ARCTIC MONKEYS ask: “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?”

OKKERVIL RIVER advance streams The Silver Gymnasium.

THE JULIE RUIN -- Kathleen Hanna's latest band -- advance streams Run Fast.

NICKI BLUM & THE GRAMBLERS played a set at the Newport Folk Festival, including a Linda Ronstadt tune.

RADIATION CITY fills the KEXP studio with a mini-set of psychedelic folk-pop.

THE REPLACEMENTS: Paul & Tommy reunited 32 years from the day they released "Sorry, Ma..." UPDATE 2: Slicing Up Eyeballs collects video of "Takin' A Ride", "Favorite Thing", "Color Me Impressed", "Alex Chilton," and "Bastards Of Young." UPDATE: More sound (check comments at the link). ALSO: The story behind to cover of Tim. 

FRANZ FERDINAND's Alex Kapranos recently spoke with All Things Considered about writing in cafés, the cryptic note that inspired the new album's title, and why he's leery of going into the studio underprepared.

LINDA RONSTADT says she suffers from Parkinson's disease, which has robbed her ability to sing.

NEIL YOUNG, ranked by Stereogum.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: The Butler repeats atop the chart with 17 million on a decent 31 percent drop. The timing and marketing is roughly the same as The Help, which already had a fanbase from the book and bigger stars. We're The Millers threpeats at second with another 13.5 million and closes in on the 100 million mark on a 37 million budget.  The Mortal Instruments shows with a disappointing 9.3 million of the disappinting 14 million it has grossed since last Wednesday. Lesson: Only Twilight is Twilight.  The World's End opens at No. 4 with 8.9 million against a 20 million budget (but another 16 million abroad).  Planes clings to the bottom of the Top 5 with 8.6 million and 56 million domestic against a 50 million budget.  Belowthe fold, the long-shelved You're Next opened in seventh place with 7 million, despite mostly positive reviews.

THE WORLD'S END is the finale of the so-called Cornetto trilogy drom director Edgar Wright, who previously starred Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.  This one skews closer to Shaun as a bit of a takeoff on Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  Indeed, while the original Invasion was widely seen as an anti-Communist sort of film, The World's End might make a bolder and harder case for freedom.  After all, the original Invasion and the 1978 remake both tended to posit love as the polar opposite of totalitarianism.  The World's End has much to say about friendship in that role -- and a bit more about friendship and maturity in general -- but ultimately makes a case for freedom absent from ealrier iterations in this subgenre.  I would stress, however, that I doubt this crew set out to make a polemic (esp given the final scene with Frost), and The World's End works just fine as a jaunty British comedy in the mold of the prior two, with plenty of action to boot. Recommended.

THE MTV VMAS went to these folks. But what you really want recapped is the Miley Cyrus, er, performance. You'll likely have the same reaction as Will Smith's kids.

ALEC BALDWIN and his wife Hilaria welcome a daughter.

LINDSAY LOHAN: Headed to HBO?

KHLOE HKARDAHIAN and LAMAR ODOM's marriage crisis is triggered by hardcore drug abuse?

BRYAN CRANSTON is rumored to be cast as Lex Luthor in the Superman/Batfleck picture.

GILBERT TAYLOR, cinematographer for some films you may recognize -- including A Hard Day’s Night, Dr. Strangelove, Frenzy, The Omen, and Star Wars -- died at age 99.

SYRIAN state media says the government has reached an agreement to allow a UN team of experts to visit the site of last week's alleged chemical weapons attack. A senior US official said that there was "very little doubt" a chemical weapon had been used by the Syrian regime, but added that any decision to open the site to UN inspectors was "too late to be credible".

IRAN warned that the US would face "harsh consequences" if it intervened in Syria, in the wake of allegations that the Assad regime used chemical weapons in a recent attack.

IRAQ: Al Qaeda in Iraq killed 31 people in bombings and attacks in Baghdad, Balad, and Baqubah.

