BLOC PARTY consorts with those d^mn dirty apes in the video for a new song, "Mercury."

NEW RELEASES: David Bowie's oft-bootlegged Santa Monica '72 gig, a Bowie tribute, Ron Sexsmith, The Baseball Project, a Joe Strummer doc sdtk and more are among those streaming in full via Spinner this week.  Beck releases Modern Guilt. The Capstan Shafts release the lo-fi Fixation Protocols. CocoRosie

ADVANCE STREAM albums from Black Kids and The Vines before their US release dates.

IN THE WORKS:  New albums from Dungen, Grizzly Bear (a "sunnier" effort) and The Avett Brothers (to be produced by Rick Rubin).

CALEXICO: Joey Burns talks to Beatroute about the back-to-basics approach to the upcoming Carried To Dust, while John Covertino talks to Metro Times about playing festivals.

ABBA: Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson quashed any hint of a musical reunion, despite the four band members getting together last weekend at the Swedish movie premiere of Mamma Mia.  The Independent asks Tim Rice the secrets of the band's enduring (if kitchy) appeal of songs like "SOS" and "Take A Chance On Me."

HA HA TONKA does the four free songs thing for Daytrotter, one previously unreleased.

KIM GORDON of Sonic Youth is interviewed in Issue 666 of TimeOut NY about her hearing, her Free Kitten side project and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

ANTIETAM gets an in-depth profile at PopMatters, befitting their strange, 28-year trip, including interesting stuff on the recording of their double album, Opus Mixtum. Audio link at the link also.

MGMT is profiled in New York magazine, mostly on trying to live up to the buzz.

NICOLE KIDMAN & KEITH URBAN welcomed their first child together, daughter Sunday Rose, born Monday morning in Nashville.

CHRISTIE BRINKLEY seeks comfort in ex Billy Joel as her bitter divorce rages on. Brinkley also said Monday that she's devoted her life to her children and - in stark contrast to her playboy hubby - hasn't gone out on a single date since she learned of his philandering two years ago.

DREW BARRYMORE & JUSTIN LONG have split, her rep tells US magazine.  Was she too PC for him?

EVA MENDES talks about substance abuse and being a Latina in H'wood in Interview magazine, via the HuffPo.

HUGH HEFNER once faced death in a bizarre sex toy incident.

ELLEN DeGENERES & PORTIA de ROSSI were... wait for it... caught canoodling on camera on a yacht off the Italian coast.  The good news is that only Portia was topless for any of this.  The bad news is that the photos do not flatter her.  So much so that I would recommend the new Marissa Miller photoshoot for GQ instead.

MADONNA: Alex Rodriguez's relationship with Madge was "an affair of the heart" - not "sexual infidelity" - according to Cynthia Rodriguez's lawyer. Does she know A-Rod may have a stabbin' cabin in NYC? Guy and Madge's peeps reportedly have been planning the current are-they-or-aren't-they divorcing drama for months, hoping the hubbub will sell more tickets to her upcoming tour.  Or is that the counter-spin? Britney Spears will join Madonna on her tour, but only through a taped video performance, Access Hollywood has confirmed.

OUR FRIENDS, THE SAUDIS: A Saudi appeals court is due this week to review the case of a biochemist and his female student sentenced to jail and flogging after a lower court ruled their research contact was a front for a telephone affair. The man was sentenced to 8 months in prison and 600 lashes and his student to 4 months in prison and 350 lashes last November for establishing a phone relationship that led her to divorce her husband.

IRAN: Pentagon chiefs fear that Israeli plans for an attack on Iran's nuclear program will fail to destroy the facilities because neither the CIA nor Mossad knows where every base is located. Perhaps a head fake, but seems likely.

IRAQ: In Helsinki, all of the main Iraqi political parties signed onto a statement of principles for working on further reconciliation. The Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq aims to capitalize on the disarray within Moqtada al-Sadr's movement ahead of provincial elections planned for October.  The United Arab Emirates has forgiven nearly 7 billion dollars in Iraqi debt. Prime Minister al-Maliki raised the prospect of setting a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops as part of negotiations over a new security agreement with Washington. US officials in Baghdad had no immediate comment.

