THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with PITCHFORK MUSIC FEST '08!  PitchforkTV is running highlights right off the Jumbotrons, including The Hold Steady's clap-happy "Stay Positive," Dinosaur, Jr. squealing through "Freak Scene," Apples in Stereo bringing the cowbell on "Energy," Fleet Foxes loping through their "English House,"  and Mission of Burma revisiting their classic single "Trem Two."  And there's plenty more to explore at any of those links, including Vampire Weekend, Jarvis Cocker and Public Enemy.

LOLLAPALLOOZA: Selected sets from the Chicago's other big fest are streaming starting today from AT&T's Blue Room.

ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO gets an in-depth profile in... The New Republic?

SONS & DAUGHTERS do the three free songs thing for Daytrotter.

PATTI SMITH:  Rolling Stone has clips from Patti Smith: Dream of Life, a documentary shot from 1996-2007 that opens in select cities on August 6th.

LIZ PHAIR talks to Billboard about keeping her first indie album in 14 years unpolished.  But as her current release is the deluxe reissue of Exile in Guyville, "Never Said" goes down nicely on a Friday.

FRANK BLACK talks to Paste about touring with the Stone Temple Pilots, working under the name "Black Francis" again, and more...

AMOS LEE is profiled by the Charleston City Paper, which also has a stream of "Listen" from the album Last Days at the Lodge.

TILLY & THE WALL guitarist Derek Pressnall talks to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review about the band's history and their upcoming appearance on Sesame Street.

CUTOUT BIN:  From Roger McGuinn to Ray Charles, from The Clash to Curtis Mayfield, from Cheap Trick to Dolly Parton, from Petula Clark to Camper Van Beethoven and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds can be jukeboxed or streamed separately via the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases are The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, currently scoring 12 percent on the ol' Tomatometer, and Swing Vote, which is scoring 34 percent.

ELIZABETH TAYLOR was put on a life support machine after suffering congestive heart failure.

A-ROD: The Yankee slugger is playing hardball against his wife in their divorce case, saying he wants their prenuptial agreement enforced and charges that he cheated on her -- which he dioes not deny -- removed from the record.

BRITNEY SPEARS will be under the conservatorship of her father Jamie until December 31, it was decided in court Thursday. Also, the pop wreck has cut all ties with one-time pal Sam Lutfi, according to her court-appointed attorney.

JESSICA SIMPSON claims she has been a victim of abuse, but does not want to divulge the details.

TOM CRUISE is named in a 250-million-dollar racketeering lawsuit filed against the Church of Scientology by a former member.

HOWARD STERN is remaking the Ramones' Rock 'n' Roll High School. The script is being written by Alex Winter from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

BATMAN RUMORS: Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie and Phillip Seymour Hoffman are among the wild speculation over who might play villains like the Riddler, Catwoman or the Penguin in the next Bat-film.

SARAH JESSICA PARKER & MATTHEW BRODERICK put up a united front on a night out in New York following allegations he had an affair with a 25-year-old woman.

IRAN will press ahead with its nuclear path, the country's highest authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Wednesday, speaking just before a deadline set by Western officials in a nuclear dispute.

IRAQ: Eleven US soldiers were killed in Iraq in July, the lowest monthly toll since the 2003 invasion, according to Pentagon figures. Pres. Bush announced that effective Thursday, the duration of troop tours in Iraq will be cut from 15 months to 12 months. Iraqi forces backed by US troops arrested another 14 suspects on Thursday during a major military sweep aimed at breaking up the Al Qaeda network in the restive province of Diyala. Coalition special operations forces captured two members of the Iranian-supported Hezbollah Brigades during a raid in eastern Baghdad on early Thursday morning. The leader of AQI and several of his top lieutenants have recently left Iraq for Afghanistan, according to group leaders and Iraqi intelligence officials, a possible further sign of what Iraqi and U.S. officials call growing disarray and weakness in the organization.

CATS & DOGS: Isabella, a yellow Lab at the Safari Zoological Park, east of Caney, KS. nurses three white tiger cubs she adopted after they were abandoned by their mother at the park.

