THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

....wtih THE PRETENDERS! Circa 1981, via one of Pate's two fab drummers, Jon Hahn.  Your setlist includes "The Wait," "The Adultress," "Message of Love/Louie Louie," "Talk of the Town," "English Roses," "Birds of Paradise," "Kid," "Stop Your Sobbing," "Private Life," "Day After Day," "Jealous Dogs, " Up the Neck," "Tattooed Love Boys," "Bad Boys Get Spanked," "Precious," and "Brass In Pocket/MysteryAchievement."

SHARON VAN ETTEN stopped by WNYC Soundcheck for a session.

YUCK plays a session at Laundro-Matinee.

CROOKED FINGERS stopped by World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

ELBOW stopped by WFUV for a session.

PORCELIN RAFT is advance streaming Strange Weekend.

JESSIE BAYLIN: Whitney Matheson compares Baylin's Little Spark LP, which boasts arrangements by Jimmy Haskell and Richard Swift, to prime Dusty Springfield.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Two advance tracks from Wrecking Ball. Commentary at The Record, including a Flock of Seagulls reference.

FRANKIE ROSE drops "Night Swin" ahead of Interstellar.

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED: New tracks from Leonard Cohen, Magnetic Fields, Lambchop, White Rabbits and more highlight the latest edition of the long-running series.

WE FIVE: Because "You Were On My Mind," natch.

PAZZ & JOP 2011 is posted at the Village Voice.

WILCO: Jeff Tweedy talks to Arizona Central about  the 10-year anniversary of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, The Whole Love" and that line about setting the kids on fire in "I Might." John Stirratt talks to the Phoenix New Times about the band's Grammy nomination (Best Rock Album), the new album, the current Wilco lineup, and why people didn't seem to enjoy "happy" Wilco. (Thx, LHB.)

CRAIG FINN talks to the NYP about songwriting in his Brooklyn home, where he keeps a shrine to Paul Westerberg.

FLEET FOXES drummer J. Tillman has left the band.

SMASHING PUMPKINS: 20th anniversary assessments of Gish at Aquarium Drunkard.

MOUNTAIN GOATS: John Darnielle talks pop and politics with the Austin American-Statesman.

JOHNNY OTIS, R & B pioneer, bandleader, producer, radio and TV host and composer, died on Tuesday at his home near Los Angeles. He was 90 years old.

CUTOUT BIN: From REM to the Isley Bros, from Dropkick Murphys to Barry White, from Glen Campbell to Camper van Beethoven, plus Paul Westerberg, Rockpile, the Cardigans, the Lyres and more  -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases are Underworld Awakening, which has not been screened for critics; Red Tails, which is currently scoring 31 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and Haywire, which is scoring 87 percent.  Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close expands wide at 49 percent.

MARK WAHLBERG apologized for saying he could have overpowered the 9/11 terrorists.

JOHNNY DEPP & VANESSA PARADIS: Already living separate lives?

DEXTER stars Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter getting a second chance at love? They were... wait for it... caught canoodling earlier this week.

ADELE sets the record straight about her boyfriend.

CHRIS HEMSWORTH and wife Elsa Pataky are expecting their first child.

ZOE SALDANA rushed to the aid of an elderly woman who had reportedly gotten into a car accident in Culver City, CA.

HEATHER LOCKLEAR had a blowout altercation with ex-fiancé Jack Wagner, according to the ever-reliable Star magazine.

KELLY OSBOURNE has fallen off the wagon and is back to boozing, according to RadarOnline.

MICHAEL FASSBENDER talks to THR about shooting nude, being poor, and his Oscars date.

YEMEN: A tribal leader whose brother, Tariq al Dhahab, took control of the town, said senior Yemeni leaders conspired with al Qaeda to take control of Rada'a.

SYRIA: Britain called for harsher sanctions on Syria, while Russia said it would work with China to block efforts at the UN.

LIBYAN forces freed the governor of the Algerian province of Illizi, who was captured yesterday by three purported al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb fighters.

AFGHANISTAN: The former leader of Taliban's Jaish-ul-Muslimin Movement, Sayed Mohammad Akbar Agha, said on Wednesday that the continuation of secret talks between the US and the Taliban could yield positive results for both sides.

