Deal sisters Slay; Shortlist news; and Black gets busy.

Talkin’ ’bout my heart condition: As we all know by now, Keith Moon wasn’t the only one who took his band’s “hope I die before I get old” literally. Fifty-seven’s no spring chicken, but recently deceased Who bassist John Entwistle helped Dr. Death come along a lot sooner than he might have—his official cause of death has just been certified as a heart attack due to cocaine use. Entwistle reportedly was already taking medication for heart problems, and according to Las Vegas coroner Ron Flud, “Cocaine is a different animal. It’s not like alcohol. There’s no way we can put a number on it. You’ve got a lethal drug on board at the time you have a bad heart; that’s a bad combination.” But at least he died in style: Nothing says rock star like Vegas hotel room, a high-class hooker, and loads of blow. Rest in peace, John. . . . Cover, and ye shall receive: After making Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s TV theme a regular part of their live sets, the Breeders‘ Kim and Kelley Deal have been invited by producers to make cameo appearances on the show. They could be playing two-headed evil beasties, angels, or mere mortals who fill up Sarah Michelle Gellar‘s gas tank, for all we know, but we’re betting it will be worth setting the VCR just for sheer weird- iosity. The sisters, who’ll be releasing the Buffy theme as a bonus track on their upcoming single, “Son of Three,” have, according to their spokesperson, “always acknowledged they watch too much TV.” . . . So we went to Pho Bang last week, after hearing N.Y.C. duo Creme Blush praised up and down. We thoroughly enjoyed the opening Missing Persons-style pop tart locals, the Fitness—but sweet holy Jesus, this electroclash thing has got to STOP. True, we were totally gobsmacked the first time we saw Fischer-Spooner perform, we still love our Miss Kittin & the Hacker record for dancing-in-our-bedroom days, and even

Peaches was a good laugh, but what has it come to? A fuschia net party dress or Members Only jacket, a couple of cheap synths, and some atonal speak-song about cocaine, cars, and Berlin and you think you’ve got yourself a band? No, that’s just shit that wouldn’t have made the cut on Star Search ’86, and a fat coating of irony doesn’t make it go down any easier. . . . Lest you think we’re totally averse to being entertained, know that we nearly lost our panties at the Pier’s Billy Idol show Saturday night, in spite of ourselves. Whatever serums and skin staples he’s been using, Idol looks exactly the same as he did 20 years ago, and through balls-out versions of “Rebel Yell,” “White Wedding,” and “Ready Steady Go,” he was literally fighting off hot twentysomething girls with a stick—security struggled to keep up with the swarm of women who jumped the stage to get their piece; one blonde even succeeded in getting some tongue before she was dragged off. We don’t care what kind of pass頋-Tel dorks this makes us, it was more fun than we’d had all week. . . . The Shortlist Music Project—an American version of the U.K.’s esteemed Mercury Prize—kicked off last year with a bunch of celebrity judges, who selected Sigur Ros as indie band supreme. This year’s nominations aren’t out yet, but members of the judging panel so far include Beck, Mos Def, Kim Gordon, the Strokes’ Albert Hammond Jr. and Nick Valensi (um, that was quick), Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, the Neptunes, and filmmakers Baz Luhrman and Spike Jonze. . . . R.E.M. is heading back into the studio this September to follow up 2001’s Reveal with a tentative mid-2003 release and subsequent world tour. Peter “Terror in the Skies” Buck claims the band is ready to launch a full international tour, after playing only a few select dates to promote Reveal. . . . Surreal

Ozzfest scene report: Andrew W.K. teamed up with telegenic satan spawn Kelly Osbourne for a duet of his song “She Is Beautiful” on a recent tour stop in New Jersey, and now they’re planning to release the track on a festival compilation. . . . Meanwhile, on Aug. 20, Frank Black and the Catholics will release two full-lengths: Black Letter Days and Devil’s Workshop. Why two? Nobody tells us anything. . . . And in the last of our new-releases roundup, the third White Stripes single from White Blood Cells, “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground,” will be released Sept. 2 in the U.K. only (you want it, you’ll have to pay import prices) with two new B-sides—an updated version of “Suzy Lee” and a cover of blues legend Robert Johnson‘s “Stop Breaking Down.” Plus a fancy DVD that will include a video for the single. . . . Alas, not even the promise of Ratt, Dokken, Warrant, and Firehouse in the same room could lure enough fans for a two-night stand at the Showbox; it’s now been cut down to a single August 7 show. Where’s your respect for your elders, people? Apparently, you left it back with your Camaro and your Cherry Pie T-shirt back in 1989 somewhere. . . . Finally, we were sad to hear about the death of Kris Von Oy, who was killed last week when his car hit a light post on West Magnolia Boulevard. Kris, who built and designed Bauhaus Books and Coffee, the Alibi Room, Cafe Paradiso (now Cafe Vita), and the Baltic Room, was 35.