1. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was arrested in London today on a warrant for sexual assault charges filed by two women in Sweden. He will appear in court later today. Get live updates on the situation here. [via Gawker]
2. Lady Gaga, Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake, Kim Kardashian, and those other celebs who committed “digital death” in the name of raising money for Keep A Child Alive on World AIDS Day, have come back to life thanks to a $500,000 donation from some guy named Stewart Rahr. [via Page Six]
3. DC post-punk legends The Dismemberment Plan will reunite on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon before getting back together for a few shows and an Emergency & I reissue in January. [via P4K]
4. According to FX president John Landgraf, you can’t blame the failure of Terriers on bad marketing. Rather it was the show’s “subtle charm.” [via Deadline]
5. Read Michiko Kakutani’s review of Andrew O’Hagan’s new novel The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog and His Friend Marilyn, which she has written by channeling the voice of Family Guy pooch Brian. [via Vulture]
Bonus link: Rudolph Commits Suicide
Earlier this week a slew of celebrities that included Lady Gaga, Ryan Seacrest, Justin Timberlake, and Alicia Keys sacrificed their “digital lives” in honor of World AIDS Day. The idea was that these web-savvy celebs would refrain from making any Facebook or Twitter updates — apparently, outside of incessant reminders to donate — until their collective fan-base had raised $1,000,000 to “buy their lives back.” As of the end of the day on Wednesday, The Daily What noted that with only a little over $100,000 raised, “the shameful ploy to demand cash from fans in exchange for fatuous tweets appears to have bombed in a rather spectacular fashion.” So are they any closer to hitting their goal almost two days later?
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Ah, Katy Perry: a woman whose mouth is always writing checks her music can’t cash. As Vulture reminds us, the “I Kissed a Girl” promised Rolling Stone that her new song “California Gurls” (which better not be a “September Gurls reference…”) would be Los Angeles’ very own answer to Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ instant classic “Empire State of Mind.” Now that a demo version of the song has made its Internet debut, we’re comparing the two songs to see how Perry’s stacks up. Listen to both and follow along after the jump, as we re-ignite the East Coast/West Coast wars.
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1. Alicia Keys has posted an open call for a “head blogger” to help run her forthcoming girl power site, IAAS.com (I Am A Super Woman). [via TwentyFourBit]
2. How Conan O’Brien went from being a web luddite to picking fights with Justin Bieber on Twitter. [via NYT]
3. Is NBC’s “behavior placement” even more annoying than their product placement? It’s certainly just as obvious. [via WSJ]
4. New York Magazine‘s Approval Matrix feature is becoming a pop-culture TV show on Bravo; we’re imagining something akin to the old Best Week Ever, but smarter. [via NYO]
5. Gang Of Four is giving away vials of their own blood and Sony Walkmans to help raise money to record a new album. [via NME]
1. So this is fun: After they were introduced by mutual friend Alicia Keys, Jack White and Jay-Z have recorded a song together! [via TwentyFourBit]
2. Not at the SXSW Festival? IFC.com is live streaming a ton of panels, interviews, and live performances. [via Pop Candy]
3. Have you read Courtney Love‘s crazy Facebook apology to Billy Corgan? An excerpt: “We have again created beauty from the agony between us, all the buried and unburied anguish, all that is true, that is gold, that is meant to be is within this endless and somehow eternal cycle of Billy & Courtney.” [via Billboard]
4. We’d watch that: Conan O’Brien‘s upcoming 30-city tour, “The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour,” could be the focus of a documentary film. [via Deadline]
5. For reasons that are unclear, Sigourney Weaver is joining the cast of that Amy Heckerling/Alicia Silverstone vampire romantic comedy. Do you think vampire queens get to chainsmoke? [via THR]
Last week, we watched in rapt horror as Haiti succumbed to a devastating 7.0 earthquake. And, if you’re like us, the first question on your mind was, “How can I help?” We trust you’ve already made an initial donation of money or time. But, now that there’s controversy over where exactly the money you donate to Wyclef Jean’s Yele is going, we thought you might be interested know about a variety of other opportunities to combine your concern for Haiti with your arts and pop culture obsessions. After the jump, check out how fans of Lady Gaga, George Clooney and even Team Coco can support relief efforts.
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Stephen Colbert: We’re on to you. We’ve known that you secretly possess musical talent ever since we saw this episode of Strangers With Candy. Then back in 2006, you performed “Charlene (I’m Right Behind You),” a love song you wrote back in the ’80s on The Colbert Report. Since, there have been American songs and a Korean R&B song, duets with Barry Manilow, Tony Bennet, John Legend, and Jon Stewart, and a group spiritual with Malcolm Gladwell during the writer’s strike. More recently, that episode where you covered Elvis Costello while he accompanied you on guitar.
We just had no idea that you could rap. Thank you, Alicia Keys.
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Did you know that Bill Cosby was working on a hip-hop album? While The Cosnarati: State of Emergency is not due out in stores until November 24, you can currently stream the entire thing — which features cameos by Eric Clapton, Alicia Keys, and LL Cool J — on his website now.
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