GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS drop the video for "Pulling On A Line" from their new album, out today.

NEW RELEASES: Peter Bjorn & John, Leonard Cohen, Crystal Antlers, Gomez, Great Lake Swimmers and more are streaming in full this week via Spinner.

ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS stopped by WXPN for a chat and mini-set streaming via NPR.

SxSW WRAP-UP: Tracks from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Laura Marling, Richard Swift, The Phenomenal Handclap Band, St. Vincent and more, streaming via NPR.

SUPER FURRY ANIMALS have an advance track, "Inaugural Trams" available to download for an e-mail address.

THE TUBES: Live versions of "She's A Beauty" and "Talk To Ya Later" are your Twofer Tuesday.

WANDA JACKSON gets an interview + tracks from Weekend Edition Sunday to mark the rockabilly queen's upcoming induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

DEAN & BRITTA: Dean Wareham talks to California Chronicle about scoring the Warhol screen tests.

PEARL JAM: Jeff Ament -- whom I briefly met way back in the day -- talks to Billboard about the super-deluxe reissue of Ten.

WAVVES is the Artist of the Week -- with embedded audio -- at Paste.

GISELLE BUNDCHEN gets the cover story in the new Vanity Fair, in which she claims Tom Brady's baby is 100 percent hers.

JOSH HARTNETT had a health scare that landed him in L.A.'s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for observation early Monday morning.

RHIANNA is not cooperating with prosecutors in the Chris Brown case? The L.A. DA says she is.

COURTNEY LOVE is being sued for Twitterlibel.

JESSICA BIEL & JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE are not engaged, or so JT tells Oprah.

PAM ANDERSON looks like she's had more work done.

LINDSAY LOHAN & SAMANTHA RONSON: Still fighting?

UP: The upcoming Pixar flick has a two-minute clip at Yahoo! Movies.

DAZED & CONFUSED is getting a "spiritual sequel." Alright alright alright.

THE NORMAN BATES HOUSE: Make your own for free! 

PAKISTAN: Security forces have recaptured a police academy after eight hours of clashes with gunmen who seized the complex during a morning drill.

IRAQ: The arrest of two Sunni paramilitary leaders in Baghdad and the violent clashes that followed this weekend have cast a harsh light on the integration of US-backed militias into Iraq's security forces and government ministries.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: A dog milks a goat.

50 ANIMALS Who Hate Baths.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: A woman in Northern Ireland says her home has been over-run by grey squirrels. Meanwhile, Squirrels are going bald in Kansas.  Mites, or did biochem experiments by militant squirrels go awry?

RUNAWAY PIG captured by former Royal Marine commando in a Kent seaside town.

COW EMISSIONS could be curbed by fish oil.

DEPARTMENT OF EAGLES: "No One Does It Like You."

THE REDWALLS  do the four free songs thing for Daytrotter, one previously unreleased.

GOMEZ played the World Cafe on Friday; you can stream the gig on demand via NPR.

HANDSOME FURS stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set streaming via MPR.

THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART: The Futurist posts a SxSW Session recap.

GARY and the HORNETS: Ken King and I saw Alex Chilton cover "Hi Hi Hazel," and he tipped me to the original.

TOP TEN ALBUM OPENERS via London's Telegraph. Very High Fidelity.

GRIZZLY BEAR: Ed Droste talks to Drowned In Sound about touring with Radiohead.

THE HOLD STEADY: Craig Finn talks to Califonia Chronicle about the upcoming DVD, record stores and more. (Thx, LHB.)

GHOST IN THE MACHINE: A photoset of portraits of musicians made out of recycled cassette tape with original cassette.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Monsters v. Aliens does monster biz with 58.2 million (though some of that is the 3-D premium charge). It should clear 200 mill domestic.  The Haunting in Connecticut debuted in second with 23 million, which is likely less than its budget.  Not bad for a movie shelved back in 2007.  Knowing drops only 40 percent to take third with 14.7 million.  I Love You, Man dropped only 29 percent, taking in another 12.6 million.  Duplicity rounds out the Top Five with 7.5 million, on a disappointing 46 percent drop.  Below the fold, Race to Witch Mountain gets hammered (as expected) byt the Monsters & Aliens, while 12 Rounds opens in seventh place, and Watchmen suffers another painful 59 percent drop.

BRITNEY SPEARS' dad is forcing her biggest fansite offline.

BRADGELINA are to extend their multinational brood with a child from India, according to reports. Who wants to be a Slumdog Millionaire?

MADONNA is causing more controversy in Malawi with her plans to build girls' school.

MANDY MOORE hasn't taken a honeymoon with hubby Ryan Adams, and that's just fine by her.

