Live at the Fillmore West in 1969, ftom The Observer archives.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Chappie tops the chart with 13.3MM, but that's well below estimates against a 49 million budget.  Will anyone second guess putting Neil Blomkamp in charge of the next Alien sequel?  Focus places with 10MM on a 46 percent drop. This is likely to be Will Smith's worst performing star vehicle. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel shows with 8.6 MM and more than twice as much overseas; it will make a tidy profit against a 20MM budget if it does anywhere near as well as the original. Kingsman: The Secret Service takes the fourth slot with 8.3MM; with almost 250MM worldwide, a sequel is likely.  The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water rounds out the Top Five with another 7MM and is already well into profit.  Below the fold, Fifty Shades of Grey crosses the 500MM mark, while Unfinished Business debuts in tenth with 4.8 million, as Vince Vaughn sinks like Will Smith, only worse.

BOBBI KRISTINA BROWN's aunt publicly claimed that her niece's boyfriend, Nick Gordon, is under investigation for “attempted murder” in connection with the 22-year-old's near drowning.

AMAL CLOONEY is to teach at New York’s Columbia Law School.

JOHN STAMOS revisited the San Francisco home where his beloved '80s show Full House was set, and went unrecognized.

MADONNA has found a new soul mate: Kanye West.

WARREN BEATTY's film about Howard Hughes may finally make it to theaters: “I would appreciate if you would say Mr. Beatty good-naturedly declined to comment,” he said.

HIGH FIDELITY author Nick Hornby speculates about a sequel.

SAUDI ARABIA expressed "surprise and dismay" at international media reports criticising the flogging of a Saudi blogger for insulting Islam.

WHAT IRAN Won't Say About the Bomb.

LIBYA: Islamic State group jihadists killed eight guards on Friday in an attack on the southern Libyan oilfield of Al-Ghani, a spokesman for the unit tasked with guarding oil installations said.

IRAQI security forces backed by coalition airstrikes have pushed the Islamic State out of a town near a large base where U.S. military advisers are located.

AN OCTOPUS escapes from a boat.

A BABY WOOLY RHINO was discovered after 10K years in the ice.

SNAKES Aren't Scary if You Put Them on Colored Backgrounds.

FIVE TINY KITTENS are lucky to be alive after they were found shivering and sitting in their own filth at the bottom of a garbage can in Langley.

SLEATER-KINNEY played "Price Tag" for Seth Metes.

PHOX played a Tiny Desk Concert at the NPR offices.

THE PUNCH BROS stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

THE AUSTIN 100: NPR's streaming SXSW preview.

TOM WAITS, Live at the Ivanhoe Theater, circa 1976.

THE VIOLENT FEMMES drop "Love Love Love Love Love" --their first in 15 years--ahead of a Record Store Day EP.

VETIVER jangles "Loose Ends" ahead of Complete Strangers.

LUNA: Dean Wareham talks to Farewell Happy Fields about the reunion. (Thx, Frank Yang)

GLEN CAMPBELL's family fights over control of his affairs. Ugh.

ABBA Museum Gets Four Life-Size Figures.

PRINCE, as a high school jock.

THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON posted a third trailer online.

ROBIN THICKE's "Blurred Lines" trial provides an inside peek at the financial success of the song credited to Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and T.I.

GREG GUTFELD is leaving Red Eye, the best show on FNC; The New Yorker pays tribute.

THE MTV MOVIE AWARDS nominations are out.

ALEC BALDWIN theorized that  suspended anchor Brian Williams exaggerated his experience in Iraq as a way to appeal to NBC Nightly News' "pro-military, conservative" audience.

THE OSCARS may revert to five Best Picture nominees. Maybe expanding the field doesn't work if you don't nominate mass appeal films.

DANIEL VON BARGEN (Seinfeld,The Silence Of The Lambs, O Brother, Where are Thou?, Basic Instinct) passed away after a lengthy illness. He was 64.

THE UNITED KINGDOM: A Vietnamese national has been extradited to the United States from Britain after being charged with travelling to Yemen to receive training at an Al-Qaeda camp.

SOUTH KOREA: The U.S. ambassador was attacked by someone shouting an anti-war slogan in the country's capital today while giving a speech.

GEICO's unskippable online ad should not be skipped.

A LION shows why you should always lock your car doors in a safari park.

DYING YOUR CAT = Dying Cat. The More You Know.

UPWARD FLYING DOG: Doing Yoga Wrong.

SUSANNA HOFFS sings "Eternal Flame" at a karaoke bar.

MusicNOW is advance streaming a 10th anniversary comp featuring Sufjan Stevens, Grizzly Bear, Dirty Projectors, Robin Pecknold, and more. But be careful you don't end up listening to the Ace of Base LP at the link.

