Well, this answers a few questions I had, certainly:

Karl Rove writes to Moby

Moby recently told Politico.com about how his mom once gave a baby up for adoption and he therefore has a half-brother somewhere. “I jokingly said, ‘Maybe it’s Karl Rove,’” Moby said. After the story appeared online, Moby said he received a letter from the White House:

“The envelope looked as if it was from 1952,” he said. The letter was from Rove and said, “Dear Moby (or is that Mr. Moby), It’s not me. I have no musical ability and am 19 years older (assuming you’re 37). So you can breathe easier. On the other hand, James Carville is musically inclined and bald, too. Do you like crawfish etouffee?” Moby, a liberal vegan, wrote us, “Needless to say I was a bit stunned. A letter from President Bush’s brain? The man without whom [Bush] would be doing the alligator on the floor of a Hooters in Biloxi? I was also a bit stunned because the letter was funny.”

Glad to see Rove has enough time on his hands to send mail to popstars. Then again, any time spent on this, that’s time he isn’t plotting another war or stolen election, right?

Because even though you might be a rock guitar god, you still gotta hit those books:

Queen star finishes PhD thesis after 30 years

After more than 30 years which he spent as a member of one of the world’s most successful bands, Queen guitarist Brian May has finally finished his PhD thesis which he began as a student in the 1970s, The Times reported on Thursday.

May worked on the PhD between 1971 and 1974, and kept all his hand-written notes on the subject through the years, finally discovering them in his loft recently.

a day that broke up your mind?

Yeah they’re old and all, but what we’ve seen of this is very good indeed.

It’s just that demon life thats got me in its sway…

Mindblowing fact of the day: Pink Floyd was recording their landmark album “Piper at the Gates of Dawn” in the next studio at the same time. Amazing. F’n amazing.

So says filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, speaking of the not really ever released Rolling Stones 1972 tour saga “Cocksucker Blues“. Watched it again last night, and breaking up the tedious footage of drugs, groupies and stoned guitar players are moments of riveting intensity with the band onstage.

From a pounding “Brown Sugar” to a medley with Stevie Wonder of his “Uptight” into “Satisfaction”, the ’72 Stones remain the archetype of a rock and roll band, for good or ill. Watching a black-toothed Keith Richards stumble about from hotel room to dressing room grows tiring within minutes, but toss a guitar on his back, and lead him and Mick Taylor onto a stage, and magic happens.

Essential.

Borrowed LH’s camera while she wasn’t lookin’…

Los Angeles – Mick Jagger reportedly tried to enlarge his penis by letting bees sting it.

The Rolling Stones frontman, whose “small penis” was mocked by a former lover, covered his manhood in bees in the hope that their stings would cause it to swell.

Film director Julien Temple, revealed how the ageing rocker attempted to use the ancient Amazonian marriage ritual while filming scenes for 1982 movie ‘Fitzcarraldo’.

And you thought Keith snorting his dad was the stupidest Stones story you would hear. Ha!

Bo Diddley’s condition much improved

OMAHA, Nebraska (AP) — Four days after suffering a stroke, Bo Diddley walked around the intensive-care unit at Creighton University Medical Center, and doctors were encouraged that the singer-songwriter-guitarist would be able to perform again, his manager said.

The 78-year-old Diddley told his audience that he wasn’t feeling well during a show in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Saturday night. Diddley’s manager, Margo Lewis, said she had the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer taken to the hospital by ambulance when he appeared disoriented at the Omaha airport on Sunday.

Good news for the man who gave us that beat…

Now this should keep the din of snarling cuberats to a dull roar:

Oud, clarinet and percussion. Yeah!

Patti Smith has released an album of covers, ranging from Hendrix to Paul Simon to Tears For Fears (ugh!). Like most records of this sort, its a mixed bag that most likely is intended to keep her name in the public eye while she records new material.

When the record is bad (“Everybody wants to rule the world” or “White Rabbit”), you hit the skip button rather quick. But at its best, such as a swirling “Are You Experienced?” or the front porch hoedown, Dock Boggs-style “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (really!), you want to savor the moment. Recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Patti Smith is a cultural landmark and a passionate American treasure.