THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with the MOUNTAIN GOATS at the M-SHOP, which Pate fans know is a fabulous, initmate venue in the Memorial Union at ISU.  Selections include "Dance Music" and "Houseguest," though I'm partial as always to "This Year" and especially the anthemic finale of "No Children." BONUS: John Darnielle interprets Ace of Base's "I Saw the Sign" (language), while Pony Up backs the duo on a cover of Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back in Town."  EXTRA: Darnielle talks to Paste about the Bible, his feminism, his reticence at playing autobiographer, and his least favorite singer-songwriter trope.

R.E.M. LIVE AT THE OLYMPIA is streaming in full via NPR.

MARTHA WAINWRIGHT does the four free songs thing for Daytrotter.

THE TEN BEST ROCK ANTHEMS, according to AOL radio listeners, with embedded audio. Half-awesome, half-cringeworthy.

DAVENDRA BANHART shares some hazy musings with ClashMusic. 

ANDREW BIRD talks to the Burlington Free Press about finding his solo voice, and more...

LLOYD COLE talks to the New Zealand Herald about 25 years of making a commotion, fan-financing his next LP, and more...

COUSTEAU: The "Last Good Day of the Year." Though we really only know in hindsight.

THE PICTURE SHOW: How Photographers Created Rock And Roll.

FARGO ROCK CITY: Tom Ruprecht, a longtime writer on CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman," and Craig Finn, frontman of the popular rock band the Hold Steady, are teaming to write and produce a coming-of-age comedy, based on the 2001 memoir by music scribe Chuck Klosterman, who will join the pair in producing.

GREAT LAKES SWIMMERS: Tony Dekker explains to the Daily Times how the band came to record its new LP in the Thousand Islands area of the US/Canadian border.

EIGHT OVERHYPED BANDS YOU'LL FORGET BY NEXT YEAR, according to Crave.  I happen to disagree with a few of them.

WHO IS THE BEST LYRICIST TODAY? Answers at Drowned in Sound and NME.

CUTOUT BIN: From Nirvana to The Knack, from Candi Staton to the Mightly Lemon Drops, from The Who to Surf City, from Talking Heads to Teenage Fanclub, plus U2, Prince, The Clash, Jens Lekman, Otis Redding, and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING:  This weeken's wide releases include SAW VI, which was not screened for critics, natch; the animated Astro Boy, currently scoring 50 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, which is scoring 29 percent.  Opening near-wide is the biopic Amelia, scoring 21 percent.

JESSICA SIMPSON... and Gerard Butler? Oddly, the obligatory denial comes from her camp.

JOHN TRAVOLTA EXTORTION CASE ends in a mistrial.  The judge has ordered a retrial.

MADONNA has given Glee the rights to her catalog and an all-Madge-music episode is in the works for early next year.  The Daily Mail writes about Madge's "fresh-faced... age-defying appearance," while wondering whether she was wearing gloves to cover her wrinkly hands.  No decoder ring necessary.

SOUPY SALES, who was catapulted to national fame on his comedy and pie-in-the-face slapstick, died Thursday of cancer in NYC. He was 83.

AMY WINEHOUSE is surgically enhanced.

ROSIE O'DONNELL's wife has moved out and is spending most nights away from her, according to Radar.

NICOLE KIDMAN says Hollywood has probably contributed to violence against women by portraying them as weak sex objects.

CHARLIZE THERON to replace Mel Gibson in Mad Max 4?

SIENNA MILLER won an apology from the NYT, which misstated the nature of the relationships that she had with Heath Ledger and Sean Combs.

IRAN and Israel recently took part in a conference in Cairo on nuclear non-proliferation in the Middle East, the Israel Atomic Energy Commission said Thursday, but Tehran said the report on the meeting was untrue.

PAKISTAN: A US airstrike in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan may have killed a senior al Qaeda operative. But the reports may be confusing one of al Qaeda's senior-most leaders with a senior explosives trainer and expert.

AFGHANISTAN: Defense Secretary Robert Gates sounds out NATO defense ministers this week in search of more support for the war in Afghanistan, but there are myriad reasons why the US should not expect the largest NATO countries to offer up more combat troops.  Meanwhile, a surge of US Marines and a focus on security bring peace to a Helmland town.

