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Tens of thousands of people in the Netherlands have objected to an official King's Song marking the 30 April investiture of Willem-Alexander.

The song, composed by Dutch-British producer John Ewbank and performed by 51 Dutch artists, was released on Friday morning.

By Saturday, an online petition entitled No to the King's Song had attracted 37,000 signatures.

Mr Ewbank has now withdrawn it as the official anthem.

Many had objected to the lyrics as well as the mix of rap with traditional music.

Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, 45, and his Argentine-born wife Princess Maxima will become king and queen when his mother, Queen Beatrix, abdicates on 30 April aged 75.

In an interview broadcast on Thursday, he promised to be a "traditional king" but declared he would not be a "protocol fetishist".

The five-minute song – Koningslied in Dutch – was due to be performed in the presence of the new king and queen on the day of Willem-Alexander's swearing-in at 19:30 (17:30 GMT).

The performance, via video-link from the Ahoy sports arena in Rotterdam, was to feature some of the Netherlands' best-known stars including Marco Borsato and Trijntje Oosterhuis.

But both music and lyrics met with disdain following the song's launch at 08:30 on Friday by the national enthronement committee.

John Ewbank's music, which starts gently and at one point bursts into rap, was labelled "overproduced" by one critic who condemned the rap segment as "dreadful".

As soon as the much-hyped song hit the airwaves a petition against it went online, the BBC's Hague correspondent Anna Holligan reports.

"In protest at this imbecilic 'King's Song', I hereby abdicate as a Dutch subject," the petition reads.

Mr Ewbank said the response was entirely expected because the song had been put under an "enormous magnifying glass".

While the lyrics were based on words submitted by Dutch citizens, they were put together by four writers.

Some critics complained about lines such as: "I build a dyke with my bare hands and keep the water away" and "through wind and rain I'll stand beside you… I'll keep you safe as long as I live".

One signatory to the petition said the song "spontaneously turns you into a republican, if you weren't one already".

Despite the outcry, the song has gone straight to the top of the Dutch iTunes chart, our correspondent says.

Story By: Ask Me Another

Here’s a celebrity twist on the classic word game “Tom Swifties,” which combines a spoken sentence and a pun which describes how the sentence was said. In this round, puzzle guru Greg Pliska uses celebrities whose surnames turn into adverbs when you add “-ly” to the end. For example: “They promised they’d explain the rules really fast,” said Taylor, Swiftly.

Published April 8th, 2013 – 10:52 GMT via SyndiGate.info

The hard-living star, pictured, could be jailed or forced to retake his six months of community service after claims that he was in Dubai at the time he should have been picking up rubbish from a US street.

California state prosecutors claimed yesterday that Brown faked his community service to make it look like he was on “trash pick-up” in Virginia in 2011, when in fact he was only on his way back from a Dubai holiday after performing in front of thousands of fans in Festival City.

Photographs show Brown with his arm around a Dubai cop, jet-skiing off the Dubai coast and taking a motorbike trip through the desert in the days after his December 9, 2011 Dubai concert. The pictures show Brown with an ex-girlfriend. One photo shows the woman posing on the back of Brown’s motorbike as he drives through the Dubai desert.

Brown’s lawyer has slammed the allegation as “ridiculous”.

The case stems from the beating Brown gave Rihanna in a Lamborghini after a pre-Grammy party in Los Angeles in 2009. Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey filed a motion yesterday that there was no way Brown could have made it back from Dubai in time to pick up rubbish in Virginia on December 12, 2011, which was supposed to start at 9am.

She said she investigated the matter with immigration officials and said it was “unreasonable” to believe that Brown could have got off “a 12 to 13-hour flight from Dubai and then rushed through customs and the early morning rush-hour traffic” in just two hours to start picking up trash for eight hours. The case is due in court on June 10.

Brown and Rihanna split after the assault, however they got back together last year.

Hollywood superstar Al Pacino is bringing his acclaimed one-man show to the London Palladium this summer.

A Night With Pacino will include an on-stage interview with the actor about his life and work, and a question and answer session with the audience.

The 72-year-old, best known for his portrayal of Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, said: "I am really looking forward to coming to London."

The one-off show will take place at the West End venue on 2 June.

