THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

... with POWER POP (REDUX)! For whatever reason, I have considered Summer the ideal season for gems like Badfinger's "No Matter What" (which Pate covered on occasion) and "Baby Blue", and even Todd Rundgren's "I Saw the Light" and Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me."  Ditto for more obscure tracks like The Rubinoos "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" (see also their vintage cover of "Please Please Me"), Off Broadway's "Stay In Time" and "Full Moon Turn My Head Around," and Pezband's "Baby It's Cold Outside" and "Close Your Eyes."

SQUEEZE gets three hours of discussion and analysis on Political Beats.

JUNETEENTH: NPR has a playlist.

VASHTI BUNYAN: Ten Great Covers.

ANDREW BIRD covers Iron & Wine and Talking Heads for a Lagniappe Session.

FATHER JOHN MISTY shares "Buddy's Rendezvous," as well as Lana Del Rey's version of the song.

WHITNEY shares "Real Love."

THE REPLACEMENTS' 50 BEST SONGS, according to Steven Hyden.

JEFF TWEEDY talks Cruel Country.

LEE RANALDO: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview.

BLONDE: The NC-17 Marilyn Monroe biopic has a teaser trailer online.

WESTWORLD: Season 4 has a trailer online.

TOP GUN: MAVERICK - Tom Cruise had a Tom Cruise response when Mies Teller got sick on set.

VENOM: Looks like Tom Hardy has worked up a threequel.

TOM HANKS was seeing red when his wife Rita Wilson was almost knocked to the ground by a pack of his fans.

KEVIN SPACEY has been given unconditional bail after appearing in a London court on four charges of sexually assaulting three men.

SYDNEY SWEENEY & CHRISTINA RICCI on playing crazy people and reclaiming sex scenes.

GAME OF THRONES: Jon Snow Sequel Series in Development at HBO.

PIXAR's Bittersweet Symphony.

HOW TO Win an Argument.

A ROOSTER greets the day with gusto. Wait for it.

AN AGGRESSIVE WILD TURKEY vanishes after months of attacks on D.C. trail.

THE FIVE AMERICANS: "I See The Light."

GANG OF YOUTHS plays WFUV.

DEHD plays KUTX.

LIGHTNING SEEDS return after 13 years with "Sunshine."

DRY CLEANING shares "Don’t Press Me."

DAN BEJAR joins FRESH PEPPER on "Seahorse Tranquilizer."

PAUL McCARTNEY: 80 artists pick their favorite Maccas to mark his birthday.

CALEXICO's Joey Burns talks about Tuscon and common ground.

STEVE KEENE: Meet the Painter of Album Covers for Pavement, Silver Jews, and More.

CAR SEAT HEADREST: Will Toledo is a furry.

THE NUMBER ONES looks at Monica's "The First Night," a banger about the question of whether or not to bang.

EZRA MILLER's Instagram account was deleted after posting a variety of memes taunting authorities who are actively searching for the actor for allegedlyf manipulating and grooming an underage fan.

RYAN GOSLING: Your first look at Ken in Barbie.

WILL ARNETT gave Bradley Cooper the wake-up call he needed to overcome his addiction to cocaine and alcohol.

SAMUEL L. JACKSON is kinda done chasing Oscars.

JAMES HONG has over 700 credits and is still going at age 93.

MATILDA, THE MUSICAL has a teaser trailer online.

TULSA KING, ft Sly Stallone, has a teaser trailer online.

EVERY PIXAR MOVIE, ranked at The Ringer.

DON'T MIND ME, just passing through.

CATS & DOGS, living together (and vice versa).

A PARROT gets a friend after 21 years.

DOGGOS and a balloon.

THE FIVE AMERICANS: "I See The Light."

GANG OF YOUTHS plays WFUV.

DEHD plays KUTX.

LIGHTNING SEEDS return after 13 years with "Sunshine."

DRY CLEANING shares "Don’t Press Me."

DAN BEJAR joins FRESH PEPPER on "Seahorse Tranquilizer."

PAUL McCARTNEY: 80 artists pick their favorite Maccas to mark his birthday.