BOBBY THE BEAR plays hockey.  Sadly, no fight breaks out.

DOGS are increasingly taking human names, at least in Vancouver.

CAT survives two miles in an SUV engine, driving through the Bronx.

A NEW BREED OF GIANT SPIDER  - which has huge five-inch females and tiny males - has been discovered by scientists.

SAVE THE GIBLETS!

GIRLS now have a video for "Laura," another warped pop ditty from their Album.

DAN MANGAN is streaming his Nice, Nice, Very Nice album, and talks to the Singing Lamb about taking it on the road. (Thx, Chromewaves.)

THE GET UP KIDS did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter.

JAY FARRAR talks to Billboard about the soundtrack to the upcoming documentary "One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur," which is still streaming via NPR.

LIVING COLOUR visited WNYC a few days before releasing The Chair in the Doorway, its first album in six years.

MAYER HAWTHORNE has released a video for "Green Eyed Love."

RAY DAVIES talks to Prefix about the Kinks Choral Collection.

SUFJAN STEVENS talks to The Quietus about the BQE (still streaming this week) and other projects.

GOOGLE AUDIO: Coming soon?

IMOGENE HEAP talks shop with the BBC about her third album, Ellipse.

TOM CRUISE responds to the Bornson Pinchot interview linked here yesterday.  Also, it seems Cruise was Christian Bale's inspiration for American Psycho.

LINDSAY LOHAN is refusing another round of rehab, according to Radar,

DID MICHAEL JACKSON sign his will?

NICOLE RICHIE and JOEL MADDEN are showing off the latest addition to their family, Sparrow.

ROSIE O'DONNELL and partner Kelli Carpenter are on the rocks.

JENNIFER ANISTON and JOHN MAYER are an item again, according to OK!, which iirc is the second gossip rag to take up this story.

ROMAN POLANSKI, convicted rapist, could return to the US voluntarily if Swiss extradition proceedings drag on long enough.

DR. NO is no more.

TERROR in the USA: Federal prosecutors have charged a Massachusetts man with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, alleging he and co-conspirators traveled to the Middle East seeking training, discussed attacking a shopping center, and distributed videos promoting holy war.

IRAN has tentatively struck a deal that will involve shipping most of its known supply of low-enriched uranium overseas, but it may delay Iran's nuclear ambitions by only months.

DOG PLAYING BASKETBALL: Let's go to the video.

ESCAPED OSTRICH RAMPAGE ends in truck death.

CHIPMUNK stands up to a gang of Starlings.

TARANTULA on a PLANE: British Airways cancelled a flight between Edinburgh and London after a passenger said he saw a tarantula crawling between his legs.

ARCTIC MONKEYS: "Cornerstone" is the second video from the band's Humbug LP. Like this better than the first one, fwiw.

THE FLAMING LIPS stopped by Mourning Becomes Eclectic for a chat and mini-set via KCRW.  Includes a little Pink Floydage.

THE XX gets a World Cafe twofer, and are profiled by The Independent.

WAVVES did three free songs for Daytrotter, two previously unreleased.

ZOO ANIMAL stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set streaming via MPR.

BUILT TO SPILL plays "Oh Yeah" at the Ed Sullivan Theater.

WHY FLEET FOXES will never be as big as America.

PAVEMENT: Bob Nastanovich gives The Quietus a few tidbits about next year's reunion.

THE BEATLES, Complete on Ukelele. Again.

THE TOP TEN SONGS AT MY FUNERAL: A British clergyman's lament.

TOM-KAT UPDATE:  The couple joined John Travolta and wife Kelly Preston -- plus over 4000 other Scientologists -- at the 25th anniversary of the International Association of Scientologists held at Saint Hill Manor in East Grinsted, West Sussex.

BRONSON PINCHOT dishes about Tom Cruise and other past-co-stars to The A.V. Club.

VIC MIZZY, a film and television composer best known for writing the memorable theme songs for the 1960s sit-coms "Green Acres" and "The Addams Family," has died. He was 93.

BILL MURRAY talks to the Times of London about Fantastic Mr. Fox.