GARY BUSEY showed up at a roast for Larry the Cable Guy and was as wacky as he was NSFW, roasting everyone in the room.

SACHA BARON COHEN used dozens of front companies to make Bruno, the follow-up to Borat.

THE SHAMWOW GUY was arrested last month on a felony battery charge following a violent confrontation with a prostitute in his South Beach hotel room.

CHINA: In chilling echoes of the 'gas-wagon' project pioneered by the Nazis to slaughter criminals, the mentally ill and Jews, China rolls out gleaming new, hi-tech, mobile "death vans."

IRAN: Missile experts are in North Korea to help Pyongyang prepare for a rocket launch, according to reports.

THE STANS: After agreeing to bury their differences and unite forces, Taliban leaders based in Pakistan have closed ranks with their Afghan comrades to ready a new offensive in Afghanistan. Pres. Obama rules out deploying US troops in Pakistan.

LOLA the KITTEN cannot use her rear legs, so she walks on her front two legs.

RABID BOBCAT attacks Arizona bar patrons (Video).

SKATEBOARDING PARROT abducted!

A TURKEY VULTURE crashed through the windshield of a minivan as it drove through Parsippany, NJ, on Route 80 on Friday morning.

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

... with THE BANGLES! Their last No. 1 single, "Eternal Flame," was dropping off the charts about 20 years ago, which put me in the mood to watch them bust out "Hero Takes A Fall"  and Kimberley Rew's "Goin' Down To Liverpool" for Dave in 1984. It was that sort of rawk (and the hotness of Susanna Hoffs) that got Prince to give them "Manic Monday," their first mainstream hit, from the A Different Light album, which included Jules Shear's "If She Knew What She Wants," Alex Chilton's "September Gurls," and -- inevitably -- Liam Sternberg's "Walk Like An Egyptian."  Nevertheless, their fondness for the genres of the mid-60s was still evident in their take on Simon & Garfunkel's "Hazy Shade of Winter" for the Less Than Zero soundtrack, and the psych-garage-pop of "In Your Room" on the Everything album.  The draw from that period is a constant I saw them in a club, on a big stage and in a club again -- the last time was at a House of Blues, where they covered the We Five's "You Were On My Mind."  However, I'll confess that I put off featuring the band for about a month, until the Susanna Hoffs solo cover of Bad Company's "Feel Like Makin' Love" popped back up on the Tube after an absence. That woman knows how to shake her tambourine.

RAPHAEL SAADIQ stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set streaming via MPR.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Captain's Dead is streaming a gig from February 1975.

HEARTLESS BAST^RDS: Erika Wennerstrom takes Black Book's Pop Quiz.

THE SHINS: What next, now that their contract with Sub Pop has run out?

NENA: "99 Luftbalons." This should be funny to all, doubly funny to some at the moment.

DOVES talk to Drowned in Sound about their new album, the best curry house in Manchester, and more.  Videos at the link, too.

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS talks to The A.V. Club about albums set in the past and present, and more...

PETER BJORN & JOHN: John Eriksson talks to New York magazine about hit songs, playing with Kanye, and the possibility that the new P B & John album will be recorded on a crocodile farm.

WILCO: Filmmaker Brendan Canty talks to Creative Loafing about his upcoming documentary on the band.

CUTOUT BIN: From Duane Eddy to Ciccone Youth, from vinatge U2 to new Bob Mould, from The Sweet to the Vaselines, from Nico to Styx, plus James Brown, Wilco, Art Brut, The Clash, Rush and more  -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING:  This weekend's wide releases are Monsters vs. Aliens, which is currently scoring 73 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; The Haunting in Connecticut, currently scoring 20 percent; and 12 Rounds, which was not screened for critics.

MADONNA officially shopping for a new kid from Malawi.

LINDSAY LOHAN's new movie is going straight-to-cable. Ouch.

BRIMEY SPEARS wishes her fans "Merry Christmas." On March 24th. Let's go to the video.

ASHLEE SIMPSON & PETE WENTZ are having domestic problems, according to the ever-reliable Page Six.

JEFFREY DEAN MORGAN, who plays The Comedian in Watchmen, recently found out that he has a four-year-old son. Ahem.

GWYNETH PALTROW to design her own fashion line. Inevitable.

ADVENTURELAND: The red-band trailer is very red-band, ie.e., NSFW.

100 MOVIES TO SEE BEFORE YOU DIE, courtesy of Yahoo! Movies.

NBC's weekly primetime average viewership fell below 6 million average viewers for the week, a dramatically low number approaching the level of Spanish language Univision in every demo category. Except in the adults 18-34 demo, where NBC finished behind Univision.

NICOLAS CAGE: Worst Movie Star Alive?

