THE FOURTH of JULY WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with THE BEACH BOYS!  It's Pate Reunion Weekend and time to "Do It Again."  Because folks my age will always remember their mammoth July 4th concerts at the Washington Monument -- as with this 1980 take o­n "Good Vibrations."  Their "Lost Concert" from 1964 includes "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Long, Tall Texan," "Little Deuce Coupe," "Surfer Girl," "Surfin' USA," "Shut Down," "In My Room," "Papa Ooh Mow Mow," and "Hawaii." Their take on "Dance, Dance, Dance" from Shindig! later that year is like a slice of Christmas in July.  There's also a nifty twofer of "I Get Around" and "'When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)" from their first UK TV appearance o­n Ready Steady Go!  The Andy Williams Show serves up "Help Me, Rhonda," while The Jack Benny Hour produced these quick takes o­n "Barbara Ann" and "California Girls."  There's a primitive video for "Wouldn't It Be Nice" that starts with a cameo from Brian Wilson's dogs (Banana and Louie), who appear at the end of the Pet Sounds LP.  And I'll finish with a live version of "God Only Knows" from the 1967 European tour -- one of the last Brian would do for a decade or so.

RAY CHARLES performs "America The Beautiful" like no one else.

INDEPENDENCE DAY: Bruce Springsteen, circa 1978, before it came out on The River.

AMERICAN MUSIC: The Violent Femmes, circa 1992.

DAVE ALVIN: Hey, baby, it's the "4th of July."

JAMES LILEKS: Truth.

THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER: As performed by Jimi Hendrix, Whitney Houston, Smokey Robinson, members of the Grateful Dead, and Umphrey’s McGee.

THE UNITED STATES prepares to celebrate the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain on July 4, 1776. As the Wikipedia notes, this is a little arbitrary: New Englanders had been fighting Britain since April 1775; the first motion in the Continental Congress for independence was made o­n June 8th; and the Congress voted 12-0 for independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain o­n July 2, 1776. Even so, the publication of the Declaration was momentous .  If you're not in DC, the best way to see and learn about the Declaration may be through the Charters of Freedom website. Or you can watch Mel Gibson, Michael Douglas, Renee Zelleweger, Kevin Spacey, Wynona Ryder and other Hollywood folk read the Declaration.

Of course, the holiday more broadly celebrates the American Revolutionary War, and the Founders' unlikely victory. People with the highest standard of living and the lowest taxes in the Western World fought a sometimes unpopular war for our freedom. Early o­n, the Revolutionaries (also known as "Americans" or "Patriots") had the active support of about 40 to 45 percent of the colonial population. By 1779, there were more Americans fighting with the British than with Washington, which is why Washington needed help from the French, the Spanish and freed Blacks. You can separate fact from fiction regarding the sacrifices and fates of the Founders at Snopes. You can hear two-time Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough read from the first chapter of his 1776 via NPR. Or watch a nifty clip on the passage and public reading of the Declaration from the John Adams miniseries.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases include The Legend Of Tarzan, which is currently scoring 29 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; The BFG, which is scoring 72 percent; and The Purge: Election Year, scoring 61 percent.

LINDSAY LOHAN, who turnes 30 tomorrow, looks back with Vanity Fair.

IGGY AZALEA dumped NICK YOUNG because she found out he had brought other women into their home while she was away and caught them on the security footage.

LISA MARIE PRESLEY filed for divorce from musician Michael Lockwood, citing irreconcilable differences...and makes claims of financial abuses.

THE ACADEMY of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has invited a record 683 new members in what is being called its largest and most diverse class ever.

LIEV SCREIBER is profiled by Esquire.

NANCY GRACE is parting ways with HLN.

JOHNNY MANZIEL will be suspended the first 4 games of the 2016 season for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy.

TWIGGY: Another Fourth of July tradition, the water-skiing squirrel. Great story. Compelling and rich.

SNAILS caused a crash on the Autobahn. Irony.

A LARGE SNAKE ate a Beaver in Maine. I'll be nice.

CHICKENS saved their owner from a fire in Pennsylvania.

BLOOD ORANGE drops a video for "Augustine."

CASE/LANG/VEIRS stop by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

ROGUE WAVE plays new music for WNYC Soundcheck.

NPR MUSIC's Favorite 100 Songs Of 2016 (So Far).

DEX ROMWEBER shares “Trouble Of The World" ahead of Carrboro.

CASS McCOMBS shares “Run Sister Run” ahead of Mangy Love.

THE MUSIC EXPLOSION: "Little Bit O'Soul."

BRIAN WILSON talks Pet Sounds with the San Diego Union-Tribune.

