BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & STEVE EARLE performed a special set for charity.

POM PON SQUAD covered Nada Surf's "Popular" with Matthew Caws and remade the video at the same high school.

ELVIS COSTELLO talks to The Current.

GEORGE HARRISON: See the star-studded video for “My Sweet Lord” In celebration of the 50th anniversary of All Things Must Pass.

THE KINKS: Dave Davies has announced details of his forthcoming autobiography Living On A Thin Line.

THE O'JAYS: The remains of a body found nearly 40 years ago have finally been identified as Frank “Frankie” Little Jr., a former member of the R&B band.

LES EMMERSON, the voice behind the iconic 1970s rock track “Signs” has died from COVID-19 at the age of 77.

THE GUMMY AWARDS: Stereogum's reader poll for 2021.

THE NUMBER ONES looks at Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch's clumsy, hip-house throwdown "Good Vibrations," the second rap song ever to top the Hot 100.

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME hits theaters on Friday and is poised to generate 150MM in its box office debut — a heroic feat even by pre-COVID standards.

INTRODUCING: The Sinister Six.

INDIEWIRE's 2021 Critics' Poll.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY narrowly avoided the ultimate wardrobe malfunction.

15 ACTORS Who Made It Big With One Movie And Then Called It Quits.

ALAN RUCK (Succession, Ferris Bueller's Day Off), on the Jeremy Strong kerfuffle and more.

CORGI Roll Call.

A "TALKING" CAT is giving scientists insight into how felines think.

FERAL HOGS take over a Southeast Texas neighborhood.

OH TANNENBAUM! South Africa's most venomous snake slithers out of a family's decorated Christmas tree.

PATSY CLINE & FERLIN HUSKY: "Let It Snow!"

ELTON JOHN visits World Cafe.

IDLES plays KEXP.

BIG THIEF shares "No Reason" and "Spud Infinity."

MICHAEL NESMITH Made It Fun, by Jack Handey. Yes, Jack Handey.

JAMES BROWN's estate has sold the late singer's music assets to Primary Wave for an estimated 90MM.

J MASCIS talks about Bob Dylan, stage dives, and his taxonomy of hugs.

STEREOGUM's 70 Favorite Songs of 2021.

NPR's Most Popular Songs Of 2021.

STEVE BRONSKI died in a Soho flat fire.

NICOLAS CAGE IS NICOLAS CAGE in the trailer for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.

BEN AFFLECK felt “trapped” in his marriage to Jennifer Garner — and thinks he wouldn't have gotten sober had he stayed.

KIM KARDASHIAN said in a recent court filing that “no counseling or reconciliation effort” could repair her marriage to Kanye West  —  Kanye West is still hoping otherwise?

TOM CRUISE reportedly flew his private jet across the Atlantic and back to deliver 300 Christmas cakes to his London-based "Mission: Impossible" film crew.

KEANU REEVES decodes the Sad Keanu meme.

O.J. SIMPSON's parole ended early.

THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, Return of the Jedi, and Stop Making Sense are among the 25 movies selected for preservation on the Library of Congress's National Film Registry.

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, live-action version.

CATS & DOGS, living together.

MOTHER & CHILD Quokka.

BOB GELDOF, by his own admission, is responsible for two of the worst songs in history: "'Do They Know It's Christmas?" and "We Are The World."

ROBERT PLANT & ALLISON KRAUSS play a Tiny Desk Concert from Home.

AMOS LEE plays The Current.

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE shares "Walker," inspired by the late Scott Walker.

AQUARIUM DRUNKARD's 2021 Year in Review.

THE 30 BEST ALBUMS of 2021, according to SPIN.

THE TOP 40 POP SONGS of 2021, according to Stereogum.

HOW THE HUMAN LEAGUE made "Don't You Want Me."

THE NUMBER ONES ooks at the extremely early-'90s R & B boy band Color Me Badd's first chart-topper "I Adore Mi Amor."

FANTASTIC BEASTS: The Secrets of Dumbledore has a trailer online.

DEEP WATER: The Adrian Lyne-directed erotic thriller starring Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas is going to streaming after the 20th Century Studios/New Regency movie was pulled from the Disney theatrical release calendar last week.

THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS shut down in a COVID outbreak.

BRAD PITT is reopening the legendary Miraval recording studio in France.

ELON MUSK is TIME's Man of the Year.

YELLOWSTONE is getting a movie prequel, starring Tom Hanks.

PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON doesn't think superhero movies ruined cinema.

A FAMILY OF PIGS, hopping through the grass.

A CAT, busy while the family sleeps.

