LYKKE LI covers "Unchained Melody" on Triple-J, via P-Fork.

THE JAYHAWKS played the historic Fitzgerald Theater in Mpls; you can stream the whole gig on demand.

LAURA MARLING the 6th & I Historic Synagogue on Sept. 27; you can now stream the gig on demand.

REAL ESTATE is advance streaming Days.

MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND is advance streaming All Things Will Unwind.

ASOBI SEKSU covers the Jesus & Mary Chain's "Never Understand."

PARENTZ drops "Big," which sounds like an outtake to an 80s movie soundtrack, as a free track.

PINK FLOYD: The 68/69 Pre-FM Recordings.

STARSHIP's "We Built This City" was named the most horrifyingly bad song of the '80s by a landslide vote of Rolling Stone readers. Was it too politically incorrect to vote for "We Are the World"?

20 EIGHTIES VIDEOS that have aged well.

DUM DUM GIRLS frontwoman Kristen Gundred (a/k/a Dee Dee Penny) talks to Straight about the therapeutic value of the new LP.

MATES OF STATE talk to the NYDN about touring with kids, living in Connecticut and more...

SIR PAUL McCARTNEY and American heiress Nancy Shevell were married on Sunday.

MIKEY WELCH, former Weezer bassist who established a second career as a painter, died Saturday of a suspected drug overdose at 40.

THE 50 GREATEST BOOTLEGS, accoding to Uncut.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Real Steel tops the chart with 27.3 million.  That's a bit under studio projections of 30 million and potential trouble for a movie with a 110 million budget -- but Hugh Jackman sells more tickets overseas than in the US.  The Ides of March debuts at No. 2 with 10.4 million, again bleow expectations of 12-14 million. However, the studio should have little trouble profiting on an 18 million production budget.  Dolphin Tale drops to the third slot with 9.1 million, approaching a 49 million total on a 37 million budget.  Moneyball drops to fourth in the standings with 7.5 million, not bad considering the competition from Jackman and Clooney; the Pitt crew is close to breakeven domestically, ensuring a decent profit.  50/50 again rounds out the Top 5 with 5.5 million, with a 17.3 million total so far against an 8 million budget.  Below the fold, the 3-D rerelease of The Lion King plunges to seventh, gutted by the Blu-ray DVD release.

THE IDES OF MARCH was extremely well-acted. How could it not be with a cast that includes Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marissa Tomei, and Ryan Gosling?  But the script was entirely predictable.  The unrelenting cyncism of director/co-producer/co-writer/ George Clooney, co-starring in a role that mashes up Barack Obama and John Edwards (a role not physically present in the play on which the film is based) may be most interesting as a historical document of Hollywood's mood heading into another presidential election cycle.

DEMI MOORE can't forgive Ashton Kutcher for cheating on her with Sara Leal and the marriage is over despite a last-ditch attempt at counseling.

RYAN REYNOLDS & BLAKE LIVELY were making out and "all over each other" before Lively boarded the train for her return trip to NYC after a weekend together.

NAOMI WATTS' longterm boyfriend and baby daddy, Liev Schreiber, has been accused of cheating with a swimsuit model named Phoebe Roberts, according to an Internet report.

JOHNNY DEPP is considering playing Dr. Seuss in an upcoming biopic about the literary giant.

KRISTIN DAVIS adopted a baby girl.

THE SIMPSONS' lead actors are ready to agree to a pay cut to keep the show going, however it won't be as steep as the 45 percent reduction asked for by execs.

TOM CRUISE: Don't call it a comeback?

EGYPT: At least 24 people have been killed and more than 200 wounded in the worst violence since fmr Pres. Mubarak was ousted in February. Clashes broke out after a protest in Cairo against an attack on a church in Aswan province last week which Coptic Christians blame on Muslim radicals.

SYRIA: Russian President Putin urged President al Assad, to reform or leave office - the first time the allies have publicly diverged during Syria's six-month uprising. The most senior officer to defect from Syria's armed forces said there is no option but to topple President al-Assad by force.

IRAN: Ahmadinejad, whose campaign pledge was to combat corruption, is facing a fresh political blow over the biggest financial scandal in Iran's history. Meanwhile, an Iranian student activist has been lashed 74 times for insulting Ahmadinejad.

AfPAK: Afghan president Hamid Karzai said the Taliban "can't move a finger" without Pakistani support. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar said the US is responsible for the security situation in Pakistan.

IRAQ is offering key moral and financial support to Syria's Assad, undermining a central US policy objective and raising fresh concerns that Iraq is drifting further into the orbit of an American arch rival - Iran.

