The Pretenders‘ new album, Break Up the Concrete, doesn’t come out until Sept. 23, but the band is giving it away on its website with an “MP3 countdown” — a new single every week until the CD is released. This week, you can download a free copy of the first single, “Boots of Chinese Plastic.”

(If you are under 25 and the Pretenders are your dad’s music, trust me: there was no one hotter in her day than Ms. Hynde. Go download a copy of “Mystery Achievement” and learn.

If you are over 40, take a slug of Metamucil and consider this: in three years, Chrissie will be 60.)

Last month I wrote a story about Internet radio, its potential for keeping Louisiana music alive and finding fresh audiences, and new federal regulations that small Web broadcasters feared would put them out of business. While the new Congressional regulations purport to support musical artists and compensate them for Internet radio play, the little guys who champion the artists and broadcast the music from their living room computers insisted that the new fees were instead all about quashing competition and un-leveling the playing field.

Looks like they may have a point:

Clear Channel unveils online radio network with 900-plus stations

Clear Channel Communications Inc. said Monday it will launch an online radio network that offers more than 900 stations, including independent online stations….The network will have the widest marketing reach in online radio.

And, no doubt, plenty of duplication of what’s already on terrestrial radio, along with those great commercials we all know so well. I have a feeling that if you like what Clear Channel has done to the radio in your car, you’re going to love what it does to the radio in your computer.

This scene may look familiar. It’s a recent photo from Iowa, where flooding has filled towns with water, leaving people and rescue efforts to maneuver streets with boats. There are more photos and videos of the extent of flooding here. This week, Le Chat Noir hosts a fundraising event to help theater artists in Cedar Rapids affected by the flooding. Local cabaret stars will perform in “Heartsong Two: A New Orleans Concert for Iowa” on Thursday (8 p.m. July 31). Performers include Amy Alvarez, Trina Beck, Rich Arnold, Lisa Picone, Jefferson Turner, Jessie Terrebonne and Anais St. John. Tickets are $25. But anyone interested in making a donation also may contact the box office (581-5812). There also will be a raffle. The event is sponsored by Le Chat, the Contemporary Arts Center and the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.

It’s hard to believe, but the Princeton Review’s annual list of “top party schools” (as selected by some 120,000 students) puts Tulane at #15 and Loyola at #20, making New Orleans the only city to appear twice in the Top 20…a distinction that so far hasn’t been noted on Ms. Mae’s Wall of Shame.

You gotta wonder what Marques Colstonis thinking in this picture. Is it possibly that training camp doesn’t matter? Or maybe he’s just counting the days until the season opener. There’s one thing he’s definitely not thinking about, though: DeMario Pressley being put on IR for the season. Not that he doesn’t care (sure he does) but this picture was taken a couple days ago. Before Pressley’s injury and before Usama Young caught people’s attention with three INT’s in practice. Oh, and top draft pick Sedrick Ellis still isn’t in practice, and coach Payton said it’s “Not OK,” but some think he should be in a matter of hours.

This year’s U.S. Senate race hasn’t exactly shaped up as an exchange of ideas and plans, at least not yet. Incumbent Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Democrat, opened the contest by showcasing her successes on earmarks, an issue that challenger John Kennedy, the state’s Republican treasurer, has railed against.  Read the rest of this entry »

Gov. Bobby Jindal owes one to the Louisiana Senate. As of last week, 36 of 38 senators mailed in ballots voting to cancel the scheduled veto override session. For Jindal, a Republican, that’s all it takes to avoid yet another conflict with lawmakers.  Read the rest of this entry »

The first round of endorsements in the fall elections came last week.  Read the rest of this entry »