...is still a massive chumpasaurus.

The proof, courtesy of Rolling Stone, which is rarely either:

How did you get hooked up with Body of War?

I've done some shows in Australia with Tom, and I should imagine that it was that way around when they found out I was coming, I'm sure he may have well have said to the organizers "You should speak to Billy," because he had been on [tour] and heard me singing anti-war songs that have come off the new album, so I think that's probably how it came about.

Do you feel like you accomplished what you set out to accomplish

Yeah, I think so, because what we're setting out to accomplish is to give a voice to those veterans who have actually been to the war and have come back. It's all very well for us debating in home. The only way we're really going to find out what it's like and what it means and how it affects people is if we listen to what soldiers have got to say. Most of them will tell you that it's a totally dehumanizing experience, and I think anything that you can do to help get that voice out is worth doing.

Did you get to speak much with the film's subject, Tomas Young?

I did, and he's a truly remarkable young man, and very brave for saying the things he's saying. Somehow it's thought that what these soldiers are saying is unpatriotic, but I'm afraid it's reality. Patriotism is a construct, and "My country right or wrong" is not a rational position. You have to respect, and I do respect, the people who go and do a difficult job like that, and so you have to hear what they have to say.

Do you feel we're in the middle of a protest song renaissance? Or did it never go away for you?

It never went away for me, I think. People are very fond of comparing the political songwriting that sprung from the Vietnam War to the political songwriting that has sprung from the Iraq War, and tell you that people don't care anymore about these issues, because there isn't a huge body of anti-war protest songs and they're not there in the way that those songs were back in '68. Well, there's a simple answer to that: Bring back conscription, and trust me, young people will start writing anti-war songs. That's the real big difference between Vietnam and now. It was conscription that drove the anti-war movement, not rock bands. Rock bands just reflected the way that people were feeling.

Bands who would not normally be considered political are writing anti-war songs. Do you think that young people feel an obligation to speak out, or are they just writing what they feel?

Whatever we're doing in the creative sphere, we all of us live in the shadow of 9/11, and we can't ignore that. And there have been some incredible artistic responses to it. In my field, I think that Springsteen's album The Rising was an incredibly articulate response to the events of Sepember 11. And I think that's why bands that happen to write about it. It's like desert sand, it gets into everything. And unfortunately, 9/11 does that.

What's the buzz in the UK about the American election?

I think there is a lot of excitement, because what we want from an American election is participation. We find it very hard to take lectures from you guys about democracy when only 40 percent of Americans vote in elections. An American election where more than 50 percent of the people vote, maybe 60 percent, possibly even 70 percent of the people vote, will be something that we would feel very pleased about, because the last two elections haven't really resolved the issue about what is America going to be like in the 21st century. I think that in the potential three candidates, there could well be a possibility of articulating a fresh idea about what America is, and that's why I think Obama is the most tantalizing. Not because he's a black man, but because he represents a new generation. He represents someone outside of the muddy politics of the 20th century. I think you need is that generational change now that we have with Blair, and Obama represents that.

You wrote an op-ed in the New York Times over the weekend that discussed your quest to get social networking sites like MySpace and the recently sold BeBo to pay artists royalty fees. One thing I did want to ask you: Do you think we're too far down the rabbit hole on free music? Are people too used to getting it for nothing?

No, I don't think that at all. Approach it from the other way, from the position of an artist. How does an artist get some sort of reward for their contribution to a business like Bebo? Now, we can charge the users at that end, or we can talk to the businessmen. How do we get recompense from radio stations? We don't charge the listeners. We charge the business. So I think before we start beating up on our audiences, which is never a good idea in my experience, we really should be looking at where the money is and where the money is going. And that's why the experience with Michael Birch gave me cause to write that article. I didn't have an account on Bebo, I didn't use Bebo. The 12 Billy Braggs on Bebo are either fans who are propagating my music or frauds who are impersonating me. The internet propagates our music in the same way that radio propagates our music, but our revenue doesn't come from the user end. It comes from the business end. I think it's more fruitful for us to look there.

So you don't endorse going after downloaders?

I've never really felt comfortable about that. It's something that I did in a different way with a reel-to-reel tape machine and the record collections of my best friends' elder sisters. That's how I got my first music. Consequently, I must have bought those albums a dozen times. Berry Gordy got his bloody money, let me tell you. But the point is, that was how I got into music. It was free, and it was there, and it was what hooked me in. If someone had knocked on the door and busted my door down and impounded my tape machine, then I would have gone off and done something else.

But there is an argument that the publicity those sites provide is an even exchange for bands.

You set up something like Bebo, where ostensibly, it's a free exchange of service. You put your stuff on there for free, they don't charge you to put it on there, and you get free publicity. And that seems like a fair exchange, you're both getting something out of it. Then all of a sudden, somebody walks away with $850 million, and you think about, you think, "Wait a minute, what happened here? Have I been exploited?" Once that's happened, I think people will give it a little bit more thought about the dynamics of this relationship and what's actually going on here.

Do you think it's an option for bands to walk away, or have those sites replaced radio as a way to get exposure?

