Rdio wants your money

Rdio? Seriously? Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, the people who brought us Skype and Kazaa, have chosen that as the name for their music subscription service:

Like several others in the marketplace, Rdio -– pronounced “AR-dee-oh” -– promises streaming, cloud-based access to a library of millions of songs for a flat monthly fee.

Desktop and mobile access via iPhones and BlackBerrys costs $10 monthly, while desktop-only customers pay $5.

That’s an increasingly familiar price point: MOG, which went live last fall and is now preparing its mobile launch, will have the same two-tiered price system, while Rhapsody and Thumbplay both offer desktop-plus-mobile plans for $10; European fave Spotify offers free ad-supported streams and a two-tiered premium plan.

At the moment it's US-only, and doesn't appear to offer anything compelling in return for shoveling cash into the subscription slot in return for nothing to take away.

It's worth remembering that before they promised to change the music world with Rdio, Zennstrom and Friis set out to change the online video world with Joost. This has more of a Joosty feeling to it than a Skypey one.

Naked Service man arrested

Services opened last night for The Faint in Omaha, climaxing with such a burst of energy that Tristan Bechet of the band threw his clothes off and ran around naked.

Unfortunately, there was an off-duty cop in the audience, who decided that penises were illegal in Nebraska, and promptly arrested Bechet. He called for back-up, which came in the shape of four on-duty cops and a blanket.

Five policemen. To arrest one nude bloke. We're not sure if that many police were needed, or that's just the average number of Omaha police who will swing by if a dispatcher puts out a message that there's a naked man needs escorting to the station.

Beceht was released on $450 bail this morning, reports Pitchfork; apparently the intention is to make him face a trial.

The number of people who were actually outraged seems to be, erm, none.