According to RS, "The October 21st release [of the Strokes' new album] will be preceded by club dates and followed by a month-long Tuesday night residence on 'Conan O'Brien' in November."

I think the Village Voice liked the Mars Volta concert they attended last week, but I'm not sure. Let's just pretend they did!

Whoa, who's the diva now? Apparently Missy Elliott totally snubbed Madonna during the shoot for their new Gap ads.

Ben Lee (or the "Australian boy wonder", as the website calls him) will be on KCRW tomorrow morning at 11:15am Pacific.

I would almost fly out for this show. The Dandy Warhols are doing an acoustic set at the Used Book Cafe on August 15th at 7:30pm. Tickets go on sale at the Cafe on Saturday, August 9th at noon. Cash only, so hit up the ATM before you go.

That new Ben Affleck & Jennifer Lopez movie "Gigli" can't really be THAT bad, can it? Oh, yes it can.

Weezer is working with Rick Rubin on their next CD, and they're releasing their first DVD in the fall. All together now: "Thank you, Rivers!"

For those of you lucky enough to live in or near Seattle, check out the new photo exhibit at the Experience Music Project, "Upsetting the Stage". They've got photos of everyone from Babes in Toyland to Sarah Vaughan. Nice.

Mercury Prize nominees, blah blah blah. No one very exciting. Radiohead will probably win.

After being personally and professionally trashed in nearly every single major US publication, Liz Phair comes back swinging. At least it's not as embarrassing as her Letter to the Editor in the New York Times several weeks ago. Woo, that was a doozy.

If you're interested in the current state of the book publishing industry, then I beg you to read this article on Random House. In fact, if you never read anything on this website, please just read this article. It's fascinating and crushing all at the same time, and it'll make you want to start your own independent publishing house.

Thank God there's some good publishing news. Jonathan Lethem talks about his new book, while the LA Times finally acknowledges that Sherman Alexie is a fantastic writer.

Someone at the NY Post obviously didn't get the memo that the new Dandy Warhols album isn't out until August. At least they liked it, though.

And if you do in live in Los Angeles, please see if you can find a way to donate blood, since local blood banks are in sore need, especially for Type O+.

More fun, snarky news will be back next week. Have a good weekend, everyone...

Leona? Leona who? Ryan Adams is making googly eyes at Parker Posey now. Must be the summer heat.

You need summer reading, you say? No worries! Please go buy "Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time". Even the LA Times enjoyed it.

This is so ironic because I was just having a conversation last night about Belgian fruit beers, or more specifically, why we don't drink more Belgian fruit beer. (It's important to have goals, y'know.)

Maybe it's an LA thing, but I'm doing cartwheels of anticipation for the new Jane's Addiction album. I love them so. And now we can all enjoy the video for "Just Because". Happy times!

Speaking of fun music, if you can't make The Sounds at the Viper Room next Friday night, make sure to see them at Amoeba the day before at 7pm. Then you can go and spend your paycheck on used CDs and vinyl. Rock on.

Now everyone on both coasts can enjoy the release parties for J&L Books. First they'll be at Book Soup on Thursday night, July 17th, then the party moves to the right with a celebration at the Used Book Cafe in NYC on July 31st. Sigh...is there anything better than cold beer, white wine, loud music, and good books? No, I didn't think so.

Conversation of the Day: Overheard in the middle of work yesterday:

Son: Dad, who's older, Lil' Romeo or Lil' Bow Wow?

I must say that based on experience, there are worse ways to spend your time at Disneyland than drinking wine at the Napa Rose restaurant. (Or as I like to call it, Drunkland.)

Is anyone else amazed by the amount of press that Ashton Kutcher is getting for renewing his contract on "That 70s Show"? And in an interview with the London Evening Standard, Ashton had this to say about Demi: "She was the hottest actress in Hollywood when I was growing up. I was in love with her when I was 10. Now it's great, I'm f****** her."

Aaah, j'adore l'amour...

Speaking of London papers, The Guardian will be making its way to US shores come this fall.

Hey, did you hear that New York has a blossoming rock scene? Where've you been? Luckily the new documentary "Kill Your Idols" will becoming to a club or coffeeshop near you this fall, so you can catch up.