STRANDED KILLER WHALE hitches a ride back to the ocean.

MINIATURE DACHSHUND finds a diabetic's toe a tasty treat.

OCTOPUSES have been given Rubik's Cubes in a study aimed at easing their stress levels in captivity.

ZARA UPDATE: The lion cub may be headed for Africa, but has made friends with the housecat.

LIVE CHICKEN SALES double in Austin, TX.  Some say people are looking for fresh eggs, but it could be the bingo competition.

DUFFY plays "Mercy" and "Rockferry" at Glastonbury. It's Twofer Monday, cause the BBC is on the prowl.

BURT BACHARACH performs a medley-filled hour-long concert at Disney Hall, streaming on demand via NPR.

EL PERRO DEL MAR: Sarah Assbring talks to Drowned in Sound about her new From the Valley to the Stars LP.  Videos at the link also.

TEDDY THOMPSON has a chat and mini-set streaming via NPR's Weekend Edition.

THE WATSON TWINS are profiled by the Times of London and interviewed by the Baltimore Sun.

SUPERGRASS: The rocking-for-them video for "Bad Blood" was released back in March, but is making waves in the US now.

EX-PIPETTE Rose Elinor "Rosay" Dougall talks to Pitchfork about developing her new music and dispels rumors about her former band.

COCOROSIE: Sierra and Bianca Casady get a lengthy profile in the New York Times magazine.

BECK talks to the New York Times about the making of Modern Guilt, which comes out tomorrow (on his 38th birthday).

THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS' A.C. Newman talks to Nerve about Nietsche, nerds and sex after marriage.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE:  Will Smith's Hancock dominated the holiday weekend, making 66 million over the three-day frame and over 107 million since opening. It is the 5th film he has opened No. 1 during the Fourh of July holiday and his 8th No. 1 opening in a row and his 8th film to gross over 100M in a row since July 2002.  WALL-E and Wanted felt the Hancock effect and the impact of the 4th falling on a Friday, dropping 47 and 59.5 percent respectively to make 33 mil and 20.6 mil.  Get Smart and Kung Fu Panda also dropped a notch apiece, bringing in 11.1 and 7.5 million, respectively.  Below the Top Five, the story is that Kit Kittredge: An American Girl expanded, but languished in eighth place; Picturehouse has to be thinking it should have opened the pic wide on June 20th, instead of letting Will Smith and WALL-E bulldoze it to the DVD market.

MADONNA: Alex Rodriguez's heartbroken wife Cynthia believes A-Rod has been "brainwashed" by kabbalah-pushing pop icon Madonna and lured away from his family.  Madge reportedly has asked troubled Britney Spears to join her on tour - and pals hope she will give guidance to the young star.  The Sun also highlights some dirt from the upcoming book from Madge's brother, including a story about Madonna giving Gwyneth Paltrow a steamy kiss on the lips during a table dance at a boozy showbiz party.

AMY WINEHOUSE sipped from a glass of red wine and looked a bit unsteady on her feet as she appeared in front of a large audience at the Rock in Rio music festival southeast of Madrid on Friday.

CHRISTIE BRINKLEY forgives her hubby's then-teenage mistress, who is also said to have dallied with Puff Daddy when he was supposed to have been with his longterm girlfriend and mother of his twins.

CINDY BRADY was hungover and nearly vomited in the studio of an oldies radio station in Colorado Springs Thursday morning. Video at the link!

PRESTO! And the slapstick short running before the movie about the robot appears... until the Mouse makes it disappear, so hurry.

ISLAMISM in the UK: Two schoolboys were given detention after refusing to kneel down and 'pray to Allah' during a religious education lesson. Police sniffer dogs will have to wear booties when searching the homes of Muslims so as not to cause offense.

