KING TUFF drops a video for the power-poppin' “Headbanger,” ft the Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones as the host of Bottom Of The Pops. NSFW dialog at the end.

THE CHARLATANS (UK) advance stream Modern Nature, their first record since the death of drummer Jon Brookes in 2013.

TWERPS advance stream Range Anxiety.

DIRTY DISHES advance stearm their debut, Guilty.

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS drop "The Legend of Chavo Guerrero" ahead of Beat the Champ.

SETH AVETT & JESSICA LEA MAYFIELD cover Elliott Smith's "Somebody That I Used To Know."

THE HOLLIES: "I Can't Let Go."

SLEATER-KINNEY is interviewed by the cast of Broad City for NPR.

KAREN O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is interviewed by Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig about D'Angelo, risk-taking, and her selfies policy.

THE TING TINGS did a Reddit AMA.

THE SMITHS: Ten of Their Best.

ZOOEY DESCHANEL is engaged to boyfriend Jacob Pechenik.

LINDAY LOHAN  is in a London hospital with a rare, incurable virus she apparently picked up in Bora Bora.

JENNIFER ANISTON talks to THR about her Oscar snub, dyslexia, real-life soap opera, etc.

JUSTIN BIEBER asked to be skewered by Comedy Central because he wants to make a public declaration he's screwed up a lot in the past, but he's figured it out and has changed for the better.

PAULINA GRETZKY and her golfer pro fiance Dustin Johnson have welcomed their first baby into the world.

GEORGE LUCAS tells Cinema Blend that Disney isn't using his ideas for the next Star Wars trilogy. I sense the opposite of a great disturbance in The Force.

FRANCE is to recruit thousands of extra police, spies and investigators to boost national security and intelligence, Prime Minister Manuel Valls announced on Wednesday, two weeks after 17 people were killed by Islamist militants.

THE EUROPEAN UNION: In the wake of this month’s terrorist attacks in Paris, European leaders are calling for significant changes to what has long been a paradox of their borderless continent: Their citizens can move freely, but information about them does not.

LIBYA: The internationally-recognized government reaffirmed its support of former Khaddafi General Khalifa Haftar, who was officially reinstated to the army recently.

A KANGAROO toppled a cyclist in Canberra.

THE WORMS That Invade Your Brain.

SNAKE in a LOWE's: A customer at a Lowe's in Corinth, Miss. was bitten on the head by a snake Saturday.

THE IDAHO GIANT SALAMANDER failed in its bid to become the official state amphibian.

THE GO! TEAM drops a video for "The Scene Between".

TY SEGALL advance streams Live In San Francisco.

THE DODOS advance stream Individ.

NATALIE PRASS advance streams her self-titled debut.

ST VINCENT: Annie Clark drops "Bad Believer," one of five new songs to feature on a deluxe edition of her self-titled 2014 album.

THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION drops "Do the Get Down" ahead of Freedom Tower - No Wave Dance Party 2015.

SLEATER-KINNEY drops vinyl-only track, "The Fog And Filthy Air"

LAURA MARLING drops “False Hope” ahead of Short Movie.

LED ZEPPELIN drops a rough mix of the funky hard-rock radio staple "Houses of the Holy."

THE SMITHEREENS: "Behind The Wall Of Sleep", Live on TheTube, 1987.

BJORK is releasing Vulnicura on iTunes months early, after it leaked to the internet over the weekend.

GARY GLITTER is on trial for for 10 sexual offenses, all committed between 1975 and 1980, all with girls between the ages of 12 and 14.

SONNY & THE SUNSETS: Aquarium Drunkard caught up with Sonny to speak about being a dad, transformation, and health food stores.

THE 10 BEST BLACK CROWES SONGS, according to Stereogum.

CLINT EASTWOOD reminds everyone he's an anti-war libertarian.

BILLY CRYSTAL clarified remarks he made Sunday at the Television Critics Association's winter press tour that have been taken out of context.  Shocka.

LINDSEY VONN claims Tiger Woods' missing-tooth tale has no holes.

JOHNNY DEPP is sickened by actors capitalizing on their fame to become recording artists.

