News: Orcas, Dax Shepard, Homecoming King, Alabama

NPR runs heartbreaking piece on two boys who identify as girls: "It’s really hard for him. He’ll disappear and close a door, and we’ll find him playing with dolls and Polly Pockets and … the stuff that he’s drawn to...He really struggles with the color pink. He really struggles with the color pink."

Dax Shepard appears to be acting out the role of Abercrombie door dude in the new film When in Rome.

Neil Patrick Harris's Barney shows off his new trophy date, Britney Spears. Watch it.

Jay Bakker to spend Mother's Day in honor of the late Tammy Faye pressuring megachurch pastor Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church to sit down and talk to LGBT activist group Soulforce: "I want to celebrate my mother's life, and help spread the message she lived and preached. We need to stop thinking of ourselves as 'us' and 'them.' We hope the families of Lakewood Church will open their hearts and minds to us and sit down and have a conversation and share a meal. ... Let's put our differences aside and share the love and hope of Christ."

Details on the first dates of Madonna's "Sticky and Sweet" world tour.

Arizona Christian group Alliance Defense Fund has hand in New York same-sex marriage cases.

Shawnee Mission East High School loves its gay Homecoming King.

Investigators say photographers won't be charged for photos of teenage water polo players that turned up on gay porn websites: "The Orange County district attorney's office says a four-month investigation determined Scott Cornelius and Allen Rockwell didn't commit any crimes. Cornelius, a University of California, Irvine, police employee currently on paid leave, is still being investigated by the university to determine if he violated college policies. Photographs of youths as young as 14 taken by Cornelius and Rockwell appeared on homosexual pornographic Web sites. But district attorney's office spokeswoman Farrah Emami says 'legally there were no criminal charges we could file.'"

Killer whales photographed hunting dolphins for the first time ever.

Matt Foreman's new perspective.

Your money's worth: Mario Lopez embroiled in Broadway bicep controversy.

Two card stud.

Alabama legislature passes two pro-gay bills: "In an email from State Rep. Patricia Todd, she announced that the Alabama House of Representatives passed the Hate Crimes Bill sponsored by Rep. Alvin Holmes of Montgomery by a vote of 46 to 44, mostly along party lines. While the fate of the bill is unsure as it moves to the Senate, this is huge progress, as the legislation was defeated last year. Also passed (unanimously) was an anti-bullying bill sponsored by Rep. Betty Carol Graham of Alexander City and Sen. Parker Griffith of Huntsville. This is also going to to the Senate."

Truce Off: McGreevey's fail to reach a settlement in their divorce trial.

Don't sit on the benches in New York subway stations unless you want bedbugs.

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Music News: Coldplay Continue To Give Away Their Music, Plus Madonna, Donna Summer, Clay Aiken

Robbie Daw presents a weekly pop music update here on Towleroad! Robbie runs his own site called Chart Rigger.

Last week Coldplay offered up "Violet Hill," their first single off forthcoming album Viva La Vida, Or Death And All His Friends, as a free download for seven days on their official site. It was reportedly downloaded by two million people, where "It would have outsold the whole of last week's [UK] top 40 (singles) four times over." The band continue to give the track away this week -- at least in their home country -- as a 7" vinyl single packaged in with British rock journal New Musical Express.

NME usually washes up on these shores in bookstores and newsstands with an inflated import price. The Coldplay issue offers new photos of the band and a brand new look for the mag: "Not only have we launched a brand spanking new-look magazine this week that’s seen us strip everything back to let the words and photography shine through, we’ve also added a whole load of new features to give you even more news, bands and gigs than ever before. Plus, to top it all off, the pièce de résistance is a FREE, 7-inch vinyl copy of Coldplay’s new single, 'Violet Hill.'"

Back here in the States, "Violet Hill" and a "single edit" of new track, "Viva La Vida", were added to iTunes. The latter is being offered for free with pre-orders of the album.

Yee-owch! Here's an interview MTV's John Norris did with Madonna and Justin Timberlake. Madge doesn't seem too jazzed to be talking to Norris, as she gets a tad frosty with him toward the end. (Of course, that might expain why the awful, out-of-key singing moment was then used in the montage.)

Meanwhile, with first-week sales of 280,000, Billboard reports today that Madonna's Hard Candy has topped the album chart, giving her a seventh #1 on that tally. As far as female artists, only Barbra Streisand has had more chart-topping albums, with eight total.

