SHARON VON ETTEN covered R.E.M.'s "Strange Currencies" at the Bowery Ballroom last weekend.

NEW RELEASES from Mew, British Sea Power, Cage the Elephant, Cake, Tapes 'n' Tapes and more are streaming this week via Spinner. Deerhoof's new LP is streaming via Henry Rollins and KCRW.

WAVVES drops "Stained Glass (Won't You Let Me Into Yr Heart)" -- half of a split-single with Best Coast.

TELEKINESIS DROPS "You Turn Clear In The Sun" as an advance track to 12 Desperate Straight Lines.

LYKKE LI drops "I Follow Rivers" as an advance track to Wounded Rhymes.

PETER HOLSAPPLE & CHRIS STAMEY play the Mountain Stage.  It's a threee-run, but it appears that I've never linked it here.

THE BLACK KEYS played "Tighten Up" and "Howlin' For You" on SNL, icymi.

DESTROYER: Dan Bejar talks to Pitchfork about the new album, how he doesn't write songs anymore, and why seeing your favorite bands reuniting can be a little sad.

THE DODOS have recruited Neko Case for their next album.

WIRE: Colin Newman and Graham Lewis sorta survey their career at Drowned In Sound.

ALVIN & THE CHIPMUNKS are suing EMI over royalties on a box set.

RYAN REYNOLDS & SANDRA BULLOCK: He's been making top-secret getaways to her home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, according to RadarOnline.  His future ex, Scarlett Johansson, is reportedly devastated.

OWEN WILSON and Jade Duell are expecting a baby.

MARION COTILLARD, the Oscar winner and recent co-star of Inception, will welcome her first child with longtime love Guillaume Canet.

CHARLIE SHEEN was seen shooting vodka in Vegas.

LINDSAY LOHAN is getting some post-rehab help from Inception co-star Tom Hardy.

MICHAEL DOUGLAS says his tumor is gone.

THE HOBBIT: Andy Serkis has closed his deal to bring back Gollum, joining returning cast members Cate Blanchett and Elijah Wood.

ISLAMISM in the UK: A day after the UKs' former home secretary Jack Straw blamed some Pakistani Muslim men for targeting "vulnerable" White girls sexually, UK-based Hindu and Sikh organizations also publicly accused Muslim groups of the same offence.

AFGHANISTAN: Part of the Taliban insurgency is led by the Taliban commanders who were released by Afghan government and US military.

A BABY PENGUIN is born at Moody Gardens in TX.

WOMBATS might look cute and cuddly, but they are fast becoming a marauding pest at one of Victoria's most famous national parks. Video at the link.

DOGS & TAXES: The two sure things in life.

LUCY: Oldest cat in the world at 39?

RATS overrun City Hall in Los Angeles. And it's actual rats this time.