by Nicole Rallis

After Mark Ronson’s all-star set at the Défilé Etam Lingerie fashion show in Paris knocked our socks off last week—in which the likes of The Kills, Gossip’s Beth Ditto, Karen Elson, and others rocked the runway—it got us thinking about other innovative designers who are enlisting equally fabulous musicians to showcase the catwalk. Check out four stellar videos, as well as the aforementioned clip as a bonus, that we’ve culled from the Web of Cat Power, Sonic Youth, La Roux, and Björk as they aurally enchant onlookers by soundtracking the creations of Chanel, Alexander McQueen, Marc Jacobs and Viktor & Rolf.

We’ll start with the bad news: Beastie Boy Adam Yauch was diagnosed with cancer of his salivary gland and Parotid gland, forcing the group to cancel their future tour dates and album release. In a video posted on their official site, Yauch joined Adam Horowitz to make the announcement and said that thankfully the prognosis is good, as his cancer is treatable with surgery and radiation. Rolling Stone reports that EMI released the following statement: “Our thoughts, love and prayers are with Adam Yauch, his family and the Beastie Boys. The most important thing is to allow Adam to focus on staying healthy. We wish him all the best and a speedy recovery.” This.

On a much lighter note, check out Papermag’s interview with Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore. There are some great bits, including his love for black metal and praise for the music scene in Williamsburg.

Bob Dylan made a rare television appearance last night, performing his Oscar-winning song “Things Have Changed” at the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony for Michael Douglas. To watch Dylan’s performance, click here. His voice doesn’t sound too good, but I don’t think I’ve seen Dylan’s electric guitar chops quite like this before.

Beth Ditto took a break from her Katy Perry bashing of late to give us this little quote about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs: “Gossip were a band before they were, but they became bigger much quicker. Why? Because Karen O’s conventional beauty is a tool.”

Finally, check out Pitchfork’s interview with Arcade Fire’s Win Butler and Spoon’s Britt Daniel on their respective relationships with Merge Records here.

Sure, Queen’s Brian May says Katy Perry makes him “think of Freddie [Mercury],” but Gossip frontwoman and outspoken LGBT supporter Beth Ditto has been much more critical of Perry, especially of “I Kissed a Girl,” of late. Ditto is promoting her new Rick Rubin-produced record, Music For Men, so that could explain some of the headline-making comments, but she’s made very good points/jabs so far and now the feud is on.

As previously reported, Ditto called Perry’s hit single an “anthem for straight girls who like to turn guys on by making out or faking gay” adding, “I hate Katy Perry! I’m so offended. She’s just riding on the backs of our culture, without having to pay any of the dues and not being actually lesbian or anything at all.”

Then Perry struck back: “I heard that she said something about me,” she said. “I don’t want to get into a slanging war with anybody so I don’t want to say anything bad about her. But I’m not impressed. I’ve learned in the past year that one artist should never insult another artist’s music — it’s tacky.”

Ditto has now reacted by bringing the feud into a broader discussion of gay rights. Here’s what she told Spinner: “To [Katy Perry], it’s just this party song. But as a gay person, it’s like, ‘Oh, of course this straight person singing about kissing a girl goes straight to Top 40 and people buy this record. Who can give a f—- about real gay people?’ That’s what’s really painful about the whole thing. That’s what makes me laugh about ‘I’m not impressed.’ It’s like, ‘Oh, that’s what you think? Of course, because you never thought about what a real gay person feels, and the impact that a song like that has on the gay world in a time of crucial civil rights.’ That’s just one of the examples of what the mainstream is thinking about queer culture, when actually, we are completely fighting for our rights right now.”

There’s more from Ditto here, but you can see where this is headed. So long as Carrie Prejean doesn’t get involved, this could be a fun summer feud. Meanwhile, Perry’s got fashion designers to sue.

Katy Perry’s barsexual anthem “I Kissed a Girl” has been embraced by some in the LBGT community, but others, including Gossip frontwoman Beth Ditto, aren’t so keen on the track’s faux lesbian schtick. In a cover story in this month’s Attitude magazine (via Digital Spy), Ditto sounded off on the pop singer and last year’s big hit song.

“I Kissed a Girl” is an “anthem for straight girls who like to turn guys on by making out or faking gay,” Ditto said.

“I hate Katy Perry! I’m so offended. She’s just riding on the backs of our culture, without having to pay any of the dues and not being actually lesbian or anything at all.”

The Gossip are releasing their new Rick Rubin-produced studio album, Music for Men, on June 22 in the U.S. To stream “Heavy Cross,” the first single, click here.