Amongst others, Donna Summer worked with producer Greg Kurstin on Crayons, her first album of original material in 17 years (due out May 20). Kurstin recently produced tracks on Kylie Minogue's X. "Stamp Your Feet," the current single off Crayons, pretty much makes you wanna do just that, though they could have done without the video.

New Stephen King/John Mellencamp musical originally set for a 2009 debut has been delayed.

Last show ever by The Police to benefit New York arts, while the band also donates to Bloomberg's MillionTreesNYC.

In a one-star (out of five) review, the New York Daily News assesses Clay Aiken's new CD, On My Way Here: "From the new songs' lyrics, we discover that Aiken has 'seen the best and the worst' of life. He has walked 'through fire,' 'risen from the ashes' and felt 'the weight of the world' on his shoulders. Along the way, he also discovered that 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger,' which finally led him to realize, 'by the grace of God go I.'
If the universe holds any more survivor cliches, I've never heard them."

What are your iPod habits and desires?

THE WEEK'S NEW RELEASES:

"Take A Bow", a new single from Rihanna off the upcoming re-release of Good Girl Gone Bad. (Not a Madonna cover.)

Gavin DeGraw's self-titled third album.

Home Before Dark, Neil Diamond's latest set of original material, produced by Rick Rubin.

Sony's 20th anniversary enhanced CD/DVD version of Midnight Oil's Diesel And Dust.

The always-charming Toby Keith's 35 Biggest Hits.

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Madonna Knows Nothing Gets Press Like a Gay French Kiss

Pulling the Britney move out of her back pocket, Madonna made out with one of her back-up dancers during her concert at the Olympia in Paris last night.

Said M-Dolla to the crowd: "Why do I have this relationship with France? I'm always drawn to working with French people - and frenching French people. Vive la France!"

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Madonna Opens Candy Shop at Roseland in NYC

We sent Towleroad correspondent Josh Helmin to cover M Dolla's gig last night in New York. Here's his report, along with some YouTube clips we discovered that may vanish quickly. So get a taste quick. Josh is one half of Josh & Josh are Rich and Famous, and co-produces our Towleroad TV segments. Unfortunately, we couldn't get her Madgesty on Towleroad TV - yet - but we'll have another segment of that coming up soon.

Last night Madonna delivered a six-song, 32-minute high-intensity performance at the Roseland Ballroom in midtown Manhattan, in front of an estimated crowd of 2,200. Many of those attending camped out before sunrise for a chance at the free tickets handed out that day. (The rest of the lucky attendees won entrance through Z100, Verizon, or Madonna’s online fan club.)

A few minutes after ten o’clock Madonna appeared onstage on a throne, blonde hair lightly curly and clad in black pants and top, to deafening screams from the audience. Those standing on main floor crushed forward to get closer to her Madgesty, and thus my already good spot turned into a position about twenty-feet from the Material Girl herself.

After the first two songs, both from her new album Hard Candy (out this week), the audience went crazy as the first strains of “4 Minutes to Save The World” began. When Justin Timberlake popped on stage moments later the response was so vigorous that it was briefly impossible to hear the song. Madonna and Justin’s choreography had them grinding against each other and pacing the stage while singing their #1 iTunes hit.

After Justin left the stage Madonna slung her guitar across her chest and addressed the crowd. “This next song is for all of you that I saw last night sleeping on the sidewalks waiting to get tickets,” she said, before launching into a hard rock remix of “Hung Up.” Throughout the night she seemed ready to debut her new guitar skills, choosing to play her instrument during three of the night’s songs, and she looked far more comfortable doing so than in previous performances.

What perhaps made the performance so enjoyable was the clear impression that Madonna herself was having a great time. The love coming from the audience was unmistakable. She also looked amazing, especially considering that her 50th birthday is coming up in August. Her arms were, as usual, perfect ellipses of rock hard muscle (better than mine are ever going to be, I can tell you that much). And, to her credit, she also sang live. She certainly had backing vocals, but the effect of singing live was appreciated, especially considering the number of performers today who choose to lip synch, even when the choreography isn’t half as vigorous as Madonna’s.

The one snafu of the evening for Madonna came during the middle of “Hung Up” during which she briefly began singing the wrong words. She tried to cover for a second, and then looked behind her momentarily, before figuring out where the song was and jumping right back in without losing her composure. It was a quick error, and seemed to be forgiven immediately.

Madonna's Roseland Set List

Candy Shop | Miles Away | 4 Minutes

Hung Up | Give It 2 Me | Music (Fedde Le Grand Mix)

Clips via Madgetribe.