IRAN says its stance on its nuclear program remains unchanged, despite an EU offer of incentives to suspend uranium enrichment. The Netherlands will ban Iranian students from studying nuclear technology, the Dutch government said Friday. Syria is ready to break off its close links with Iran if America gives it financial and military backing, a former Israeli diplomat involved in unofficial peace talks has revealed to The Sunday Telegraph.

IRAQ: American and Iraqi forces are driving Al-Qaeda in Iraq out of its last redoubt in the north of the country in the culmination of one of the most spectacular victories of the war on terror.  The Times of London has a detailed account from Mosul. Iraq's foreign minister said that concessions by both sides had advanced the prospects for a new security agreement needed for US forces to remain in the country beyond the end of the year. The Iraqi parliament voted to postpone its summer recess for 30 days, in a bid to finalize legislation needed to hold provincial elections in the fall. US Servicemembers from all over Iraq gathered in the Al Faw Palace rotunda at Camp Victory, Baghdad, to reenlist and celebrate Independence Day.  The L.A. Times profiles Baghdad's hot-rodders and gearheads.

CATS AND DOGS, living together... with the occasional duck and monkey. A disaster of Biblical proportions

A PERVERT has admitted downloading 30000 depraved images - including sex acts with an octopus. And a tiger, though apparently not together.

AN AGGRESSIVE COW was shot dead by British police marksmen claiming it posed "a danger to the public."

A PANDA relocated after China's deadly earthquake damaged her home gave birth to twin cubs on Sunday, a state news agency said.

MARLEY the CAT dropped 14 storeys out of a window of a high-rise and lived to meow about it.

THE FOURTH of JULY STARTS HERE:

...with THE BEACH BOYS!  Because folks my age will always remember their mammoth July 4th concerts at the Washington Monument -- as with these 1980 takes o­n "Good Vibrations",  "Catch A Wave" and "Do It Again." Given the time of year, I have to include this 1964 clip of "Surfin' U.S.A." which I think is from the same gig that produced these takes on "Little Deuce Coupe," "In My Room" and "Fun, Fun Fun." Their take on "Dance, Dance, Dance" from Shindig! later that year is like a slice of Christmas in July.  There's also a nifty twofer of "I Get Around" and "'When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)" from their first UK TV appearance o­n Ready Steady Go! The Jack Benny Hour produced these quick takes o­n "Barbara Ann" and "California Girls."  There's a primitive video for "Wouldn't It Be Nice" that starts with a cameo from Brian Wilson's dogs (Banana and Louie), who appear at the end of the Pet Sounds LP.  And I'll finish with a live version of "God Only Knows" from the 1967 European tour -- one of the last Brian would do for a decade or so.

RAY CHARLES performs "America The Beautiful" like no one else.

21 HYPERBOLIC PRO-AMERICA SONGS, starting with Lee Greenwood (Sylvia's favorite) and ending with the theme from Team America: World Police, with embedded video courtesy of The A.V. Club.

THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER: Hidden Track serves up 12 video versions.

TWENTY QUESTIONS from US citizenship tests, as asked on the official United States Immigration and Naturalization Services Web site.  I had a perfect score (because I am a geek), but had to guess on one of them.

THE FEELIES got back together this week, with a gig in NYC today.  But they got things rolling at the legendary Maxwell's in Hoboken NJ.  The NYT's Jon Pareles has not one, but two articles on their return. Video has surfaced from the private warm-up gig of "Let's Go," "Slipping (into something)," "Raised Eyebrows" and "Away."  A little further back in the crowd come clips of "Doin' It Again," the new song "Time is Right" (w/ cowbell!) and the Stones' "Paint It Black." Not as physically hyper as their heyday, but still with chemistry to burn.

THE UNITED STATES celebrates the 232nd anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. As the Wikipedia notes, this is a little arbitrary: New Englanders had been fighting Britain since April 1775; the first motion in the Continental Congress for independence was made o­n June 8th; and the Congress voted 12-0 for independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain o­n July 2nd. Even so, the publication of the Declaration was momentous .  If you're not in DC, the best way to see and learn about the Declaration may be through the Charters of Freedom website. But you can watch Mel Gibson, Michael Douglas, Renee Zelleweger, Kevin Spacey, Wynona Ryder and other Hollywood folk read the Declaration, after a short introduction by Morgan Freeman.

