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Details are thus far pretty sketchy, but nearly every news agency in the world is reporting tonight that PAUL WELLER has been arrested on charges of rape. The charges stem from an incident four years ago, and little other information is currently available. The UK superstar was released shortly after booking. We'll bring you more details as they become available.

THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH have run into trouble during their US tour. According to a story this morning on NME, the band have lost co-vocalist Jacqueline Abbott for the remainder of the jaunt. The official word at this point is that Abbott had to cancel her role in the tour for "personal reasons." It's to be assumed that this doesn't impact her role in the band - just on this tour. This will be the second time that Abbott has missed out on a US tour - during the band's last trek through the States, she was pregnant and unable to fly.

THE CHAMELEONS have announced details of their first U.S. shows in nearly fifteen years. The band will play at the Troubador in L.A. on November 24th and the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on November 26th.

RADIOHEAD, after their "interesting" stint on Saturday Night Live this weekend, are playing in Toronto tonight, and the audio from the show will be webcast via VirtueCast.Com. The band's Los Angeles appearance on October 20th will be webcast via the band's official site, www.radiohead.com.

     Okay, Kid A. We've all got it by now, right?

     Kinda perplexing, isn't it. Kinda frustrating. Kinda unreal.

     It's fascinating to watch as the mainstream public on both sides of the Atlantic flock to the album in droves. It's even more fascinating to realize just how much of an Emperor's New Clothes situation we have here. While we all have our various degrees of Radiohead Appreciation (Tm.) -- "maudlin hacks" to "impassioned geniuses" -- I think a reasonable person can see that the band has dropped the proverbial ball down the proverbial storm-drain and made themselves looked like the proverbial ass.

Not to come across as your home for all things RADIOHEAD, but the media juggernaut surrounding the band right now is reaching manic levels. Almost every single major music website this morning is spotlighting a story on the band, whether it be:

• their #1 U.S.

Well, they did it. In a rather stunning turn of events, our beloved RADIOHEAD currently have the #1 album in the US with "Kid A." In its first week of release, the band shifted over 200,000 units, allowing it to easily slide into the top position on this week's Billboard chart. All that for a record with no singles, no videos, and no normal promotion. Not bad.

Hi, folks. It's been a while. Many, many months since my last column, and I'm not kidding here - I feel pretty bad about that.

So why did I wait so long? I'd made a pact with myself that I'd start forcing myself into writing a new column every month. Hell, Dave Barry can do it every week, so I should have no problem coming up with something every month, right? Well, it didn't quite work according to plan.
If there's one excuse that I can offer for my extended absence, it's been that little to nothing has been going on. I haven't felt that FIRE - you know, those gut-clenching butterflies - that one can ONLY get from hearing a piece of music that defies all boundaries and makes words seem useless... Hell, it's been SO long since a record's moved me like that. I'm hoping - nay, I'm praying - that 2000 has been a pretty lacking year in terms of music... because if it HASN'T been, the only other possible answer is that I've "grown up," and God forbid that.

Gazing about the net, we've found a couple things of interest for everybody this week:

Live Daily is confirming today that PAUL WELLER has cancelled his entire forthcoming North American tour. The reason being lack of funds. All tickets can be refunded at the point of purchase.