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Music News: So What Do You Think Of Hard Candy? Plus Coldplay, Glastonbury, Amy Winehouse, Robyn, Portishead

Photo courtesy Pud at Madonnalicious.

Robbie Daw presents a weekly pop music update here on Towleroad! Robbie runs his own site called Chart Rigger.

I'm going way out on a limb and assuming there might be some Madonna fans amongst the readers of Towleroad. So in honor of the release today of Madge's 11th studio album, Hard Candy, lets turn it over to you guys -- what are your thoughts of the album? Did you celebrate with a big bag of Jolly Ranchers or wallpaper your bedroom with 100 copies of the vinyl? Wish she woulda been a little more Material Matron and a little less Hooker Of Dorian Gray with the cover art? Let us know what you think!

Live outside the U.S. and not able to jet over to Madonna's gig at New York's Roseland Ballroom tomorrow night? Vodafone is making the show available for free to customers in 14 different countries. Says the company's global chief marketing officer, “Vodafone's strategy is to offer different music flavours and innovative formats allowing customers to experience music on their mobile in any way they wish."

Is Amy Winehouse recording the new Bond theme for November's Quantum Of Solace? "She has been doing some work in the studio, but [the Bond theme] is speculation, basically," says her label's spokesperson. "It would be lovely, but there's nothing to confirm at this stage."

Saturday Night Live alum Cheri Oteri's father, Gaetano Thomas Oteri, was killed over the weekend, and his roommate, country songwriter Richard William Fagan, has been charged with the murder: "...the roommates had an alcohol-infused brawl around 9 p.m. Saturday night and Fagan allegedly cut Oteri, his music associate and publisher, with a 4- to 6-inch long Colt pocketknife. Police spokesman Don Aaron said Oteri died from a significant laceration to the wrist. Fagan is best known for penning the No. 1 songs 'Be My Baby Tonight' and 'Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)' for John Michael Montgomery."

Coldplay have unveiled the cover art (pictured right) for fourth album, Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends, due out June 18. Today the band's new single, "Violet Hill," was made available as a free download from Coldplay's official site. The track will be free for one week before its official release to online digital music stores.

Mel B. denies rumors the Spice Girls will play Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday party in London this summer, as she's far too busy modeling underwear and recording a solo album.

With Coachella over, all guitars (and Jay-Z) point toward Glastonbury.

In February I interviewed Robyn for Towleroad, and today her full self-titled album finally sees its American release. In a final nod to Madonna, below is the video for Robyn's current U.K. single, "Who's That Girl."

TODAY'S NEW RELEASES:

Third, the long-awaited third album from Bristol trip-hoppers Portishead, who performed at Coachella over the weekend. It's now been 11 years since their last full-length set of original material.

Shine, from 28-year-old London singer Estelle. The album features the single "American Boy," a duet with Kanye West that recently spent a month on top of the U.K. chart.

The Roots' Rising Down, featuring guest appearances by Mos Def, Common and Talib Kweli.

Santogold's self-titled debut. The Philadelphia-based artist topped numerous music mag's "ones to watch" lists last year.

Lyfe Jennings' third album, Lyfe Change.

Nine Lives, a new solo offering from Steve Winwood which also features Eric Clapton on the song "Dirty City." Winwood turns 60 in May.

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #280

KNOCKOUT: Preview of a new DVD coming soon from Joe Oppedisano, who as you may remember, shot the Dangerous Boys of the Black Party and the salute to Calvin Klein underwear which we featured in the last few months.

I AM BECAUSE WE ARE: Trailer for Madonna's new documentary on Malawi.

TR KNIGHT: Speaks to Miguel Contreras Learning Complex's School of Social Justice about anti-gay hate for the 'Day of Silence'.

EXIT BECKHAM: David Beckham makes a sexy exit on Ellen

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here.

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Music News: Coachella! Plus Midnight Juggernauts, Chris Brown, Yaz, Madonna, STP

Robbie Daw presents a weekly pop music update here on Towleroad! Robbie runs his own site called Chart Rigger.

Since the inception of Indio, California's Coachella Music & Arts Festival in 1999, a half-dozen similar events inspired by Coachella (read: imitators) have cropped up annually across the states. The San Diego Union-Tribune sizes them all up, along with the growing festival fever sweeping the country.

Nevertheless, there's really only one Coachella, and this Friday kicks off the three-day outdoor "do" in the desert. Big-name headliners for the '08 fest include Roger Waters, Jack Johnson and the recently-added Prince, but flashier draws for the hipster set are Portishead, Kraftwerk, and Death Cab For Cutie. Other artists making a stop at Coachella this year are Hot Chip, M.I.A., Goldfrapp, Aphex Twin, Justice and Simian Mobile Disco, amongst over a hundred more.

