THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

... with CHEAP TRICK! Live in Providence, 1980. Your setlist includes "Hello There/Clock Strikes Ten," "I'll Be With You Tonight," "Southern Girls," "California Man," "Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace," "He's a Wh re," "Oh Candy," "Top of the World," "Can't Hold On," "Downed" and "Auf Wiedersehen." Are you ready to rock?

BILLY BRAGG stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

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

ALLAH-LAs play a set of seabreezy 60's garage-pop, live on KEXP from Mellow Johnny's in Austin, TX during SXSW 2013.

COLD WAR KIDS stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

NEIL YOUNG & THE SANTA MONICA FLYERS, Live in Manchester, 1973.

THE VOGUES: It's a "Five O'Clock World" on Friday.

THE WATERBOYS: Mike Scott talks to PopMatters about one of the biggest endeavors of his career.

BETH ORTON talks to The Telegraph about Sugaring Season.

KILLING JOKE: A vintage 1980 interview from Rock's Backpages. 

RARE PICS OF THE BEATLES Larking About.

CUTOUT BIN: From Tommy Tutone to Talking Heads, from Husker Du to Rick James, from Clarence Carter to Gang of Four, plus Brinsley Schwartz, Kim Carnes, Meat Puppets, Mary Wells, and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING:This weekend's wide releases include: G.I. Joe: Retaliation, currently scoring 31 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; The Host, currently scoring 11 percent; and Tyler Perry's Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor, which (as usual) was not screened for critics.

LINDSAY LOHAN has found an unlikely ally in her quest to be better understood by the public and the media — Kristen Stewart. She has not found one on the crew of Anger Management.

BRADGELINA: Not married.

JUSTIN BIEBER was spotted visiting Selena Gomez.

KRISTEN BELL & DAX SHEPARD welcome a daughter.

AMANDA BYNES wanders Times Square with a shirt over her face.

JON HAMM's underwear issue could be a marketing opportunity.

BARBARA WALTERS may be finally ready to hang up her microphone.

CHEVY CHASE & BEVERLY D'ANGELO may book another Vacation.

WHY IS THIS SATURDAY DIFFERENT FROM ALL OTHER DAYS?  Because ABC has its annual showing of The Ten Commandments, a grand spectacle featuring acting from Edward G. Robinson and Anne Baxter that is so over-the-top that Yul Brenner starts to look good by comparison.  And while Robinson's Dathan never actually spoke the line "Where's your Messiah now?" in the movie, it  -- like "Play It Again, Sam" (not spoken in Casablanca) -- has become part of a part of our culture. The line actually comes from Billy Crystal, originally a bit from the Oscars, iirc. It later turned up o­n The Simpsons, with Chief Wiggum playing Dathan to Ned Flanders' Moses.

THE UNITED STATES: A judge sentenced Mohamed Ibrahim Ahmed, an Eritrean, to nine years in prison followed by deportation, for supporting Shabaab.

NORTH KOREA: The US flew two stealth bombers over South Korea in a show of deterrent force.

SYRIA: Russia on Thursday accused the Arab League of abandoning support for a peaceful solution to the conflict in Syria and said it had cast doubt over the mandate of U.N.-Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi by giving a summit seat to the Syrian opposition.

LIBYA: A major Sufi shrine, the Al-Andlusi mausoleum in Tajura, was destroyed in a bombing attack by suspected Salafists.

ISRAEL reopened its border crossings with Gaza, which it had closed after last week's rocket fire from Gaza.

THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: A Hamas member died in Gaza when a smuggling tunnel collapsed.

CAT walks DOG. Unhappy dog.

A DOG was accused of a hit-an-run incident in York, PA.

SEA HARES repel enemies by squirting venomous boogers.

PEEPS SHOW VII: The WaPo's annual diorama contest winners.

TEAM SPIRIT drops a video for the raucous "Jesus, He's Alright."

BRITISH SEA POWER advance streams Machineries Of Joy.

BLEACHED is advance streaming Ride Your Heart.

ONAFUR ARNALDS advance streams For Now I Am Winter.

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED: new tracks from Vampire Weekend, Giant Drag, Savages and more highlight the latest edition.

BLEEDING RAINBOW drops "Oblivion" as an outtake from Yeah Right.

YOUNG GALAXY drops "New Summer" ahead of Ultramarine.

THE CARS played "Touch and Go" on ABC's short-lived Fridays. I remember seeing this when it aired; was a big fan of their Panorama LP.

EDWYN COLLINS talks to Drowned In Sound about the road back from a double brain haemorrhage.

THE KNIFE gets political, according to The Guardian.

VERONICA FALLS: Roxanna Clifford talks to Straight about influences and songwriting.

SPOON, ranked by Stereogum.

LINDSAY LOHAN a homewrecker? Unpossible!

JUSTIN BIEBER allegedly spit in his neighbor's face and threatened to kill him. Bieber pleads youth and stupidity.

ANGELINA JOLIE is sporting a band of gold on her ring finger.