COLUMBUS DAY:  I get it as a holiday, so I thought a few words might be in order. Over the course of my life, I have seen the image of Columbus swing from unvarnished hero to genocidal criminal. Columbus was certainly no sweetheart, but at the end of the 15th Century, it is fair to say that Europeans often did not treat each other all that well. Moreover, before the furriners showed up, Native North and South Americans engaged in tribal massacre, infanticide, scalping, human sacrifice, and the ritual skinning of slaves for their priests to wear. It was a far less civilized time all 'round. But the West is civilized today in part because of Columbus. Some four centuries-plus later, we all are still struggling to become more civilized, but focusing criticism o­n the more-civilized while giving the less civilized a pass is not particularly useful to that struggle.

WHEN A GRIZZLY steps on your face.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: A militant squirrel ran onto the field during both games of the National League Division Series played at Busch Stadium week.

FIVE the ELEPHANT caused a traffic jam after snoozing in the middle of the road at a West Midlands safari park.

MOOSE vs WORM: Who you got?

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

... with BLONDIE! "One Way or Another," they're gonna getcha.  Maybe with the new wavey material like that song or their cover of the Nerves' "Hanging On the Telephone."  Maybe with the Eurodisco sound of "Heart of Glass," "Call Me" or "Rapture."  But for me, it's the pop anthems like "Union City Blue" and "Dreaming," both propelled by the frenetic drumming of Clem Burke, who is clearly a fan of Keith Moon, right down to the pantomiming in that last TOTP clip.

JAMES BLAKE is advance streaming the Enough Thunder EP.

BEIRUT stopped by WFUV's Studio A for a chat and mini-set.

TENNIS did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter.

BATTLES played All Tomorrow's Parties; the entire gig is now streaming on demand.

THE HORRORS played All Tomorrow's Parties; the entire gig is now streaming on demand.

FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE played a Tiny Desk Concert at the offices of NPR.

THE AMERICANA MUSIC AWARDS nominees are a streaming mix at NPR.

FANFARLO drops "Deconstruction," the first track to surface from Fanfarlo's as-yet-untitled second record, due out in February.

COUSTEAU: "The Last Good Day of the Year." Or close to it.

RYAN ADAMS gave a wide-ranging interview to The Sun.

MATES OF STATE: Kori Gardner gave the Baltimore Sun her opinion on high-waisted pants, Justin Beiber and more. (Thx, LHB.)

MICK JONES talked to Sabotage Times about The Clash, Sid Vicious, the recent London riots and more...

BJORK has a five-part interview at Drowned In Sound.

THE BEATLES would have reunited, had tragedy not struck, according to Paul McCartney.

THE HIGHEST CHARTING TV THEMES since 1980.

CUTOUT BIN: From the Knack to Tom Waits, from Jackie Wilson to Fun Boy 3, from REM to Buddy Holly, plus the Lovin' Spoonful, Bob Geldof, Lindsey Buckingham, Dum Dum Girls and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are now streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases are Real Steel, which is currently scoring 57 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and The Ides of March, which is scoring 80 percent.

ASHTON KUTCHER: The details of his wild night of boozing and hot-tubbing with 23-year-old Sara Leal, whose nsfw pics are gfloating around the 'net.

LEO DiCAPRIO & BLAKE LIVELY: What went wrong? And who is Alyce Crawford?

JENNIFER ANISTON tells Elle about the time she threw a chair at a director.

DREW BARRYMORE "is yearning to get married and have kids" with Will Kopelman.

THE SIMPSONS: The End draws nearer.

CHARLES NAPIER, longtime character actor you may have seen on Star Trek, Baretta, Kojak and the Rockford Files, or in the Blues Brothers, Rambo or Philadelphia, died Wednesday afternoon at 75.

IRAN: The families of BBC staff members in Iran say they have been subject to arrest, harassment and intimidation by Iranian officials since the broadcast of a documentary about Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on the British broadcaster's Persian-language service last month.

AfPAK: American officials recently held secret (and separate) meetings with Pakistan's top military official and leaders of the Haqqani network. The Abbottabad commission said that Osama bin Laden's wives and children are allowed to return to their home countires after being questioned.

SCARY WOMAN: A Husky is terrified of Julia Roberts.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT disrupted the Great British Bake-Off (possibly nsfw).

A BEAR broke into a Florida home and made off with a birthday cake. Apparently, there was no pic-a-nic basket.