One act to look out for this weekend is Melbourne electro trio Midnight Juggernauts. The synth-heavy Aussie act, which at times brings to mind Jeff Lynne in his E.L.O. days, gained attention after posting songs on MySpace and then meeting Justice, eventually being invited to support them on a tour last year.

Here are the videos for Midnight Juggernauts' "Tombstone" and "Into The Galaxy." Their debut album, Dystopia, sees a U.S. release from Astralwerks May 27.

Veteran alt rockers Love & Rockets just announced two warm-up shows prior to their Coachella gig: Pomona's Glass House tonight, and Cane's in San Diego on Thursday. They'll be the first full sets the trio has done in nine years. Says founding Rockets member David J to NME.com: "The time feels right for this band again. We'll be focusing on the music from our first four albums, the more guitar-based stuff."

In addition to some live content from the bands performing being available at Coachella.com, AT&T announced today it'll be exclusively webcasting from the event at AT&T Blueroom, while on-demand content will be made available next month.

If you've got tickets and aren't quite sure which stages to run back and forth between or how to plan who you want to see when, Artist Direct offers up a pretty decent preview of the festival.

Like your pop breezy, danceable, Euro-sounding and heavy on the vocoded effects? (And, no, this isn't leading up to something on Madge's new album.) Then check out Chris Brown's new single, "Forever," a new track tacked onto the re-release of Brown's latest set, Exclusive, and added to iTunes today. Bonus gay points -- not that the song needs any more -- to Chris for working with Polow da Don on "Forever," who crafted Fergie's "Glamorous."

Back in January I mentioned the reunion of Yaz's Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet (pictured left) for their Yaz Reconnected tour. So what was it like the first time in 18 years they saw each other in person?

"No Air" and "Tattoo" singer Jordin Sparks was forced to cancel an Earth Day show at Washington D.C.'s National Mall today, as well as several other dates with Alicia Keyes, due to an acute vocal cord hemorrhage. "Jordin is on a vocal rest, but she's expected to make a full recovery and join Alicia on tour in May," says a statement from Jive Records.

Things are rolling along for the reunited Stone Temple Pilots. Meanwhile, think you have the chops to blow Slash away?

Though it peaked at #3 on Billboard's Hot 100 stateside, Madonna's "4 Minutes" became Madonna's 13th single to top the U.K. chart on Sunday. She's racked up 12 #1s in the U.S. so far, spanning from 1984's "Like A Virgin" to 2000's "Music." Can you guess the other 10? (They're listed here.)

Perhaps the reason Sony BMG chief Clive Davis was shafted last week was for licensing this song, which recently spent two months at #1 in Germany, for an American release.

Forty-five seconds of new music from Franz Ferdinand has leaked.

TODAY'S NEW RELEASES:

Ashlee Simpson's third album, Bittersweet World, featuring production by Timbaland and Chad Hugo of the Neptunes.

Hideaway, the third LP from indie folk-pop duo The Weepies. Last year the band collaborated with Mandy Moore on her album Wild Hope.

Elephant Shell, the debut from Canadian indie band Tokyo Police Club, who share a label (Saddle Creek) with Conor Oberst's Bright Eyes.

From Donny... With Love, a collection of covers and standards from 50-year-old crooner and cheeseball Donny Osmond. Incidentally, despite there being six songs with the world "love" in the title here, the singer's own 1989 hit, "Soldier Of Love," remains absent.

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Madonna Defends Turtle-Worshipers and Tom Cruise

In a new interview with New York magazine, Madge defends Tom Cruise's right to worship Scientology (though I think Jason Beghe would probably have a few things to say about that).

Says Madonna: "I don’t care if people worship turtles or frogs—if they’re good people, that’s all I care about, and he is a good person. I think he gets a raw deal, just as I think the orphans in Malawi get a raw deal, just as I think a lot of marginalized people get a raw deal."

She also touches on connections between her interest in Malawi and speaking out in the early days of the AIDS crisis:

"There are a lot. One is that I myself feel like a motherless child. I grew up that way. But also the idea that I felt so helpless by the AIDS epidemic that seemed to sweep through Manhattan and claim the lives of so many people that I loved. And I saw how stigmatized the gay community was, and that freaked me out."

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Madonna's Not Mad at You, She's Mad at the Dirt

Madonna is still a dominatrix, but these days she's beating the crap out of sofas and shag rugs. And still retains a sense of humor about her cleaning duties.