HAYDEN PANETIERRE & WLADIMIR KLITSCHK: Secretly engaged?

JON HAMM is tired of jokes about his impressive anatomy.

SEAN PENN's son inherited a dislike of photographers.

ANDERSON COOPER could replace Matt Lauer on the Today show.

THE WOLVERINE has an international trailer online.

THE UNITED STATES: Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif, a Muslim convert formerly named Joseph Anthony Davis, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for plotting with accomplice Walli Mujahidh to attack a south Seattle military processing center on a busy Monday with automatic weapons and grenades.

FRANCE: Police arrested three people in southern France suspected of ties to al Qaeda-linked gunman Mohamed Merah.

BELGIAN police shot and killed wanted Franco-Algerian terrorist Benladghem Hakim as he was resisting arrest for an armed robbery committed on March 21. Police found a "veritable military arsenal" in his home, arrested a woman, and are looking for his brother.

MALI: The UK has begun sending military trainers to Mali as part of an EU mission. France plans to start gradually reducing its troops in Mali from the current 4,000 to possibly 3,000 by July, with a transition to a UN force by September. The UN Secretary General proposed the creation of a 11,200-strong protective force of African troops under a UN mandate, supplemented by a parallel force for counterterrorism operations.

AN OSTRICH dances to the tune of a tin whistle.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: A two-headed shark.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: A militant rodent found in a bag of mulch is raised by a gullible human.

A BLIND DOG and his seeing-eye dog find a new home.

WAVVES' video for "Afraid Of Heights" features cross-dressing, dive bars, and more.

GENERATIONALS advance stream Heza. Me likes it.

LOCAL NATIVES stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set. 

UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA exhibit their funky style during this live set featuring songs from their first two albums as well as a cover of "My Shadow" by Jay Reatard. Live on KEXP from Mellow Johnny's in Austin, TX during SXSW 2013.

PAUL WESTERBERG, Live on KFOG, Spet. 12, 1996.

DALE EARNHARDT JR JR returns with “If You Didn’t See Me (Then You Weren’t On The Dancefloor).”

DEKE RICHARDS (center), who as part of the songwriting and production team known as the Corporation was responsible for many of Motown Records' signature songs, died Sunday of esophageal cancer. He was 68. Among his co-creations are the Jackson 5's No. 1 hits "I Want You Back," "ABC" and "The Love You Save."

MARIANNE FAITHFULL: The "grande dame" of British pop talks to Mojo about Brecht's Seven Deadly Sins and the reissue of her classic Broken English album.

CHAOS CHAOS: Chloe and Asy Saavedra-- formerly Smoosh -- talk to Drowned In Sound about changing names, cities, business models, etc.

EARWORM: Scientists' tips for getting that tune out of your head.

25 ALBUMS You Should Own On Vinyl, according to Spinner.

LINDSAY LOHAN was adamant that she not be forced to go to rehab until after Coachella.

JUSTIN BIEBER: Investigated for battery.

JARED LETO received a fan's severed ear in the mail.

ROBERT PATTINSON inks a 12 million dollar deal with Dior.

HUGH HEFNER claims to have slept with over 1000 women.

KORDELL STEWART has filed for divorce from his reality star wife Porsha Williams. She was blindsided.

EMMA WATSON will receive MTV's second annual Trailblazer Award. She's also nominated for three other MTV Movie Awards for her role in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which I highly recommend.

WILLIAM SHATNER is appalled at a Star Trek parody video produced by the Internal Revenue Service at taxpayer expense.

SYRIA: A car bomb killed at least three people, wounded dozens and blew the windows out of buildings in northeastern Damascus on Tuesday as rebel fighters stepped up attacks in the Syrian capital, pro-government television stations said.

EGYPT: Salafist and Muslim Brotherhood leaders are working together in view of an imminent crackdown by President Morsi's government on opposition forces. A political activist was released after he demanded a judge for his case.

A PANDA MOM wrasssles her cub.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: A militant rodent started a fire that disrupted a funeral procession.

A CHINESE SQUID ate a bomb.

THE SWARM: An estimated 8000 honey bees attached themselves to the front left tire of a truck in Houston.

THE MEN drop "I Saw Her Face" as their debut video, full of primitive, old skool video fx.

NEW RELEASES from Junip, Crime & the City Solution, Fleeting Ends and more are streaming via Spinner.

MUDHONEY is advance streaming Vanishing Point.

CAVEMAN is streaming their self-titled sophomore album.

MATT COSTA stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

JUNIP offers up “Your Life, Your Call” for download.

DRAMARAMA give you "Anything, Anything" and a "Last Cigarette" for Twofer Tuesday.

MARNIE STERN gets personal with the Village Voice.

DAVID BOWIE, ranked by Stereogum.

MICHAEL NESMITH talks to the L.A. Times about his solo tour, songwriters, current likes, etc. 

PU$$Y RIOT: The embattled Russian collective was interviewed by 60 Minutes.

LINDSAY LOHAN: The lockdown rehab she promised to do is a fiction.

