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.