Watch a silly web clip she posted yesterday from the set of her new video,
AFTER THE JUMP...

Love that cackle at the end.

In other news, her Madgesty is planning a cybercast of her April 30th concert at New York's Roseland Ballroom on the MSN Network.

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #276

ERYKAH BADU: An entertaining assessment on what young women should do to make it in the music business.

NAKED COCKATOO: Death-defying featherless cockatoo does Mick Jagger impressions. Michelle Collins at Best Week Ever writes, "Oscar looks pretty delicious. Let’s hope he doesn’t sing and dance his way into some buffalo sauce and blue cheese dressing."

AB ANXIETY: The arrival of a new trainer ruffles the staff at Sky Sports on Bravo's Workout.

HARD CANDY: Madonna discusses making her new record.

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here.

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Vanity Fair's 'Green Issue' Madonna Globe is Up for Auction

Anybody need the largest paperweight ever, or maybe that Atlas costume for next Halloween?

The globe, which took 10 days to complete, is made of plaster and marble dust with a recyclable polystyrene core, according to the magazine. It's going up for auction today with proceeds to benefit Madonna's Raising Malawi Charity. Madonna signed the globe as well and drew a heart over Africa.

And if you missed that video the other day, it's AFTER THE JUMP...

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Got 4 Minutes?

Feel like you're at the Bodies exhibition? Check out the Madonna-Timberlake-Timbaland video, AFTER THE JUMP (before it's taken down)...

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #269

ELEPHANT ZEN: An elephant paints a self-portrait.

I'M F**KING OBAMA: A spoof on the Jimmy Kimmel clips.

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE: Performing at the Universal Charm Pageant / 1992 West Tennessee State Finals.

MADONNA - ELLE: Behind the scenes of her Madgesty's cover shoot.

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here.

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News: Botox, Life Before Death, Shelter, Aladygma

An update on yesterday's post. Defense Secretary Robert Gates reversed decision and allowed Tammy Baldwin's partner Lauren Azar to travel on congressional trip after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi intervened.

Soul departed: "Life Before Death" photographic portrait project shows in London.

Like Ryan Seacrest, Madonna and Guy Ritchie sleep with their BlackBerries.

Thailand Public Health Ministry bans castration: "The Medical Council of Thailand last week also warned that castration is a health risk. Providing the operation for young boys was unethical and could damage hormone growth and physical development, it said. The warning came after Natee Teerarojjanapongs, the leader of the Gay Political Group of Thailand, called on the council to take action against clinics performing castrations on young ladyboys. Castration is a step towards a sex-change but is also a standard treatment for some kinds of cancer. Mr Natee said many parents of young boys keen to have their testes removed had complained about the influence of advertisements on the internet that say the surgery is inexpensive and the result similar to a sex-change operation."

ALADYGMA: Viral campaign suspected to be sequel to Cloverfield begins.

NYT on gay surf romance Shelter: "Coming out has rarely looked so pretty."

Arts Council England asks applicants for grants about their sexuality: "Individuals and arts bodies applying for money are invited to state if they or their board members are bisexual, gay, straight, lesbian or 'unknown'. Arts Council England insisted last night that the voluntary request would never be used to decide whether an artist or organisation should receive money for projects. A spokesman also denied reports that artists would have to answer the question for the rest of the grant application form to be valid." Sir Ian McKellen: "It sounds extraordinary, It shouldn't be on a form. It's quite inappropriate."

Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List: Heroes star Hayden Panettiere to star in movie about gay boy love triangle.

Still recovering from cancer-related surgery, film critic Roger Ebert will begin writing reviews again. Ebert cannot currently speak: "But I still have all my other abilities, including the love of viewing movies and writing about them."

American Idol contestant David Cook hospitalized and released after heart palpitations.

Lab tests warn one form of botulinum toxin can move from the face to the brain: "Scientists injected rats' whisker muscles with botulism toxin. Tests of the rodents' brain tissue found that botulism had been transported to the brain stems, the researchers said in the Journal of Neuroscience published April 2." Human issues unknown.

The Collin County Commissioners Court scraps plans to discuss "job status" of City Council candidate Justin Nichol's employment as coordinator of the county’s teen court that were scheduled after revelations that he is openly gay: "Mr. Nichols, who is running for council against Pat Miner, said he hoped the matter would soon be resolved. 'I look forward to getting back to teen court and bringing my message back to the voters of Plano,' said Mr. Nichols, 23. The brouhaha started last month after the Dallas Voice, a weekly gay and lesbian newspaper, ran a story about Mr. Nichols’s candidacy that mentioned his sexual orientation. Though Mr. Nichols was openly gay before the article’s publication, he said the story and subsequent attention it drew spurred the request to discuss his job."