JESSE JAMES tied the knot with drag racer Alexis DeJoria.

HAYDEN PANETIERRE & WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO were caught canoodling on camera at Sunday's Miami Heat-Charlotte Bobcats game.

JAMES FRANCO is a terrible neighbor ... so say the people living next to the actor's L.A. home, who claim he leaves trash everywhere, takes up valuable parking spaces, and makes a lot of noise.

KATE UPTON: Laying the groundwork to reject that online prom invite.

ASHLEY GREENE's condo fire was officially ruled an accident.

TIGER WOODS is the top ranked golfer in the world again.

THE UNITED STATES Justice Department unsealed a guilty plea today by Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, a Shabaab leader and coordinator between Shabaab and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

ISRAEL renewed monthly tax transfers to the Palestinian Authority.

EGYPT's top prosecutor issued arrest warrants for five leading rights activists for allegedly inciting violence against the Muslim Brotherhood.

A SOLDIER SAVES A CAT: A cat repays the favor.

A PREGNANT WOLF SPIDER is believed to have traveled more than 6000 miles from India in a box of grapes.

ZUUL: A family cat was discovered in the wall of her home - which had been struck by an airplane - just before a wrecking ball was set to take down the wreckage.

GRUMPY CAT was unimpressed by her TIME photoshoot.

RILO KILEY loves L.A. in the video for "Let Me Back In."

TELEKINESIS is advance streaming Dormarion.

THE MUSIC IS YOU:  Various Artists stream a tribute to John Denver.

THE JIMI YOU NEVER KNEW: A two-hour episode of World Cafe showcasing music that has surfaced over the past few years and interviews with family, friends and musicians.

SHOUT OUT LOUDS chat and plays songs from their new LP at WNYC Soundcheck.

PRIMAL SCREAM drops “It’s Alright, It’s OK" ahead of More Light. And it's more than OK.

THE SMITHS: The Paolo Cuckoo Tape.

HARRY NILSSON: "Everybody's Talking" on Swedish TV, circa 1969.

JOHN FOGERTY talks to Spinner about his late brother, Dave Grohl, Tina Turner and more...

DEVENDRA BANHART talks to The Guardian about Britpop, life under Chávez and childhood memories of bugs' guts.

WILD BELLE: Elliot Bergman makes a mix of songs about bells for The A.V. Club.

WHY ISN'T CHEAP TRICK IN THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME? is now a band as well as a good question.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: The Croods top the chart with 44 million, a bit above projections.  It took in another 62 million in foreign markets, suggesting Dreamworks Animation is back after its stumble with Rise of the Guardians.  Olympus Has Fallen places with 30.5 million -- considerably above projections in the 20 million range, despite poor reviews.  Oz the Great and Powerful slides 47 percent to show with 22 million, almost exactly as projected. Oz now totals around 314 million worldwide against a 215 million budget.  The Call drops 49 percent to the fourth slot with 8.7 million (but 30 million total against a 13 million budget).  The debut of Admission rounds out the Top Five with 6.4 million, which is probably disappointing for a movie with Tina Fey and Paul Rudd, but not terrible against a 13 million budget.

LINDSAY LOHAN continues to drink — and drink often — despite being sentenced this week to 90 days of lockdown rehab.

RHIANNA barely acknowledged her tardiness when took the stage at Barrington High School moments ago - despite being more than four hours and 30 minutes late for her much-anticipated charity gig.

TILDA SWINTON has currently taken up residency sleeping at MoMA.

DENNIS & KIMBERLY QUAID are reconciled, but can't stop their divorce.

MILEY CYRUS seemed to be in a great mood after fiance Liam Hemsworth flew back to L.A. from his native Australia.

ASHLEY GREENE (Twilight) lost her dog in a condo fire.

ROBERT REDFORD: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.?

MALI: In the third major offensive since fleeing the town in January, Islamist militants attacked French and Malian forces in Gao after slipping past checkpoints on March 23. French President Hollande confirmed that Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, a senior leader of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, was killed "during combat led by the French military in the Ifoghas Mountains in northern Mali at the end of February."

ISRAEL: Hackers claimed to have breached the Mossad's firewall and obtained details on over 34,000 Israeli officials. Israeli forces destroyed a Syrian machine gun nest after gunmen fired from Syria into Israel twice in the past 24 hours.

ALGERIA: The Islamist Green Bloc is preparing to select a candidate to run for president in 2014.

SYRIA: Rebels loyal to the al Qaeda-linked Al Nusrah Front and the Al Yarmuk Brigade captured a strategic military base south of Damascus.

IRAQ: Security forces captured al Qaeda's mufti, or religious emir, for Babil province and 19 "wanted gunmen" in Baghdad.

LUKA THE HUSKY just wants to watch TV.

A GREAT WHITE gets his head in a shark diving cage. What say you, Police Chief Brody?

MOM vs 7-FT GATOR, in a schoolyard just as students prepared to leave for the day.

MILLIONS OF PRAWNS have now blanketed a beach in Coronel,Chile. Alert Robyn Hitchcock.