Because I'm so in love with the Mars Volta CD, here's an article with guitarist Omar Rodriguez. Read it, know it, love it. They're also on the cover of Fader Magazine this month. Woo!

Some of my favorite things about living in New York or Los Angeles are the myriad of weird, everyday stories that pop up. You know what I'm talking about. Send yours to Really Small Talk and then read some others to remind yourself why you moved to urbania in the first place.

I'm glad to see that post-Jayson Blair, the NY Times is starting to redeem itself, beginning with this fabulous story on where to find the best ice cream! Well done, men!

(Photo credit: Michael Nagle/NYT)

And I must say it's not a bad thing to return to the real world with an article on Orlando Bloom. Yes yes yes, not a bad thing at all.

I saw the lovely Katy this weekend, who was in town from her adopted hometown of Seattle. She couldn't stop raving about the Postal Service CD, though we both agreed that it's not nearly as fun a band name as Death Cab for Cutie. Indeed.

I'm still in love with the Mars Volta CD, but you know what else I can't get out of my CD player? Rooney! I can't stop singing the songs, they're so catchy. Perfect summer driving music.

The Doves get their act together and start recording their third album. I still can't find my copy of "Last Broadcast" anywhere, and it's beginning to really bother me.

Check out two cameo appearances from the Strokes in the new Har Mar Superstar video for "EZ Pass". (Some of them are better at nodding to the beat than the others. Highly amusing.)

Good L.A. shows are finally abound! (Except for the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, who have decided to skip L.A. Thanks, guys, thanks a bunch.) Anyway, the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players bring their multimedia circus to the Viper Room on July 8th, Tangier on July 9th, and the Derby on July 16th.

And the White Stripes are FINALLY coming to L.A. proper with two shows at the Greek on September 22nd & 23rd. Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Soledad Brothers are opening. Not too shabby, eh?

Radiohead is doing the promotion thing and appearing on KCRW this morning with a full band interview and acoustic set. Good times!

Thanks to Catherine, we have a site with mp3s of all the "Gilmore Girls" songs! I mean, we're talking everything from "Wind Beneath My Wings" to "I'll Be Your Mirror". Nice work, nice work.

If you're feeling a little REM deprived (we're talking the band, not sleep, of course), you can be a voyeur and watch their tour rehearsals online...

I currently own more flip-flops than any other kind of shoe--is that bad? I think my co-workers are ready to buy me some sneakers, they're so tired of hearing me flip & flop all over the place.

Sigh...Luke Wilson...sigh...I saw him last week...SIGH...

Amoeba Music put up some photos of live shows, including Guided By Voices and the White Stripes (look how small the crowd is for Jack & Meg!)

Speaking of those two, Kurt Loder recently took the White Stripes (and their trusty rusty bodyguard, of course) to the Central Park Zoo. Jack made sure to wear a suit & tie.

I don't have a backyard or, for that matter, any trees to hang a hammock between, but my apartment's so small, maybe I'll just hang it in the bedroom?

Where does young love flourish? Romania! Just ask Jack White & Renee Zellweger. Happy trails, you two!

Apparently this lovey-doveyness is leaking out all over New York, since Mr. Coldplay and Gwyneth are supposedly engaged. God, I hope they elope.

In what has to be a humbling moment for Spoon, their keyboardist is leaving the band to go on tour with Michelle Branch. Ouch. That's gotta smart.

Elizabeth Peyton paints the young & famous in her new show at L.A.'s Regen Projects, including the lovely Miss Meg White. Regen Projects, 633 N. Almont Drive, L.A., (310) 276-5424, through June 21.

What's creepier than creepy? Playboy asking Karen O to pose nude. Is nothing sacred?

David Sedaris waxes philosophic on the beauty of summer beach houses.

Awwww...behind all the ambient noise and complicated guitars, Thom Yorke is really just a proud dad to Noah. Freakin' adorable.

Have you seen "Curiosa"? It's the coolest book ever! Publisher's Weekly called it a "poignant keepsake for connoisseurs of the absurd," so really, how can you pass it up?

Cirque du Soleil is going all sexy in Vegas. Not "lewd", but sexy. Tomato, to-mah-to, I say.

I spent the better part of last week at BEA here in Los Angeles. So did New York Observer writer Sara Nelson, who apparently had a much different experience than I did. It's pretty ballsy to bash booksellers (wow, say that one five times fast) right before your publication date. Good luck with that one.