SARAH BETHE NELSON advance streams Fast-Moving Clouds.

AERO FLYNN advance streams a self-titled LP.

POPE advance streams Fiction.

VAN MORRISON and the late BOBBY WOMACK collaborated on a version of “Some Peace Of Mind.”

MY MORNING JACKET shares "Big Decisions" ahead of The Waterfall.

MODEST MOUSE drops "Of Course We Know" ahead of Strangers to Ourselves.

ELO: Because I "Can't Get It Out Of My Head."

SUPERCHUNK talks about The Replacements.

PURITY RING talks to Stereogum about their new aesthetic, their dynamic as writing partners, and their self-appointed classification of “future pop.”

SOUL ASYLUM is profiled at The Current.

MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND: Shara Worden talks to Paste about her fifth LP, This Is My Hand.

BILL COSBY: Another Jane Doe from the 2005 civil case against Cosby speaks exclusively to BuzzFeed News.

BOBBI KRISTINA BROWN's family denies they're shooting a reality TV show.

HILARY DUFF talks about her views of love post-marriage and what she thought about Aaron Carter's famous declarations of love.

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE & JESSICA BIEL share a birthday Instagram. She's 33.

STAR WARS spinoff director Chris Weitz had some comments about the standalone while out promoting Cinderella.

THE UNITED KINGDOM: Ten men, nine of whom are Asian, have been charged by police investigating child grooming and sexual exploitation in Rochdale.

IRAN rejected on Tuesday as "unacceptable" U.S. President Barack Obama's demand that it freeze sensitive nuclear activities for at least 10 years but said it would continue talks on a deal, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported.

IRAQ: A U.S. military official who briefed news media about Iraq's upcoming offensive to retake Mosul provided inaccurate information but should never have publicly discussed war plans anyway, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Tuesday.

A CAT learns to speak, freakily.

COYOTES roam fearlessly in suburban New York.

STONED RABBITS: A DEA agent claims that if a bill regarding edible medicinal marijuana passes in Utah, the state's wildlife may "cultivate a taste" for the plant, lose their fear of humans, and basically be high all the time.

AOSHIMA ISLAND: Six Cats for Every Girl.

THE BANGLES, "Going Down to Liverpool," with Leonard Nimoy.

MATTHEW E. WHTE advance streams Fresh Blood.

THE DISTRICTS stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

EMMY THE GREAT performs in the WNYC Soundcheck studio.

THE ACORN drops "Influence" ahead of Vieux Loop.

THE LEFT BANKE: "Walk Away Renee."

JIMMY PAGE gave an oral history of "Kashmir" to The Guardian.

JESSICA PRATT talks to American Songwriter about her move to Drag City.

TWENTY ROCK MEMOIRS That Don't Hold Back.

TEN SONGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW WERE WRITTEN ABOUT CELEBRITIES....according to...The Onion.

LEONARD NIMOY, the sonorous, gaunt-faced actor who won a worshipful global following as Mr. Spock, the resolutely logical human-alien first officer of the Starship Enterprise in the television and movie juggernaut “Star Trek,” died on Friday morning at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles. He was 83.  The NYT obit omits his run on Mission: Impossible and his great turn in the 70s version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  The obit gives you his cover of "If I Had a Hammer," but not his take on "Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town."  The affection for Nimoy is apparent in the WaPo's jump headline for his obit there, and this billboard in South Carolina.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Focus tops the chart with 19 million -- below the low side of estimates and well short of the 35 million Will Smith used to average.  It truly is After Earth for the Not-So-Fresh Prince.  There's a race for te rest of the slots that won't be fully sorted until the actual receipts are counted:  Kingsman: The Secret Service has an estimated 11.8 million, a seemingly leggy showing that likely puts it in the black worldwide.  The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water has an estimated 11.2 million and also looks profitable at this point.  Fifty Shades of Grey has an estimated 10.9 million on a 51 percent drop; wildly profitable, but droping quickly--playing like the Twilight fanfic it originally was.  The Lazarus Effect rounds out the Top Five with an estimated 10.6 million, which is likely fine against a 3.3MM budget.

LUPITA N'YONGO: Her stolen Oscars dress was returned under odd circumstances.

MICHELLE RODRIQUEZ caught flak for criticizing minorities getting white superhero riles in Hollywood.

TAYLOR SWIFT talked to the Telegraph about her cultural weight, the future of LPs, celebrity friendships, and so forth.

CINDY CRAWFORD says a recent leaked photo of her was doctored to make her look haggard.

NORWAY: A radical Islamic preacher has been arrested in Norway after praising last month's deadly attack on the Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly in Paris, police said Friday.

