TY SEGALL plays "Thank God For Sinners" for Conan.

STARS stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

CODY CHESNUTT is advance streaming Landing On a Hundred.

SERA CAHOONE stopped by the KEXP studio to showcase her unique blend of alt-country.

CITIZEN COPE plays a session at Morning Becomes Eclectic.

A-HA was topping the charts with the MTV-driven "Take On Me" a mere 27 years ago.

PETE TOWNSHEND's memoir is (briefly) excerpted at Rolling Stone. 

NIRVANA: THE RECORDING SESSIONS gets excerpted by The Quietus.

TORI AMOS talks to NPR's The Record about her muses, her song girls, and her father.

MOUNTAIN GOATS: John Darnielle talks to the Ithaca Times about Transcendental Youth, survival, and more. (Thx LHB.)

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Paranormal Activity 4 tops the chart with 30.2 million (and another 26 million worldwide) against a 5 million budget. Ka-ching! Argo places with 16.6 million on a mere 15 percent drop, having just about recouped its production cost domestically already. Nominations are sure to follow.  Hotel Transylvania rides the season to show with 13.5 million on a mere 22 percent drop in its first weekend after the 100 million mark.  Taken 2 -- last weekend's champ -- slides to the fourth slot with 13.4 million, but alos crosses the 100 million barrier.  Alex Cross rounds out the Top 5 with 11.8 million, suggesting that Tyler Perry is no Morgan Freeman (who played the role to bigger openings in Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider).

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE & JESSICA BIEL got hitched in Italy on Friday.

ADELE and Simon Konecki had a baby boy this past Friday.

LINDSAY LOHAN  wants an order of protection against her Dad, who atempted an intervention with her.

CHEVY CHASE reportedly dropped the N-word during a tirade on the set of NBC comedy Community.

JENNIFER ESPOSITO and CBS are reportedly feuding over their decision temporarily sidelining her from Blue Bloods.

MADONNA waves a gun at her Denver concert, months after a mass shooting in Aurora. Desperately seeking attention.

50 ESSENTIAL HORROR FILMS, according to Flavorwire.

LEBANON: Protests erupted after the funeral of slain intel chief General Hassan. Mourners stormed the office of Prime Minister Mikati, who is perceived to be too close to the Syrian regime. Opposition groups called for Mikati to resign.

LIBYA: Khamis Gaddhafi, son of former dictator Muammar Gaddhafi, was reportedly killed during fighting in Bani Walid. His death has not been confirmed. Heavy fighting continues in the city.

IRAN: The White House denied a media report that it was ready to engage in one-on-one talks with Iran on the nuclear weapons issue.

AFGHANISTAN: ISAF commander Gen. John Allen said al Qaeda is re-emerging in Afghanistan.

GRIZZLY BEAR & WOLF CUBS, playing together...Mass hysteria!

GOATS force football game to change venue.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: Mititant rodents plant propaganda.

A RARE JAPANESE FROG sports spikes protruding from a set of pseudo-thumbs for combat and mating.

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with THE END OF THE WORLD!  This week marks the 50th anniversary of the Cubam Missile Crisis, which seemed an apt occasion for revisiting apocalyptic pop. Thus, it starts with an earthquake, birds, snakes and R.E.M.'s "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)." U2 can keep you rocking (yet Biblical) "Until the End of the World." And (to paraphrase the National Lampoon) who can forget Barry McGuire's immortal "Eve of Destruction," especially as introduced by Jerry Lewis? Mad Men fans will remember Skeeter Davis singing "The End of the World," a song fairly contemporary to the missile crisis. Also in a country vein is Johnny Cash's "When The Man Comes Around" (I picked the Dawn of the Dead credits for this one because it also ties in nicely to the premiere of season 3 of The Walking Dead). Prince is more upbeat about the idea on "1999."  However, the selections that would be most in Pate's repertoire would be The Clash's "London Calling" (tho "Four Horsemen" also appears on the double-LP) and Elvis Costello's "Waiting For the End of the World."

CALEXICO played World Cafe Live; you can stream the whole gig on demand.

BAND OF HORSES play a career-spanning set in the intimate setting of Apogee's Berkeley St Studios for Morning Becomes Eclectic.

SPAIN: Josh Haden and his triplet sisters -- Petra, Tanya and Rachel -- play a session at Morning Becomes Eclectic.

PETER GABRIEL features himself and a handful of classics during a Guest DJ stint on All Songs Considered.

WALL OF VOODOO: Listen to the "Mexican Radio."

BAT FOR LASHES: I would link this Pitchfork cover story just for the incredible layout (scroll slowly), but there's more.

PYLON gets profiled by a local section of the New York Times.

MARTHA WAINWRIGHT talks to PopMatters about her family, her new album and more...

CUTOUT BIN: From Deep Purple to The Smiths, from Chic to the Three O'Clock, from Iggy Pop to Tammi Terrell, plus Lloyd Cole, The Heavy, Soft Boys, Minutemen  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 Paranormal Activity 4, which is currently scoring 34 percent on the ol' Tomatometers; and Alex Cross, which is scoring 13 percent.