RYAN GOSLING can't find his stalker.

CHAD MICHAEL MURRAY tied the knot with his Chosen co-star Sarah Roemer.

THE INTERVIEW, almost scrapped by Sony in December, has already grossed 40 million in on-demand rentals and another 6 million in theaters. Still a long way to profit, but it's headed fro Netflix.

YEMEN's Shiite Houthi rebels stormed the presidential complex in the capital Sanaa on Tuesday following clashes that left at least two dead, Al Arabiya correspondent reported.

SYRIA: The Obama administration maintains that a lasting political solution requires Mr. Assad’s exit. But facing military stalemate, well-armed jihadists and the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, the United States is going along with international diplomatic efforts that could lead to more gradual change in Syria.

THE ISLAMIC STATE Goes Medieval on Gays.

X-RAY VIDEO shows how hamsters stuff their cheeks.

ARE HIPPOS cuddly, supersize herbivores or giant, cannibalistic killing-machines?

A NORFOLK FAMILY was reunited with their lost (and stolen) dog thanks to the honesty of another local family.

CATS & CHICKEN, living together... mass hysteria!

PRINCE & 3RDEYEGIRL drop a retro-video for "Marz."

THE BUDOS BAND stopped by Morning Beomes Eclectic for a session.

SON LITTLE  stopped by World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

CARIBOU, in the Caribou Vibration Ensemble mode, stream CVE Live 2011.

BOB DYLAN drops "Stay With Me" ahead of his Sinatra covers LP, Shadows in the Night.

QUARTERBACKS drop the 64-second "Not In Luv" ahead of their debut LP.

MEW returns with "Satellites," ahead of + -.

LOVE TRACTOR plows through "Buy Me a Million Dollars," "Paint" and "Fun To Be Happy" in Athens, GA, circa 1983, for an instrumental Threefer Tuesday.

BELLE & SEBASTIAN: Stevie Jackson and Sarah Martin talk to Drowned In Sound pop, disco, world-building and Glaswegian geography.

THE DECEMBERISTS: Colin Meloy talks to Morning Edition about father hoos, What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World, and more.

MARKY RAMONE talks to Brooklyn Vegan about the early days of Punk, and more...

DALLAS TAYLOR, drummer for Crosby, Stills and Nash on their 1969 debut album and for CSNY on 1970's Deja Vu, has passed away. He was 66.

LINDSAY LOHAN, veteran fender bender, is becoming a TV pitchwoman for car insurance.

BILL COSBY claims to have proof he was not even at the Playboy Mansion the night one of his accusers claims he sexually assaulted her.

AMERICAN SNIPER's latest controversy is the plastic babies.

BILLY CRYSTAL,  who played one of television's first-ever gay series regular on the comedy “Soap,” said today's portrayal of LGBT characters is, at times, gratuitous.

CHEWBACCA, a/k/a Peter Mayhew, has been hospitalized with pneumonia.

ISLAMIC STATE jihadists publicly executed 13 teenage boys for watching a soccer match.

SYRIA: The Assad regime has started destruction of its chemical weapons facilities. Kurdish forces have captured a key hilltop in the ongoing fight with the Islamic State for Kobani. The US announced that it will be sending 400 troops to train Syrian moderate opposition forces in the spring.

LIBYA: The Libyan army and an alliance of militias around Tripoli have declared a partial ceasefire. The rival Islamist parliament agreed to partake in UN-sponsored negotiations if the talks are held inside Libya.

EGYPT: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi released a statement claiming that free speech rights in Egypt are intact and that there are no political prisoners in the country, while calling for a renewed dialogue on Islam.

SHARK: You may not need a bigger boat, but you might need some thicker boots.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: Okay, this one looks harmless. But looks can be deceiving.

HORNY FOXES prompt an emergency police call.

THE GREEN CAT is less green now.

U2: "Pride" and "MLK." Crushingly obvious. Have a dream.

FATHER JOHN MISTY debuts three new songs from his forthcoming new album I Love You, Honeybear.

ERASE ERRATA advance streams Lost Weekend.

JESSICA PRATT advance streams On Your Own Love Again.

