sonic slang

Britney, MMJ, Jack Johnson, more

- Britney is back in the hospital and placed on “mental evaluation hold.”

- Talib Kweli teams with Kanye West for new, momma-lovin' single

- Hang tough ladies, NKOTB will still reunite, but now it's a threesome

- Check out full album streams from Jack Johnson and Bob Mould

- My Morning Jacket and the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra performing "Gideon" at the Chicago Lollapalooza

- Billy Bragg to release first disc under own name in six years

- Strokes "Is This It" cover model speaks...briefly

REM Buzz Abounds: New Video, Tour Rumors

So there was some big blogger buzz (especially among the 30+ set) on the LES late last week as REM was shooting the first video for the band's alleged "comeback" disc.  At least its got a cool name - "Supernatural Superserious" and the clip on REMHQ actually sounds quite promising.  We're not drinking the Kool-Aid yet, but this at least warrants a thoughtful "hmmm..."

What?  You still haven't recovered from Around the Sun and need us to stoke the fires a bit more?  Well check out this rumor:  Both The National and freakin' Modest Mouse plan to open on portions of the '08 tour!  Talk about trying to get your street cred back...

Keep reading for a production clip inside a LES wine shop, as well as the full track list for Accelerate, if you haven't caught it yet.

Picture Us Rollin' in Tupac's '96 Hummer

We're easy our way back into the work week at SS, so posts will be slow but steady.  But to lead things off, we've got the perfect eBay auction to blow grandma's Christmas money on.  This is, if your Grandma is in the habit of filling your stocking with 200K.

via Jalopnik:

"The '96 Hummer H1 owned at one time by rapper Tupac Shakur is now up for auction on eBay for the bargain basement price of just $200,000."

Apparently the Shakurs are unloading this beauty because of impending bankruptcy.  Bankruptcy?  Hasn't Tupac had like 7 #1 albums since he actually found out of there's a "Ghetto in Heaven?" 

Cat Power Digging Wells for Charity

Many times when we read about a celebrity doing charity work, it's the result of some scandal, arrest or public image setback.  And even when it is totally altruistic, the good deeds often amount to financial donations, the attending of benefits or other non-labor-intensive activities.  So it was refreshing to see Chan Marshall, better known to music peeps as Cat Power, getting her hands dirty this holiday season.

On Christmas Day the singer will embark on a three week "tour" to impoverished nations like Kenya and Ethiopia to promote better sanitation and hygiene by maintaining old wells and searching for new ones.  After that, its back to the States for a six-date tour in support of her new covers disc, Jukebox, due on January 22.

Lily Allen is Pregnant

Perhaps we should have taken the success of Knocked Up as a sign of the times, but doesn't it seem like everyone is going preggers lately?  J Lo, the Spears girls, Jessica Alba and now - another gal officially off the SS date list - Lily Allen is pregnant with her first child, by boyfriend Ed Simmons of the Chemical Brothers.

Despite her occasional drunken mishaps, (she is only 22, after all) we actually think Allen should make a tip-top mum, compared to this week's other mom-to-be, Britney's 16-year-old sister Jamie Lynn.  Though to be fair, a well-trained monkey would probably have better parenting skills than a teenage Spears.  Either way, congrats to Lily! 

Cold War Kids Offer Free Download

If you called out sick today hoping to enjoy (avoid) the coming slushy wonderland, perhaps you're spending your morning trolling for some suitable iPod tunage.  If so, here's your first stop: RCRD is giving away two mp3s a day from Cold War Kids' out of print Mulberry Street EP right here.  Enjoy - and bring a scarf.

Brooklyn Record Shopping

Another great map from the dudes at Gridskipper: If you're not into the whole Thanksgiving thing, and would rather spend the week trolling for "deleted Smiths singles and original, not rereleased, Frank Zappa albums"...Well first we'd like to invite you to our place for dinner, but otherwise you can check out the five best record stores in Brooklyn.

Sunday Surf

My Bloody Valentine makes it official, new album due this year?

Springsteen defends Yank's departed skip at NYC benefit

John Mayer blogs his food, eats like a pig

Ryan Adams is a (Cowboy) Junkie, joins Natalie Merchant on 20th anniversary release

The Replacements get wordy with All Over But the Shouting

Strike gets Duran Duran's Broadway debut the hook

Jay-Z gives Radiohead a big tip, scores points with the indie kids

The Killers aim too high yet again, court Elton John

Radiohead repackages catalog, targets computer geeks, keeps on being awesome

Steve Martin Gets Hitched

Steve Martin got married over the weekend and we've been looking for way to musically commemorate the occasion without resorting to the old standby of King Tut.  Try this one on for size:

"The New Show" was produced by Lorne Michaels and some of the other original SNL and SCTV creators. This was the opening sketch to the first episode.  King Tut it ain't, but it's a long way from Cheaper By The Dozen 2. 

Paul Westerberg: One-third of the Way to Being 80% Better

A pretty gruesome hand injury has kept our boy Paul Westerberg out of commission in 2007, but June 16th found him back on stage in Saint Paul, Minnesota for a concert series sponsored by local radio station 89.3 called "The Current Fakebook."  Paul sat in on drums for a bit, then picked up the guitar for "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" from My Fair Lady.  OK - It ain't "Can't Hardly Wait," but it's good to see the guy back on stage.

Westerberg spoke about his recovery briefly, saying he's "One-third of the way to being 80% better."  (Doctors say he will regain 80% use of his hand, over the course of 18 months.)

In recording news, Westerberg also pointed out that he recently submitted 60 songs to his manager, but hasn't figured out what to do with them yet.   He's also had offers from Universal and Sony to start his own label, but declined. 

"I'm busy learning how to play guitar," he concluded. "It's like I'm 15 again. It's attached to my hip. I'm playing cleaner and my rhythm is better because I can't do as much with my left hand."

Ted Leo Needs a Job

And we thought Isaac Brock was good in "Dashboard."

We know that even our favorite indie rockers don't always rake in the cash, no matter how super fantastic they might be.  So, although this hilarious "job interview" over at AOL is just a clever way to pimp Ted Leo's Living with the Living disc, this dude can seriously hold his own.  Something to think about Ted.  Hell, if Dave Matthews was on House, how about a guest stint as Michael Scott's new assistant?

Head over here for some additional live performances of tracks including "Who Do You Love" and "Bleeding Powers."

The Arcade (back)Fire

Blogger backlash is as reliable as gravity, so EW had a neat idea for a contest today: Find the biggest Arcade Fire dis, win a prize!

UPDATE: And we have a winner!