What do a fresh-faced Canadian power-pop foursome and the sexy sex-havin' sexpots of Wisteria Lane want with each other? More than you'd think, that's what!

Today and tomorrow (October 6 and 7), the boys of Tokyo Police Club are hitting the set of ABC's popular suburban satire "Desperate Housewives" to tape both a performance and a little hot Thespian action for a forthcoming episode.

It seems, through some wacky plot contrivance that probably involves lingerie, the men of "Desperate Housewives"-- played by James Denton, Doug Savant, Kyle MacLachlan, Ricardo Antonio Chavira, and Neal McDonough-- have formed a musical act. In an episode set to air sometime in November, their musical act will take all comers in a battle of the bands at a local club. Tokyo Police Club are indeed one of those bands that will be battling.

Get this: Not only will Tokyo Police Club perform in the episode, but will also take on speaking roles. And then get it on with Eva Longoria, as seems to be the case with anybody I ever see on that show. Nice work if you can get it.

In a bit of news that actually makes sense in a rational world, Tokyo Police Club are out on the road at the moment with Weezer.

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Over the weekend at Manchester, England's In the City event, a group of UK artists of note opened their pockets, saw a cartoon fly coming out, and decided to do something about it.

Thus begat the Featured Artists Coalition, a new artist's advocacy group that "campaigns for the protection of performers' and musicians' rights. [Via Billboard.com]

The group's mission statement says, "We want all artists to have more control of their music and a much fairer share of the profits it generates in the digital age. We speak with one voice to help artists strike a new bargain with record companies, digital distributors and others, and are campaigning for specific changes."

More than 60 acts have already signed on, including Radiohead, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd Gang of Four, Klaxons, the Verve and frontman Richard Ashcroft, Chrissie Hynde, Kaiser Chiefs, Travis, the Cribs, Billy Bragg, and Kate Nash.

Wait, Chrissie Hynde? Isn't she from Ohio?

The Coalition will soon begin lobbying for changes in laws that affect the British music industry. Their six-point plan can be found here.

"I've always been schizophrenic musically," Jay Reatard told Nitsuh Abebe in a recent Pitchfork.tv interview. The Memphis rocker's next album may or may not be informed by all the kiwi-pop listening he's been doing lately, but "See/Saw"-- the first A-side from the monthly series of 7" singles collected on his brand-new Matador Singles '08 compilation-- captures Reatard speeding through the Buzzcocks- and the Damned-style punk rock that helped make his name. Flying V guitars are in full effect as Reatard and the rest of his hirsute three-piece make short work of the song in this performance for the Spinner blog show "The Interface", culminating in a boldfaced, Weezer-esque guitar solo played while kneeling on the ground. When it's all done, Reatard declares, "That was a song called 'See/Saw'." Don't blink.

Video:> Jay Reatard: "See/Saw" (Live on "The Interface")
[from the "See/Saw" 7"; out now; also from Matador Singles '08; due 10/07/08 on Matador]

Photo by Kathryn Yu

The Satan Fish on Animal Collective's website has spoken!! And, well, it all came out demonic gobbledygook. Nobody at AC home Domino Records is talking either, so we can't translate the Satan Fish's words into plain English just yet.

But it seems as if Animal Collective maybe have a new album coming out in January? The maybe follow-up to last year's way rad Strawberry Jam LP and this year's Water Curses EP is maybe called Merriweather Post Pavilion? Just like the Maryland venue? Hey, that's confusing! Also: Paul is dead.

As for Animal Collective, they still have their fall tour of semi-exotic places to attend to. That one begins October 11 in Berlin.

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It takes no time at all to pick out the vocal stylings of TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe, Subtle's Adam "Doseone" Drucker, or Mike Patton of Peeping Tom/Faith No More/Tomahawk/I Am Legend/etc.

Each is possessed with an inimitable set of pipes and a willingness to mix subtlety (no pun intended) and balls-to-the-wall fury when the occasion calls for it.

One can only imagine what kind of howls and growls await us on a new project the three are working up, which Adebimpe mentioned in an interview with the Onion's AV Club. The TVOTR frontman told the paper that he, Drucker, and Patton are "working on a project that I'm thinking will congeal toward the end of the year. It came from an idea that Adam had, to have the three of us just, basically, mess around vocally and see what comes of it."

No other info about the project is available right now, though it has been confirmed as being in the works. I hope, at the very least, it involves a cover of "Don't Worry Be Happy".

The AV Club reminds us that fans waiting to hear the three spit together could play a little six degrees of salivation at home if they so chose: Tunde shows up on Subtle's Yell & Ice, and Doseone showed up on Peeping Tom's self-titled affair back in 2006. Still, the prospect of the three coming together on record is like one of those Yngwie Malmsteen/Steve Vai/Joe Satriani superjams, minus the old man smell.

In other news from this bunch, TVOTR's amazing Dear Science is out now, and their full fall tour kicks off shortly. Subtle hit the road in November with a new remix record under their many arms. And Mike Patton is co-curating that Nightmare Before Christmas ATP with the Melvins.

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