CALEXICO's Joey Burns talks about Tuscon and common ground.

STEVE KEENE: Meet the Painter of Album Covers for Pavement, Silver Jews, and More.

CAR SEAT HEADREST: Will Toledo is a furry.

THE NUMBER ONES looks at Monica's "The First Night," a banger about the question of whether or not to bang.

EZRA MILLER's Instagram account was deleted after posting a variety of memes taunting authorities who are actively searching for the actor for allegedlyf manipulating and grooming an underage fan.

RYAN GOSLING: Your first look at Ken in Barbie.

WILL ARNETT gave Bradley Cooper the wake-up call he needed to overcome his addiction to cocaine and alcohol.

SAMUEL L. JACKSON is kinda done chasing Oscars.

JAMES HONG has over 700 credits and is still going at age 93.

MATILDA, THE MUSICAL has a teaser trailer online.

TULSA KING, ft Sly Stallone, has a teaser trailer online.

EVERY PIXAR MOVIE, ranked at The Ringer.

DON'T MIND ME, just passing through.

CATS & DOGS, living together (and vice versa).

A PARROT gets a friend after 21 years.

DOGGOS and a balloon.

BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE: "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet."  Because it's summer. Plus, cowbell.

KAE TEMPEST on WFUV.

MATT ANDERSEN plays The Current.

PAVEMENT plays tennis against Tim Heidecker.

TITUS ANDRONICUS returns with a cover of "We're Coming Back."

PHOEBE BRIDGERS covers Bruce Springsteen's "Stolen Car" in Asbury Park.

THE ROLLING STONES postponed Friday's show in Switzerland after Mick Jagger contracted COVID.

KILL ROCK STARS: An almost complete history of the label.

THE BEST ALBUMS of 2022 (So Far), according to Pitchfork.

STAX RECORDS: Bandcamp surveys the label's Soul classics.

TOP GUN: MAVERICK director Joseph Kosinski on Spiderhead and Slider.

TOM HIDDLESTON has been busy.

JASON MOMOA is single again.

SQUID GAME is becoming a reality show.

PERSUASION, ft Dakota Johnson in an Austen adaptation, has a trailer online.

ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING: Season 2 has a trailer online.

KEVIN SPACEY was officially charged with four counts of sexual assault on Monday in London.

GWYNETH PALTROW & BRAD PITT looked back at their breakup.

PAGE SIX's gossip queen is dethroned.

IKRAM THE BUTCHER is an absolute legend.

A CAT gets his own little denim tote bag to go on walks with his dog BFF.

HAPPY THE ELEPHANT is not a legal person, a NY court ruled.

THE CARS play "Candy-O" and "The Dangerous Type" for Twofer Tuesday.

JUST MUSTARD plays KEXP.

FKA TWIGS played a Tiny Desk Concert.

GEESE cover Nick Drake's "Place To Be" in a bodega.

BARTEES STRANGE shares "Wretched."

FRIENDSHIP shared "Alive Twice."

TEGAN & SARA talk to Rolling Stone about lessons they've learned from adapting their ‘High School' memoir into an upcoming TV show and working with their nonprofit foundation.

WILCO's Jeff Tweedy: "To Me, They're All Folk Songs."

CELINE DION saved a Canadian deli.

THE NUMBER ONES looks at Aerosmith's sole pop chart-topper, the leaden movie ballad "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing."

PHILIP BAKER HALL,  the prolific character actor known for his roles in films like “Boogie Nights” and “Magnolia” and shows such as “Seinfeld” and “Modern Family,” has died. He was 90.

AMBER HEARD Speaks Out for First Time on Johnny Depp Verdict.

JOKER 2 is going to be a musical, possibly co-starring Lady Gaga.

ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE has its villain.

PADDINGTON IN PERU will be directed by Dougal Wilson.

NEIL PATRICK HARRIS is joining Doctor Who.

TOM HANKS Explains It All.

FUNKO buys MONDO. If you know, you know.

FOLLOW the Leader.

BELGIAN MALINOIS agility.

SEVEN THINGS a dog taught its sibling.