CRIKEY: The call of the kookaburra.

GLUE-SPITTING VELVET WORMS are discovered in Vietnam.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: We're not saying it's squirrels, just that squirrels have taken down the Nasdaq before.

MYSTERY CAT prowls northeast Detroit. Looks like a lynx to me.

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE...

...with LED ZEPPELIN! Live at the Royal Albert Hall in 1970.  Your setlist includes: "We're Gonna Groove" (James A. Bethea, Ben E. King); "I Can't Quit You Baby" (Willie Dixon); "Dazed and Confused"; "White Summer"; "What Is and What Should Never Be"; "How Many More Times"; "Moby Dick": "Whole Lotta Love"; "Communication Breakdown"; "C'mon Everybody" (Jerry Capehart, Eddie Cochran); "Somethin' Else" (Bob Cochran, Sharon Sheeley); and "Bring It On Home".

CAMERA OBSCURA stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

MIKAL CRONIN stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

GOGOL BORDELLO stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

NUDE BEACH is offtering their self-titled debut to stream or download as they head out to tour their sophomore LP.

MARK KNOPFLER drops "Privateering", the title track of his upcoming LP.

CASS McCOMBS drops "There Can Be Only One" ahead of Big Wheel And Others.

CALIFONE drops "Frosted Tips" ahead of Stitches.

MAN MAN drop "End Boss" ahead of On On Pond.

ART BRUT get you off to a "Good Weekend."

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS: John Darnielle talks heavy metal for all occasions at Pitchfork.

SUPERCHUNK: Mac McCaughan talks to Rolling Stone about what having created a life in music really means.

HOSPITAL SHIPS: Jordon Gieger walks listeners through the creation of "Desolation Waltz" at All Songs Considered.

THE WRENS: Charlie Bissell talks to Grantland about the band's long-gestating, as-yet-untitled fourth album.

CUTOUT BIN: From the Beatles to Billy Idol, from the Crystals to Cracker, from Alex Chilton to the Knack, plus Nena, John Hiatt, Velvet Crush, Divine Fits more  -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING:This weekend's wide releases are: The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones, which opened Wednesday with 15 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; You're Next, which opens scoring a surprising (to me) 86 percent; and The World's End, scoring an unsurprising (to me) 94 percent. But Oprah will likely repeat atop the chart.

LINDSAY LOHAN is fiercely defending her decision to hang with a friend who has an even more checkered past with drugs than her.

JENNIFER LOPEZ had a stalker break into pool house for six days without the superstar's security guards finding out.

BEN AFFLECK is set to play Batman opposite Henry Cavill in the untitled "Man of Steel" sequel that will be directed by Zack Snyder. Yes, really. Insert your "Matt Damon as Robin" joke here. But you may not beat this.

JENNIFER LAWRENCE & NICHOLAS HOULT appear to have rekindled their romance.

ROBERT PATTINSON is really done with Twilight.

SNL: Twenty-two Saturday Night Live cast members - and one who came close - share tales of the audition that can make or break a career.

BRADLEY COOPER is in talks to voice Rocket raccoon in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy.

FRENCH Foreign Minister Fabius said that if allegations are true that regime forces in Syria used chemical weapons in a recent attack in Damascus, the international community would have to react "with force" in Syria, but also said there was "no question of sending troops on the ground." He added that there were "possibilities for responding."

IRAQ: Al Qaeda in Iraq killed the leader of the Awakening in Madeen in a bombing at his home.

EGYPT: Former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak was placed under house arrest after being released from prison. Supporters of former president Mohammed Morsi called for protests against the army on Friday.

ANIMALS ON TRAMPOLINES: The supercut.

ZOMBIE PIGEONS invade Moscow, signal apocalypse.

A DRAGON CORPSE washed ashore on the beaches of Andalusia in Spain.

TWO BULL SHARKS were caught in the Potomac River, refused to say for whom they were lobbying.

SUPERCHUNK drops a video for "Me and You and Jackie Mittoo."