BAT FOR LASHES: Natasha Khan talks to Rolling Stone about  multimedia influences, Kurt Cobain's "nursery rhymes" and recording The Bride on a mountaintop.

PAUL SIMON: His final tour?

MACK RICE, who wrote “Mustang Sally," "Respect Yourself," "Cheaper to Keep Her" and many more for Stax and Motown, has died from Alzheimer's-related complications at the age of 82.

MEGAN FOX & BRIAN AUSTIN GREEN: Scrapping their divorce?

KIEFER SUTHERLAND: Country Singer.

MISS TEEN USA is eliminating the swimsuit competition, which gave almost all media the opportunity to sell clicks against pics of young women in bikinis.

JOHN MAYER wants to settle down.

PETA MURGATROYD & MAKSIM CHMERKOVSKIY are expecting their first child.

JOHNNY MANZIEL: The drugs in his house are totally not his, and he's going sober, in a few days.

A JACK RUSSELL TERRIER breaks the balloon-popping record.

BROWSER THE LIBRARY CAT might be in danger of losing his Texas home.

UKRAINIAN CHUPACABRA? Or starved, ugly dog?

WOMAN PUNCHES SWAN: That's a jailing.

THE FRONT BOTTOMS revisit 80s movies in the video for "Ginger."

BLOOD ORANGE: Dev Hynes surprise released Freetown Sound on Spotify and Apple Music.

RAY LaMONTAIGNE played a full set at the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival.

C.W. STONEKING stopped by World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

SCOTTY MOORE, one of the foundational figures in rock and roll, a profoundly influential guitarist, and the man who helped Elvis Presley become the King, died Tuesday at 84.  In 1954, Moore accompanied Elvis on what would become the first Presley hit, the Sun Studios session cut of "That's All Right (Mama)", and continued on many of Presley's most famous recordings, including "Good Rockin' Tonight", "Milk Cow Blues Boogie", "Baby Let's Play House", "Heartbreak Hotel", "Mystery Train", "Blue Suede Shoes", "Hound Dog", "Too Much", "Jailhouse Rock" and "Hard Headed Woman." And here's Moore playing with Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Albert Lee, Ron Wood and more.

DAVID BOWIE: Rob Sheffield talked to USA Today about his book, On Bowie.

FRANK ZAPPA: A Beginner's Guide.

TINDERSTICKS are the latest of The Guardian's Cult Heroes.

THE BEST OF 2016 (So Far), according to Paste.

JOHNNY DEPP went from audience member to star of the evening while hanging out at Los Angeles comedy club The Comedy Store Saturday night.

CHRIS BROWN went ballistic on a publicist, referring to her as a do-nothing “b*tch,” and the publicist fired back that she spent all of her time cleaning up his “s***t.”

BRYAN CRANSTON talks Zordon and the Power Rangers.

LUDACRIS will play Gitmo on Independence Day. Seems like the guy for the gig.

MEL BROOKS turned 90 yesterday; recognize his comedic genius with this episode of American Masters.

VENEZUELANS are storming supermarkets and attacking trucks as food supplies dwindle.

TURKISH Prime Minister Binali Yildirim issued a call for national unity early Wednesday as his country faced a rising death toll from a suicide attack that killed at least 39 people at Istanbul's Ataturk international airport.

DOG vs DUCK: Who You Got?

BOOZY CHIMPS discovered in Africa.

A 17-FT CROCODILE snaps at a diver in a plastic cage.

MALE FIDDLER CRAPS ensnare the ladies in their bachelor pads.

JON PRATT, Pate's frontman, runs through "A Pretty Good Day," on his Vega C-66. He also has a tutorial on how to play it.

THEE OH SEES stream Live in San Francisco.

BROKEN BEAK advance streams Some Nerve.

PRINCE got a decent tribute (finally) at the BET Awards.

DEVENDRA BANHART shares "Middle Names," ahead of Ape in Pink Marble.

THE AFTERGLOWS share "Angels In The Sunshine Hotel" ahead of a self-titled debut (tho both of the duo play in power-pop outfits).

GARY WRIGHT will always be known as the "Dreamweaver," but add "Love is Alive" (with More Cowbell) and you have Twofer Tuesday.

BOB MOULD talks to FACT about the darkness behind Patch The Sky.

TANYA DONNELLY talks to Magnet about her Swan Song Series.

LOU DOILLON talks to Pitchfork about love, music, and how to upset your boyfriend.

NPR's 30 FAVORITE ALBUMS of 2016 (So Far).

WINONA RYDER talks to TIME about her new Netflix show and the allegations of abuse against one-time fiancé Johnny Depp.

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE was blasted for responding to Jesse Williams’ acceptance speech about racial injustice at the BET Awards Sunday night.