Of course, the holiday more broadly celebrates the American Revolutionary War, and the Founders' unlikely victory. People with the highest standard of living and the lowest taxes in the Western World fought a sometimes unpopular war for our freedom. Early o­n, the Revolutionaries (also known as "Americans" or "Patriots") had the active support of about 40 to 45 percent of the colonial population. By 1779, there were more Americans fighting with the British than with Washington, which is why Washington needed help from the French, the Spanish and freed Blacks. You can separate fact from fiction regarding the sacrifices and fates of the Founders at Snopes. You can hear two-time Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough read from the first chapter of his 1776 via NPR.

CUTOUT BIN:  Joan Jett leads this Friday's fortuitous finds for the Fourth, which include Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Lou Reed, Funkadelic, Smoking Popes, the Modern Lovers, the Lovin' Spoonful, Devo and more -- all of which can be jukeboxed or streamed separately via the Pate page at the ol' HM.

SHOWBIZ in BRIEF: Christina Applegate's on-again, off-again boyfriend Lee Grivas was found dead in his Hollywood apartment Tuesday. Lindsay Lohan turned 22 Wednesday night with an intimate prom-themed birthday bash - and a sweet smooch from Samantha Ronson; Lohan's b-day wish was for paparazzi to go away and to be with the person she cares about. Christie Brinkley used one word in her sob-wracked testimony today to describe her life after her husband's philandering and porn obsession was exposed: - "Nightmare."  Hubby Peter Cook thought "Shrek was more believable." Lenny Kravitz is denying reports of an affair with Alex Rodriguez's wife, Cynthia, who has strong suspicions about her estranged husband's friendship with Madonna.  Amy Winehouse has been put under "house arrest" after admitting taking drugs in rehab. Britney Spears is said to have reconciled with ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib because she fears him releasing a secret sex tape.

TWIGGY: For the Fourth of July, why not another look at the water-skiing squirrel? Great story. Compelling and rich.

THE GO! TEAM is always Summery, so it's a good time to revisit the video for "Ladyflash."

DUFFY stopped by WFUV for a chat and mini-set now streaming on demand via NPR.

ADELE, otoh, is the one getting the love from the Associated Press. She's pretty magnanimous, though: "There are a million other black women and other white girls who could do it better than me and Duffy, but the point is, we're doing it at the moment. So support it, love it, (rather) than be bitter."

MINUS THE BEAR does the four free songs thing for Daytrotter.

FRIGHTENED RABBIT frontman Scott Hutchinson talks to Reveille, with plenty of A/V linkage for the Scottish quartet.

JAMIE LIDELL opened his set at last year's Pitchfork fest with "Game For Fools" and was (imho) one of the surprising highlights of the weekend.

JOY DIVISION frontman Ian Curtis's headstone has been stolen from a Cheshire cemetery. Can this really be the first time that's happened?

ROAD MUSIC spans genres when WNYC's John Schaefer is serving the mix.  But there is always Deep Purple, isn't there?

INDIE on TV: TimeOut New York notes that in the past few years, indie rock's stock has swelled, mainstream radio has collapsed and the sight of low-profile acts on network programs has become increasingly commonplace. (Thx, LHB.)

TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN: At the Guardian Music Blog, Ben Myers argues that bands should split after one album.  I think that's more like take the legend and run; the money comes later.

CHRISTIE BRINKLEY's divorce trial started with a salacious bang -- including hubby Peter Cook's 300 grand payoff to teenage mistress Diana Bianchi, his extreme fondness for online porn and the ime he shoved Alexa Ray Joel's head into a bucket of water. Brinkley says she "heard a lot of new things (she) didn't know" and "need(s) some time to let it all absorb." Also, Cook could be in hot hot water with the Internal Revenue Service.