THE LONE BELLOW advance streams Then Came The Morning.

AMASON advance streams Sky City.

SWINGS advance streams their debut, Detergent Hymns.

FIDLAR covers Sheryl Crow's “If It Makes You Happy."

DION: A vintage performance of "Abraham, Martin & John."

PANDA BEAR: Noah Lennox lists his 13 favorite formative albums at The Quietus.

BETTYE LaVETTE : Having worked with James Brown, almost married Otis Redding and dropped acid with George Clinton, the veteran singer considers herself the nearly-woman of soul.

DOLLY PARTON cut a deal with the Peacock for a series of TV movies based on her “songs, stories and inspiring life.”

THE 10 BEST GREATFUL DEAD SONGS, according to Stereogum.

KIM FOWLEY, The Runaways' producer (who also worked with The Modern Lovers, Kiss, and others), and notorious L.A. music legend has died. In recent months, he had been undergoing cancer treatments, though no cause of death has been announced. He was 75.  The Guardian has a great profile of the man and his long, strange career.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: American Sniper easily dominates the chart with 90.2 million. And likely 100 million after MLK Jr day.  That's twice what most predicted.  That's a record January opening. In fact, it's more than twice the previous record (Ride Along). That's a record for any Clint Eastwood movie. It's the second largest R-rated opening ever, behind The Matrix Reloaded.  The Wedding Ringer places with 21 million, the best opening ever for an R-rated comedy in January (Kevin Hart's PG-rated Ride Along did twice as well). Impressive giventhat rating, the reviews, and the competition from the Sniper. Paddington shows with 19.3  million, not bad given that the bear is much bigger in Europe, where he's already grossed 122 million.  Last week's champ, Taken 3, plummets 64 percent to the fourth slot with 14 million.  Liam Neeson & Co.are the cinema's biggest victim of the Sniper, though this threequel is already profitable.  Selma rounds out the Top 5 with 8.3 million on a 26 percent drop, staying leggy for the MLK Jr Day weekend depite a relative lack of Oscar nominations. Below the fold, Blackhat--boasting Chris Hemsworth and a 70 million budget--debuts at No. 10 with 4 million. Ouch.

AMERICAN SNIPER may not be Clint Eastwood's best movie, but it is a solid war movie that balances the suspense and tragedy of battle with the toll war takes on Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, the tituar protagonist. Indeed, I wonder if there isn't a faint echo of Dirty Harry Callahan to be found in Kyle's obsessiveness by his fourth tour. The film takes artistic license in this biopic, mostly in omitting some of Kyle's less heroic moments (the people complainting about this seem far less concerned with the same regarding Selma).  Hollywood does this. Eastwood, having been in at least his share of war films, knows how to shoot battle sequences, though he doesn't shoot them often (Letters From Iwo Jima and Flags of Our Fathers in 2006). He's a bit less deft on the home front here; ironically this is where the film is at its most steretypical.  Even so, Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller both turn in solid performances; Cooper's may be a bit overrated, insofar as he was a lot of experience playing characters who are wound a bit too tight, though here it sits just  beneath a stoic facade. Were I in the Academy, I might have voted to nominate Gone Girl over this one, but I might have voted for both.

JENNIFER ANISTON is really, really tired of the media constantly pitting her against Angelina Jolie.

DYLAN McDERMOTT & MAGGIE Q are engaged after a whirlwind romance.

GREASE LIVE casts Julianne Hough and Vanessa Hudgens.

EMILY BLUNT is in negotiations to join Chris Hemsworth in Universal's Snow White and the Huntsman sequel The Huntsman.

BELGIUM: A terror cell on the brink of carrying out an attack was the target of a raid Thursday that left two suspects dead. A Western Intelligence source told CNN that the ongoing terror threat appears to involve up to 20 sleeper cells of between 120 to 180 people ready to strike in France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. The source said that European Union and Middle East intelligence agencies identified an "imminent threat" to Belgium, possibly also to the Netherlands.

YEMEN's Houthi movement pulled out of a meeting with the country’s other main political and regional factions on a new constitution after its fighters abducted a top government official.

AF-PAK: The Islamic State terror group is recruiting in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said Thursday.