Glory be and hallelujah! Wes Anderson is working on a new film with Owen Wilson! I saw Wes on the street a couple of weeks ago and my jaw literally fell open in shock. Thank goodness he's such a fast walker because I would no doubt have said something and embarrassed myself to high heaven.

One step closer to complete domination is Gwen Stefani. She's going to be in the new Howard Hughes biopic. Can she act? Does it even matter?

I think that Evan Dando is one of the best songwriters of his time, but damn if the guy isn't a poster child for staying clean and sober.

Is there a better way to start (or continue, for you east coasters) a Friday morning than with a live set from Ben Gibbard on KEXP? I thought not.

This is so cool! If you Los Angeles kids are up for the drive, Leona Valley Cherry Orchards have a "U-Pic" season in June and July. Check out the aptly-named www.cherriesupic.com for maps and other useful things. I implore you, though, as someone who's picked her share of blueberries, wear bug repellant. I cannot emphasize that enough.

KROQ's Kevin & Bean have gotten me through so many rush-hour commutes, it's not even funny. But they are!

Okay, what the hell? "Reading Rainbow" is about to go under?!? This is the show that brought us "Bea & Mr. Jones"! This is a crime!

Bryant Park is opening a new outdoor reading room next month, so New Yorkers can sit outside and read in peace...and humidity. Oh, if there's one thing I don't miss about New York, it's the humidity. God bless LA's dry heat.

I have no idea if this is true or not, but apparently the egg-laying season of the grasshopper sparrow has forced the Field Day concert to be canceled. What the hell is a grasshopper sparrow? Is it a bug? Is it a bird? It sounds creepy.

Hey, remember last year when you couldn't turn around without hearing Avril's "Sk8er Boi"? (It pains me to write that that way). Well, now it's going to be a movie. Uh-huh. Yep yep yep.

And as if the entertainment news couldn't be more entertaining, some high school students are staging a musical about Winona Ryder. The title? "Sticky Fingers: Saks, Lies, & Videotape". That's gotta look good on a college application.

Long Gone John is still kinda pissed off at the White Stripes, but he really hates their lawyers.

Well, I'll be snookered. Robin Wright Penn & Colin Farrell are making "A Home At the End of the World", which is one of Michael Cunningham's best books. (P.S. He's directing, too.)

Saddest Apology of the Day: Poor Vincent Gallo. Critics at Cannes hated his film so much that he apologized for making it. That's pretty humiliating. I'm still not seeing the movie, though.

Apparently the Cannes Film Festival is a little ho-hum this year. Oh, to be bored in the south of France! Anyway, two of the films that I keep hearing about are "Dogville" and "Elephant".

Tonight's the night! Will it be Clay or Ruben? Frankly, I was a Kimberley Locke fan, so it doesn't matter to me. May the best man win...so you can sign your life and any future financial profits away to a pop-music machine that will chew you up and spit you out. Or maybe not.

And on a side note, guess who forgot to set her VCR to tape the very-last-episode-ever of "Buffy"? I was almost inconsolable. What'd I miss? Was it good?

Poor Robbie Williams. No one wants to wake up to a huge story in the NY Times about why you're not popular in the US. That's a hard way to start the week.

This is embarrassing to witness. Remember Danny Wood from New Kids on the Block? (Yeah, you totally do. Don't pretend you don't know who I'm talking about.) Anyway, he's now a serious musician. The dragon tattoo is an obvious indicator. Giggle snort.

In case you've been living in a cave or don't read Entertainment Weekly, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is airing its last episode this week. Joss Whedon answers some questions about the show because he's a nice guy like that.

The White Stripes have added more dates to their summer tour schedule. But there seems to be a mistake because Los Angeles is not on that list. Must be a typo.

Okay, Lara Flynn Boyle, if you're going to wear this outfit, you have to have a sense of humor about it. Everyone else did, that's for sure.

There are so many reasons to love Ewan McGregor, I couldn't count them all. But definitely in the top 5 is the fact that he uses the word "gob-smacking". As an adjective. That is so cool.

Miss Leona Naess is coming to Largo on June 24th. She's also the love of one Mr. Ryan Adams, just so you're in the know.