WOODY ALLEN has a story in the New Yorker that is like The Metamorphosis meets Annie Hall.

ISLAMBERG, a private Muslim community in the woods of the western Catskills, was founded in 1980 by Sheikh Syed Mubarik Ali Shah Gilani, whom the Feds say  also co-founded Jamaat al-Fuqra, a terrorist organization believed responsible for dozens of bombings and murders across the US and abroad.

THE STANS: The Taliban's widening campaign in southern Afghanistan is made possible in part by direct support from operatives in Pakistan's military intelligence agency, despite Pakistani government promises to sever ties to militant groups fighting in Afghanistan, according to American government officials.  The Times of London surveys the Taliban-controlled Swat region of Pakistan.  After years of often testy cooperation with NATO and resentment over unequal burden-sharing, the US is taking unabashed ownership of the Afghan war.

IRAQ: A US withdrawal by 2011 will be a "massive and expensive effort" that is likely to increase rather than lower Iraq-related spending during the withdrawal and for several years after its completion.  The report also highlights lingering weaknesses in the Iraqi gov't.

APOCOLYPSE MEOW is the SFW ttile for this Japanimated tale of Cats and Bunnies at war.

BIZARRE SOUTH AMERICAN ARMORED FISH discovered in a calm Leicestershire canal.

TOAD DAY OUT: It's all very cute, right up to the mass extermination in the freezers.

A SEEING-EYE HORSE kicks up controversy in Texas.

MANATEE HEATERS are to be installed at Florida power plant converting to natural gas.

EXPLODING BATS were an obstacle to wind power; scientists think they have cracked the problem.

A PACK OF WILD DOGS terrorizes the plains of eastern Colorado.

ZIGGY the PEKINGESE discovers his hidden talent for producing abstract works of art.

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

... with THE BANGLES! Their last No. 1 single, "Eternal Flame," was dropping off the charts about 20 years ago, which put me in the mood to watch them bust out "Hero Takes A Fall"  and Kimberley Rew's "Goin' Down To Liverpool" for Dave in 1984. It was that sort of rawk (and the hotness of Susanna Hoffs) that got Prince to give them "Manic Monday," their first mainstream hit, from the A Different Light album, which included Jules Shear's "If She Knew What She Wants," Alex Chilton's "September Gurls," and -- inevitably -- Liam Sternberg's "Walk Like An Egyptian."  Nevertheless, their fondness for the genres of the mid-60s was still evident in their take on Simon & Garfunkel's "Hazy Shade of Winter" for the Less Than Zero soundtrack, and the psych-garage-pop of "In Your Room" on the Everything album.  The draw from that period is a constant I saw them in a club, on a big stage and in a club again -- the last time was at a House of Blues, where they covered the We Five's "You Were On My Mind."  However, I'll confess that I put off featuring the band for about a month, until the Susanna Hoffs solo cover of Bad Company's "Feel Like Makin' Love" popped back up on the Tube after an absence. That woman knows how to shake her tambourine.

RAPHAEL SAADIQ stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set streaming via MPR.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Captain's Dead is streaming a gig from February 1975.

HEARTLESS BAST^RDS: Erika Wennerstrom takes Black Book's Pop Quiz.

THE SHINS: What next, now that their contract with Sub Pop has run out?

NENA: "99 Luftbalons." This should be funny to all, doubly funny to some at the moment.

DOVES talk to Drowned in Sound about their new album, the best curry house in Manchester, and more.  Videos at the link, too.

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS talks to The A.V. Club about albums set in the past and present, and more...

PETER BJORN & JOHN: John Eriksson talks to New York magazine about hit songs, playing with Kanye, and the possibility that the new P B & John album will be recorded on a crocodile farm.

WILCO: Filmmaker Brendan Canty talks to Creative Loafing about his upcoming documentary on the band.

CUTOUT BIN: From Duane Eddy to Ciccone Youth, from vinatge U2 to new Bob Mould, from The Sweet to the Vaselines, from Nico to Styx, plus James Brown, Wilco, Art Brut, The Clash, Rush and more  -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING:  This weekend's wide releases are Monsters vs. Aliens, which is currently scoring 73 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; The Haunting in Connecticut, currently scoring 20 percent; and 12 Rounds, which was not screened for critics.

MADONNA officially shopping for a new kid from Malawi.

LINDSAY LOHAN's new movie is going straight-to-cable. Ouch.

BRIMEY SPEARS wishes her fans "Merry Christmas." On March 24th. Let's go to the video.

ASHLEE SIMPSON & PETE WENTZ are having domestic problems, according to the ever-reliable Page Six.

JEFFREY DEAN MORGAN, who plays The Comedian in Watchmen, recently found out that he has a four-year-old son. Ahem.