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE & JESSICA BIEL hosted over 50 guests in Puglia, Italy for a pre-wedding beach party dinner.

EVAN RACHEL WOOD & JAMIE BELL picked up their wedding license.

KRISTEN STEWART & ROBERT PATTINSON were caught canoodling on camera, just in time for that Twilight press junket.

RUPERT SANDERS & LIBERTY ROSS are also hugging it out after his reported fling with Kristen Stewart.

UMA THURMAN revealed her daughter's name. You don't want to know. You so don't want to know. I warned you.

ASHTON KUTCHER tops the Forbes list of TV's highest-paid actors.

TOM CRUISE adds sci-fi to his "to do" list.

TWILIGHT: The franchise looks to lumber on undead after Breaking dawn, Pt. 2.

THE UNITED STATES: Authorities charged Bangladeshi student Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis in an FBI sting operation in which Nafis thought he was executing an al Qaeda plot to blow up the Federal Reserve building in Manhattan. In another New York courtroom, Iranian-American citizen Manssor Arbabsiar pled guilty to plotting with Iran's Quds Force to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the US.

SYRIA: Rebels forces shot down a helicopter over Idib. Rebel acquisition of heavy weapons has forced government aircraft to bomb from higher altitudes. Heavy air attacks struck Idlib and Aleppo provinces.

PAKISTAN: The government was forced to drop a move to seek parliament's support for action against militants in the wake of the Taliban attack on teenage rights activist Malala Yousufzai, due to stiff opposition from PML-N of former PM Nawaz Sharif. The alleged organizer of the Taliban shooting of a Pakistani schoolgirl was captured during a 2009 military offensive against the hardline Islamist group but released after three months.

ROBOSQUIRREL cost taxpayers over 300K. We had the video back in March!

ALVIN! Warnings are posted for visitors to South Lake Tahoe areas after a convulsing chipmunk was diagnosed with the plague. Obligatory.

SMALLER TREE FROGS are more likely to "cheat" their way to a mate by lurking near the sound of an attractive call, rather than calling more frequently than their larger rivals.

A BLACK RAT SNAKE was rescued from a road by Salem, NJ, police.

KAKI KING drops the video for "Cargo Cult" on Team Coco.

BON IVER played Austin City Limits; you can stream the whole gig on demand.

BEACH HOUSE plays a lush live set at the KEXP studios.

THE DIRTY THREE seethe and rage in a Tiny Desk Concert for NPR.

BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW is advance streaming Cobra Juicy.

SONIC YOUTH drop "Intro/Brave Men Run (In My Family)" -- the lead off to the Bad Moon Rising LP -- from their upcoming live album, recorded at Chicago's Smart Bar in 1985.

CHEAP TRICK: "I Can't Take It." An overlooked gem.

CALEXICO's John Covertino talks to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about landscapes, recording in N'walins, and more. (Thx, Chromewaves.)

BAND OF HORSES talks to Spinner about covers of their songs, and their covers of others.

THE XX gets an excerpted profile from ClashMusic. (Thx, LHB.)

AEROSMITH & KISS are feuding in the press.

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE & JESSICA BIEL will wed in southern Italy this week, multiple sources confirm in the new Us Weekly.

MEGAN FOX & BRIAN AUSTIN GREEN welcomed a baby boy in September, the actress disclosed via Twitter.

TOM CRUISE allegedly assaulted Scientology staffers, according to a former member.

HALLE BERRY & GABRIEL AUBRY may get a child custody decision as soon as Friday.

FLAVOR FLAV was arrested early Wednesday morning in Vegas after allegedly assaulting someone in his house with a deadly weapon.

ZERO DARK THIRTY -- about the Osama bin Laden raid -- has a second trailer online.

SKYFALL: Early reviews are sterling for the next Bond flick.

THE 10 BEST BOND VILLAINS, according to Paste.

SAUDI ARABIA: A court handed down sentences ranging from three to 25 years to 16 suspected al Qaeda members.

EGYPT: Outside the halls of government - in the streets, mosques, schools and courts - an Islamist revival is redefining the rights and responsibilities of ordinary citizens.

AFGHANISTAN: Last weekend's suicide attack at an NDS headquarters in Kandahar that killed four Afghan intelligence operatives and two ISAF personnel was a green-on-blue attack.

ALASKA BULL MOOSE get their rut on.

SHELTER DOGS prefer Mozart to Metal. It's science!

AN ORPHANED BABY ELEPHANT is raised by a human mom.

THE MIDSHIPMAN FISH may hold the key to the evolution of vocal communication.

MATT & KIM unveiled "Let's Go" at Funnie Or Die.

PAUL BANKS of Interpol is streaming his solo debut LP.

KING DUDE is advance streaming Burning Daylight.

...TRAIL OF DEAD is advance streaming Lost Songs.

BETH ORTON stopped by World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

PLIMSOULS: "A Million Miles Away." Classic power-pop.

