We think they’re melodramatic and overrated (granted, they have a few great songs). Nevertheless, the kids seem to love them. So here it is, care of Scenestars, the stream of the new Coldplay record. Enjoy.

[From Unknown Country via Gawker]
A huge floating reef made up of millions of disposed condoms has been discovered in the mid Pacific. The condom mass is two miles long, up to sixty feet deep, and in places so tightly compressed that a small plane could be landed on it.
The mass was discovered by the Australian Oceanographic Laboratory Outpost on Macquarie Island in the South Pacific. Scientists there explained that the accumulation, which consists almost exclusively of condoms, is explained by a principle of physics called “like aggregation.” Like aggregation is caused by the massing of similar objects due to ocean currents and winds, the response of the objects to the earth’s magnetic field, and other factors.
The tendency of dust to clump and mass in a house or under a bed is explained by the same principle.
The Australian scientists are mapping the reef by satellite because it is a serious marine hazard. The world disposes of an estimated 300 million condoms a year.

FROM AP
A cell-phone ring tone appeared set to top the British singles chart Sunday, outselling the new single by the band Coldplay by nearly four to one, a music retailer said.
“Crazy Frog Axel F,” a ring tone based on the sound of a revving Swedish mo-ped, is the first tune being used on mobile phones to cross into mainstream music charts, said Gennaro Castaldo, a spokesman for HMV, the British music retailing chain.
Coldplay had hoped to go straight to No. 1 on this Sunday’s British singles chart with its new song, “Speed of Sound.” But by Saturday, it appeared that the ring tone – which is available for digital download and as a compact disc single – would prevail, said Castaldo.
The ring tone was expected to replace the Oasis tune “Lyla” as the No. 1 hit on the list released Sunday by the Official UK Charts Co. The weekly singles chart, which has been released since 1952, is based on the sales of 5,600 retail shops across Britain.
While “Crazy Frog” and other ring tones do not appear to be much of a hit among adults, so many youngsters are personalizing the sound of their cell phones that such digital music could change world music markets.
“Music purists might not be too happy at the prospect of the “Crazy Frog” outselling Coldplay, but it shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise when you consider its huge novelty appeal and the massive amount of exposure it is currently getting,” said Castaldo.
The ring tone is based on a song that was recorded in Sweden nearly a decade ago by 17-year-old Daniel Malmedahl, using the high pitched revving of a two-stroke motorcycle, The International Herald Tribune reported Saturday.

The Hold Steady free at Soundfix Records
TO DO FRIDAY 5-27
Get drunk by 7pm because Rilo Kiley is sold-out anyway.
Go home and download MP3′s of this free Ryan Adams show
TO DO SATURDAY 5-28
Check out The Hold Steady at Soundfix Records, 3:00 PM
It’s FREE
Bedford Avenue (at North 11th Street)
Then check out The Weird Weeds w/ Castanets and Marissa Nadler at
Glass House Gallery, 38 S 1st St, W-burg. (only 5 bucks)

From Flavorpill
The Weird Weeds, the Castanets, and Marissa Nadler are united by the tendency to haunt and hypnotize. While the Austin-based Weird Weeds create uncanny congruity from eerie guitar riffs, electrifying cymbals, door creaks, and full-pitched screams, the Castanets, birthed from San Diego’s underground scene, mesmerize with mellower avant folk-rock. Marissa Nadler’s hypnotic soprano, fortified by guitar, ukelele, or five-string banjo, croons with melancholy and soul. Within the Glass House Gallery’s surreal setting (where freedom of artistic expression oozes like the freshly thrown acrylics on the walls), unfetter those last shackles of reality and succumb to this existential showcase.

TO DO SUNDAY 5-29
See the film “Smiles of a Summer Night” at the very underated Museum of the Moving Image at 6:30pm (only $10 and include admission). Get directions here.

From Time Out
Ingmar Bergman’s sunniest film — it’s very nearly a comedy, in fact — inspired both Sondheim’s A Little Night Music and Woody Allen’s A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy. Those who find his usual gloom ‘n’ doom wearisome are in for a very pleasant surprise.

TO DO MEMORIAL DAY
If the weather is nice on Memorial Day:
Green-Wood Cemetery Celebrates Memorial Day with Free Annual Concert
[From Gotham Gazette] On Monday, May 30 at 2:00 p.m., The Green-Wood Historic Fund will celebrate its 7th Annual Memorial Day Concert as the extraordinary 54-piece Goldman Memorial Band pays tribute to Green-Wood “residents” Leonard Bernstein, Louis Gottschalk and Fred Ebb in a musical salute. The band will also debut a special medley to legendary Broadway lyricist Fred Ebb. The free concert takes place at the landmark Victorian Archway of Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.
Guests are welcome to bring picnic lunches and folding chairs. Hot dogs, snacks and refreshments will be sold, as well as books about the cemetery and its history. All proceeds will benefit the Historic Fund, which preserves and restores the historic monuments and tombstones.
Green-Wood Cemetery is located at 25th Street at 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY. The concert will be at the Victorian Archway.
Please call 718-788-7850 for additional information

BrooklynVegan has a helpful White Stripes post this morning pointing us to some MP3′s and the new White Stripes video. Check ‘em out.