Gay-themed children's books pulled from British school concerned over "lack of consultation" with parents: "One of the library books was a fairytale about a king who couldn’t find a woman to love and eventually married a prince. This was for children aged five to read. The issue should have been, how do we stop bullying in general, and teaching about homosexuality can be a part of that. This was completely one-sided. Homosexuality is not a priority to parents, but academic achievement is. This just makes parents think 'What the heck is my child being taught at school?’"

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News: 90210, Ecuador, Nate Berkus, Gay Pension, Alabama Prom

A Boy Named Gay wins NYT weird name story contest.

Meet the first cast member of the Beverly Hills 90210 spin-off.

Rally for Sally: 50 Pastors organize "free speech" demonstration for bigoted Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern.

Brown University bookstore to be renovated to make it "a little less gay." Director: "You can practically slice the homoeroticism in there with a knife."

Indonesian Muslim leader clarifies beliefs about homosexuality to Jakarta Post. Ma'aruf Amin, chairman of the Fatwa Commission at the Indonesia Ulema Council: "Yes, it's a social construction, but it is derived from the Koran. The Koran clearly states that homosexuality is unacceptable, and we ulema have agreed about that. It's a curable disorder. There have been many cases where homosexuals have realised what they did was wrong and became heterosexuals again. It's something that can be fought off. God created both good and bad behaviours, but He told humans to choose the good ones. So, it's a matter of options."

Nate Berkus strips down on a Hawaiian beach.

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa on gay rights: "Let's be clear that the profoundly humanistic position of this government is to respect the intrinsic dignity of everyone, of every human being, independently of their creed, race, sexual preference. ... We will give certain guarantees to stable gay couples but matrimony will continue being reserved for a man, a woman and the family. ... Every person has dignity, that's to say, one must respect a person independently of their sexual preference. Be careful not to deny employment to someone because of their sexual preference. That is discrimination, that is unconstitutional."

Madonna will hurt you.

European Union Court rules in favor of gay man claiming his late partner's pension benefits: "'The refusal to grant the survivor's pension to life partners constitutes direct discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation if surviving spouses and surviving life partners are in a comparable situation as regards that pension,' the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, the EU's highest court, ruled today. The Court of Justice left it up to German judges to decide the status of the pension."

Alabama lesbians win right to attend school prom: "Two Alabama high school students didn't think they would be able to dance the night away at their high school prom last weekend all because they're gay, and the school wouldn't allow them to attend. But that all changed in light of a federal judge's decision. A temporary restraining order was given to the Scottsboro City Board of Education. Chelsie Collins and Lauren Farrington are both students at Scottsboro High School and Saturday night is their school's prom."

UK Stonewall equality survey finds homophobia rife in British society.

Janice Dickinson: Crazy/Exhausted.

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News: Johnny Depp, Eureka Springs, Clark Gable, Bounty Killer

BOOK: Clark Gable was gay for pay. "David Bret’s angle on Clark Gable is this: Gable was 'gay for pay' and 'rough trade,' and he enjoyed having sex 'for bucks.' In addition, he 'would sometimes scrub his penis until it bled' and used a device to prolong erections. If these tidbits from the book’s first few pages aren’t too much information for you, you’re in luck. This breathtakingly trashy biography does not skimp on sordid anecdotes."

Johnny Depp the new, uh, face of Trojan condoms?

Gawker goes to the NYC Black Party.

T.R. Knight steps out with boyfriend Mark Cornelsen: We all have AIDS.

Survey shows increased support for gay marriage in Ireland: "Eighty-four per cent of respondents to an opinion poll conducted this month by Lansdowne Market Research said they supported civil marriage or civil partnerships for gay and lesbian couples. This is the same figure as a similar survey carried out in November 2006. However, 58% said gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to marry in registry offices, compared to 51% in the previous survey."

Did Heath Ledger father a love child?

Could Al Gore be brought in for clean-up duty at the convention? "Let’s say the elders of the Democratic Party decide, when the primaries end, that neither Obama nor Clinton is viable. Let’s also assume — and this may be a real stretch — that such elders are strong and smart enough to act. All they’d have to do would be to convince a significant fraction of their superdelegate friends, maybe fewer than 100, to announce that they were taking a pass on the first ballot at the Denver convention, which would deny the 2,025 votes necessary to Obama or Clinton. What if they then approached Gore and asked him to be the nominee, for the good of the party — and suggested that he take Obama as his running mate? Of course, Obama would have to be a party to the deal and bring his 1,900 or so delegates along."