A-ROD may have been making all sorts of visits to see Madonna in NYC, but his wife has been spending cozy time with Lenny Kravitz in Paris, according to the NY Post.

BRADGELINA had Dr. Michel Sussmann assure the press at a news conference in the South of France Wednesday that all is well with the expectant mom. The babies, he said, will arrive "in the weeks to come."

NAOMI WATTS is pregnant with her second baby.

ROSE McGOWAN and ROBERT RODRIGUEZ are dunzo -- leaving all sorts of openings for lead roes in his upcoming projects.  Will Jessica Alba play Barbarella now? UPDATE: The two are still together, claims her rep.

THE DARK KNIGHT: Someone has posted a pretty high-quality bootleg of the first five minurtes of the movie I saw in IMAX a while back.  Get there before the WB! 

MANDY MOORE & RYAN ADAMS are no longer making beautiful music together. Adams blames the media spotlight for the break-up.

MEGAN FOX has reportedly called off her engagement to ex-90210er Brian Austin Green.  Not my fault, really.

SHANNON DOHERTY, meanwhile, seems to be headed back to her old zip code.

FRIENDS may be following Sex and the City to the big screen within the next 18 months.

CLONE WARS has a new trailer online. It's legit so it should be there even if Batman goes away...

IRAN: An Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities would be a high-risk move that could destabilize the Middle East, the Pentagon's top military officer said yeesterday.  Meanwhile, Iran's parliament is set to debate a draft bill which could see the death penalty used for those deemed to promote corruption, prostitution and apostasy on the Internet.

AFGHANISTAN: The Arabs who vanquished Al Qaeda in Iraq's Anbar province are counseling America to allow Afghans to form irregular militias and be mindful of their devout adherence to Islam, according to a memo from the Anbar Awakening to the American Embassy in Kabul.

IRAQ: The main Sunni Muslim political bloc is on the verge of rejoining the Shiite-led government after a nearly year-long boycott, a step widely seen as vital to reconciliation after years of sectarian conflict. Caught off guard by recent Iraqi military operations, the US is using spy satellites ordinarily trained on adversaries to monitor the movements of the Iraqi army.  Der Spiegel surveys pessimistic and optimistic assessments of progress in Iraq.  Iraqi expats in Egypt seem more optimistic.

FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY, sting like a kitty.

THE SWARM: Anyone with a bee allergy in St. Leonard, New Brunswick, was encouraged to stay in and keep the windows shut Monday after a truck carrying an estimated 20 million honey bees flipped onto a median of the Trans-Canada Highway.

A MONSTER CRAB which lurked in the wreck of an old battleship 160ft below the surface may be the biggest edible crab ever landed. It weighed 17lb and had a shell width of 12in while each of its massive claws was as big as a man's hand. Pics at the link.

A PYTHON was tazed into submission in Huron Ohio, after the snake escaped from its cage and then slithered into a hole in an apartment wall.

CATNAPPING, with a twist.

NEIL YOUNG encores at the Malahide Castle in Dublin with a cover of "A Day In The Life"

ALBERT HAMMOND, JR.: The Stroke's new solo LP, ¿Cómo Te Llama?, to be released on July 7, is streaming in full at HammondSpace.

FIERY FURNACES talk about the Chicago White Sox at the team's website, with Matthew Friedberger claiming his biggest influence as a keyboard player is Sox organist Nancy Faust. (Thx, LHB.)

A LOST BEATLES INTERVIEW featuring John Lennon and Paul McCartney talking about the day they met and their songwriting partnership -- on film that sat forgotten for 44 years in a garage in south London -- can be heard on the BBC, in a segment hosted by Helen Shapiro, who was on their first national tour.

SILVER JEWS mastermind David Berman talks to The A.V. Club and has a two-parter with Aquarium Drunkard.

EARLIMART have just dropped the video for the wistful "Face Down In The Right Town" from their new album.

BUILT TO SPILL frontman Doug Martsch talks to Paste about recording and the flood of music today.

