THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN! Live in Germany, circa 1983. Your setlist includes: Going Up; Broke My Neck; With A Hip; Gods Will Be Gods; Show Of Strength; All My Colours (Zimbo); The Cutter; Rescue; My White Devil; Porcupine; Crocodiles; All That Jazz; Back Of Love; Heads Will Roll; Heaven Up Here; Over The Wall; Do It Clean; Villiers Terrace; No Dark Things; and A Promise.

LUCINDA WILLIAMS advance streams The Ghosts Of Highway 20.

DR. DOG advance streams The Psychedelic Swamp.

ELLIOTT SMITH: Heaven Adoes You is a companion soundtrack to the new Smith documentary of the same name.

POP ETC (fmrly the Morning Benders) streams Souvenir.

ISLANDS drop “Back Into It" and “Charm Offensive" ahead of Taste and Should I Remain Here At Sea?

THE MAMAS & PAPAS lip-synced "California Dreaming" really well o­n Hullaballoo, but not showing you the go-go dancers, who are worth the wait.

PAUL KANTNER, one of the giants of the San Francisco music scene, died Thursday of multiple organ failure. Mr. Kantner, a founding member of the Jefferson Airplane, was 74 and had suffered a heart attack this week.

THE NATIONAL: Matt Berninger talks to The Independent about anxiety, artistic motivation, misheard lyrics, the new album and unicorn mobiles.

RICHARD THOMPSON is briefly profiled by The Oakland Press. (Thx, LHB.)

JOHN LYDON, a/k/a Johnny Rotten, turns 60 this weekend; The Guardian revisits a 1989 Q interview.

NOW SHOWING: This weekends' wide releases include: Kung Fu Panda 3, which is currently scoring 80 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; The Finest Hours, which is currently scoring 57 percent; plus Fifty Shades of Black, and Jane Got a Gun, which were not advance screened for critics.

TYRA BANKS is replacing Ivanka Trump as an adviser on NBC's Celebrity Apprentice.

LEO DiCAPRIO greeted Pope Francis at the Vatican.

ANGELINA JOLIE would prefer her kids stay out of the industry. Jon Voight might've thought the same.

AMBER ROSE issued an op-ed and continued her Twitter feud with Kanye, which he'd really like to drop now.

GEORGE CLOONEY laughs off pregnancy rumors.

FRENCH police arrested a man carrying two guns at an entrance to a hotel at Disneyland Paris. The man, reportedly aged 28 and not known to security services, was also discovered with a copy of the Koran and a box of ammunition, police said.

WHY AIRSTRIKES Won't Destroy the Islamic State.

A DOG & A DUCK, adopted together... mass hysteria!

A VULTURE that flew into Lebanon from an Israeli nature reserve has been captured on suspicion of spying, according to local media reports.

PET TREATS: What To Avoid.

ZIGGY is a male colobus monkey born at the St. Louis Zoo on the day David Bowie died.

TORTOISE (ft Yo La Tengo's Georgia Hubley) shares a video for "Yonder Blue."

WHAT'S UP MATADOR: In 1997, the record label filmed a fake children's show, with cameos from Liz Phair, Yo La Tengo, Jon Spencer, Railroad Jerk, Run On, and more.

LOWER DENS stopped by WFUV for a chat and mini-set.

WET performed in the WNYC Soundcheck studio.

M WARD issues a "Confession" ahead of More Rain.

BEST COAST & WAVVES have a split single, including a cover of Nirvana's "Dumb."

SUMMER FLAKE drops “Shoot And Score” ahead of Hello Friends.

RICHARD THOMPSON: The culmination of 1000 Years Of Popular Music.

DAVID BOWIE gave the Punk movement both fuel and fire.

ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER discusses her favorite albums with The Quietus.

MAVIS STAPLES discusses her 12 favorite younger singers.

ELVIS COSTELLO: Ten of His Best.

KANYE WEST had a fairly epic Twitter fight with Wiz Khalifa and Amber Rose.

JOSEPH FIENNES is set to play...Michael Jackson in a British TV movie.