Madonna on the paparazzi: "The paparazzi are out of control. I haven't been to Los Angeles in quite a while, and I don’t watch television here or in England, and I was told there's now a television show where the paparazzi are the stars of the show—is that true? That they film each other doing paparazzi jobs? Which gives them more fuel. I usually found that type kept their distance—they definitely do in England, because it's illegal to photograph children. But that's not how it is here. They get this close, and don't care how much they scare your children. Being famous has changed a lot, because now there's so many outlets, between magazines, TV shows, and the Internet, for people to stalk and follow you. We created the monster."

Gay couple faces harsh realities in move from New Jersey to Idaho.

Is Regent Entertainment circling gay publications Out and The Advocate?

HIV-positive Canadian Martin Rooney takes on U.S. travel ban: "I said I was on disability. He said what's my disability. I said I have HIV. He hauled me into a backroom. ... He put on a set of rubber gloves to hold each of my fingers. Nobody else wore rubber gloves. Then he fingerprinted me, photographed me, ran me through the FBI's most-wanted list and told me to go back to Canada and not return until I came back with a waiver. I felt like I was being treated like a terrorist."

Arkansas gays converge on Eureka Springs for 'Diversity Weekend': "Homosexual and transsexual residents say that living in Northwest Arkansas has its benefits, such as the small-town atmosphere, natural beauty, and amenities such as shopping and restaurants. But many lament the limited social venues and a lack of connectivity within their own community. 'There is a fairly large population of people that are gay, lesbian or bisexual, but there is no community,' said Fayetteville resident J. Judd Harbin."

Ricky Martin battles human trafficking in Cambodia

Human rights groups halt concerts by 'murder music' singer Bounty Killer: "In Germany, Bounty Killer's performance in Essen was cancelled and other German concert dates are now in doubt as gay human rights groups are coordinating a Europe-wide campaign to halt his 'Deadly Alliance' tour of the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Italy and Switzerland."

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Madonna Doesn't Need an Excuse to See Timberlake's Butt

Here's the cover of Vanity Fair's new Green Issue, featuring Madonna. Maybe they told M-Dolla the "Green" issue was about money.

She called in to Z100 yesterday and said she wouldn't be singing some of her past hits ever again unless she got a lot of it: "I'm not sure I can sing 'Holiday' or 'Like A Virgin' ever again. I just can't – unless somebody paid me like $30 million or something. [Like if] some Russian guy wants me to come to the wedding he's going to have to a 17-year-old, you know it."

She also told the hosts why she administered a B-12 shot to Justin Timberlake's hind quarters when they were recording Hard Candy:

"First of all, I've seen enough butt ... The reason I gave him a B-12 [shot] is because we only had a certain amount of days in the studio and I didn't want him to use that as a lame-ass excuse not to come to work. Okay? It's got nothing to do with butt. I promise you. Listen, I don't need to give him a shot to see his butt. Duh."

Listen, AFTER THE JUMP...

Previously
Does Madonna Now Want to be Known as 'M-Dolla'? [tr]
First Look: Madonna Hard Candy Album Cover [tr]
Vegas Man Spends 4 Months Authenticating Madonna 'Sex' Photo [tr]

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Music News: Sam Sparro Is Not Related To Chaka Khan, Plus Fleetwood Mac, Sheryl Crow, Danity Kane, Madonna, Marilyn Manson

Robbie Daw presents a weekly pop music update here on Towleroad! Robbie runs his own site called Chart Rigger.

This week saw Australian-born, Los Angeles-based Sam Sparro crack the U.K. Top 40 with his electro number, "Black And Gold." On his MySpace, Sam describes his music as sounding like "ice melting and ass smacking." You can be the judge of that -- below is the vid for "Black And Gold," which, hmmmm, gave this viewer a bit of a opportunistic flashback.

Sparro, signed to Universal, is currently in England doing promotion for "Black And Gold" and his forthcoming self-titled album -- including tour dates with retro chanteuse, Adele. Interestingly, there seem to be a number of reports linking Sam to Chaka Khan, of all people.