They're a good tool. And the Internet offers a lot of potential for artists in the way that radio and other media does. There are gatekeepers. I think it's got to be a fair environment where your contribution to their business is recognized in some way, through some form of royalty, rather than just putting out the idea "It's all free, isn't it lovely, come on in," and then all of a sudden one day you hear a loud "Kaching!" Someone hits the jackpot and walks away. I think there's got to be a more equitable way of running the internet sites.

Do you think record companies are at fault?

I don't think that the record companies are in the best position to represent us. They are, in some ways, already drifting away from taking on the issues that we're really concerned about. They don't seem to be really going in and representing us at the highest level with the force that perhaps they should. We artists need to organize and have a voice, and I don't just mean people like myself. I mean all the way down to the kids who are about to post their first song on the internet today.

So what would be considered a victory for you?

We need to get people to recognize that it's content that is driving the popularity, and it's popularity that's creating business. So somehow, within that notion, we need to be able to open up revenue streams that allow young artists to make a living. Not make a million dollars, but make a living, doing what they would love to do. I mean, that's the ultimate definition of success, to be able to do what you want to do and get paid for it. It doesn't have to be millions of dollars, but to make a living doing it, and I want more people to be able to share in that success that I'm fortunate enough to do for the last 25 years. And I worry that we are, as artists, we're throwing away those rights in the naïve believe that what's being done on the internet is just a fair exchange of free services, but it's not, actually. There is monetizing going on there.

What do you make of musicians who turn to advertising to get exposure?

In the old days, we were pretty stuffy about that. But in the old days, we had lots of revenue sources. These days, where those revenues sources have dried up, you're going to have to start to accept that that's how some bands fund their albums, and I'll be sorry to see bands having to go cap in hand to Madison Avenue in order to fund records. But if that's the choice that they have to make, there's no point in me standing on the sidelines and saying "Sellout, sellout." That's unfortunately part of the new reality. People are looking for new revenue streams, and my argument with Bebo is part of that huge tectonic shift, and there are people who are out there saying "Forget it, it's over. It's all going to be free from now on." I think that we have to draw the line somewhere. But please don't think that I'm against the wave or I'm against the internet or against Web 2.0. I'm in favor of all these things. I'm just campaigning for recognition of what content providers are supplying to business.

Your thoughts about the Internet seem to line up with your thoughts on patriotism — it's not simply a black and white issue for you.

No, not at all. It's neither a good thing nor a bad thing. It has incredible potential for artists to reach their audiences, but it also has incredible potential for artists to be exploited against their will. What I want is for artists to be able to exploit their talents and their content on their terms. If not on their terms, then on equal terms with the business, and that's what we don't have yet. The old safeguards are no longer really up to speed.

Umm, remember how we said you and some of your friends were part of the 1994 assault/shooting of Tupac Shakur that directly/indirectly led to the destructive east coast/west coast feud in the '90s that directly led to the murders of both Tupac and your best friend, the Notorious B.I.G.? Well... You weren't. SORRY! Signed, the L.A. Times.

Shortly after Sheryl Crow told reporters that she was about to basically be the new Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac, Mac comptroller Lindsey Buckingham comes along to say: stop thinking about tomorrow, Ms. Crow. Apparently, it's a big maybe, but "nothing is written in stone." He don't bring her anything but down.

Duran Duran's latest reunion tour isn't going so well.

Excellent, long interview with Keith Richards (doing his best Keith Richards impression) from GQ. Warning: it starts getting really objectionable on page 6 (of 14!).

The new R.E.M. album, Accelerate, is the best record they've made since 1992—at least. It sounds vital, young, energized, original, and most of all, very right now. It comes out April 1. You can hear the whole thing now, right cheer.

If you've always kind of hated and been grossed out by Courtney Love but never quite fully understood why, click here to check out this (illegally?) recorded phone call (on a "really secure line") between her and the controversial lawyer/"negotiator"/fixer Anthony "let's f*** him up" Pellicano, in which she tries to get her then-boyfriend some help with his impending divorce/custody case, her treacherous assistant, and her totally gross life. 24 minutes long. Enjoy, if that's the word.

Pete Wentz, lead singer for the emo popsters Fall Out Boy, told MTV that he once tried to commit suicide by necking a handful of Ativan in the parking lot of a Best Buy store.

There's nothing more to say about that.

The headline is so good you almost want to just leave it alone. But the punchline "Rumor has it she mistook him for Pete Doherty" was too good to pass up!

Kate Moss and her boyfriend, Kills singer Jamie Hince, have been told off by police for dancing on the grave of Doors singer Jim Morrison.

The pair visited Morrison's grave at Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris and were let in by security guards after the shrine had closed.

A source told the Daily Star. "The security guard who let them in was reprimanded and a giggling Kate and Jamie were told off.

"It was hilarious and they left to get ready for Jamie's concert with his band The Kills still laughing and singing the main refrain from 'Alabama Song'."

Moss was recently banned from joining Hince on stage because his Kills bandmate Alison Mosshart felt Moss's presence would ruin their credibility.

Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States of America (for 306 more days) From CMT:

In his final appearance at the Gridiron Dinner in Washington, President George W. Bush tipped his Stetson to country music by singing a parody of Curly Putman's "Green, Green Grass of Home," a 1965 Top 5 hit for Porter Wagoner. The Gridiron Club, founded in 1885, is Washington's oldest journalistic organization. The annual dinner features a series of skits and musical numbers aimed at showing the lighter side of politics. Although Saturday's (March 8) Gridiron high jinks were supposed to be confidential, various guests recorded fragments of the chief executive's warbling on their phone cameras and posted them all over the Internet. Among his lyrical sallies: "I spend my days clearing brush/I clear my head of all the fuss/Like the fuss you made over Harriet and Brownie/Down the lane I look and here comes Scooter/Finally free of the prosecutor/It's good to touch the brown, brown grass of home."

Perhaps you didn't hear me. I said: NEW PORTISHEAD VIDEO!!! Stereogum's got it.

Or are they just trying to convince their great-grandkids that they've heard of someone who makes music today? I suppose it's possible they're just offering useful advice about the hell of drugs (not taking them, per se, but being known for taking them)... Will she take it, however? No, no, not bloody likely. Would you?

Courtesy of our pals at CMT:

Carrie Underwood will be formally inducted as a Grand Ole Opry member during the May 10 performance of the long-running radio show. The American Idol winner received the invitation from Opry member Randy Travis during Saturday night's (March 15) show after she sang Travis' "I Told You So," a song she recorded and released on her Carnival Ride album. In accepting the invitation, Underwood said, "This is one of the best nights of my life, and it's certainly something I'll never forget. And I'm glad each and every one of you were here to share it with me. This has been absolutely amazing." Underwood made her first Opry appearance on June 10, 2005, just two weeks after winning the American Idol competition.

Well, maybe not Harry himself, but his fiendishly subversive music! At least that's what China says, following officials' decision to censor the comely, aging piano tunesmith when he played a show in Shanghai last week.

"Due to circumstances beyond my control, I was not able to give my fans in China the show I intended," Connick said in a statement.

J.Q. Whitcomb, a musician living in Shanghai, said the concert mostly featured Connick playing piano by himself, with the band sitting on stage doing nothing.

"Other people there said, 'Wow, that was pretty mellow,'" he said.

Embarrassed last week by Icelandic singer Bjork shouting "Tibet!" at the end of a Shanghai concert, Chinese authorities have promised to be stricter on foreign performers. The Culture Ministry said last week that Bjork's outburst in support of Tibet's independence movement "broke Chinese law and hurt Chinese people's feelings."

"Foreign artistic troupes and artists should voluntarily observe relevant laws and regulations of China when they come to perform on the Chinese soil," Vice Minister of Culture Zhou Heping said of the incident in a media conference Thursday.

Foreign performers have faced restrictions before in China. The Rolling Stones were censored in their China debut in 2006, most likely for their songs' suggestive lyrics. "Brown Sugar," "Honky Tonk Woman," "Beast of Burden," and "Let's Spend the Night Together" were banned from the concert.

"It's actually really easygoing here," said Whitcomb of the Shanghai performance environment. "But when something happens, (Chinese authorities) are like, 'Oh, we have to be strict about this,' and then suddenly everything gets strangled in red tape for some amount of time. Then it will pass."

No word on what Connick numbers drew the censors' ire, but I'm willing to bet it was "It Had to Be Mao," or possibly "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off (And By 'Thing' I Mean Communism)," or just maybe "Don't Get Around Mu-China More."

OK, enough!

Trent Reznor must be smiling, for a change.

Via Billboard:

The online release of the new Nine Inch Nails album "Ghosts I-IV" resulted in just under 800,000 transactions in its first week, totaling $1.6 million in revenue, the band revealed.

Orders include free and paid downloads, as well as online orders for physical products like various limited-edition vinyl releases, CDs, and a dual-CD box set. NIN will not release traditional sales figures to SoundScan.

The $10 dual-CD set is scheduled for release in Australia and Japan on April 5, in the U.K. and the rest of Europe April 7, and in North America on April 8.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Terrence "Hard Out Here For a Pimp" Howard! Or, as he would like to be known, Terrence Howard Presents Me and the Band of Kings.

Janet Jackson, whose body shape has changed a lot over the years, but who was basically always pretty foxy (even when she was slightly heavier than she was at all those other times when she was doing nude modeling on magazine covers), and despite the increasing appearance of desperation in the arena of personal attractiveness has "written" a book about weight loss. She oughtta do a book about how to ruin your incredible looks with facelifts and breast implants. Also, rumor has it she used to make records, not to put too fine a point on anything. (Courtesy Idolator)

The story of a popular men's magazine (ugh) reviewing a new album by the Black Crowes (ugh) WITHOUT EVEN LISTENING TO IT (ugh) just won't go away. Now Crowes' manager Pete Angelus gives a (pretty interesting) interview to Entertainment Weekly outlining his and the band's continued objection to the story, and their insistence that "it wasn't a crusade. What we did was ask a question, and it was a fair one: How do you review and rate an album you haven't heard?"

Fair question, indeed.