LIAM HEMSWORTH did not formally re-propose to Miley Cyrus.

TYRA BANKS and her boyfriend, Swedish photographer Erik Asla, have welcomed a son.

RYAN REYNOLDS talks about being a father and losing one.

FRANCE asked its European Union partners to consider new sanctions on Iran for its recent missile tests.

IRAN: The White House dropped a 10 million claim as part of the recent prisoner deal

A MASSIVE DOG escapes the vet, carrying a staffer along for the ride.

A KINKAJOU turns up on the chest of a 99-year-old woman.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: Britons are blaming the 11th Duke of Bedford.

A "BEHEMOTH" DADDY LONGLEGS has been discovered in Oregon.

RECORD VISITS ON MONDAY...and some server crashes on Tuesday! Thanks for stopping by, everyone.

NEKO CASE dropped a video for "Man" in conjunction with her vinyl box set.

WOLF ALICE played a Tiny Desk Concert.

NATALIE MERCHANT played a Tiny Desk Concert.

BLOC PARTY is advance streaming HYMNS.

THE FEELIES, Live in NYC, Dec. 14, 1977.

YUCK covers Fugazi’s “Cashout.”

THE COATHANGERS drop "Make It Right" ahead of Nosebleed Weekend.

ALBERT LEE covers Jimmy Webb's "If You See Me Getting Smaller," one of my favorite Webb tunes, though (afaik) never a hit for anyone.

DAVID BOWIE: Trent Reznor eflects on the "validating and surreal" experience of working with his musical idol.

VAMPIRE WEEKEND co-founder and songwriter Rostam Batmanglij has left the band.

REGINA SPEKTOR, profiled by The Guardian.

DAUGHTER guitarist and producer Igor Haefeli talks to ClashMusic about short stories, heavy lyrics and of course, the making of their new album.

EMILY BLUNT & JOHN KRASINSKI are expecting their second child.

ABE VIGODA, best known for his roles as mobster Tessio in "The Godfather" and as Detective Sgt. Fish in TV's "Barney Miller" and a spinoff series in which he starred, has died. He was 94 and died in New Jersey of natural causes. Yes, really.

MAD MAX director George Miller is amazed by the fan reaction to Fury Road.

THE BIRTH OF A NATION, a movie about the 1831 slave rebellion led by Nat Turner, was acquired for a record 17.5mm by Fox Searchlight.

THE EPIC FAIL of Hollywood's Hottest Algorithm.

THE ISLAMIC STATE has created a whole “industry” out of the production of fake passports, a high-level French official said.

LIBYA's internationally recognized parliament on Monday rejected a U.N.-sponsored unity government with rival authorities based in Tripoli, dealing a blow to months of efforts aimed at bridging a political divide that has undermined the fight against Islamic militants.

THREE ABANDONED KITTENS get a second chance.

A CRAB grabbed a knife, backed out of a restaurant.

BIRDS OF PREY aren't for kissing. The More You Know.

A GOAT TESTICLE DOCTOR made a fortune, and later a sensation at Sundance.

DR DOG dropped a video for "Bring My Baby Back."

THE I DON'T CARES (Paul Westerberg & Juliana Hatfield) are streaming Wild Stab via Spotify.

YOUR FRIEND is advance streaming Gumption.

DAVID BOWIE & STEVIE RAY VAUGHN play a full concert soundcheck in Dallas, circa 1983.

IGGY POP, working with Josh Homme (QOTSA), Dean Fertita (QOTSA/Dead Weather), and Matt Helders (Arctic Monkeys, has dropped "Gardenia" and "Break Into Your Heart."

BOB MOULD's Facebook page was hacked, so of course, he wrote a song about it.

GUIDED BY VOICES: Technically, the clip for "Auditorium" and "Motor Away" is Twofer Tuesday, but since it runs just about 3 minutes, I'll toss in "My Valuable Hunting Knife" as a bonus.

DAVID BOWIE, remembered by Interpol's Paul Banks, for his support of young acts.

SHEARWATER's Jonathan Meiberg is profiled by Drowned In Sound.