Pacino spoke of his affection for the capital ahead of his visit, saying: "I have always felt at home there.

"I consider it an honour to be appearing at the Palladium and I will be glad to be back on the boards in your great city."

The star of stage and screen is one of the few actors to achieve the industry's coveted "Triple Crown" by winning an Oscar, Emmy and Tony award.

He finally won the Academy Award in 1992 for his role as Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman, after seven previous nominations – including one for best supporting actor the same year.

Pacino's long list of film credits includes Dog Day Afternoon, Scarface, Donnie Brasco and Carlito's Way.

Published April 5th, 2013 – 17:40 GMT via SyndiGate.info

A veteran of the Egyptian TV scene, Laila Elwi was rumored to have stepped out of the limelight this year to avoid the Ramadan drama rush.

But according to Middle East news portal, Elaph, the much-loved star has caved in and agreed to once again take part in a TV series for the holy month.

This year she’ll be starring in ‘Usfoor al Janeh’ (Heavenly Bird), directed by Khaled al Hajar. The soap was initially meant to be directed by Ali Idris but the Egyptian bigwig pulled out, worrying that cast and crew wouldn’t have enough time to get the drama up to standard. 

Coldplay have beaten the likes of Pink Floyd and The Beatles to the top of a BBC Radio 2 poll to find listeners' favourite album of all time.

Clocks also topped a recent BBC Radio 6 Music poll of the top 100 tracks of the past 10 years.

Radio 2 head of music Jeff Smith said: "With albums ranging from Sinatra in the '50s to Emeli Sande in the last year, the range of eras and genres exhibited by the chart is typical of the breadth of Radio 2 and its distinctive music policy.

"Musicians such as Coldplay and Dido have struck a chord with listeners and are in good company in the top 10 alongside legendary bands like The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, whose appeal remains undiminished after all these years."

Dido's No Angel was in fifth place, just ahead of Sticky Fingers by The Rolling Stones. The Pet Shop Boys' 1987 favourite Actually was in seventh place, edging ahead of The Beatles, with U2's The Joshua Tree and A Night at the Opera by Queen completing the top 10.

Crime writer Lynda La Plante has been awarded an honorary fellowship by the Forensic Science Society.

The Prime Suspect author is the first lay person to be inducted into the professional body.

La Plante was given the honour to reflect the accurate portrayals of forensic science in her books.

The UK's bestselling crime writer said: "I am thrilled to have been made an honorary fellow of the Forensic Science Society."

She added: "I am very humbled that such an esteemed group of professionals feel my dramas give a realistic portrayal of the painstaking and often distressing work they do.

"It is always fascinating and a continual pleasure to work with the many different forensic experts involved in solving crimes. I have nothing but respect and a sincere appreciation for the work they do and advice they so kindly give me."

The Forensic Science Society was founded in 1959 and is one of the oldest of its type in the world.

The society's president, Dr Ann Priston, said: "There are many television programmes focusing on forensic science at the moment, some of them bordering on pure fiction.

"Lynda brings a level of realism and understanding to her writing that is refreshing and exciting, and it is an absolute pleasure to make this award".

Meanwhile, novelist Philip Pullman has been elected as the new president of the Society of Authors, replacing crime writer P D James, who is stepping down in August, the month of her 93rd birthday.

Pullman, author of the His Dark Materials trilogy, said: "P D James has been a magnificent president, whose knowledge and wit and wisdom will be very hard to follow.

"The Society of Authors has been representing and supporting the work of writers for 130 years, and now that we're in the middle of one of the greatest revolutions in printing and publishing and reading there has ever been, the society's experience will be needed more than ever.

"I am both honoured and excited to be taking on the role of president."

James said Pullman would "face a far more complex and challenging world for writers than I did when I was elected". But she added: "No-one could be better qualified for the task".

Anne Sebba, chair of the Society of Authors' management committee, welcomed the appointment of Pullman, while admitting: "We will miss Baroness James' measured, wise and insightful guidance."

The role of president is currently a lifetime position but there have been suggestions this could be reviewed to make it a fixed term of between five and seven years.