PRINCESS CHUNK, the 44-lb cat, should really be named Prince Chunk. A veterinarian who checked the cat Thursday on ``Live with Regis and Kelly'' determined it's a ``he.'' Me-ow!

WEARABLE DOG TOILET: Pics and video at the link.

PET SNAKES are barred from taking a slither in a public park in Southampton.

FAINTING GOATS: A perennial favorite, but The Sun just discovered the video.

OVER SIX MILLION SERVED. Thanks, all! 

THE RASPBERRIES perform "Go All The Way" and "I Wanna Be With You" in the same clip.  It's like Twofer Tuesday, but on Thursday.

THE GO! TEAM stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set you can stream on demand via MPR.

THE SEX PISTOLS' inamous 1976 interview with Bill Grundy has become a television archive's most requested clip.

DIG! The documentary about the rivalry between Anton A. Newcombe of the Brian Jonestown Massacre and Courtney Taylor of the Dandy Warhols, is streaming in full at SnagFilms.

PAUL WESTERBERG's 49:00 could have the biggest profit margin in the history of the music industry.

KINGS of LEON have posted a trailer for their upcoming Only By The Night album.

JOE STRUMMER did a radio series for the BBC World Service in 1998, which will re-air on WOXY starting this Sunday.

THE DAREDEVIL CHRISTOPHER WRIGHT does the four free songs thing at Daytrotter, one previously unreleased.

MPR: While I frequently link to the special live performances, any music fan should be checking out the streams from The Current and its HD sister station, Wonderground Radio, which mixes in classics among the indie cuts.

NATE FARLEY, former axeman for Guided By Voices, The Amps and The Breeders, talks to the Dayton Daily News about putting together his own band, Shawen Acres.

ALI LOHAN, Lindsay's 14-year-old sister, had a casting call with a big-time, award winning pr0n director.  Momager Dina was not amused to discover the director's past.

JAMIE LYNN SPEARS post-motherhood wedding plans are teased by OK! magazine.

KATE HUDSON & LANCE ARMSTRONG are dunzo. Sources told Page Six they tried to make it work, but the constant bickering and their travel schedules drove them apart.

AMY WINEHOUSE's furious father is convinced a "pal" sparked her string of terrifying fits by spiking her drink with the killer drug ecstasy.

BRADGELINA reportedly sold those baby pics to <i itxtvisited="1">People Magazine for a staggering figure that's somewhere between 10-15 million.

GEORGE LUCAS talks to the Times of London about all things Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and producing Red Tails, which tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen.

SID & MARTY KROFFT, the brothers behind some of the 70's strangest TV programming: "H.R. Pufnstuf," "Lidsville," "Land of the Lost" and "Sigmund and the Sea Monsters," are making a comeback... and still bickering.

OUR FRIENDS, THE SAUDIS: The Kingdom's religious police have announced a ban on selling cats and dogs as pets, or walking them in public in the Saudi capital, because of men using them as a means of making passes at women, an official said on Wednesday.

IRAQ and the US are close to a deal on a sensitive security agreement that Iraqi officials said on Wednesday satisfies the nation's desire to be treated as sovereign and independent.  Interior Minister Jawad al-Bulani thanked US soldiers recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. AQI turns women into suicide bombers through a combination of love, blackmail and rape. Iraqi forces supported by US troops laid siege to the city of Baquba and arrested 45 suspects on Wednesday. An Al Qaeda front group in Iraq has posted an Internet statement denying responsibility for recent suicide bombings against Shia Muslim pilgrims.

PRINCESS CHUNK weighs 44 pounds and needs a bathtub for a litter box. And yes, we have video.

POSSUM FEST in Wausau, FL this weekend.  Be there or be square.

PREGNANT DOG hurled in domestic dispute. That's so wrong.

A BEAR whose head was stuck in a plastic food jar for six days came to a deadly end in northern Minnesota.