TOM JONES talks to Aquarium Drunkard about his recent work and his biography.

JIMMY BAIN, bassist for Rainbow and Dio, has passed away. He was 68.

CHARLIE SHEEN's young kids with Denise Richards are afraid of the actor after his alleged outbursts, sources said. But pals of Sheen said it's Richards who's blocked access to the children.

CHRIS BROWN won't face criminal charges for allegedly punching a woman at a Vegas after-party.

KRISTEN STEWART tells those who are concerned about diversity in Hollywood to “go do something.”

JULIE DELPY is the latest actress to clarify her remarks about the topic.

SIR IAN McKELLEN notes that no openly gay man has won a best actor Academy Award.

JON HAMM's Golden Globe is spelled wrong.

WOODY ALLEN has set the principal cast for his TV series on Amazon.

A DOG accidentally runs a half-marathon.

A HUGE, TERRIFYING SPIDER had venom dripping off its deadly fangs when a bushwalker stumbled across it.

CATS are now hair styling tools in Asia.

THREE DEAD SPERM WHALES washed up on a beach in eastern England over the weekend, just a week after a dozen animals of the same species washed ashore on German and Dutch beaches.

SHEARWATER dropped a video for "Quiet Americans."

THE CACTUS BLOSSOMS stream You're Dreaming, produced by  JD McPherson.

FLORIST is streaming The Birds Outside Sang.

ABI REIMOLD streams her debut LP, Wriggling.

CROSS RECORD streams their sophomore LP, Wabi-Sabi.

PJ HARVEY drops a track called "The Wheel."

FATHER JOHN MISTY shared “Maybe, Sweet One, You Won’t Have Nightmares Tonight.”

DAVID BOWIE guitarist Gerry Leonard talked to Vulture about the final decade of Bowie’s life. And there may be much more Bowie music to come.

GLAM ROCK was the subject of the latest Guardian Radio Hour.

JENNYLEE, a/k/a Jenny Lee Lindberg of Warpaint, is interviewed by Drowned In Sound about her solo effort.

DON McLEAN said that his domestic violence arrest last week stemmed from “the very painful breakdown” of his long marriage and asked fans not to judge him. His wife also spoke for him...sort of.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: The Revenant tops the chart with 16MM on a weekend socked by snowstorm Jonas and wek new releases.  That said, it broke the 100MM barrier domestic lst week, which is good news for a film almost as unforgiving as the Jonas. Star Wars: The Force Awakens places with 14.3MM, a tribute to the franchise's legs after six weekends on the big screen.  Episode VII closes in on 2 billion worldwide and hundreds of millions in toy sales.  Ride Along 2 shows with 13MM, but on areally-steep-for-comedy 63 percent drop.  Even so, it's likely to break even on domestic receipts.  Dirty Grandpa takes the fourth slot with 11.5M, about in line with tracking estimate...but what was De Niro thinking here?  The Boy rounds out the Top Five with 10.7MM, and given how fast horror flicks die off, it may need help from foreign markets to break even.

DENISE RICHARDS sues CHARLIE SHEEN to protect their children's trust money.

KATY PERRY & ORLANDO BLOOM were spotted hanging out for the second time in two weeks.

MARIAH CAREY & JAMES PACKER may be engaged, but neither is divorced yet.

CHARLOTTE RAMPLING, Oscar nominee, clarified comments thatthe Oscars boycott was "racist to white people."

MICHAEL CAINE is not a fan of the Oscars boycott.

THE OSCARS: The Academy's Board of Governors approved diversity measures.  How racially skewed are they?

THE XX FILES: Gillian Anderson was offered “half” of what they would pay David Duchovny for this year's X-Files event series. She wasn't having it.

TAN TAN, the National Zoo panda, enjoyed the big blizzard that hit the nation's capital.

A PIGLET is rescued from the snow in Hagerstown, MD.

A COW went on the lam from a NYC slaughterhouse.

A FLOCK OF SHEEP came to the aid of authorities in Queenstown, New Zealand, after stopping a car that had been on the run for over 90 minutes.