the listenerd

*The music recommendation site The Filter has taken $5M in funding, with Peter Gabriel leading the investment round. They’re hoping it’ll eventually recommend much more than just music. Fund this: a recommendation engine to recommend which recommendation engine I should be using.
*Nokia’s music store, an “iTunes competitor,” will launch in Europe this month. They’ll also be introducing a new music-playing phone, the N81. [via]
*Peefork interviews Okkervil River, who speak on John Berryman and American Idol.
*EA Games is adding a feature, powered by the Weather Channel, that will integrate real-world weather into virtual games. It’ll be added to next year’s Madden, too. I’ve heard this is either happening or will happen with some Wii games and World of Warcraft, as well. [via]
*The musico-comedy vast multitudes have voted most fun to send clips of to me via IM (especially Bowie dream sequence clips or John Hodgman-filled clips), Flight of the Conchords, has been renewed by HBO. It was in doubt for a while. David Milch non-cursefest, John from Cincinnati is OUT. [via]
*Also, 17.2 million people watched “High School Musical 2″ when it aired on Friday night. An incredible amount. Huh.
*Car brands, including Toyota’s Scion, are launching their own internet radio stations. Hope they’re better than Bud.tv. Watch out, SomaFM.