A DOG saved two girls from a venomous snake.

BURMESE PYTHONS may soon be banned from import to the US. So if you were in the market for one, time is running short.

ZOO ELEPHANTS kept together with help from Bob Barker.

ALASKAN DOG SLED RACE called due to weather.

SORRY, but I have an ongoing tech issue here. I should have a full (or close-to-full) slate for y'all Friday.

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES TODAY. HERE'S WHAT i HAVE FOR YOU NOW...

HOWLER stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

SCREAMING FEMALES plays a new song during a Tiny Desk Concert at the NPR offices.

THE LUMINEERS get a folky twofer from World Cafe: Next.

MATTHEW SWEET, Live at Grant Park, July 4, 1993.

CRAIG FINN talks to Pitchfork about what it means to be a 40-year-old singer in a rock band, the perils of depression, and whether he envies the characters in his songs.

VETIVER'S Andy Cabic traces the band's evolution at the San Francisco Chronicle. (Thx, LHB.)

SXSW's lineup expands significantly.

MTV's SURVIVING ORIGINAL VJs -- Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter and Martha Quinn are prepping an "uncensored" oral history of the music channel launched in 1981.

LINDSAY LOHAN cut it close before her second probation report. Also, Li-Lo now faces competition from Megan Fox to play Liz Taylor in a biopic.

ELTON JOHN & MADONNA: More on their Golden Globes feud.

PAULA DEEN: Why she didn't tell anyone about her Type 2 diabetes diagnosis.

AVRIL LAVIGNE has split from her boyfriend of nearly two years, Brody Jenner.

MICHELLE WILLIAMS, who just won the Golden Globe for her movie portrayal of Marilyn Monroe, is profiled by GQ.

QUENTIN TARANTINO's Favorite Films of 2011, including various other honors.

TERROR in the USA: Kareem Ibrahim, an imam who provided religious and operational support to a group planning to set off explosions under JFK Airport in 2007, was sentenced to life in prison. Ibrahim had sought to involve Iran and also to use suicide bombers.

EGYPT: Leading Egyptian political parties will back a senior figure in the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party for the assembly's speaker, with another Islamist group and a liberal party taking the deputy posts.

IRAN: Europe is expected to agree to ban the import of Iranian oil by the end of the month. Saudi Arabia said it could make up for the loss of Iranian oil exports. Iran warned Gulf Arab states they would suffer consequences if they raised oil production to replace Iranian oil.

A SHEEP-POWERED RICKSHAW is all the rage in northern China.

A PET KANGAROO treated like a child has the owner fleeing town.

A CAT had to be rescued from 50ft above the M4 Motorway.

WILCO: This video for "The Whole Love" was directed by Spencer Tweedy and stars Joey Tweedy.

NEW RELEASES from Kathleen Edwards, Ani DiFranco, Matthew Dear, and more are streaming this week at Spinner.

REAL ESTATE played a full gig at World Cafe Live, streaming on demand.

FIRST AID KIT is advance streaming The Lion's Roar.

THE LEMONHEADS: Live at the Taste of Chicago, 1994.

ARCADE FIRE's entire Austin City Limits gig is available to stream for a way more than Twofer Tuesday.

ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER talks to PopMatters about Fiery Furnaces and her solo work.

WIPERS: The Portland punks are profiled by Pitchfork as part of Underscore, a new feature surveying undervalued artists/eras/scenes of the past.

THE ALABAMA SHAKES are profiled at the Austin American-Statesman.

INDIE ROCK's slow and painful death?

THE KARDASHIANS: Kris Humphries has told his inner circle Kim Kardashian planned his wedding proposal to her for TV, according to RadarOnline.

MADONNA: David Furnish called her victory speech at the Golden Globes "embarrassing in its narcissism."  Coming from a dude married to Elton John, that's sayin' something.

KATY PERRY & RUSSELL BRAND: She is expected to resurface at Marc Cuban's SuperBowl party; he claims he's "quite well, thank you."

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE & JESSICA BIEL: She had no engagement ring at the Golden Globes.  The ever-reliable National Enquirer claims his proposal is a clever way of avoiding an actual marriage.

GENE HACKMAN was briefly hospitalized with bumps and bruises Friday after a pickup truck hit him from behind while he was riding a bicycle in the Florida Keys.