LINDSAY LOHAN's ex-con dad says he's not serious about kidnapping her to keep her away from bad influences.

JOSS WHEDON blogs about directing an episode of "Glee."

DIANE KEATON: Not missing men.

DITA VON TESSE: Topless girl-on-girl photos, just in time for Gratuitous Wednesday.  I would say NSFW beyond the first click, but isn't that obvious?

PAKISTAN: Heavily armed militants put up a fierce fight on Tuesday to protect a Taliban stronghold in South Waziristan. The Pakistani Army has struck deals to keep two powerful, anti-US tribal chiefs from joining the battle.

AFGHANISTAN: Pres. Karzai's camp today declared a "deadlock" as a UN-backed watchdog reported "clear and convincing evidence of fraud" in Afghanistan's election and reportedly revised the results to force a second round of voting. Meanwhile, security may be deteriorating in the north.

IRAQ: The security situation in northern Iraq has improved greatly in recent years, a senior US military officer told Pentagon reporters.

WILY COYOTE survives 600 mile trip in a car bumper.

KRILLEN the CAT survived 19 hours in a freezer.

CRIME-FIGHTING LEECH cracks a cold case Down Under.

HOW MEERKATS CONQUERED THE WORLD: They guarantee hit TV ratings. They sell car insurance. They scare off burglars. The Independent explains why meerkats really are beyond compare.

GRAND ARCHIVES have a new video out for "Oslo Novelist."

NEW RELEASES: Phoenix, Kings of Convenience, Sufjan Stevens, Leonard Cohen, Otis Redding, White Denim, Electric Six, The Slits, Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, the New Moon sndtk and more are streaming this week via Spinner.

BON IVER's last show (for a while) is available to stream or download via Radio Milwaukee.

VOLCANO CHOIR talks to Paste, which also has a stream of the debut album.

AN HORSE does the four free songs thing for Daytrotter, and talks to the Singing Lamb about touring, record stores, and more...

WORLD PARTY: Karl Wallinger "Put the Message in the Box" and gets "Way Down Now" for Twofer Tuesday.

MISSION OF BURMA: Clint Conley talks to Blurt about his band's longevity.

THE ANTLERS: Darby Cicci talks about being on a label, touring, and such at nyctaper.

YOKO ONO talks to The A.V. Club about the simplicity of breathing, John Lennon's pianos, and the controversy of art.

ECHO and the BUNNYMEN: Ian McCulloch is questioned in Interview.

MONTY PYTHON: The surviving members engaged in Q & A with the audience after the premiere of Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyers' Cut).

JAY LENO is killing many of NBC's more than 200 affiliates.

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE and JESSICA BIEL: His friends want him to stay with her. So does his Mom. Aw.

LINDSAY LOHAN will file a restraining order against her ex-con father in the next two days, according to Radar.

MEGAN FOX, having bombed in Jennifer's Body, has decided to start saying nice things about Transformers.

KHLOE KARDASHIAN and LAMAR ODOM have struck a deal with a prenup - and even though Lamar gets to keep his earnings separate, Khloe got more than he initially offered.

ALEXANDER SKARSGARD and KATE BOSWORTH were caught canoodling during and after the 2009 Scream Awards.

IRAN's negotiators have toughened their stance on the nuclear program, signaling that Tehran will refuse to go ahead with an agreement to hand over 75 percent of its enriched uranium. Shocka.

IRAQ: Security forces detained an Iranian operative in southern Iraq in the latest operation designed to curb Iran's influence in the war-torn country.

AFGHANISTAN: Experts question the US plan to find, sway group's less extreme members of the Taliban.

ADORABLE DOG FIGHT: Let's go to the video.

WHEN SHARKS ATTACK... in Edinburgh?

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: A cat with 24 toes.

OWL in the BOX: "He was pretty mad so it was really tricky to photograph him."

CAMERA OBSCURA stay with the retro for "The Sweetest Thing."

LUCERO played the World Cafe on Friday; you can stream the gig on demand via NPR.

MOBY, Live in Berlin, also courtesy of NPR.

RAIN MACHINE, a side effort by TV on the Radio's Kip Taylor, stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set streaming via MPR.

