BRENDAN BENSON is the sound of the new iPod Touch commercial.  It put me in the mood for  "Tiny Spark," "Metarie," "Spit It Out" and "Cold Hands, Warm Heart."

ON THE PITCHFORK:  I want my Pitchfork.tv!  The beta of the online, on-demand indie-music channel will include original mini-documentaries, secret rooftop and basement sessions, full concerts, exclusive interviews, and a carefully curated selection of music videos.

GARY LOURIS stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set you can stream on demand via NPR.  Louris is also interviewed by Luftmensch at MOKB.

ROCK OF PAGES:  Still turning.  Bullz-eye lists 45 books for the literate music fan (including, yes, Cash by Johnny Cash).  There is also a celebrity list in which Michael Azerrad (author of the excellent Our Band Could Be Your Life) picks the equally excellent Rock and the Pop Narcotic, by Joe Carducci.

DESTROYER:  You can stream the upcoming Trouble In Dreams LP in advance via Merge Records.

LED ZEPPELIN:  Robert Plant has turned down an extra £100 million fortune to get the Led out on a world tour, in favor of touring with Alison Krauss.  Folks think this may scotch all hope of a tour, but I wouldn't be too sure about that.

KATE NASH & BILLY BRAGG played a medley of her "Foundation" and (mostly) his classic "New England" at the 2008 Shockwaves NME Awards.  There is some Profanity.

BAUHAUS:  Twenty-five years after their last record, the Godfathers of Goth are releasing a new album, Go Away White. You can stream a Day to Day segment, plus songs from the LP, on demand via NPR.

BEATLE BOB, the gangly, 55-year-old overgrown adolescent who be the world's only full-time concertgoer, is profiled by the Associated Press.  His current streak dates to Christmas Eve 1996;.that's more than 4,075 shows.  The story mentions both the online petition and website imploring Beatle Bob to sit down, and the upcoming documentary "Superfan: The Lies, Legend and Life of Beatle Bob."

THE FELICE BROTHERS:  Wilmington, NC's Star News reports that "the reason these boys are starting to get so much attention ain't because they kind of sound like Dylan sometimes. Rather, it's because they play a familiar and traditional style of music in a way that's fresh and exhilaratingly new."  You can stream a few tracks from their debut at FeliceSpace.

KEITH RICHARDS, LORD of the UNDEAD, is the "new" face of Louis Vuitton.  Past subjects include Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi, Catherine Deneuve, and former USSR leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

BRITNEY SPEARS has again ignited pregnancy rumors after she was spotted leaving a medical centre with her father Jamie in LA yesterday.  Meanwhile, former pal Osama "Sam" Lutfi is fighting the restraining order against him and may be trying to get the pop wreck to testify on his behalf, according to the uber-reliable News of the World.

THE SIMPSONS:  Ashlee was sounding even more dazed and confused than usual during a radio interview yesterday, though her rep claims she was just "tired."  Meanwhile, at Monday's Cosmopolitan Fun Fearless Male of the Year Awards, Tony Romo was honored alongside Jessica Simpson's ex John Mayer and rumored former boyfriend Dane Cook.  The Dallas QB quipped: "I guess you date Jessica Simpson, that makes you fearless!"

KIRSTEN DUNST becomes the latest celeb to hook up with some dude in rehab.

THE FRENCH HOTEL:  The "Guru" that has supposedly changed her life is actually a Hollywood actor.  I'm shocked.

REESE WITHERSPOON has lent her star power to the UN global campaign to end violence against women, pitching a fund-raising drive by US cosmetics giant Avon for that purpose.  Gyllenspoon reportedly enjoyed a romantic evening out with friends at New York City restaurant Prune Sunday night.

FUNNY GIRLS:  Vanity Fair's new cover story asks, "Who Says Women Aren't Funny?" (A: It was Christopher Hitchens, writing in Vanity Fair last year.)  The mag also has a behind-the-scenes video for the Annie Leibovitz photo shoot.

MARY-KATE OLSEN is getting death threats from fans of the late Heath Ledger, as well as some awful plastic surgery.

ANNA NICOLE SMITH IS STILL DEAD, but her 18-month-old daughter Dannielynn finally was declared the sole heir to the former Playmate's estate.

LISA MARIE PRESLEY looks to be entering her own jumpsuit phase.

ELIZABETH HURLEY was accused of working her maid almost 'round the clock for as little as 2.50/hr.  The maid withdrew her claims after she was given a five-figure settlement.

HORTON HEARS A WHO:  You can watch the trailer and clips from the Dr. Seuss adaptation at Yahoo! Movies.

GHOSTBUSTERS:  Who you gonna call?

WAR in SOUTH AMERICA?  Colombia said on Tuesday that FARC rebels had been planning to make a "dirty bomb" with radioactive material, threatening the entire Latin American region.  Bogota has already accused Venezuelan Pres. Hugo Chavez of funding the FARC guerrillas, after Colombian forces crossed into Ecuador and killed a senior rebel commander on Saturday, sparking troop movements and warnings of war.  Hundreds of Venezuelan troops deployed for the Colombian border on Tuesday under orders from President Hugo Chavez, who is sending about 9,000 soldiers to the frontier.

THE NETHERLANDS:  Protesters already have torched Dutch flags in Afghanistan ahead of a new Dutch film portraying Islam's holy book as a "fascist" text that incites violence and preaches the oppression of women and homosexuals.  A Dutch Cabinet minister postponed his trip to Somalia on Friday due to "specific threats" linked to the film, and the Dutch government has urged lawmaker Geert Wilders to scrap his film for the safety of its citizens abroad.

IRAQ:  A three-judge panel dropped charges against two former high-ranking Shiite government officials accused of using the Health Ministry to run death squads and enrich themselves  - a decision that shook up Sunnis and troubled some Shiites as well.  Feeding doubt about the trial's fairness, many of the prosecution's witnesses had been intimidated and ultimately refused to appear in court.  Michael J. Totten blogs continuing mop-up and clean-up operations in Fallujah.  Entifadh Qanbar, an Iraqi politician and ex-spokesman of the Iraqi National Congress, takes you on a tour of AQI torture facilities, replete with blowtorches, saws, drills, knives, weapons, masks, and handcuffs.

MINIATURE PIGS: Pets of the Future!  More awww...some pics at the link.

TREACLE the TAWNY OWL loves to hop on the handlebars of a bike and go for rides with Staffordshire wildlife center owner Jenny Smith.  Pic at the link.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT:  British marine experts have found what they claim is a world first -- a six-legged octopus, or "hexapus," whom they have christened Henry.

DO NOT taunt the rhino!  The San Francisco Zoo has stepped up its warnings against harassment of animals after the Christmas Day tiger attack that left one young man dead and two others injured.

ANTI-SHARK DEVICE eaten by a Great White.  What say you, Police Chief Brody? (nsfw)