BELLE & SEBASTIAN advance streams their rarities collection, Third Eye Centre.

ROBBIE FULKS is advance streaming Gone Away Backward.

DENT MAY advance streams Warm Blanket.

PORCHES advance streams Slow Dance In The Cosmos.

AU REVOIR SIMONE goes "Crazy" ahead of Move In Spectrums.

I'M FROM BARCELONA: "We're From Barcelona." Wouldn't you like to Barcelona, too?

ELVIS COSTELLO talks to The Quietus about The Roots, his back catalog, Margaret Thather and more.

NEIL YOUNG, in music and film.

THE VACCINES talk about the learning curve of pop songwriting.

1983's underappreciated albums.

DAVID CASSIDY was busted for DUI in upstate New York.  C'mon, get tipsy.

BRAD PITT & BONO were targeted for recruitment by the Church of Scientology, claims the niece of the Church's controversial leader.

CAMERON DIAZ & JASON SIEGEL looked cozy together in East Hampton, NY.

N*SYNC will not be playing the MTV VMAs', contra prior rumors.

ONE DIRECTION heartthrob Zayn Malik is engaged to girlfriend Perrie Edwards.

WENTWORTH MILLER rejected an invitation to attend the St. Petersburg International Film Festival, citing Russia's anti-LGBT laws.

MACBETH: Marion Cotillard replaces Natalie Portman.

SYRIA: US intelligence officials and outside experts are looking into claims of a new and massive chemical weapons attack that left hundreds dead.

LIBYA: Benghazi security forces arrested an armed group that had 14 bags of TNT explosives at a farm in the area.

EGYPT: A court ordered the release of former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak. The prosecution in the case against Mubarak said it had no plans to appeal. An amended version of the Egyptian constitution was given to the presidency for review.

A DOG saves A CAT with a blood transfusion... mass hysteria!

THE FIRST PRZEWALKI'S HORSE to be born via artificial insemination.

AS MANY AS 50K STRAY DOGS roam the streets of post-apocalyptic Detroit, often in packs.

14 ELEPHANTS busted with fake IDs in Thailand.

CAMERA OBSCURA drops a video for "Break It To You Gently."

TELEKINESIS stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

LISSIE stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

DAUGHN GIBSON stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

NO AGE stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

TEARS FOR FEARS covers Arcade Fire's "Ready To Start."

HUES CORP: "Rock The Boat". And rock on with your bad self.

FATHER JOHN MISTY gets a meaty profile from Magnet. (Thx, Chromewaves.)

KATHLEEN HANNA talks to Stereogum about The Julie Ruin, riot grrl, and the illness that derailed her life.

TY SEGALL talks to All Songs Considered about the weighty themes that inspired and appear on Sleeper.

READY, STEADY GO! The making of the pioneering 1960s TV pop show.

LINDSAY LOHAN drew under 1 million viewers to the premiere telecast of “Oprah's Next Chapter”. Ouch.

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE and his former *NSYNC band members are set to reunite for a special performance on the VMAs Sunday night at the Barclays Center, sources tell Page Six.

SIMON COWELL breaks his silence on his impeding fatherhood.

KANYE WEST turned down American Idol.

LILY TOMLIN may marry Jane Wagner, who have been together for 42 years.

ELMORE LEONARD, the prolific crime novelist whose louche characters, deadpan dialogue and immaculate prose style in novels like "Get Shorty," “Fifty-Two Pickup,” "Freaky Deaky" and "Glitz" established him as a modern master of American genre writing, died on Tuesday at his home in Bloomfield Township, Mich. He was 87.  He would undoubtedly have found the NYT obit overwritten.

FRENCH Interior Minister Valls played down reports of a recent al Qaeda threat to European railways, saying French intelligence has found no evidence to support the alleged threat, but added that France is vigilant. Even though intelligence indicated no specific threat to France, but perhaps a general threat in northern Europe, France stepped up policing on its rail lines in the wake of the threat.