A DUCK shot by an arrow is rescued in Ocala, FL; the law does not allow ducks to be released back into the wild, so it will remain at the Ocala Wildlife Sanctuary in Marion County and be used for educational purposes.

JULIANA HATFIELD talks to Paste about her upcoming tenth solo record, How to Walk Away,  and her upcoming memoir, When I Grow Up. My fave Hatfield track may still be "My Sister."

MARGOT & THE NUCLEAR SO & SOS do the four free songs thing for Daytrotter -- all previously unreleased.

THE HOLD STEADY plays darts, pool and more against VBS.tv. Stay for the surprise ending.

BOB DYLAN is getting ready to release Tell Tale Signs, a double album of rarities and uncollected tracks from the last two decades. And he's offering a free download of the unreleased 1997 track "Dreamin' of You" from his website.

THE WALKMEN are offering a five-dollar pre-release download of their upcoming album; "all donations go to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in honor of Luca Vasallo, a friend to the band and a current patient who is seven months old and doing a great job fighting a very difficult disease," Walkmen member Peter Bauer is quoted as saying in a press release.  The album is streaming this week at Spinner.

M83 carries its 80s vibe into the new video for "Kim & Jessie."GRIZZLY BEAR frontman Ed Droste talks recording and gardening with Drowned In Sound.

ROAD TRIP: The World Cafe's David Dye presents songs for stops along the way, streaming via NPR.

VETIVER is profiled briefly in the Hartford Courant over the band's new Thing of the Past, a collection of covers of such songwriters as Townes Van Zandt, Norman Greenbaum, and Loudon Wainwright III.

THE GREATS OF '68:  The Broward-Palm Beach New Times surveys the musical impact of the summer after the Summer of Love, 40 years later.

SHEARWATER vocalist-guitarist Jonathan Meiburg talks to Straight about the brevity of the Rook LP.

HARRY POTTER  and the HALF-BLOOD PRINCE: The trailer is here.  It debut sin theaters Friday before The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

SHIA LeBEOUF has been deemed not at fault by authorities in an early-morning accident in Los Angeles that resulted in his DUI bust and hand surgery.

AMY WINEHOUSE was discharged from the hospital Tuesday morning after receiving emergency treatment for a adverse reaction to 'medication'. Her father blamed the scare on a mistake with her prescription pills, saying: 'She's fine, she just mixed up her medication.'

BRITNEY SPEARS signed up to a 22K-a-month diet and exercise regime after her bloated tummy sparked pregnancy rumours earlier this year, according to a report.

MAD MEN:  The Season 2 premiere drew nearly 2 million viewers, more than double last season's average.  Creator Matthew Weiner talks to The A.V. Club, while featured actress Elisabeth Moss talks to McClatchy.

TR2N footage was unveiled at Comic-Con.  Here's the bootleg video.  Both links have a spoiler.  I was uninterested, but now I'm intrigued.

DAN QUAYLE: The former Vice President of the United States is "on the short list" of potential stars for the upcoming season of "Dancing with the Stars," according to online sources.

IRAN: Pres. Ahmadinejad told foreign ministers of the Nonaligned Movement meeting in Tehran that "The big powers are going down... They have come to the end of their power, and the world is on the verge of entering a new, promising era."  Israeli defense officials speculate that recent talks the US held with Iran are aimed at creating legitimacy for a potential attack against Iranian nuclear facilities. Iran seeks closer ties with Syria in countering external threats.

IRAQ: US and Iraqi forces launched a new operation Tuesday aimed at clearing AQI from the volatile Diyala province, considered the last major insurgent safe haven near the capital. A curfew was imposed across the province as troops and police started deploying in the regional capital, Baquba. Iraq's Christians have taken up arms and formed new militias in a desperate effort to defend their beleaguered communities from an onslaught by Islamic extremists. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia network have a "martyrs' list" of at least three dozen senior members killed in slayings or fighting since last summer and nearly 60 others detained. Overall violence in Iraq is declining to almost "normal" levels, Gen. Petraeus told USA Today.

