I first started reading Interview Magazine’s new Q&A between Morrissey and his longtime friend/collaborator Linder Sterling with a notepad nearby, ready to jot down a few inevitably brilliant quotes. Three exchanges in, however, and the page was full, as this interview is not only an unrelenting quote machine, but also the most inspiring read of the day at worst and the Holy Bible of art-related conversation at best.

We’re more than two months out from hearing Laundromat Records’ Sing Me to Sleep, a charity compilation of lullabies and other songs, but the Mystic, CT based indie label is offering up a preview of the forthcoming covers project in the meantime. Currently streaming on their online radio page is Stars’ rendition of the Smiths’ “Asleep,” the B-side to their 1985 hit single “The Boy With the Thorn In His Side,” as well as other well-chosen cover songs, including Dean & Britta’s take on the Cure’s “Friday I’m in Love” from a separate tribute album that came out in January.

It’s no wonder they’ve chosen Stars’ cover as a preview for this compilation: Amy Millan’s dreamy and forlorn lead vocal pretty much hits the indie pseudo-lullaby vibe on the head with her reverb-drenched take on Morrissey’s original. Notably absent are the Smiths’ faux-wind sound effects.

All proceeds go to children’s health care charity The Valerie Fund, so pre-order here, grab a cup of chamomile tea, and stream away here (Stars are track #17).

Morrissey’s recent trend of generously allowing songs from his back catalog to be used for good causes continues: Earlier this month, we reported that Moz gave a remix to his song “When Last I Spoke to Carol” to Rosario Dawson’s Latino census campaign, Be Counted: Represent, and now the famously vegan frontman has lent one of his most famous songs to Four Paws, an international animal welfare organization.

As part of their “Rabbits out of the cages!” campaign, Four Paws have created a video, endearing us to the cause of factory-farmed rabbits with cute animated rabbits and Morrissey’s “Everyday Is Like Sunday” soundtrack (watch/listen below).

Morrissey, Mos Def, Pitbull, Rodrigo y Gabriela, and 21 other artists/bands have contributed songs to the Be Counted: Represent! campaign, an effort to encourage Latino participation in the 2010 U.S. Census by nonprofit Voto Latino, a non-partisan organization co-founded by actress Rosario Dawson.

“Based on the results of the census,” Dawson writes, “the federal government will allocate more than $400 billion in funds for hospitals, schools, job-training centers and public works projects.”

In exchange for making a pledge to fill out the 2010 U.S. Census form (not available online), Voto Latino is offering free downloads (via iTunes) of Toy Selectah’s remix of “When Last I Spoke to Carol” from Morrissey’s Years of Refusal, as well as two dozen other tracks. Check out the full track list below:

It makes sense that the self-proclaimed “custodians of twentieth-century Modernist poetry” would pen an open letter to Morrissey, persuading begging Moz to let them publish his much-anticipated autobiography, I suppose. After all, if “history demands it” and “destiny commands it,” as they say, publishing house Faber & Faber must know what they’re talking about.

To be fair, parts of Lee Blackstone’s (nice publisher name!) plea are a bit tongue-in-cheek, but the overall sentiment of “pretty please give us your most coveted memoirs” rings honest and true.

As Slicing Up Eyeballs duly notes, the memoirs du Moz are, in fact, in the works, as he told the BBC (via NY Times) a few years back that he had begun work on the project to set “the record straight” about the many “really silly and really extreme” misquotes attributed to the former Smiths singer over the years.

Who knows if this sure to be brilliant book will ever see the light of day, but here’s hoping Morrissey decides to respond to this letter publicly, amusingly (as always), and soon.

The Manchester District Music Archive has uncovered the first ever known Smiths live review (see below), from the City Fun fanzine, of the second Smiths gig ever (and first with their classic lineup) at Manchester’s Manhattan Sound. You could pull any number of quotes from this fascinating artifact for Smiths fans and music nerds historians to enjoy, but my personal favorite is this bit at the end, which refers to the band’s 23-year-old frontman: “If the boy’s head is anything to go by, The Smiths are going to be B-I-G.” Well played, indeed.

Check out this awesome document below, via Manchester District Music Archive, and for more info on this show, as well as a brilliant archive of Smiths live info, visit Passions Just Like Mine. (Thanks for the tip, George!)

So you probably heard about Rage Against the Machine’s recent campaign to dethrone “X Factor”/”American Idol” eye-roller Simon Cowell from his Christmastime pop charts kingdom by starting a Facebook group rallying fans to purchase “Killing in the Name” the same week Cowell hoped for Joe McElderry to wake up with a number one single under the tree. Well, they succeeded(?) with their “Anarchy Christmas Miracle,” and now a group of Smiths fans have launched a chart-topping coup attempt of their own.

“Celebrate [the] 25th Anniversary of Meat is Murder by making “How Soon Is Now?” UK No.1 [on] February 11,” proclaims their Facebook group, adding later, “Let’s put real music back in the headlines and celebrate one of the UK’s greatest bands ever.”

Spent most of last night/this morning trying to get confirmation on today’s tragic Chris Feinstein news, so we didn’t get a chance to mention a few other stories from the queue…

• Today in industry news: Capitol Records sued Vimeo over lip dubs (like this one), the CRIA found an indie record store to put out of business, and Biden held a one-sided debate over piracy with corporate media executives. Ugh.
• On that note, Morrissey celebrated his freedom from label UMG by ranting about the music industry and calling his latest compilation Swords a “meek disaster.”
• Ex-Sex Pistol John Lydon told BBC 6 that Radiohead and Coldplay are “tosh” and only care “about lining their coffers.” Oh well, the man’s got a PiL reunion to promote, I suppose.
• And to end this sad day on a happier note: Phoenix frontman Thomas Mars and director Sofia Coppola are expecting their second child. Congrats!