SAM PHILLIPS plays a Tiny Desk Concert for Bob Boilen at NPR.

THE HOLD STEADY's Craig Finn talks to Metro about his (slightly) more succinct style on the upcoming Stay Positive LP: "Being concise is one of the biggest challenges you can have," explains Finn. "You talk about ageing gracefully; going overboard and overblown is one of the finest examples of how people don't."

PETER HOOK talks to SF Weekly about blogging, DJing and the new New Order DVD.

MADONNA & GUY RITCHIE have no plans to divorce, according to Madge's rep. US Weekly claims that Madge has been hosting late-night visits from New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez at her Central Park West apartment in New York City, including shortly after his wife gave birth to their second daughter.

BRADGELINA: Jolie is "doing great" following reports that she has checked into a hospital in Nice, France, ahead of the birth of twins. Meanwhile Jolie & Pitt have called a truce with their neighbors over a boar hunting row that threatened to spoil the peace at their new chateau in the south of France.

NOW SHOWING: The holiday weekend's wide releases are Will Smith's Hancock is currnetly scoring 35 percent on the ol' Tomatometer, and Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, which is scoring 81 percent, though it apparently has to do more with the popular line of dolls than the Tom Petty classic.

ASHLEE SIMPSON & PETE WENTZ are expecting a baby boy, a rep from the baby boutique Petit Tresor tells CelebTV.com.

JESSICA BIEL has started blogging at BielSpace.

LINDSAY LOHAN: OK! magazine has some backstory on Li-Lo's maybe half-sister, while the NYDN has a more recent picture. Gawker has some lying voicemail Li-Lo got from her creepy ex-con Dad.

CHRISTIE BRINKLEY'S lawyers may have one more weapon in their attempt to paint her wayward hubby as a callous cad - a married, 31-year-old fitness model with whom he had a relationship and then dumped, leaving her marriage in tatters, sources told The NY Post. The divorce trial starts today.

WILLIAM SHATNER talks to the National Post about his autobiography and much more, including recording Has Been with Ben Folds in Nashville: "I did a rock and roll number. and I understood for the first time what rock and roll is..."

JON FAVREAU has signed on to direct the Iron Man sequel and dishes potential spoliers about The Avengers to USA Today.

IRAN: A top advisor to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned against "provocative" remarks on Tehran's nuclear crisis which tend to be associated with Pres, Ahmadinejad.  Hezbollah instructors trained Shiite militiamen at remote camps in southern Iraq until three months ago when they slipped across the border to Iran - presumably to continue instruction on Iranian soil, according to two Shiite lawmakers and a top army officer.

IRAQ: A new White House report to Congress claims that Iraq's efforts on 15 of 18 benchmarks are "satisfactory" - almost twice of what it determined to be the case a year ago.  But getting all the way there is taking time. MPs from Iraq's parliament went into a closed session with the country's foreign minister on Tuesday to discuss the controversial long-term security pact with Washington. US officers say many of the militia leaders who used the Shula neighborhood of Baghdad as a base have either fled or gone into hiding and are tough to find. About 325 million worth dollars' of projects are under way to address critical needs in Anbar province, which include the "huge problem" of providing sufficient electrical power. The US military has begun withdrawing from Iraq the last of the five additional combat brigades that were deployed to the country in 2007.

A CROCODILE is welcomed into a bar in the Aussie Outback.

TWO RIVER OTTERS went on a weekend tear in Petaluma, stopping at Mario & John's Tavern and an auto parts store.

TRAKR, a German shepherd who sniffed out survivors from under the rubble of New York's World Trade Center after the 2001 terror strikes is to be cloned. He was picked by BioArts International as the most "clone-worthy" canine in a competition offering an owner a free chance to replicate their pet.

RHESUS MACAQUES can simultaneously count audible beeps and dots on a computer screen. ALSO: A 42-year-old chimpanzee who is toilet-trained and can eat with a knife and fork is believed to be at large in a Southern California forest after escaping his cage.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: A man with two a$$es baffled customs officials in Denmark.