WILLIE BEAN ROSCOE P. COLTRANE is running for mayor in Fairhope, Alabama.  he is considered a long shot because he missed the July 15 qualifying deadline and must run as a write-in candidate.

IT TAKES A COW to power the village in a competition to build a £6m sustainable village in Lawrenny, Britain.

PET SHARKS hit a rough patch in the UK. A live shark was stolen from a garden in Farnborough, Hampshire, over the weekend.  Two pet sharks were killed in a car crash in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs, which also injured a parrot.

CATS & DOGS? It's the owners who are at war with each other.

ANIMALS THAT LIKE TO GET DRUNK, courtesy of Scientific American.

JACK BRUCE wants more Cream reunion gigs. Me too! And a good excuse to relink the clip for the fab "I Feel Free."

NEW RELEASES: Dr. Dog, Pas/Cal, The Walkmen, the Rumble Strips, Neil Halstead and more are streaming in full via Spinner this week.

TOM WAITS: The legendary singer-songwriter played the historic Fox Theater in Atlanta on July 5th; the whole gig is streaming via NPR now.

DAVID BYRNE & BRIAN ENO reveal the details of their first collaboration in nearly 30 years.

BOWERBIRDS are profiled in the Boston Globe as the trio leaves their nest this summer with the rerelease of their debut album, Hymns for a Dark Horse.

SHE & HIM charm the crowd at MTV Canada with renditions of Smokey Robinson's "You Really Got A Hold On Me," plus "Black Hole," and "Change Is Hard."  It's like Twofer Tuesday, but one more. PLUS: M Ward talks to the Philadelphia Weekly.

THE ROLLING STONES are suing their new label.

SILVER JEWS mastermind David Berman talks to Crawdaddy about the upcoming album: "Because awe can be fearful or joyful, there's so much more range from that point of view, as opposed to the coldly rational one that keeps us alive on the inner rings. So I would say that part of the time with Tanglewood Numbers, and more fully on this one, I've been working in a day-to-day state of awe, or at least close enough to let me work underneath its light."

BLACK KIDS: The New York Press documents a case study of blog buzz and blog backlash.

CONSTANTINES frontman Bryan Webb talks to Pitchfork about changing labels, changing technology, and the difference between hate and anger.

AMY WINEHOUSE was rushed to the emergency room of a London hospital Monday, supposedly after suffering a reaction to "medication" at home.

SHIA LeBEOUF's Transformers co-star Isabel Lucas, 23, was a passenger when he rolled his truck and got busted for DUI, a second source tells US Weekly.

REBECCA ROMIJN & JERRY O'CONNELL are expecting twins, their rep confirms to People magazine.

MARIA BELLO, who is taking the female lead in the new Mummy flick is engaged to her boyfriend, whom she discusses (plus more) in a profile for Page Six magazine.  A good reminder to see The Cooler, if you haven't already.

ROSIE O' DONNELL is in active talks with NBC to return to television with her own weekly primetime variety show.  Or is she a fallback if Leno defects entirely to ABC when his Tonight Show gig ends?  Roger Friedman reports it's serious, and O'Donnell could feature all kinds of acts -- from comedy to drama to music -- live from a Broadway theater.

MADONNA looks like Gollum, palns to renew her marraige vows with hubby Guy Ritchie.

RYAN SEACREST was bitten by a shark. And he seems surprised that he was singled out.

KELSEY GRAMMER has been hospitalized in New York.

IRAN: Pres.Mahmoud Ahmadinejad began an interview with NBC's Brian Williams with "a prayer for the emergence of the 12th imam."  So keep in mind that devout Shi'ite Muslims believe the 12th Imam will only return after a period of cosmic chaos, war and bloodshed.  No wonder the Counter-terrorism Blog's  Victor Comras is not sold by Ahmadinejad's soft talk. Meanwhile, Iran has become the main transit route for militants trying to join insurgents in Afghanistan, an Afghan government daily said yesterday.

IRAQ: AQI conducted two successful strikes in Baghdad and the northern city of Kirkuk, with female suicide bombers killing at least 70 and wounding more than 300, mostly women and children.  Meanwhile, the US and Iraqi military targeted AQI networks in the central and northern provinces over the past two days, capturing 88 AQI operatives and killing four.

