THE KILLERS drop a video for "Runaways."

BLITZEN TRAPPER brought their psych-tinged, classic-influenced rock to Newport 2012.

SARA WATKINS brought her mix of pop, country and folk to Newport 2012.

NICK WATERHOUSE visited KEXP for a chat and mini-set of soul I missed the first time around.

YEASAYER is dropping advance tracks via a scavenger hunt.

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED: Tracks from David Byrne and St. Vincent's horn-based collaboration, Django Django, Purity Ring, Heavy Cream and more feature in the latest installment of the NPR series.

999: "Homicide." You better believe it.

SHARON VAN ETTEN talks to the Phoenix New Times about Tramp, the direction her next record might take (and what Nick Cave has to do with it), and her creative process. (Thx, Chromewaves.)

THURSTON MOORE is joining the black metal supergroup Twilight for their upcoming third album.

MATT & KIM explain how they struck lightning at SPIN.

THE ANTLERS: Peter Silberman tells Rolling Stone about the Undersea EP.

PROG ROCK: The Rolling Stone Reader's Poll.

ROBERT PATTINSON is hiding out at is Reese Witherspoon's vacation house after giving Kristen Stewart the boot.

MACAULAY CULKIN is addicted to heroin?

MILA KUNIS & ASHTON KUTCHER take a romantic vacation in Bali.

MILEY CYRUS posed topless in a private shoot for her beau Liam Hemsworth.

MICHAEL DOUGLAS & MATT. DAMON., as seen in the Liberace biopic.

SUMMER STUDIO SMACKDOWN: Which franchises survive to the next sequel?

THE BRADY BUNCH is getting a TV reboot via Vince Vaughn.

THE UNITED KINGDOM: Twin brothers Mohammed Shabir Ali and Mohammed Shafiq Ali from east London were jailed for three years after admitting to raising money to fund terrorism.

SYRIA: Pres. Obama has signed a secret order authorizing US support for rebels seeking to depose Assad and his government, if by "secret" you mean reported worldwide by Reuters.

IRAN seethes with discontent during Ramadan, as jobs and wages have been cut and prices have shot up.

SUPERBIRD: The imperial cormorant dives 150 ft underwater in 40 seconds to feed.

MONGREL and WHITE LION CUB, living together...

HOW DO COWS MAKE FRIENDS? Scientists want to know. I think we can rule out Facebook.

THE SEAL FLU: Swine flu is soooo two years ago.

TENNIS plays "High Road" and "Better Self" for Conan and Twofer Wednesday.

OLIVIA TREMOR CONTROL: Bill Doss, co-founder of the Elephant 6 Recording Company, died Tuesday at age 43. Here's a performance from the seminal psych-pop band at Le Poisson Rouge.

MEGAFAUN brought streaks of classic and experimental rock sensibilities to Newport 2012.

FIRST AID KIT: The Swedish sister act is streaming their set from Newport 2012.

JOE JACKSON stopped by World Cafe to showcase The Duke, his recent Duke Ellington tribute.

CALEXICO drops "Splitter" ahead of the upcoming Algiers LP.

DUM DUM GIRLS drop "Lord Knows" from their upcoming EP.

WILD CHERRY: "Play That Funky Music." It's what they do.

REDD KROSS: Steven McDonald talks to Stereogum about how Researching Blues came to be after a 15-year hiatus.

SHEARWATER: Jonathan Meiburg talks to the Phoenix New Times about writing Animal Joy from a place of chaos. (Thx, Chromewaves.)

GUIDED BY VOICES: Tobin Sprout tells Rolling Stone they are by no means done after their third LP in a year.

THE ROLLING STONES: A Financial Infographic.

LINDSAY LOHAN was extremely hesitant to shoot a steamy sex scene for her new movie, but quickly changed her mind after the crew fulfilled an extremely unusual request.

ROBERT PATTINSON is not partying after booting the cheating Kristen Stewart out of his house.

TOM CRUISE just got served with divorce papers, so he's taking Suri to Disney World.

KATIE COURIC has fallen for a handsome financier seven months after her split with her boy-toy Brooks Perlin.

ANGELINA JOLIE wants a role in the movie adaptation of 50 Shades of Grey?

FRED WILLARD won't get to improv on ABC.

EMMA STONE will star in an untitled love story that Cameron Crowe will direct in the spring.

GORE VIDAL, iconoclastic writer and imperious gadfly, died Tuesday at age 86 of complications from pneumonia.

IRAN: Indian authorities concluded that the Iran's Revolutionary Guards were responsible for an attack on an Israeli diplomat in New Delhi in February.

IRAQ: Britain will help the Iraqi government dispose of what's left of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons, still stored in two bunkers in north of Baghdad, the British embassy in Baghdad announced Monday.

AFGHANISTAN: Pakistan and America signed a deal regulating Nato convoys travelling to Afghanistan on Tuesday as the two countries try to patch up the differences that almost led to a breakdown in their troubled alliance.

BUTTERMILK SKY the NIGERIAN DWARF GOAT plays with her friends.

A WHITE LION & WHITE TIGERS move to Jungle Island.