DAVID BAZAN did a mini-set for the World Cafe, now streaming via NPR.

FRIGHTENED RABBIT and a flashlight-wielding mob "Swim Until You Can't See Land."

DEVENDRA BANHART talks to The Observer about his new album, how the Butthole Surfers are like German conceptual artist Joseph Beuys, and more...

LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III gets a meaty profile from PopMatters, connected to his new double-disc set, High Wide and Handsome-the Charlie Poole Project.

FLAMING LIPS frontman Wayne Coyne rips Arcade Fire again, this time in The Independent.  But he also talks plenty about the new album, its guest stars, and more...

PETER HOOK (Joy Division, New Order) has written a book on The Hacienda; The Independent has an excerpt.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Where the Wild Things Are? Atop your local cinema, with 32.5 million dollars.  Is that enough to make the books long and winding road to the big screen profitable? That may depend on whether the budget was 80 million or 100 million.  But we don't get another family film until the mo-cap version of A Christmas Carol, which helps.  Law Abiding Citizen debuted at No.2, with 21.3 million, which is at the high end of the tracking estimates, and not so hot for a 50 million budget in this genre.  Paranormal Activity moves up to No.3 with 20.2 million; it has now made 33.3 million against a production cost of... eleven thousnad dollars.  Couple's Retreat drops from first to fourth, making another 18 million and is now in striking distance of breaking even on its 70 million budget.  But that 48 percent drop is big for a comedy.  The debut of The Stepfather rounds out the Top Five, with 12.3 million against a 20 million budget.  Below the fold, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs breaks the 100 million mark, good news in light of the competition from the Wild Things and Toy Stories (which landed in eighth place). Overall, this weekend was up big over the same frame in 2008.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE: I wanted to love this, and ended up liking it a lot.  Adapting a book with nine sentences into a full-length feature is the sort of tastks that explains on its face why this movie took so long to be made.  Spike Jonze (and screenwriter Dave Eggars) do about as well as possibly could be expected with this sort of stretch, fashioning a tale that captures the mood of the Maurice Sendak classic, while layering it with the dark moments of the secret lives of children (tonally reminiscent of some of the creepiest flashbacks in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).  It's sort of a po-mo version of the Wizard of Oz, in its way.  It may be a bit dark, and insufficiently action-driven, for younger kids... but maybe I'm wrong.  After all, everyone thought the book would not connect with younger kids when it was released, and we all see how that turned out.

KATE HUDSON pressuring A-ROD for a proposal?

LINDSAY LOHAN got slapped with an extra year of probation, and got a stern lecture from the judge in her DUI case. Her stage mother would like her ex-con father to stop claiming that Li-Lo is abusing prescription drugs.

ANNA NICOLE SMITH IS STILL DEAD, but the prelimary hearing for those charged with providing her drugs began with a bang, as Smith's security guard described watching her slurp the powerful sedative chloral hydrate from a baby bottle.

RENEE ZELLEWEGER and BRADLEY COOPER: Together again.

ROMAN POLANSKI, facing extradition to the US in his rape case, has been moved from a Swiss jail for "medical treatment."

SPIDER-MAN 4 will go back to basics, according to director Sam Raimi.

JON FAVREAU will not direct The Avengers, but will ahve input into the projected Marvel mega-movie.

IRAN: A Sunni resistance movement took credit for killing two senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps commanders and 27 other officers in a suicide attack in southeastern Iran.

PAKISTAN: The military has started the South Waziristan offensive and claimed to have taken control of two towns; 30 Taliban fighters and 12 soldiers have been reported killed.

AFGHANISTAN: General McChrystal's Long War. How much time does he have?

THE BASILISK LIZARD: Let's go to the super slo-mo video.

A BLACK BEAR shops for beer in the land of sky blue waters.

DOLPHINS play soccer with Jellyfish.

GATOR MEAT, ready to be shipped at the end of hunting season in FL: "Anytime the plant is smelly, that's a good thing."

A FLORIDA MANATEE is stuck near an oil refinery in New Jersey where plunging temperatures and a lack of food are endangering his life.

A POLICE DOG made six arrests in one night in Winnipeg.