JENS LEKMAN talks songwriting and storytelling with PopMatters.

JASON LYTLE talks to Morning Edition about ending Grandaddy and heading for big sky country.

DIVINE FITS: Britt Daniel talks to the Boston Globe about putting the band together.

TAME IMPALA: Kevin Parker talks about pop and the periphery at The Line of Best Fit.

KRISTEN STEWART spent millions on a home near Robert Pattinson's while they were broken up. Hmm.

TINA FEY & AMY POHELER are co-hosting the Golden Globes.

BEYONCE KNOWLES is the Super Bowl halftime show performer.

NICKI MINAJ / MARIAH CAREY FEUD: President Obama weighs in. Yes, really.

HULK HOGAN files a 100 million lawsuit regarding the leaked sex tape. Bubba the Love Sponge says Hogan may have been in on it.

KATE GOSSELIN claims her face "de-ages." Botox is not her bag, baby.

BILL MURRAY Likes to Call Kelly Lynch's Husband Every Time He Sees Patrick Swayze Having Sex With Her in Road House.

CARRIE: The Chloe Moretz-led remake of the Stephen King classic has a trailer online.

THE UNITED STATES: An appeals court overturned a military court's conviction of former bin Laden bodyguard and driver Salim Ahmed Hamdan, who was captured in Afghanistan in 2001 and detained at Guantanamo. Because providing material support for terrorism was not an international war crime at the time of his arrest, the court found the conviction a retroactive prosecution and untenable.

SWISS authorities are holding billion in assets linked to deposed dictators in Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Tunisia. Swiss officials are working with judicial officers in Egypt and Tunisia to restore the blocked funds, but the process is expected to take "years."

IRAN: Continued concern over Iran's nuclear program prompted the EU to impose a range of new economic sanctions on Iran. Iran said it would cut the imports of nonessential goods as it moves to a resistance economy.

PAKISTAN: Interior Minister Rehman Malik has just informed us that the Pakistani military is not about to launch an operation in North Waziristan following the Movement of the Taliban's admitted assassination attempt against Malala, the Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot in Swat.

KITTENS Learning Physics.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT now has an official mug.

THE MYSTERY MONKEY's days may be numbered.

A HORSE's pajamas help her sleep.

GRIZZLY BEAR "Speak in Rounds" for Leno.

NEW RELEASES from Donald Fagen, Patrick Wolf, Trey Anastasio, Jason Lytle and more are streaming this week at Spinner.

SINKANE is advance streaming Mars.

DAVID BYRNE & ST. VINCENT bust some touring dance moves in this "In Practice" video at NPR.

TIFT MERRITT plays three new songs from Traveling Alone at WNYC Soundcheck.

X stopped by 30 Rock to play "Hot House" and "Breathless," lo these many moons ago.

MUMFORD & SONS talks to the BBC about their next album already.

HEART: Ann Willson takes The A.V. Club on a track-based tour of the band's career.

JEFF LYNNE shares his Top 13 LPs with The Quietus.

THE ROLLING STONES will play 50th Anniversary shows in London and Newark only... for now.

KRISTEN STEWART & ROBERT PATTINSON were photographed together for the first time since their split in July.

SCARLETT JOHANSSON and her boyfriend of about year, Nate Naylor, have gone their separate ways.

LINDSAY LOHAN will sit for a Barbara Walters interview. "If you were a tree, what sort of trre would you run over?"

RUSSELL CROWE will likely cough up 20 million to Danielle Spencer under his prenup.

TOM CRUISE leaving Scientology to win back Katie Holmes? Seems unlikely.

MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY looked like a skeletal shadow of himself jogging outside a gym in Austin, TX.

ASHLEY GREENE (Twilight) finds dating difficult.

THE PHILIPPINES government signed a preliminary peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest Muslim insurgent group.

TURKEY grounded an Armenian plane that was carrying food for Syrian Armenians, then allowed the flight to continue on to Aleppo.

SYRIA: Most of the arms shipped at the behest of Saudi Arabia and Qatar to supply Syrian rebel groups fighting the government of Bashar al-Assad are going to hard-line Islamic jihadists, and not the more secular opposition groups that the West wants to bolster, according to American officials and Middle Eastern diplomats. Accusations of Hezbollah involvement in Syria have strengthened in recent weeks amid reports of fighters killed in combat being returned to Lebanon for quiet burial.

PAKISTAN: A Pakistani schoolgirl shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating education for girls has every chance of making a "good recovery", British doctors said on Monday as 14-year-old Malala Yousufzai arrived at a hospital in central England for treatment of her severe wounds.

A DOG trains to rescue his pals from a canoe.

SUPERMICE invade Europe with extra-high sperm counts.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: A camping area and archery range in southeastern Idaho was the site of a mass squirrel killing, leaving state wildlife agents puzzled over who could do something like this. I have an alibi.

THE SWARM: A 65-year-old Texas man died after his riding lawnmower riled up a hive of bees that swarmed and stung him.