TURKEY: Citing evidence found on YouTube, Turkey’s Islamist prime minister claimed that Israel was behind the military takeover in Egypt last month.

SYRIA: Regime forces launched an assault in Deir al-Zor, trying to regain territory seized by a coalition headed by the Al Nusrah Front and the Qatar-backed Ahfad al-Rasul Brigade.

EGYPT: A wave of attacks on the Christian minority washes over the country, as Islamists set upon homes and churches, shops and schools, youth clubs and at least one orphanage, killing at least three people, according to an Egyptian human rights group. The authorities stood by and watched.  Now, the Egyptian defense minister has ordered the repair and reconstruction of all churches that suffered damage in the country’s violent demonstrations.Security forces arrested the General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Badie, overnight. Following Badie's arrest, the MB appointed Mahmoud Ezzat as the group's temporary leader.

PAKISTAN's ex-military ruler General Pervez Musharraf was formally indicted by a court Tuesday for his alleged role in the 2007 assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto.

DOG PLAYS (Fetch) WITH HIMSELF.

A CENSORED KANGAROO sparks Facebook rage Down Under.

TWO WOLVES kill 176 sheep in Idaho Falls.

BAZINGA: It's a new breed of jellyfish.

ROGUE WAVE plays Duran Duran's "Rio" while sailing Lake Michigan for the A.V. Club Undercover.

FRANZ FERDINAND advance streams Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action.

THE DODOS advance stream Carrier, a tribute to their fmr bandmate, Chris Reimer.

DRUMGASM, ft. Janet Weiss (Sleater-Kinney), Zach Hill (Death Grips), Matt Cameron (Pearl Jam), is streaming at SPIN.

ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER performs an acoustic medley from her Personal Record on PitchforkTV.

NINE INCH NAILS: Is "Everything" Trent Reznor's poppiest track evah?

GUNS N' ROSES: "Going Down" actually features Tommy Stinson.

OF MONTREAL drops "she ain't speaking now."

FUN BOY THREE play "Our Lips Are Sealed" and "Summertime" for Twofer Tuesday. I suppose I should remind the young'uns that singer Terry Hall co-wrote "Lips."

SUPERCHUNK's Mac McCaughan talks to The A.V. Club about I Hate Music and other notables in the back catalog.

GOGOL BORDELLO's Eugene Hütz picks out his fave LPs at The Quietus.

THE BEST & WORST COVER ALBUMS, according to The Independent.

LET IT BE: The classic Replacements LP cover, reenacted by the house's painters. 

LINDSAY LOHAN tells Oprah she did coke, but only to booze more.

DEMI LOVATO appears to be the latest victim of a nude photo leak.

LEE THOMPSON YOUNG, former star of Disney's The Famous Jett Jackson, is dead of an apparent suicide at 29.

DICK VAN DYKE narrowly averted disaster when his Jaguar burst into flames.

DAVID ARQUETTE cops to being off the wagon.

A WORLD FAMOUS ACTRESS has had a secret video recording of her suffering a terrifying drug and booze overdose presented in a court as part of her bitter child custody case?

J.J. ABRAMS drops a teaser trailer for... er, something.

A GERMAN media report said intelligence sources claimed that the recently intercepted communications between al Qaeda leaders included discussion of attacking European railways. German authorities are said to have taken discreet measures in response, including the deployment of plain-clothed police in stations and on trains.

SAUDI ARABIA's Foreign Minister said Egypt is fighting terrorism, and criticized Western condemnation of the Egyptian military government's crackdown on Islamists.

ISRAELI authorities recently thwarted a stabbing attack aimed at derailing the restart of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

EGYPT: Judiciary sources suggested that former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak could be freed from prison this week.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: Hollywood catches on. Finally.

A SNAIL hatched in the knee of a four-year-old boy.

50 LOST DUCKS got a police escort down the A3 in Surrey.

BONE EATING WORMS: In Antarctica?