FLATULENT WHALES: Caught in the act!  Meanwhile, beluga whales are astounding onlookers at the Aquas aquarium in Hamada, Japan, by learning to blow bubbles of air underwater.

SEAL PENIS: It's what's for dinner at the summer Olympics in Beijing.

EEL-BASED ENERGY DRINK has gone on sale in Japan.  Just the thing to wash down that seal penis.

A SNOOKER-PLAYING dog, who starred on TV programme Britain's Got Talent, has died after accidentally being run over by his owner.  The dog shoulda stuck to poker.

CHIHUAHUAS provoke a baton attack on a nude beach at Sand Island near Rooster Rock in Oregon.  Are we sure it was a baton?

MICK JAGGER turned 65 on Friday, unlocking the door to a world of state benefits, including fee Viagra prescriptions. To mark the occasion, here are selections from the first three decades of Jagger's career -- "I Am Waiting," "Tumblin' Dice," and "Hang Fire."  ALSO: The Rolling Stones have split with longtime label EMI and inked a new deal with the Universal Music Group. The pact covers not only future studio albums but the band's lucrative back catalog from 1971's "Sticky Fingers" onward. PLUS: A young aide to the Rolling Stones is believed to have received a million-dollar payment after accusing their troubled guitarist, Ronnie Wood, of sexual harassment.

FLEET FOXES perform for the latest in World Cafe's Lillywhite Sessions series from Avatar Recording Studios in NYC.

SPIRITUALIZED played a gig at DC's 9:30 Club Friday night; you can stream the gig on demand via NPR.

THE HOLD STEADY: Craig Finn and Tad Kubler let the New York Times know about what they're listening to now.

THE PRETENDERS' new album, Break Up the Concrete, is due Sept. 23, but MP3 downloads of each track on the album will pop up before the actual release. The first track, "Boots Of Chinese Plastic," is available at Spinner.

SYLVIA HAUSER, longtime Friend of Pate, has lifted operational security to allow me to announce her recent marriage in Hot Springs, Arkansas.  Her husband is almost out of Jedi training and has yet -- afaik -- to turn to the dark side.  Obviously, you cannot celebrate a marriage without "Proud Mary," so I give you the choice of Creedence Clearwater Revival or Ike & Tina Turner.

EX-SMASHING PUMPKINS James Iha and D'Arcy Wretzky-Brown are suing Virgin Records America, claiming the label has screwed them out of ringtone fees and other stuff.

MILES BENJAMIN ANTHONY does the four free songs thing for Daytrotter -- all unreleased, including a cover of Dylan's "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere."

SUPERSUCKERS are claiming the title of the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band. Guitarist Rontrose Heathman contends: "If you tell enough people, at least half of them will believe it. That's just the way it works ... so even if you don't think we are, if we tell you enough times, you will think it. We're just brainwashing people."

THE FALL: The autobiography of iconoclastic frontman Mark E Smith is reviewed by Spiked.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: The Dark Knight took in 75 million, breaking the 300 million total mark in record time.  Indeed, it beat the prior record-holder, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, by six days.  It will almost certainly become the fastsest to top 400 million (which took Shrek 2 43 days).  The gross dropped 52 percent from last weekend, but that is not bad at all, considering that the first weekend was so ginormous.  If the estimates for this weekend hold, TDK will have become the top earning movie of the year, vaulting past Iron Man in a mere ten days.  Step Brothers places with 30 million, larger than expected, though only about average for a Will Ferrell opening. Mamma Mia! shows with 17.8 million, on a respectable 35.6 percent drop.  The musical has grossed over 140 million worldwide on a 52 million production budget.  The X-Files: I Want to Believe attracted fewer believers with a fourth place, 10 million debut ( the first X-Files movie had a 30 million opening).  Even with a modest 30 million budget, this one may have to break even on DVD. Journey to the Center of the Earth showed legs rounding out the Top Five, dropping 23.7 percent with 9.4 million; this has about broken even on US tickets, with another 11 million worldwide to date.