THE SWARM: Bees turn an Ontario home into a giant honey pit.

PYGMY RABBITS are released into the wild by the Oregon Zoo.

WILCO rolled out the "Art of Almost" and "Laminated Cat" for Fallon and Twofer Tuesday.

NEW RELEASES from Toadies, Suburban Living, Ice Choir, River City Tanlines and more are streaming this week at Spinner.

REDD KROSS is advance streaming Researching the Blues.

JUST TELL ME THAT YOU WANT ME: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac.

TELEVISION: Double Exposure. 

THE NASHVILLE TEENS, with a stompin' cover of "Tobacco Road."

DEAN WAREHAM talks to the Village Voice about his solo album, ending the Galaxie 500 sets, the odds of a Luna reunion, and moving to Brooklyn.

PURITY RING spoke to Rolling Stone and Interview about working in different cities, performing live, the band name, and the future ofthe band.

ARCHERS OF LOAF: Eric Bachmann talks to Creative Loafing about chemistry and more.

ROBERT PATTINSON asked KRISTEN STEWART to move out.  SWATH director Rupert Sanders reportedly has been forgiven by his wife for his fling with Stewart. US Weeekly has cozy photos of Stewart and Sanders.

BRET MICHAELS and his longtime ladylove have called off their engagement.

ELIZABETH BERKLEY and her husband welcome a baby boy.

KOBE BRYANT's wife stands by her man after Olympic party pics surface.

OLIVIA MUNN has an impulse-control disorder which is harmful but not in that fun way.

THE HOBBIT will in fact be three films, confirms Peter Jackson.

NORMAN ALDEN, a character actor who piled up a prodigious number of credits during his five decades in film and television, died July 27 of natural causes at 87.

THE UNITED KINGDOM: The Foreign Office is investigating a report that Britons were among the group of jihadists holding two Western cameramen captive for a week in Syria.

SYRIA: As the uprising against Assad's government grinds on with no resolution in sight, Syrians involved in the armed struggle say it is becoming more radicalized: homegrown Muslim jihadists, as well as small groups of fighters from Al Qaeda, are taking a more prominent role and demanding a say in running the resistance.

EGYPT's election of an Islamist president has rekindled a long-suppressed display of public piousness that has aroused both "moral vigilantism" and personal acts of faith, such as demands that police officers and flight attendants be allowed to grow beards. Scattered incidents of violence and intimidation do not appear to have been organized, but they represent a disturbing trend in Egypt's transition to democracy.

A TIGER SHARK takes 15K of photo equipment.

AN ORPHAN WOMBAT greets the world from a man-made pouch. 

LIONESS vs CROCODILE, clearing a path across the river for her kids.

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES: Several young gorillas have been spotted destroying snares that are set to maim and kill wild apes.

THE ARCTIC MONKEYS played "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor," and covered The Beatles' "Come Together" at the Olympics' opening ceremonies, icymi.

WILCO played a career-spanning set at the 2012 Newport Folk Festival.

ALABAMA SHAKES are also streaming their Newport set.

SPIRIT FAMILY REUNION brought their sweetly ramshackle Americana to Newport as well.

HUSKER DU, Live at 1st Ave, August 28, 1985.  I might have attended this one.

RICHARD THOMPSON has the "Hots For the Smarts."

THE FLAMING LIPS: Wayne Coyne is profiled by The Observer.

DIRTY PROJECTORS: David Longstreth talks about his upcoming short film and more at L.A. Weekly. (Thx, LHB.)

CAT POWER: Chan Marshall talks to Interview about the upcoming Sun, which features synthesizers, programmed beats, looping guitars, and live drums—all of which Marshall played and recorded herself.

FATHER JOHN MISTY: Josh Tillman talks to Straight about finding his true voice and leaving Fleet Foxes.

IT'S THE SAME OLD SONG, just simpler and louder.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: The Dark Knight Rises again to top the chart with 64 million -- but that's a sixty percent drop from last weekend at the hands of the Olympics and one batcrap crazy bastid in Colorado. There aren't too many sad stories about a movie that has already made half a billion world wide, but this is close.  Ice Age: Continental Drift places with a fairly leggy 13.3 million.  The Watch shows with a 13 million debut, marginally below already low predictions of a 14-16 million opening.  Step Up Revolution debuts at No. 4 with 11.8 million, which seems bad against a 33 million budget, but this franchise generally does much better overseas.  Ted rounds out the Top 5 with a leggy 7.4 million.

KRISTEN STEWART & ROBERT PATTINSON are not on speaking terms... but he reportedly wants to know all the details directly from the man she cheated with, SWATH director Rupert Sanders. The cheating reportedly went on for months.

DANE COOK issued an apology for cracking a joke about the “Dark Knight Rises” massacre. Even I know comedy = tragedy + time.

THE JACKSONS: Katherine Jackson says she's had a change of heart and is now ready to split guardianship of Michael's 3 children with her grandson TJ.

KATY PERRY & JOHN MAYER were... wait for it... caught canoodling at Soho House in West Hollywood.

MILA KUNIS & ASHTON KUTCHER aren't hiding their relationshiop anymore.