A CAT goes uncharged in the shooting of a Spartanburg man.

MAYER HAWTHORNE drops a Mr & Mrs Smith-themed video for "The Walk."

CROOKED FINGERS is advance streaming Breaks in the Armor.

STILL CORNERS is advance streaming Creatures Of An Hour.

MEGAFAUN stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

WILD FLAG also stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

ST. VINCENT completes The Current trifecta with a chat and mini-set.

THE CLASH: "London Calling," Live in Paris 1980.

FEIST: The Recovering Pop Artist.

MAGNETIC FIELDS: Stephin Merritt speaks to The Quietus about meditation, musicals and writing new music.

DAWES: Taylor Goldsmith talks to the Santa Barbara Independent about the band's long and winding year. (Thx, LHB.)

BON IVER does a playlist for iTunes.

BERT JANSCH, legendary folk guitarist and co-founder of Pentangle, has died at 67 after a battle with lung cancer.

ASHTON KUTCHER: Photos from inside the San Diego penthouse where he reportedly bedded 23-year-old Sara Leal -- are splashed across the cover of Star magazine.

JOHNNY DEPP issued an apology for comparing photo shoots to being raped.

EDDIE MURPHY may turn up on SNL this weekend for the first time in 25 years.

KRISTEN STEWART inadvertently confirmed she's dating Robert Pattinson in the GQ piece hitting newsstands today.

BLAKE LIVELY, fresh off Leo DiCaprio, has been spotted with her Green Lantern co-star, Ryan Reynolds.

MICHAEL JACKSON's slurred speech was heard at the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray.

JESSICA ALBA shows off her second daughter, Haven Garner.

10 LIFE-CHANGING ROLES Actors Turned Down.

MR. ED is trotting toward the big screen.

STEVE JOBS, the visionary in the black turtleneck who co-founded Apple in a Silicon Valley garage, built it into the world's leading tech company and led a mobile-computing revolution with wildly popular devices such as the iPhone, died Wednesday. He was 56. (And here's the official NYT obit.)

SYRIA: Assad can feel satisfied that Russia and China have stood by him and prevented international action that might just have given him pause for thought as he pursues his vicious crackdown on Syria's protest movement.

EGYPT: The United States' Gulf Arab allies no longer trust Washington since the White House yanked its support for Hosni Mubarak in February, former Obama adviser James Jones told a private meeting.

PAKISTAN: The United States has linked the resumption of military aid to Pakistan with the latter's cooperation in the war on terror.

AFGHANISTAN: Six people have been arrested after an alleged al-Qaeda plot to assassinate Pres. Karzai involving one of his bodyguards was foiled.

KITTENS and a vacuum cleaner.

A RARE ORANGE MONKEY was born at the London Zoo.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: Aurora police said a man told them the crash that ended with his car plowing into a garage started when he swerved to miss some squirrels running across the road.

A HUNGRY BADGER could not stop an injured former soldier from breaking the world record for the longest distance travelled on a mobility scooter in 24 hours.

FEIST plays five new songs from Metals for Yahoo! Music.

BJORK is advance streaming Biophilia.

MASON JENNINGS did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter.

WOODEN WAND did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter.

WILCO: A full concert from All Songs Considered earlier this year. John Stirratt and Pat Sansone talk to the National Post about The Whole Love and the culture of Wlco fandom. Jeff Tweedy talks to The A.V. Club about that fan culture and the good place his band is in right now, as well as '90s nostalgia, his jealousy of Nirvana back in his Uncle Tupelo days, and how he draws inspiration from TV detective shows. BONUS: The band curated a YouTube playlist yesteday; only one selection is theirs.

R.E.M.: The basically-unheard 1981 demo tape.

GEORGE McCRAE: "Rock Your Baby" on Dutch TV.

ST. VINCENT: Annie Clark talks to the Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot about forgetting music school and recording Strange Mercies.

DUM DUM GIRLS: According to the L.A. Times, Only In Dreams is far more a statement of confidence than it is one of rock 'n' roll wallowing.

GUIDED BY VOICES have a catalog you'd die trying to work through, but they also have songs to die for.

POP-UP VIDEO returns Monday to VH-1.

AXL ROSE is getting laaaaaaarger.

KATE WINSLET opens up about her post-divorce from director Sam Mendes in a Harper's Bazaar photoshoot.

LEONARDO DiCAPRIO & BLAKE LIVELY have parted ways after five months.

JESSICA SIMPSON: More pregnancy rumors. Is she eating for two?

