*First things first: Pomplamoose's fantastic cover of Lady Gaga's "Telephone":

*Michel Gondry, best known for directing inimitable music videos for everyone from The Rolling Stones to Björk, puts himself on the line by going against the masses, saying that he is "not interested" in Lady Gaga. Gaga's newest release, "Telephone," is the latest in a stream of avant-garde music videos, but Gondry insists it's not his style. "The music to me is very expected," Gondry said in an interview with MovieLine. "I don't think there's anything in the tone or the melody that makes me say, 'Oh, there's something going on' ... But maybe it's considered high art just because of the way she dresses?"

*Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland says that the band members' wives are the reason Velvet Revolver split up. In a new interview with Details, Weiland attributes the downfall of the band to their significant others' involvement in business matters. (And all this time I thought it was the copious amounts of heroin that tore the band apart.)

*The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts Genesis and Iggy Pop and the Stooges. Iggy doesn't let the fact that he is in the Waldorf Astoria deter him from taking his shirt off. (In fact, I don't think Iggy lets anything deter him from taking his shirt off. Phil Collins manages to keep his clothes on, unfortunately.)

*Sony Music signs $250 million deal with the Michael Jackson estate for his entire catalogue and unreleased music. The new agreement keeps MJ on the label until 2017, eight years after his death.

*NBC's prime-time audiences rise after Jay Leno moves from his 10 o'clock spot. This further proves my very personal theory that happiness is wherever Leno is not.

*Film phenomenon Avatar will be milking audiences for all they're worth: Twentieth Century Fox announces that the first DVD release for the film won't include 3-D or special features...but that more extensive DVD editions are planned. Just once, I'd like to buy a movie and not to have to buy the next version of it only a month or two later so I can see all the intricate behind-the-scenes featurettes that were left out the first time around. (You hear me, 17 Again producers?)

*Tonight in City Lights: The Green House at E Street Cinema.

Chris Grier–local journalist, musician, inhuman guitar-abuser, and frequent member of the bands To Live and Shave in LA and Ultimate VAG–has some audible proof of Asheton's greatness over on the Smokemusic.tv. In addition to a brief eulogy, Grier also posted some anecdotes and a few rarely heard songs from Wylde Ratttz sessions for the Velvet Goldmine soundtrack, on which Asheton played guitar. Velvet Goldmine was–for those who weren't paying attention to androgynous glam-rock indie flicks during the 90's–director Todd Haynes' (of I'm Not There fame) movie that was kinda-sorta about Iggy Pop and David Bowie getting it on. Wylde Ratttz were the all-star band formed to stand in for The Stooges that included–in addition to Asheton–Steve Shelley, Thurston Moore, Don Fleming, Mark Arm, and Mike Watt. Needless to say, they were waaaaay tougher than the Thom Yorke-fronted Spiders From Mars stand-ins.

The two tracks posted–"I'm Not Screwing Around" and "Hot Shot"– are pretty smoking and they shoot down any argument that Asheton ever mellowed out.