RUSSIA: Former PM and prominent opposition figure Boris Nemtsov was killed just a few hours after a radio interview in which he denounced Putin’s “mad, aggressive” policies and the day before he was to help lead a rally protesting Russia’s actions in the Ukraine crisis and the economic crisis at home.

SYRIA: Kurdish forces dealt a blow to Islamic State by capturing an important town on Friday in the latest stage of a powerful offensive in northeast Syria, a Kurdish militia spokesman said.

IRAQ: The U.S. military's goal to retake Iraq's second largest city from the self-proclaimed Islamic State has been pushed back several months at least, defense officials told The Daily Beast.

A 280-LB CATFISH, caught with a rod and reel. Bigger boat not required.

BABY RABBITS listed for sale on Craigslist as "imperfect snake food" are on the road to recovery, thanks to a group of rescues that stepped in to save them.

BEAR ATTACKS have quadrupled in Florida.

THE PUYA CHILENSIS is a plant that traps and eats sheep.

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with the YOUNG FRESH FELLOWS!  If you have never heard the fabulous sounds of Scott McCaughey's pre-grunge Seattle pop combo (or even if you have), you'll want to sample the "Young Fresh Fellows Theme" as an appetizer.  But the main course is live from Portland's Pine Street Theater on December 20, 1991.  This 80-minute show includes -- but is not limited to: Jonathan Richman's "Someone I Care About"; "Where Is Groovytown?"; "Hillbilly Drummer Girl"; "My Boyfriend Is In Killdozer"; "Two Brothers"; "Hang Out Right";  "Sitting On A Pitchfork"; "Taco Wagon"; The Kinks' "Picture Book"; "Two Sides To The Story"; "Lost In Space"; "I Don't Let The Little Things Get Me Down"; "Tomorrow's Gone"; "Amy Grant"; "Reunion"; "I Got My Mojo Workin' (And I Thought You'd Like To Know)";  "Go Go Gorilla"; and "Backroom of the Bar." Not to mention snippets of "Suzy Q," "Heart and Soul," "The Ballad of the Green Berets" and a particularly disastrous take on The Beatles' "Please Please Me."

SLEATER KINNEY, Live at the 9:30 Club.

JEFF ROSENSTOCK advance streams We Cool?

ARIEL PINK stops by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

BEECH CREEPS advance stream their self-titled debut.

PURITY RING advance streams Another Eternity.

THOM YORKE and Massive Attack’s Robert “3D” Del Naja stream the soundtrack to The UK Gold.

WOLF ALICE drops a "Giant Peach" ahead of  My Love Is Cool.

MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND, "Blinded by the Light," Live in '75.

JIMMY PAGE talked to All Songs Considered about the 40th anniversary of Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti; NME listicles 21 Things you may not know about the Zep's famed double-set.

JENNY LEWIS talks to Under the Radar about her suit, The Voyager, sleepless nights, and more. (Thx, LHB)

U2's Apple stunt is still paying off.

NEW RELEASES are on Friday, starting this Summer, according to the Business, and by the Business, I mean the Industry.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend'swide releases are Focus, which is currently scoring 55 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and The Lazarus Effect, which is scoring 18 percent.

THE KARDASHIANS have signed a record-breaking, 100MM-plus deal to remain with E! for another four years.

MARGOT ROBBIE is profiled by Harper's Bazaar.

LUPITA N'YONGO's  now-famous Oscar dress — adorned in pearls — was stolen right out of her hotel room.

DREW BARRYMORE is writing a collection of autobiographical essays.

KANYE WEST apologizes to Beck and Bruno Mars.

BOBBI KRISTINA BROWN  was taken out of a medically induced coma, but she began having violent seizures.

THE ISLAMIC STATE destroyed a priceless collection of statues and sculptures from the ancient Assyrian era, inflicting what an archaeologist described as incalculable damage to a piece of shared human history.

EGYPT: Four bombs exploded in Cairo, killing one person and wounding at least seven. The Egyptian military killed dozens of suspected jihadists during operations in the Sinai. Egyptian President Sisi and visiting King Abdullah II of Jordan urged international cooperation in counterterrorism efforts.

SYRIA: The Assyrian Human Rights Network claims that the Islamic State now holds 262 Christians hostage after an offensive that took over nearly a dozen Assyrian villages. The Islamic State's masked British executioner of Westerners has been identified as Mohammed Emwazi from west London. Syrian Kurdish forces cut off one of the Islamic State's supply lines from Iraq in northeastern Syria.

LLAMAS went on the lam in Sun City. And Vancouver. Squirrels wanted for questioning.

A GORILLA works out at the zoo.

A DOG AND AN OWL, living together... mass hysteria!

A ZOOLOGIST bathes with a crocodile.