LONDON (Reuters) – British singer-songwriter Billy Bragg has mellowed over time, and the political activist is happy to focus more on struggles with relationships in his new album than political battles.

Bragg, 55, made his name railing against Britain’s right-wing government in the 1980s, a self-confessed angry young man who was spurred on by the miners’ strike to use music to fight social injustice and then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Fast-forward 30 years and Bragg found himself disillusioned with the record industry and the X-Factor phenomenon of instant fame, wondering if there was still room for an ageing singer who enjoyed performing but had no interest in the charts.

But a few comments on his Twitter feed from people listening to some of his more romantic songs to overcome broken hearts reminded him of the demand for love songs and resulted in “Tooth & Nail”, Bragg’s first album in five years.

“This album became a way of moving to the next thing, of moving on,” Bragg told Reuters in an interview on the eve of a tour of the United States and Canada.

“I felt if I didn’t come back to the recording industry I would be surrendering, saying I am too old, too political.”

His 12th studio album is a far cry from his debut album in 1983, “Life’s A Riot With Spy Vs Spy,” in which the former army recruit from Dagenham, Essex, who left school aged 16, sang about the education system and unemployment.

One song from that album, “A New England”, became a chart hit for Kirsty MacColl and is probably Bragg’s best known song.

His new album, recorded over five days in the home studio of Grammy-winning U.S. producer Joe Henry, was described by the Guardian critic Robin Denselow as Bragg’s “classiest-sounding album to date”.

TIMELY POLITICAL RELEASES

Instead of politics the album focuses on relationships, with Bragg drawing on his own experience of marriage for over 20 years as he sings about being a hopeless DIY handyman and swallowing your pride.

He sees the album as stylistically a follow-on from “Mermaid Avenue”, the collaborative album he released with American band Wilco in 1998 of unfinished Woody Guthrie songs.

“In any relationship there are ups and downs … and making a commitment is tough. It is far harder to stay in the boat,” he said. “It’s by examining your own failings and articulating them that you touch people. Music unlocks those feeling.”

Bragg said he was still writing topical songs. After all, 1980s politics was his platform, with albums from that decade titled “Talking with the Taxman about Poetry” and “Workers Playtime” subtitled “Capitalism Is Killing Music”.

But he said the politics of that era were much more clearly defined between right and left and easier to write about.

“Today I have no idea where (Prime Minister) David Cameron stands,” he said. “On one hand he is cutting money for disabled people but at the same time he is arguing for equal marriage. If I am confused then imagine how a 20-year-old feels today.”

Bragg said the move from analogue to digital music had changed the way he handles his political songs and his own business. He now operates as an independent musician, working with independent label Cooking Vinyl to release “Tooth & Nail”.

In recent years he has put topical songs on his website within days of writing for free downloads, such as “Never Buy The Sun” which he wrote after Rupert Murdoch closed the News of the World newspaper following its admission of phone hacking.

“But for longer life albums need to be about subjects that are deeper, more emotional, so the main theme of ‘Tooth & Nail’ is the failure to live up to partners’ expectations,” he said.

“Really I don’t see the divide between love songs and political songs as that wide. They are both about humanity.”

(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith)

Story By: World Cafe

Yo La Tengo.

After nearly 30 years of prolific genre-avoidance, the indie-rock trio Yo La Tengo returns with Fade, its first studio album in almost four years. The record, the band’s 13th full-length release, features “Before We Run,” a six-minute piece of orchestral pop showcasing Yo La Tengo’s stately side.

Hailing from Hoboken, N.J., Yo La Tengo has embraced many musical directions, delving into noise-pop, shoegaze, minimalist folk, funky R&B and straightforward rock ‘n’ roll over the course of its long career.

Here, the band plays songs from Fade and talks with David Dye about Jesse Jarnow’s Yo La Tengo biography, Big Day Coming.

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Hey. We just met you, and this is crazy: But can you identify celebrities with a very specific pair of initials? House musician Jonathan Coulton channels Carly Rae Jepsen’s smash hit “Call Me Maybe” for the clues in this game, where the answers are all famous people with the initials M.B. Plus, Jonathan Coulton prevents Jepsen’s earworm from getting stuck in our heads by playing a cover of Blondie’s “Call Me.”