RADIOHEAD released King of Limbs a day early, along with the video for "Lotus Flower."

LUCINDA WILLIAMS is advance streaming Blessed.

FITZ & THE TANTRUMS stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

GREGG ALLMAN also stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

JUNIP drops "Näckrosdammen" in advance of a new EP.

THE DUM DUM GIRLS cover The Smiths classic, "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out."

THE CARS -- including Ric Ocasek, but not the late Ben Orr, natch -- release "Blue Tip" in advance of the upcoming reunion LP, Move This.  Sonically, somewhere between Panorama and Shake It Up.

TED LEO talks to the L.A. Times about playing sans the Pharmacists.

DEERHOOF: Satomi Matsuzaki talks to Boulder Weekly about giving the drummer some, elementary school ballet and more... (Thx, LHB.)

SMASING PUMPKINS' new bassist was one of the kids on the cover of Siamese Dream.

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT has a baby through the surrogacy of Leonard Cohen's daughter.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Unknown is this weekend's surprise No. 1 with 21.8 million against a 30 million budget (which it might meet today, given the holiday).  Unknown was marketed like Taken and got roughly similar reviews, which bodes well... though I wonder whether the "father's revenge" angle wasn't a big part of Taken's legs.  I Am Number Four debuted at No. 2 with 19.5 million against a 60 million budget.  Gnomeo and Juliet are just behind with 19.4 million, lacking any competition for the kid's audience.  Just Go With It, last week's topper, is No. 4 (as opposed to Number Four) with 18.2 million; this looks to run to about 100 million, which is a good thing, given its 80 million budget.  Big Mommas rounds out the Top Five with 17 million against a 32 million budget.  Below the fold, the Bieber movie lands in sixth place, dropping about 54 percent (which is a smaller drop than the Hannah Montana movie had).  Also, The King's Speech broke the 100 million mark, as did Black Swan further down the chart.

LINDSAY LOHAN had a very late night out with ex-gf and new neighbor Samantha Ronson, but assures us that she was sober, so as not to risk her probation.  But that probation is why Lohan could go to jail for more than a year for allegedly stealing that necklace ... and it could happen without a jury, without a trial .... without grand theft charges even being pursued.

ASHLEE SIMPSON & PETE WENTZ: Is her creepy Dad against reconciliation, or did Wentz not trust her partying ways?

DENISE RICHARDS wants on to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. How's the career going?

THE FRENCH HOTEL shopping for an engagement ring?

HAILEE STEINFELD, Oscar-nominee for True Grit, has Paramount crafting a star vehicle for her.

SAM KINISON: The late comic is the birth father of a friend's daughter, according to DNA testing.

THE CHRONICLES of NARNIA: Executive producer of Perry Moore was found dead in his SoHo apartment after an apparent overdose, sources said. He was 39.

THOR has a new, Natalie Portman-heavy trailer online.

GEORGE WASHINGTON: Though now lumped in with everyone for Presidents' Day, tomorrow is the birthday of the "Father of his Country."  In 1776, David McCullough notes that when Washington took command in July 1775, he thought he would be home at Mount Vernon by Christmas. McCullough catalogs Washington's blunders -- many of them nearly fatal to the Cause -- but concludes: "He was not a brilliant strategist or tactician, nor a gifted orator, not an intellectual... He had made serious mistakes in judgment. But experience had been his great teacher from boyhood... and above all, Washington never forgot what was at stake, and he never gave up." That, as much as anything, is why Washington is usually ranked among the greatest of US presidents. not to mention the subject of a profane, animated rap cartoon.

TUNISIA: Hundreds of Tunisians demonstrated Saturday for a secular state following the murder of a Polish priest, verbal attacks on Jews and an attempt by Islamists to set fire to a brothel.

BAHRAIN: The US offered a rosy assessment of the country before the current crackdown.  Protesters retook a major square in the heart of the island nation's capital Saturday -- a dramatic turn of events two days after security forces ousted demonstrators from the spot in a deadly attack.

OUR FRIENDS, THE SAUDIS are a bit nervous about the unrest next door in Bahrain. Saudi authorities have detained several activists who tried to set up the kingdom's first political party.

LIBYA: Intense violence has been reported in Libya's second city, Benghazi, with troops said to have opened fire again on anti-government protesters. More than 200 people are known to have died, doctors say, with 900 injured. After anti-government unrest spread to the Libyan capital and protesters seized military bases and weapons Sunday, Moammar Gadhafi's son went on state television to proclaim that his father remained in charge with the army's backing and would "fight until the last man, the last woman, the last bullet."

EGYPT: Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi led prayers during a massive gathering at Cairo's Tahrir Square, during which he asked the Egyptian army to open wide the Rafah crossing and to pray for the re-conquest of Jerusalem by the Muslims, so that he and the Muslims could pray in security at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

AFGHANISTAN: The Obama Administration has entered into direct, secret talks with senior Afghan Taliban leaders, according to The New Yorker.

CAT LASER BOWLING: Let's go to the video.

TINY BABY BADGERS are lucky to be alive after being saved from British floods last week by their quick-thinking mother. Awww...some pics at the link.

MS. BEATHA LEE, a shaggy, dirty-white Wheaten terrier, was elected president of the Hillbrook-Tall Oaks Civic Association in Annandale, VA.

A RED SQUIRREL conservation group is appealing for funds and supporters in Northumberland. I'm thinkin' they should ask Prince Charles.

COW vs MOTORCYCLIST ends as you would expect.

THOUSANDS OF SHARKS under alien mind control have been spotted just off the coast of south Florida, according to the Weekly World News.