Bob Dylan has granted a rare televised interview about his lyrics and themes. The fine print: it's a very short interview, with a talking computer, in an ad for IBM. (News Cut)

https://youtu.be/pwh1INne97Q

Yoko Ono gathered over 2,000 people in New York's Central Park to honor John Lennon's upcoming 75th birthday. That made for a pretty big peace sign, but it fell substantially short of Ono's hope to break the world record. That's held by a 2009 human peace sign that 5,814 people created in Ithaca, New York. (CBC)

Paul McCartney has released a remix of his hit Michael Jackson collaboration "Say Say Say," complete with new video. The remix appears on the new deluxe edition of McCartney's 1983 album Pipes of Peace. (Rolling Stone)

David Bowie's new song "Blackstar," created for the opening credits of the British crime drama series The Last Panthers, can now be heard—at least, the minute of the song that appears in the credits. (Billboard)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=47&v=b6J44zGDb6g

Rihanna has sparked controversy for defending Rachel Dolezal, the former president of the Spokane NAACP whose parents revealed that contrary to her assertions, she is not of African-American descent. "I think she was a bit of a hero, because she kind of flipped on society a little bit,” Rihanna told Vanity Fair. “Is it such a horrible thing that she pretended to be black? Black is a great thing, and I think she legit changed people’s perspective a bit and woke people up.” (New York Times)

Gawker has acquired security footage of the San Francisco security check during which Morrissey alleges he was inappropriately groped—so you can now decide for yourself whether you think the screening officer went too far. The TSA denies any wrongdoing.

Former AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd has lost an appeal, meaning he can't avoid serving eight months' home detention in New Zealand for threatening murder and possessing illegal drugs. (Billboard)

A Kurt Cobain demo called "Sappy" has been released; the song, which would eventually evolve into Nirvana's "Verse Chorus Verse," will be included in the forthcoming Montage of Heck soundtrack. (Billboard)

Courtney Barnett announced plans to release a two-sided single produced by Jack White. The A-side is a new Barnett song called "Boxing Day Blues Revisited" (a follow-up to her earlier "Boxing Day Blues"). The B-side, "Shivers" is a cover of a 1979 song by the Boys Next Door. The single comes out on Oct. 16. (Billboard)

A new children's book uses clay figures of Iggy Pop and the Clash to teach kids What Is Punk? (Dangerous Minds)

Wayne Coyne's first-ever visual art exhibit has opened at the Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. King's Mouth invites viewers to lie on their backs inside a floor-to-ceiling silver head, where you can watch flashing lights and listen to Flaming Lips music. (Billboard)

The "Britney Bill" is moving towards passage in the New Jersey state legislature. The law, named for Britney Spears, exempts artists from having to pay state income tax if they play at least four nights in Atlantic City. (Billboard)

What do you get when you mash-up Kanye West with Weezer? Yeezer, of course. (Billboard)