The 24-year-old singer comically notes this on blog: "I had an interview a few weeks ago where someone had heard that Chaka Khan was my godmother! Now it has been reported that Chaka Kahn [sic] 'kick-started' my career. Thanks Chaka - I'm sure that's news to us both. I've actually only ever met her twice...when I was 12 years old. A friend of my family's was her musical director and married to her sister. Someone had suggested to her that she might record a particular gospel track on her on next record and I was the only one in the room who knew all the words - so I busted out singing it with piano accompaniment. She said 'Damn! That white boy can sing!' That was pretty much it. I wonder what other 'creative writing' will crop up in the future????"

Oh, Sam. I feel for you. There's also a behind-the-scenes clip of his photo shoot with U.K. gay mag Attitude on his site.

Fleetwood Mac to return next year with new material and Sheryl Crow in tow? Says Lindsey Buckingham: "I think we were all a little surprised (Crow) was announcing that to the world with such certainty. We have talked about the possibility of bringing another woman into the scene to kind of give Stevie a sort of foil and shake it up a little bit. (Crow) was certainly a name that has come up. We'll have to see." Buckingham released Live At The Bass Performance Hall, a new concert DVD, yesterday.

Michael Musto describes one DJ and Madonna fan's dislike of her new single and album cover, pointing out that the indifferent singer will no doubt be laughing "all the way to the nearest Barclays Bank (where she can pick up her accent again, if not her weirdly absent husband)."

Marilyn Manson's (pictured right) former bandmate Madonna Wayne Gacy suing for misuse of $20 million of the band's money: "Unauthorized purchases Gacy claims Manson made with group funds include the full skeleton of a four-year-old Chinese girl, various pieces of Nazi propaganda and a $150,000 engagement ring (money not so well spent, in retrospect) for ex-wife Dita Von Teese. He also claims in court papers that Manson paid for his entire wedding to Von Teese with the group's money as well as financed a drug habit."

Diddy's gyrating, Making The Band-concocted girl group Danity Kane score the week's #1 album on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart. Welcome To The Dollhouse posts the second-biggest sales week of the year, behind Jack Johnson's Sleep Through The Static.

The New York Times offers a dissection of Britney's TV comeback.

MTV revisits John Norris' 2004 interview with John McCain, where the Arizona senator was asked if he'd consider another run for the White House: "I think it's very unlikely. ... We had a kind of magical moment [in 2000]. A lot of things came together that I think would be very difficult to do again. And one thing I would hate to be is somebody who goes back in and would lose. ... It's a long time away, but I doubt it. [Smiling.] I'm not gettin' any younger!"

Pop Trash Addicts is just "your typical, Gen Y internet user" with a penchant for washed-up divas and La Toya Jackson.

THE WEEK'S NEW RELEASES:

Battle of the legendary super talents: new singles from Madonna featuring Justin Timberlake ("4 Minutes"), Mariah Carey ("Touch My Body") and Heidi Montag ("No More").

Funplex, the first album of new material from the B-52's in 16 years.

Morrissey's latest Greatest Hits, compiled mostly of material from his past two albums and a minor smattering of his classics. Contains new songs "That's How People Grow Up" and "All You Need Is Me."

Temposhark's debut, The Invisible Line. Previously the British electronic duo had provided remixes for M.I.A., Kate Havnevik and Hellogoodbye.

Counting Crows' half rock, half country concept record Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings.

The Raconteurs' Consolers Of The Lonely, which, as mentioned last week, was literally completed at the beginning of the month.

Pretty. Odd., the sophomore set from Vegas emo act Panic At The Disco.

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News: Ben Cohen, Ryerson, Bachelor, Illinois, Arctic Icecap

Bad sign for the future of the Arctic ice cap: thickest, oldest, toughest ice melting...

British rugby stud Ben Cohen releases details on a night with his gay fans: "'Moving away from the more traditional rugby testimonial theme, the Ben Cohen Testimonial Committee is holding a ground breaking event at The Dorchester in London,' his publicist Jill Tipping said. 'BENediction is an exclusive evening of fun, feasting and frivolity aimed primarily at including his legions of fans in the gay community in the testimonial celebrations. Guests are promised a 'whole host of treats and surprises making this event a real one off and not to be missed. Ben Cohen fans need to make sure that they reserve their places quickly as they are expected to snapped up fast,' Tipping said. Of course, we are not sure how far Cohen will take the concept of 'one off,' but he has never been shy about marketing his physical assets."

If you missed the first episode of this season's The Bachelor (and I have a feeling many of you did), you can catch up real quick: this mess was what it was all about.

AfterElton looks at Jimmy Kimmel and the gays.

Beckham power shop