SHIA LaBEOUF was busted on a DUI charge after rolling his car early Sunday morning.  It looks to be a misdemeanor charge, but the actor underwent surgery to his left hand from injuries suffered in the incident.

BRADGELINA: French police say camouflaged paparazzi who managed to get onto the grounds of Jolie and Pitt's chateau in southern France on Thursday fought with the Hollywood couple's guards.  The couple reportedly wants Bono to be the godfather of their twins, and settle all family business.

BRITNEY SPEARS' nearly two-year ongoing custody drama with Fed-Ex ended Friday in L.A. County Superior Court.  The pop wreck will get more visitation with her two sons, working toward co-parenting.

MADDONA reportedly ghost-wrote parts of her brother's tell-all book.  Hubby Guy Ritchie says all is well with his marriage to Madge -- as far as he knows.

LINDSAY LOHAN was clipped by a motorcycle Friday following a night of clubbing with galpal Samantha Ronson.  LiLo was taken to Beth Israel Medical Center, treated and released at 4 a.m. Saturday.

HEATHER MILLS' publicist issued a statement Thursday announcing that she has quit because Paul McCartney's ex has become too difficult.

HEATHER LOCKLEAR got daily phone calls from ex-hubby Richie Sambora while in rehab, a source tells the Chicago Sun-Times.  Locklear claims she entered rehab to deal with anxiety and depression, but the source claims there also may have been prescription drug issues.

MATTHEW BRODERICK was sneaking around with a young redhead earlier this year, while wife Sarah Jessica Parker was filming Sex & the City -- according to the ubder-reliable Star magazine.

JOHN CLEESE launched a tirade against his estranged third wife during a talk at the Bristol Zoo which was supposed to focus on raising money for conservation work.

CHARLIE SHEEN & DENISE RICHARDS may be ecalating their war again. Sheen is reportedly so angry over last week's "emergency" child-custody hearing that he is considering suing ex-wife Richards for defamation and full custody of their kids.

SEAN BEAN was arrested after his wife claimed he had assaulted her.

SIENNA MILLER reportedly has has fled to New York - where her father, banker Ed Miller, lives - to escape the backlash over her affair with Balthazar Getty.

MAD MEN: Season 2 premiered last night, and should be available through on demand services today.  The Chicago Tribune has been all over the show, with a feature theat links to transcripts of the underlying interviews with creator Matthew Weiner, star Jon Hamm (Don Draper), John Slattery (who plays Roger Sterling), and supporting cast members Rich Sommer, Michael Gladis and Aaron Staton, plus a story on the show's retro design.

IRAN: Pres. Ahmadinejad said that Iran had more than 5000 centrifuges. One Iranian news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying Iran had 6000 centrifuges working, before taking the report off its website.  In theory, 6000 centrifuges running continuously can produce enough weapons-grade uranium for one bomb in six months.  A report by the International Atomic Energy Agency in May said Iran had about 3500 centrifuges running, but last month, IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said Iran would need six months to a year to enrich enough uranium for a bomb.  BONUS: Mystery explosions point to Iran's secret arms shipments to terrorists.

IRAQ: According to "analysis" by the Associated Press, "The United States is now winning the war that two years ago seemed lost." Coalition forces launched a long-expected offensive in southern Diyala province early Friday morning only to find that most of the insurgents in the area had already fled. Iraqi and US forces are maintaining the pressure against the Mahdi Army in central and southern Iraq.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: A Chinese piglet with a monkey face.

HEY, NICE BEAVERS! Why, thank you -- they're the first to be born in Britain in 400 years.  Pics at the link.

KNUT UPDATE:  The once cuddly polar bear is still crazy, and now the subject of an ownership battle between Berlin zoo and Neumuenster zoo in northern Germany, which claims it's due a slice of the Knut millions.

FOX BITES WOMAN, husband shoots woman.

A BABY ELEPHANT born at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium is the second born there this month.  And there was much trumpeting.