JOHNNY DEPP has to take "the stupid money." For the children.

OLIVIA WILDE has finalized her divorce from her husband of eight years.

KRISTIN CAVALLARI & JAY CUTLER (a/k/a Jerkface) were snapped holding hands.

THE SIMPSONS may shut down over a money dispute between Fox and the actors who voice the characters.

DEXTER: Prospects of the hit drama going to a seventh season are now uncertain as negotiations between Dexter star Michael C. Hall and Showtime have broken down.

PINK & GOOP will co-star in a sex-addiction comedy.

RACHEL UCHITEL, Tiger Woods' fmr No. 1 mistress, got hitched over the weekend.

TUPAC SHAKUR's posthumous sex tape is now the subject of a bidding war.

WERNER HERZOG will play the villain in Tom Cruise's One Shot.

EGYPT: Leaders of Egypt's most powerful political parties came under fire from their rank-and-file for agreeing to a deal that pledged "full support" for the ruling military council, in a sign of disarray among parties less than two months before elections. The pact seemed to benefit the Muslim Brotherhood by effectively ending an effort by secularists to guarantee that Islamist precepts are kept out of Egypt's new constitution.

IRAN announced the deployment of ship-based missiles that can target American shorelines from international waters.

IRAQ: US intelligence officials suspect that Iran, after deadly attacks by proxy militia in Iraq, is laying low until US troops leave Iraq at the end of the year. The US added al Qaeda in Iraq's emir, Abu Du'a, who is also known as Abu Bakr al Baghdadi al Husseini al Qurshi, to the list of designated terrorists.

PRAIRIE DOGS ride the Roomba.

WHY DO BEETLES have sex with beer bottles? Surprisingly, the answer has nothing to do with beer goggles.

BEAR ATTACK: "I know what it's like to be a salmon now."

SHIRLEY the ORANGUTAN has gained weight since she stopped chain-smoking. And don't call her Shirley.

MICHAEL STIPE & BILLY BRAGG sing The Only Ones' "Another Girl, Another Planet" in the Czech Republic, as Natalie Merchant dances.

NEW RELEASES: Radiohead remixes, Dan Mangan, Misfits, Indigo Girls, Talkdemonic and more are streaming this week via Spinner.

ANDREW BIRD is advance streaming the Norman soundtrack via the Facebook.

RYAN ADAMS stopped by World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

PETER GABRIEL also stopped by World Cafe for a chat and excerpts from New Blood, which contains re-imaginings of some of his best-known songs.

AEROSMITH: The Increasingly Killer Show.

THE MOODY BLUES "Ride My Seesaw" on French TV for Twofer "Tuesday Afternoon."

FLORENCE & THE MACHINE: Ms. Welch talks to Billboard about the temptation of mainstream pop and more...

THE JAYHAWKS: Gary Louris and Mark Olson talk to the Boston Globe about the band's third lease on life.

THE MOST INEXPLICABLY POPULAR SONGS, according to The A.V. Club.

MERGE RECORDS gets a profile at Salon.

ASHTON KUTCHER yelled for vodka as he languished naked in a hot tub with four similarly bare young women, according to a witness present at the actor's lavish San Diego hotel suite on the night he is alleged to have cheated on wife Demi Moore.

SETH ROGEN wed his longtime girlfriend, writer Lauren Miller.

JENNA FISCHER  and husband Lee Kirk welcomed son Weston Lee on Sept. 24.

MADONNA reprtedly will perform during the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on February 5, 2012.

KRISTEN STEWART is the cover story for the new GQ UK.

TUPAC SHAKUR: Posthumous sex tape.

KANYE WEST: Not a big hit at Fashion Week.

YEMEN is mired in a contest between the president and his rivals that risks tipping a dirt-poor nation bordering oil giant Saudi Arabia into civil war and economic collapse.

AFGHANISTAN: Pres. Karzai accused Pakistan of failing to support his country in combating terrorism, regretting Islamabad's non-cooperation in ridding the region of the scourge.  Karzai has said he plans to hold a grand assembly of elders, or loya jirga, to decide the country's peace strategy in the near future.  The BBC visits villages where the Taliban still rules.

MAMA KOALA to the rescue.

THE SWARM: Florida officials are abuzz as to how millions of honey bees were killed in Brevard County.

AN 8-FT CROCODILE turned bright orange after eating the water filter from its tank.

THE CUTE MEERKAT and the MICRO-PIG- named Timon and Pumbaa after the Lion King characters - have struck up the most unlikely of friendships...Mass hysteria!