ALBERT BROOKS surveyed his career during a Q & A at the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater, including the story of how Sly Stone ended his stand-up comedy.

YEMEN: Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula took control of the town of Rada'a in Baydah province, killing two policemen. The attack was led by the brother-in-law of Anwar al Awlaki.

IRAN: As the US and European Union move to cut Iran's oil exports, China, Japan, India and South Korea are having to tread the fine line between international relations and national needs.

AFGHANISTAN: The Taliban claimed to have shot down a civilian helicopter in Helmand province; three people were killed in the crash. ISAF said there are no signs that the Taliban has infiltrated the Afghan security forces.

HORSE on a HIGHWAY: Let's go to the video.

FUGITIVE NATIVITY GOAT UPDATE: With frigid temps forecast for later in the week, concerned citizens are chipping in money for a reward that will be offered to anyone who can catch and return Curly, a black angora goat that wriggled out of his leash and ran from the manger out front of Bethleham Church.

DON'T THROW A CAT in a marital spat.

BABY GIRAFFES are still pretty large.

U2: "Pride" and "MLK." Crushingly obvious. Have a dream.

CRAIG FINN is advance streaming Clear Heart Full Eyes.

NADA SURF is advance streaming The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy.

TORI AMOS stopped by World Cafe in studio for a chat and mini-set.

THE FLING stopped by KUT's Studio 1A for a session.

LEE RANALDO goes "Off The Wall" in advance of Between The Time And The Tides. (No, it's not a cover.)

LETTERS TO CLEO has been defunct for years, but it and its cover of Nick Lowe's "Cruel To Be Kind" are back in the zeitgeist, courtesy of NBC's Parks and Recreation.

DION: A vintage (and this year, crackly) performance of "Abraham, Martin & John."

ROBERT CHRISTGAU releases his Dean's List and accomanying essay.

CRAIG FINN talks to Clash about the literary influences on his songwriting.

MAVIS STAPLES talks to Spinner about soundtracking the Civil Rights Movement, Plus hip-hop, iPhones, Jay-Z & Kanye and Justin Bieber.

12 ARTISTS to WATCH in 2012, according to Spinner.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Contraband tops the chart with 24.1 million, which is pretty good against a 25 million budget and tracking estimates in the mid-to-high teens.  Disney's 3-D re-release of Beauty & the Beast rakes in 18.5 million, about 10 million more than tracking was expecting. The 3-D conversion likely cost the Mouse about 10 million.  Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is third with 11.5 million on its first big drop (42 percent).  Joyful Noise debuted in fourth with 11.3 million against a 30 million budget.  Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows rounds out the Top 5 with 8.4 million.  Below the fold, The Devil Inside -- last weeks No. 1 -- made only 7.9 million, on a drop of 77 percent.  Maybe people started talking franchise too early? Nah, it still cost only a million to make.

THE GOLDEN GLOBES went to these folks. Congrats!

KELSEY GRAMMER and wife Kayte Walsh Grammer are having a baby.

OLIVIA WILDE & JASON SUDEKIS were caught canoodling on camera in NYC.

MENA SUVARI is calling it quits on her 18-month marriage to concert producer Simone Sestito.

HEATHER LOCKLEAR was reportedly "out of control" on drugs and booze when her sister dialed 911 Thursday night, according to Entertainment Tonight.

TWILIGHT: We're maybe not done after the next movie?

IRAN warned oil-producing Gulf states not to boost production if Iran's crude exports are affected by Western sanctions.

SYRIA: The failure of an Arab League mission to stanch violence in Syria, an international community with little leverage and a government as defiant as its opposition is in disarray have left Syria descending into a protracted, chaotic and perhaps unnegotiable conflict.

IRAQ: Insurgents dressed as policemen attacked a government compound and a police station in Ramadi with four suicide bombers; seven police officers and at least six attackers died in the clashes.

AFGHANISTAN: The leader of Afghanistan's second-biggest insurgent group said in an interview published Sunday that he was ready for "meaningful talks" with all parties to end the decade-long war.

A CROW snowboards on a roof in Russia.

THAT OSTRICH is totally into you.

WALKER, a 28-pound cat, finds a new home.

BABY SEA OTTER: Awww...some pics and video.