GWYNETH PALTROW to design her own fashion line. Inevitable.

ADVENTURELAND: The red-band trailer is very red-band, ie.e., NSFW.

100 MOVIES TO SEE BEFORE YOU DIE, courtesy of Yahoo! Movies.

NBC's weekly primetime average viewership fell below 6 million average viewers for the week, a dramatically low number approaching the level of Spanish language Univision in every demo category. Except in the adults 18-34 demo, where NBC finished behind Univision.

NICOLAS CAGE: Worst Movie Star Alive?

WOODY ALLEN has a story in the New Yorker that is like The Metamorphosis meets Annie Hall.

ISLAMBERG, a private Muslim community in the woods of the western Catskills, was founded in 1980 by Sheikh Syed Mubarik Ali Shah Gilani, whom the Feds say  also co-founded Jamaat al-Fuqra, a terrorist organization believed responsible for dozens of bombings and murders across the US and abroad.

THE STANS: The Taliban's widening campaign in southern Afghanistan is made possible in part by direct support from operatives in Pakistan's military intelligence agency, despite Pakistani government promises to sever ties to militant groups fighting in Afghanistan, according to American government officials.  The Times of London surveys the Taliban-controlled Swat region of Pakistan.  After years of often testy cooperation with NATO and resentment over unequal burden-sharing, the US is taking unabashed ownership of the Afghan war.

IRAQ: A US withdrawal by 2011 will be a "massive and expensive effort" that is likely to increase rather than lower Iraq-related spending during the withdrawal and for several years after its completion.  The report also highlights lingering weaknesses in the Iraqi gov't.

APOCOLYPSE MEOW is the SFW ttile for this Japanimated tale of Cats and Bunnies at war.

BIZARRE SOUTH AMERICAN ARMORED FISH discovered in a calm Leicestershire canal.

TOAD DAY OUT: It's all very cute, right up to the mass extermination in the freezers.

A SEEING-EYE HORSE kicks up controversy in Texas.

MANATEE HEATERS are to be installed at Florida power plant converting to natural gas.

EXPLODING BATS were an obstacle to wind power; scientists think they have cracked the problem.

A PACK OF WILD DOGS terrorizes the plains of eastern Colorado.

ZIGGY the PEKINGESE discovers his hidden talent for producing abstract works of art.

METRIC: "Gimme Sympathy," the first video from their upcoming Fantasies album, which asks the mucsical question, "Which would you rather be, The Beatles or The Rolling Stones?"

LEONARD COHEN is advance streaming Live in London via NPR.

M WARD played the World Cafe, so you can stream the set on demand via NPR.

A.C. NEWMAN stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set streaming via MPR.

THE BROKEN WEST also did The Current thing.

MASON WILLIAMS: "Classical Gas." Between this and the Moody Blues twofer, It's just been that sort of week.

THE DECEMBERISTS: You can get the MP3 version of The Hazards of Love for 3.99 via Lala.

THE NEW YORK DOLLS talk to the L.A. Times in a piece about their upcoming album, which is produced (like their debut) by Todd Rundgren.

VETIVER: Andy Cabic talks to the Red and Black about the band's new album and his full plate of projects.

INDIE ROCK UNDERWEAR participates in a charity auction.

BRADGELINA: Jolie causing concern on the set of her new film Salt with a crazy diet called liquid detox.

BRUCE WILLIS picked his wife in a casting call. Shocka.

JENNIFER ANISTON swears off marriage? Oh, sure.

JIM CARREY & EWAN McGREGOR: Too gay for US theaters?

THE THREE STOOGES: Sean Penn, Jim Carrey and Benicio Del Toro sounds about right. And they may get to do a movie.

NATALIE PORTMAN: Intrigued by Ryan Gosling or... wait for it... caught canoodling with Sean Penn?  Even New York magazine doesn't want to believe it.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE: Finally, a trailer. 

ANNE HATHAWAY will play Judy Garland on stage and screen.

PAUL RUDD, Entertainment Weekly loves you, man!

NORTH KOREA  has positioned a Taepodong-2 missile on the launchpad.

PAKISTAN: Can opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, a populist politician close to Islamic parties, be a reliable US partner?

IRAQ: Attacks are their lowest levels since August 2003. But the US military is shoring up support for the new gov't along the border with Syria.

GUINEA PIGS answer the lunch bell at Chiba Zoological park.

THE SWARM: And there were bees all over the highway.

RABBITS costumed for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Don't be shocked when they go all Monty Python & the Holy Grail on us.

KOMODO DRAGONS kill an Indonesian fisherman.

HEY, IS THAT an elephant trunk in your pants? Almost...