by Monte Holman

Laetitia Sadier has been the stylish voice of cool for a decade and a half, fronting Stereolab and delivering space age bachelor pad themes with a French twist to us drooling fans. We can’t get enough, so Sadier and company simply deliver more and more and more. Stereolab’s just-released three-disc set “Oscillons From the Anti-Sun” is absolutely essential for any fan of the band.
Somehow Sadier found the time to strike up a side-project, Monade. In this band she takes over the majority of the songwriting duties whereas in Stereolab her role is limited primarily to lyric composition and vocals. Monade’s first album, “Socialisme Ou Barbarie: The Bedroom Recordings,” (Drag City) presented Sadier’s songwriting ability in a low-fi, D.I.Y. manner. Several songs featured Pram’s Rosie Cuckston. Monade’s latest, “A Few Steps More,” (Too Pure) is a more stylized production featuring a full band (sans Cuckston) and a studio production.
Between all the recording and touring and child rearing, Sadier graciously spoke with us about her newest venture. And not surprisingly, the way she charms us sonically in Stereolab and Monade carries over to conversation.
Monade are Laetitia Sadier (vocals / moog / tambourine / trombone), Marie Merlet (bass / vocals), Nicolas Etienne (keys) and Xavier Chabellard (drums).
FREEwilliamsburg: Are you enjoying the Monade tour?
Sadier: Yeah, this is actually lovely because it’s the groundwork. You have to somehow be persuasive. People are very enthusiastic and supportive, and it makes for nice shows.
FREEwilliamsburg: So the crowds are different with Monade than they are with Stereolab?
Sadier: Yeah, indeed, they’re far less numerous, but it’s very exciting.
FREEwilliamsburg: Stereolab is one of the most prolific bands of the last fifteen years. What made Monade necessary? What prompted its forming?
Sadier: I wanted to write songs. I have been writing songs. Because I couldn’t write songs in Stereolab, I created a space where my little songs could exist. I also wanted to play the guitar. I always had a vision of myself with a guitar, playing the guitar, and it’s the kind of thing I have problems doing alone in my bedroom. I thought it would be more exciting to play in a band format, and it is more fun, more stimulating. And that’s simply that, really.

(more…)

After receiving horrible approval numbers in a recent CNN poll, this can’t be good news for Cap’n Pigfucker:

From The New York Times
After three years of unemployment, Allen Gruenhut finally landed a job as director of human resources for a company in the stone business on Long Island. His age, 53, worked against him in his long hunt for work, he contends, and so did the six-figure salary he earned at his previous job, in banking.
“They would not take me seriously at job interviews when I said I would be happy with a lower salary,” Gruenhut said.
Jackie Ellenwood, 31, is still without a job. She had worked for three travel agencies over 13 years, until her last job, in Allen Park, Mich., ended in a layoff nine months ago. The industry is shrinking in response to more Internet bookings and cutbacks in corporate travel, so Ellenwood is looking for work elsewhere and studying to become a nurse.

(more…)

We weren’t delighted about the filibuster deal made in the Senate, but it was nonetheless a HUGE victory for Democrats who just weeks ago seemed powerless against the nuclear option. Republican senators are going to have a lot of explaining to do when douchebags like James Dobson and Tim Wildmon call asking what the hell happened. [OK, they'll probably say heck instead of hell]. Dobson and Wildmon helped organize Justice Sunday just to ensure the death of the filibuster and enrolled Jesus Freak Bill Frist as a key speaker.
The deal will surely create a larger rift between James Dobson and Trent Lott who have been taking pot-shots at each other all week:

From USA Today
“Who does [James Dobson] think he is, questioning my conservative credentials?” Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., said in an interview. Dobson, head of the conservative group Focus on the Family, criticized Lott for his efforts to forge a compromise in the fight over the judges. Lott is still angry. “Some of his language and conduct is quite un-Christian, and I don’t appreciate it,” the senator said.

We’re hoping for an all out brawl. Dobson issued a statement soon after the news broke:

“We share the disappointment, outrage and sense of abandonment felt by millions of conservative Americans who helped put Republicans in power last November. I am certain that these voters will remember both Democrats and Republicans who betrayed their trust.”

We hope Dobson heeds his own words to remember this decision. He helped organize the Republican vote in 2004 (Focus on the Family distibuted 8 million voting guides) and we’d love to see him and sit the 2006 and 2008 elections out. As DailyKos pointed out, this entire filibuster debate was largely because of Dobson in the first place.

Somehow the new White Stripes record hasn’t been leaked yet. In lieu of MP3′s, Scenestars.net has provided a stream of the full record, “Get Behind Me Satan.” This is a very different, more mellow, more sparse White Stipes almost completely devoid of Jimmy Page riffs. (Though “Red Rain” — one of the album’s highlights — does sound like a Led Zeppelin III outtake). The good news is most of the record is more inspired than the cheesy Lenny Kravitz-sounding single “Blue Orchid.” Start with “Little Ghost,” a carefree bluegrass-inspired hoedown. “As Ugly as I Seem” is a lovely confessional on accoustic guitar, accompanied by Meg on bongos. Upon first listen, “Get Behind Me Satan” sounds like the proverbial “transitional” record. Most notably, many tracks are piano-driven, a break with their tradional guitar-heavy sound. Vibes, banjos, and xylophones are added to the mix on several tracks. Regardless of your opinion of their new sound, one question will linger; what’s up with the Zoro costume, Jack? [The record is due to be released June 6]
Listen to the record by clicking here
Let us know what you think. Start your reviews here in comments.

Click here to sign the petition

From moveonpac.org
Senator Bill Frist has pulled the trigger on the “nuclear option.” We now have less than 72 hours to stop him from seizing absolute power to stack the courts ‚Äî including the Supreme Court. The vote is still too close to call. If we raise our voice, we can win.
We’ve launched an emergency petition we’ll be delivering to congress every three hours, from Monday morning until the final vote is complete. Our allies will read your comments on the Senate floor, and every senator will know the American people are standing ready to hold them accountable.