LENA DUNHAM is not a fan of the new Kanye West video.

DIANE KRUGER is profiled by Town and Country magazine.

SIEGFRIED & ROY are getting the biopic treatment.

STAR TREKBEYOND launches a third trailer featuring a song from Rhianna.

RUSSIAN intelligence and security services have been waging a campaign of harassment and intimidation against U.S. diplomats, embassy staff and their families in Moscow and several other European capitals that has rattled ambassadors and prompted Secretary of State John F. Kerry to ask Vladimir Putin to put a stop to it.

SYRIA: Weapons shipped into Jordan by the Central Intelligence Agency and Saudi Arabia intended for Syrian rebels have been systematically stolen by Jordanian intelligence operatives and sold to arms merchants on the black market, according to American and Jordanian officials.

PUPPIES, in slow motion.

THE TEMPLE OF RATS: Not an Indiana Jones movie.

INSECTS have been using camoflage for 100 million years.

SHARK SIGHTINGS at the Jersey Shore, right at the height of tourist season. What say you, Police Chief Brody?

BERNIE WORRELL, the keyboardist whose anarchic solos and Moog synthesizer bass lines with Parliament-Funkadelic indelibly changed the sound of funk and hip-hop, died on Friday at his home in Everson, Wash. He was 72. I never saw him with P-Funk (NPR has your tribute there), but did witness his immense talent with the Talking Heads on live versions of songs like "Life During Wartime," and "Burning Down the House," and again a few years later with the Golden Palominos, among a lineup including Syd Straw, Chris Stamey, and Jack Bruce.

THE AVETT BROTHERS stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER stopped by World Cafe Live for a chat and mini-set.

HOT HOT HEAT's final album is one of those streaming via Spotify and Brooklyn Vegan. (The Lees of Memory LP is there also)

KATHLEEN HANNA talks to SPIN about her darkest album yet and the unlikely punk influence of a late R & B diva.

ROBBIE FULKS talks to PopMatters about trusting his intuition not only in the studio but with songwriting.

FOALS frontman Yannis Philippakis talks touring, fighting - and DIY.

RALPH STANLEY, a bluegrass legend popularized by the Coen Bros' O Brother, Where Art Thou?, has died aged 89.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Finding Dory repeats atop the chart with 73.2MM on a leggy 46 percent drop, besting the debut of Independence Day: Resurgence, which placed with a must-be-disappointing 41.6MM.  The alien invasion sequel falls well short of the original and last year's mega-smash, nostalgia-tinged Jurassic World reboot, and may struggle to recoup its total cost on the big screen (unless the actual July 4th weekend gives it a boost in the US, despite bad reviews).  With a few major exceptions, this has not been a great year for sequels so far.  Central Intelligence shows with 18.4MM on a leggy 48 percent drop, performing better than Kevin Harts recent output, though it may yet take The Rock's appeal in overseas markets (where it has only grossed 14MM to date).  The Shallows debuts in the fourth slot with 16.7MM, double its tracking estimate and almost the movie's production budget; overseas markets could provide a huge return on investment.  The debut of Free State of Jones rounded out the Top Five with 7.8MM, which is not good against a 50MM production budget.  Below the fold, one other sequel that has done well is The Conjuring 2, which currently has a worldwide take of 243MM against a 40MM production budget.

TAYLOR SWIFT & TOM HIDDLESTON met each other's parents in trips to Nashville and the UK.

CHRIS EVANS & JENNY SLATE have taken their relationship public. 

KANYE WEST unveiled a NSFW  video for his single “Famous.” Because he's edgy, you know.

50 CENT was arrested for profanity in St. Kitts in the Caribbean.

JOHNNY MANZIEL's attorney expressed doubts about the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback's ability to stay clean in a lengthy text message accidentally sent to The Associated Press. That's a firing.

AUDRINA PARTRIDGE delivered her first child, a girl, on Friday.

STAR TREK has issued rules for fan films.

THE GEORGE LUCAS MUSEUM has given up on Chicago in favor of California.

BREXIT: The UK has voted to leave the European Union; the BBC explains. Conservative Prime Minister Cameron, who backed remaining in the EU, resigned; the rival Labour Party has also been rocked.  Of course, given the long history of other nations ultimately ignoring their own EU-related referenda, I'll believe it when I see it.

NORTH KOREA is taunting its rivals after testing two mid-range missiles.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT. Some will actually find a squirrel removing a girl's tooth amusing.

RATTLESNAKES Lead 'Hungry, Horny, Gregarious' Lives.

A 16-FT PYTHON turned up in an Aussie bedroom.

SWEE PEA RAMBO, blind with an oozing sore, is crowned World's Ugliest Dog.