MARU & HANA battle over control of the red bed.

MASHA THE CAT has been hailed a hero after finding an abandoned baby in a street and climbing in the box he had been left in to protect him from the cold.

DEER INVADE NYC, and we don't know how to stop them.

JAXSON THE ALLIGATOR was not munching on neighborhood cats, the female crocodilian’s human family said Thursday.

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

....wtih THE PRETENDERS! Circa 1981, via one of Pate's two fab drummers, Jon Hahn.  Your setlist includes "The Wait," "The Adultress," "Message of Love/Louie Louie," "Talk of the Town," "English Roses," "Birds of Paradise," "Kid," "Stop Your Sobbing," "Private Life," "Day After Day," "Jealous Dogs, " Up the Neck," "Tattooed Love Boys," "Bad Boys Get Spanked," "Precious," and "Brass In Pocket/MysteryAchievement."

PANDA BEAR Meets the Grim Reaper got a listening party on KCRW.

MARSHALL CRENSHAW, an early Pate influence, has a new radio show, The Bottomless Pit, where he spins tunes at least 40 years old. The latest, all-45 rpm show has plenty of old skool country music, pays tribute to Joe Cocker and kicks off with The Who's "Dogs."

THE REVIVALISTS dropped by World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

BANDIT advance streams Of Life.

JENS LEKMAN drops his weekly "Postcard No.3."

NUDE BEACH drops "Been Waitin'" as a single. And I think The Replacements might dig it.

BELLE & SEBASTIAN's Stuart Murdoch discusses the soundtrack of his life at Pitchfork. A good list, but it coulda used a little more cowbell.

SASHA FRERE-JONES picks his favorite columns forom his just-ending stint at The New Yorker.

PINK FLOYD, ranked by Stereogum.

THE 61 GREATEST FILM SOUNDTRACKS, according to NME, in time for the Oscars noms.

THE BLACK CROWES are dunzo, according to guitarist Rich Robinson.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases include American Sniper, which is currently scoring 74 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; Paddington, which is scoring 97 percent; The Wedding Ringer, scoring 17 percent; and Blackhat, scoring 32 percent.  Foxcatcher expands to 759 screens scoring 87 percent.

THE ACADEMY AWARDS NOMINATIONS went to these folks. Notable snubs include Gone Girl (Best Picture, Director), Selma (Director), and The LEGO movie (Best Animated Feature). At least "Everything Is Awesome" for Tegan & Sara.

DICK POPE: The cinematographer gets his 15 minutes of fame, which he likely hopes stretch to Oscars night.

JAKE GYLLENHAAL may replace TOM HARDY in DC's Suicide Squad.

NIKKI REED and IAN SOMERHOLDER are engaged after six months of dating.

MARIAH CAREY signed a residency deal with Caesars Palace.

JOHN TRAVOLTA, working out at 3 a.m., without a toupee.

BELGIUM: Two suspects died in a gunfight as authorities searched locations they believe are tied to a terror plot, an official said.

FRANCE: 19000 French civilian websites are under attack by hackers, according to France's head of cyberdefense. Spanish authorities said Thursday that the French gunman killed last week while holding hostages in Paris drove his common-law wife from France to Madrid on Dec. 31 and was with her until she took a Jan. 2 flight to Istanbul. The Malian who helped hostages at a Jewish supermarket to hide during last week's terror attacks in Paris is to be made a citizen of France.

THE ISLAMIC STATE is losing its grip on the Syrian border town of Kobani under intense U.S.-led airstrikes and astonishingly stiff resistance by Kurdish fighters.  But more generally, ISIS continues to gain substantial ground in Syria, despite nearly 800 airstrikes in the American-led campaign to break its grip there.  Security forces in Morocco recently mounted a campaign of arrests in several cities, targeting suspects who declared their loyalty to the Islamic State.

THE BOUNCING LAMB has grown, but is still bouncing.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT strikes again, this time in Forest Park, OH.

TOYSTORY the BULL—a titan of artificial insemination who sired an estimated 500K offspring in more than 50 countries--was recently laid to rest.

ARE YOU SMARTER Than A Rat?