Unusual projects by familiar names seems to be theme of this week’s most compelling stream-able albums: We’ve got a new half-hour of soundtrack music by Air, a live record from Wire, and an unabashedly cheesy covers record by the one and only Paul McCartney. But don’t let all the novelty distract you from the pair of promising studio releases that are also free to preview this week — Shearwater’s Animal Joy and Band of Skulls’ Sweet Sour both seem destined to delight listeners this month. Explore your newest options for gratis at-work listening after the jump.

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1. Paul McCartney has announced that he will release a new album in February that will feature guest appearances by Stevie Wonder and Eric Clapton and a mix of covers of “songs he was inspired by during his childhood,” as well as two original compositions. [via NME]

2. In case you’re curious, here are the results of a yearly demographic survey of Broadway audiences. The stat that we find the most interesting: The average age of the Broadway theatergoer was 44 years. [via Pop Culture Brain]

3. Regardless of what yesterday’s Twitter rumors might have led you to believe, Bon Jovi was not found dead from cardiac arrest in a New Jersey hotel. He’s actually alive, and making sort of funny signs about it. [via The Daily What]

4. If you could use some help waking up this morning, you can now listen to “Stupid Hoe,” the second single off of Nicki Minaj’s forthcoming Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded album, here.

5. Ryan Gosling has joined the growing list of celebrities, which also includes Zooey Deschanel and Alicia Silverstone, who have publicly asked McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner to step in and prevent his company from using battery hens to source its eggs and other animal products. [via Jezebel]

Bonus Buzz: Super-Nerdy Snow Sculptures

Say what you will about the controversial animal rights activists at PETA, but we’re excited that they’ve finally found a way to promote vegetarianism without exploiting women and spreading misinformation. Yes, although we don’t generally endorse their tactics, we’re fairly charmed by the set of stamps they’ve teamed up with the USPS to produce, featuring such famous vegetarians as Morrissey, Joan Jett, Gandhi, Natalie Portman, Leonardo da Vinci, Russell Simmons, and Paul McCartney. Score a sheet for yourself — or the vegan stamp collector/snail mail enthusiast on your holiday shopping list — at PETA’s website. Read More »

Sleeveface is a simple concept: grab your favorite album from your vinyl collection (preferably with the artist’s portrait on the cover), position yourself behind the LP so that your body lines up perfectly with the image, and snap a photo. The phenomenon became so popular that Welsh DJ Carl Morris and his collaborator John Rostron even published a collection of the best photos — Sleeveface: Be The Vinyl. They also host a website where you can submit your own sleeveface. There’s some debate about who actually created the first one, but some say it started with Huey Lewis and the News’ 1982 album Picture This, which boasted a Huey sleeveface. Click through to see who took on the Bee Gees, David Bowie, Amy Winehouse, and more. Read More »

Where can you spy Paul McCartney and his late wife Linda making silly faces, a brunette Madonna playing hide-and-seek, and Rob Lowe rocking adorably geeky glasses? At the Hollywood parties, art openings, and clubs of the late-‘80s and early-‘90s, of course! Photographer Stephen Jerome covered the underground social gatherings and lavish soirees Tinseltown had to offer during that era, immortalizing movie stars, musicians, and fashion designers as they drank cocktails and schmoozed with other famous party-goers. Click through the jump to see some of our favorite photos from his collection and visit Jerome’s site for more old-school celebrity party shots. Read More »

There’s always that girl — the one in the songs, the one in the photographs, the one in the memoirs. The one who walks into a room and sets it aglow. She’ll tear up a rock ‘n’ roller’s heart, put it back together, and inspire the hell out of him, leaving her lasting mark on both his discography and biography. Yes, we’re talking muses, but not just any ol’ muses; we’re noting those who graduated from their tumultuous lives as expert inspirers to become successful in their own right. Check out some professors, artists, and cake shop proprietors after the jump.

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This week saw the release of the music video for “Otis,” Kanye West and Jay-Z’s Otis Redding-sampling single from their new album Watch the Throne, and all their jocular tomfoolery got us to thinking about the other gents we know who have teamed up to bring us great duets, bro-on-bro style. Because after all, no girl will ever love you as well as your homeboy, right? Right. From the wonderfully cheesy to the just plain wonderful, we’ve collected some of our favorite all-man duets in music history here (you can also check out our feature on classic lady-on-lady musical collaborations, if we’ve gotten you in the mood). Click through to take a listen to our picks, and let us know which of your favorites we’ve missed after the jump!

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1. George Clooney’s The Ides of March, an adaptation of Beau Williams’s play Farragut North, which was inspired by events in Howard Dean’s 2004 Presidential primary campaign, will open the Venice Film Festival on August 31st. The film’s all-star cast features Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright, Max Minghella, and Evan Rachel Wood. [via Slashfilm]

2. Jon Stewart explained to his Daily Show viewers last night that producers at Fox edited his interview with Chris Wallace to make him come across as emotional and erratic. “I suggest you look at the unedited version online where my emotional states don’t seem to change so arbitrarily,” he says. “The arguments are a little clearer and a little less like a scene from woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown.” [via The Daily Beast]

3. Jackass’s Bam Margera has responded to Roger Ebert’s controversial tweets about his co-star Ryan Dunn’s death in a car accident yesterday, writing, “I just lost my best friend, I have been crying hysterical for a full day and piece of sh*t roger ebert has the gall to put in his 2 cents … About a jackass drunk driving and his is one, f*ck you! Millions of people are crying right now, shut your fat f*cking mouth!” [via Vulture]

4. We’re not sure how we feel about this: The final season of Weeds will jump three years into the future, with Nancy Botwin entering into the witness protection program in New York City. Watch a behind-the-scenes preview clip here.

5. NPR is streaming the Buddy Holly tribute album, which features contributions from Paul McCartney, Lou Reed, The Black Keys, Julian Casablancas, Cee Lo Green, and Florence and the Machine, among others. [via Pop Candy]

Bonus link: Check out some “top quality giant robot porn.”

Linda McCartney was the first woman to land the coveted Rolling Stone cover with her portrait of Eric Clapton. Her photographs captured the Beatles kicking it at Brian Epstein’s house, Mick Jagger hanging back with Brian Wilson and everyone from Hendrix to Twiggy, completely unguarded. Over 200,000 photos by accomplished music photographer and Paul McCartney’s late wife were sorted to compile the 288-page Taschen tome Linda McCartney: Life in Photographs. Those photographs are now on view at New York City’s Bonni Benrubi Gallery through the end of July. See a selection of the images here, including personal, revealing shots of the McCartney family.

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Another week, another bunch of album preview streaming on the internet. If, like us, you were out a little too late last night celebrating the Mavs beating the Heat, then you’ll most likely be in the market for the gentle sounds of the new Bon Iver album (although perhaps not for his Bruce Hornsby moment). There’s also a Deerhunter live album, a killer full-length debut from Com Truise, and new records from Sons and Daughters and Jill Scott to be heard. And a bonus for Beatles fans. Click through to get a piece of the the action.

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