JEERMY RENNER learns to not take Viagra before boarding a 10-hour flight.

MADONNA was booed and called a "slut" by some of her biggest fans in France.

MODERN FAMILY: The adult cast cuts a deal to end their contract standoff.

SYRIA: Heavy fighting continued in the city of Aleppo. Rebels repelled the first attacks, however the main government assault has yet to begin. Fighting ended in Damascus.

CYBER-WAR: The man in charge of America's cyber operations said that on a scale of one to 10, the nation's preparedness to deal with a major cyber attack on critical infrastructure sits at a dismal three.

HELLOO, IRAN: The US Air Force's massive 30000 lb bunker-buster bomb critical for striking heavily fortified Iranian nuclear facilities is "ready to go."

A KITTEN found covered in industrial-strength glue and unable to move is recovering after strangers teamed up to save him.

TEVA the SEA LION CUB is born at the Memphis Zoo.

A DEATH-CHEATING CAT is on his fifth life after surviving his second coyote attack in a series of near-death experiences.

MYSTERY MONSTER washes onshore in New York. Pretty much an annual event at this point.

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with STEVIE WONDER! His session at the Beat Club includes "Intro Jam," "Contusion," "Higher Ground," "Dont You Worry ‘Bout A Thing," "I Can See The Sun In Late December," "He's Misstra Know-It-All," "Living For The City" and "Superstition."

THE FLAMING LIPS & HEADY FWENDS is advance streaming via The Guardian.

FITZ & THE TANTRUMS get the party started at Capitol Hill Block Party 2012 via KEXP.

CRYSTAL STILTS also brought their neo-psychadelic, garage pop band to Capitol Hill Block Party 2012 via KEXP.

NEWPORT FOLK FEST PREVIEW, courtesy of All Songs Considered.

CHELSEA LIGHT MORNING, Thurston Moore's latest band, drops a new track called "Frank O'Hara Hit."

CEREMONY played the Violent Femmes' "Kiss Off" for The A.V. Club Undercover. That will go on their permanent record.

JENS LEKMAN talks to Drowned In Sound about his personal journey, yard shows, the new album, and more.

JAPANDROIDS drummer David Prowse talks to The A.V. Club abouthis musical firsts.

PASSION PIT: Michael Angelakos tells Morning Edition the new LP documents his recent struggle with what he calls self-medicating.

BETH ORTON names current pop culture faves for The Independent.

60 SUN-KISSED SUMMER SONGS, compiled by NME.

CUTOUT BIN: From Little Richard to Talking Heads, from the Cramps to Kenny Rogers, from War to the Posies, plus Flaming Lips, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Spoon, the Rolling Stones 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 The Watch, which is currently scoring 14 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and Step Up Revolution, scoring 26 percent.

KRISTEN STEWART is writing an apology letter asking for forgiveness from the wife of the director she cheated on Robert Pattinson with, according to RadarOnline. Pattinson is reportedly heartbroken and humiliated by the news of Stewart's cheating and has left the home they shared.

THE JACKSONS: Katherine Jackson has been temporarily stripped of her guardianship over Michael Jackson's 3 kids, and an L.A. judge just appointed Tito Jackson's son TJ to become the temporary guardian. Jackson's mother is "devastated" his children have been "taken away" from her while she was vacationing in Arizona and she planned to return to Los Angeles to be reunited with them.

LINDSAY LOHAN got in another fender-bender, lightly rear-ending a Mustang with her Porsche.

KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN's baby daddy Scott Disick is quite a catch, according to the ever-reliable Star magazine.

RUSSELL BRAND will be charged with a crime for throwing a paparazzi's iPhone through a glass window in New Orleans back in March.

CLOUD ATLAS: The latest from the Wachowskis has a six-minute trailer online.

THE TOP 25 MOVIE VILLAINS, according to Paste.

DREAMWORKS buys Classic Media, whose properties include Archie, Casper the Friendly Ghost, The Lone Ranger, Lassie, Speed Racer, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Gumby, Underdog, Fat Albert, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Godzilla, He-Man, Dick Tracy, Frosty the Snowman, and Mr. Peabody & Sherman. DreamWorks' animated Mr. Peabody & Sherman is already scheduled for Christmas Day 2013.

THE 100 MOST VALUABLE MOVIE STARS, ranked by Vulture, with help from my online acquaintance, Harry Enten.

AL QAEDA IN IRAQ threatens attacks in the United States.

AFGHANISTAN: The Afghan Ministry of Interior confirmed reports from US commanders that the Taliban is weaker in southern Afghanistan, pointing out that the Taliban rarely face Afghan security forces in the battlefield. The International Committee of the Red Cross warned in a new report that insecurity had greatly increased across more provinces of Afghanistan.

KITTEN vs KITTEN: Who you got?

LANCELOT ENCORE: A cloned dog fathers eight pups.

BEARS trash a family's home in Bearsville, NY. Porridge everywhere.

THE WELL OF SOULS: Thirty six venomous snakes seized from a west Omaha home last week at being held for the Nebraska Humane Society at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium.

OLYMPIC GUINEA PIGS go for the photoshopped gold.