A SEAGULL, dancing maniacally.

MICHAEL NESMITH, who rocketed to fame as the contemplative, wool-cap-wearing member of the Monkees in 1966, then went on to a diverse career that included making one of the rock era’s earliest music videos and winning the first Grammy Award for video, died on Friday at his home in Carmel Valley, Calif. He was 78.  And here's the Rolling Stone obit. And the Washington Post on Nesmith's role in inventing country rock.  Stereogum has a cross-section of his work, and Ben Gibbard covering a few.  I'm still partial to "You Just May Be the One" and his singing on "What Am I Doing Hanging Around."

NEW RELEASES: Pitchfork will point you to Aeon Station, Michael Hurley, and more. Also the last regular new releases of the year.

BILL'S INDIE BASEMENT has Bill Callahan & Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Deep Throat Choir, and more.

NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE stream Barn.

PHOEBE BRIDGERS didn't released an LP, but was pretty busy in 2021.

NILS LOFGREN: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview.

THE TOP 20 ALBUMS of 2021, according to NPR listeners.

THE NUMBER ONES ooks at Paula Abdul's final chart-topper, the puffy and optimistic dance-pop track "The Promise Of A New Day."

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE:  West Side Story tops the chart with 10.5MM aganist a 100MM+ budget, which has people praying it has legs given its sterling reviews and "A" CinemaScore.  But it's also a movie that likely appeals most to older and more female audiences that have been slowest to return to theaters at this point in the COVID pandemic/endemic, so news about the Omicron variant is probably what kills or saves this movie.  Encanto places with 9.42MM on a leggy 28 percent drop, as family fare contines to bring folks to the theater.  Ghostbusters: Afterlife shows with 7.1MM on a 38 percent drop as its crossed the 100MM mark during the week.

THE GOLDEN GLOBES have been condemned by Hollywood, but people are still quiety tyring to win them.

NAOMIE HARRIS (of the Bond films) claims she was groped by an A-list star during an audition.

AARON SORKIN defended Succession star Jeremy Strong, whose reportedly intense acting process was recently detailed in a lengthy profile for The New Yorker.

KEANU REEVES has thoughts on VR lomemaking.

HOOK TURNS 30, with retrospectives at The AV Club and Paste.

TITANIC: Did Jack and Rose sink the ship?

ANNE RICE, the best-selling author whose gothic tomes included “Interview with the Vampire,” has died, her son said Sunday.

SIX KOMODO DRAGONS have hatched at the Bronx Zoo.

CATS & DOGS, living together...

WHERE your missing things went.

TINY DOG vs Mountain Lion.

MAN ATTACKED by a gang of otters.

A FRIENDLY, FOUL-MOUTHED CROW befreinds an entire school.

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with AIMEE MANN's CHRISTMAS CAROL (profanity warnings): Part One has your Scrooge-y set-up with Michael Penn. Part Two features The Office's John Krasinski. Part Three has Michael Cera. Part Four has John C. Reilly.

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE, Live at Pitchfork.

THE KILLERS visit World Cafe.

PHILIP FROBOS covers Lou Reed and Iggy Pop for a Lagniappe Session.

GROHL & KURSTIN cover KISS's "Rock And Roll All Nite" for Hannukah.

WET LEG plays "Chaise Lounge" for Seth Meyers.

AMERICAN FOOTBALL returns with "Rare Symmetry" and a cover of Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You."

THE NEW PR0NOGRAPHERS, ranked by Paste. ALSO: A track-by-track tour of Mass Romantic.

SNAIL MAIL: Lindsey Jordan's Long, Bumpy Road to Creative Control

AEON STATION: Kevin Whelan looks to a post-Wrens future.

RADIOHEAD: 20 Years After The End Of The World.

STEVE BRONSKI, co-founder and keyboard player in Bronski Beat, has died at the age of 61.

JUSSIE SMOLLETT was found guilty on five of the six counts of disorderly conduct for making false police reports.

JOSH DUGGAR was found guilty on both charges of receipt of child pr0nography and possession of child pr0nography.

SOUTH PARK: POST COVID: THE RETURN OF COVID has a trailer online.

COBRA KAI: Season 4 has a trailer online.

ALEC BALDWIN posted an open letter from the Rust film’s crew that pushes back against the narrative that the production was unsafe.

OLIVIA WILDE is profiled by Vogue.

RICHARD E. GRANT said his car has been stolen and used in a ram-raid while he’s stuck in quarantine.

IT'S BEGINNING to look a lot like Christmas.

MEETIING A DOG for the first time.

GERONIMO THE ALPACA: Wrongly put down.