THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with THE dB's!  The influential, but oh-so-unlucky modern pop combo performs "Happenstance," "Bad Reputation" and "Living A Lie" from Sweden circa 1982.  Chris Stamey left the band (temporarily) after which we got the infamous, banned-from-MTV clip for "Amplifier," plus live takes of "She Got Soul" and "Not Cool" from the legendary Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ circa 1986.  From the same time period, you can see the band help close down Folk City in NYC with a cover of Bob Dylan's "Positively 4th Street."  BONUS:  The fabulous Marti Jones and Windbreaker Tim Lee cover the dB's classic "Neverland," also from 1986.

THE TOP SONGS OF 2009, according to Sean at Said The Gramaphone. Big honkin' ZIP file of 75 songs. And at the moment, you can stream 'em via the ol' HM... just keep paging.

ROBERT FRANCIS did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter.

THE TOP 50 NEW WAVE SONGS, as decided on by WFDU listeners.

FREEDY JOHNSTON is offering "Don't Fall in Love With a Lonely Girl" as a free download.

THE XX is profiled by Eye Weekly and Rolling Stone.

BIG STAR: The most under-appreciated band evah?

THE KINKS are getting a biopic by Julien Temple, which makes today perfect for "Father Christmas."

SELLING OUT TO SURVIVE: PopMatters spoke with a few artists whose music has appeared in advertising to find out what motivates them.

BLAKROC: The Black Keys' collaboration with hip-hoppers is featured on NPR's Morning Edition.

HIP-HOP IS DEAD, according to Simon Reynolds (and Sasha Frere-Jones).

JESCA HOOP talks to Strangeglue about the release of her sophomre LP. (Thx, LHB.)

LEMMY talks to Vice about Motörhead, Hawkwind, The Beatles and more...

LIGHTSPEED CHAMPION drops the video for "Marlene" in advance of the single and upcoming album.

HA HA TONKA: Brian Roberts talks to the Rochester City Paper about the influence of the Ozarks.

DAVID BOWIE: Read his letter to his first American fan.

DECADE IN REVIEW: What happened to pop?

YEAR-END MUSIC LISTS are pointless, argues Paul Morley.

THE CUTOUT BIN: From Sammy Davis Jr. to Yo La Tengo, from Teenage Fanclub to The Drifters, from Solomon Burke to Camera Obscura, plus Them, Glasvegas, the Rolling Stones, Chris Bell, John Lennon and more   -- this weekend's fortuitous finds can be jukeboxed or streamed separately via the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING:  This weekends wide releases are Everybody's Fine, which is currently scoring 51 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; Brothers, currently scoring 58 percent; and Armored, which was not screened for critics.  Up in the Air, scoring 85 percent, opens on 10 screens.

TIGER WOODS: Rachel Uchitel now claims she was lying when she said she did not have an affair with the golfer.  Radar claims Jaimee Grubbs has a history of chasing famous sports professionals, tried to get into Playboy, made a sex tape and had a lesbian encounter.  Kalika Moquin denies being mistress number three.  The Daily Beast has more details on Tiger's prenup, though it may be getting a rewrite even now.

RONNIE WOOD: The Rolling Stones guitarist was arrested on suspicion of assaulting his girlfriend Ekaterina Ivanova.

LINDSAY LOHAN... and Entourage star Kevin Connolly?

MARILYN MANSON and EVAN RACHEL WOOD together again? There have been rumbles about this before.

WILL FERRELL wants to play Simon Cowell in a biopic.

NATALIE PORTMAN talks to Marie Claire about surviving child stardom, escaping the "muse" trap, and emerging unscathed from her first tabloid scandal. There's a photoshoot, too.

ROBERT DUVALL may play Don Quixote for Terry Gilliam... if they get the money.

THE TOP 10 HEIST MOVIES, according to Hollywood.com, though most are pretty recent.  Ad among recent ones, I might put The Bank Job on that list.

THE BEST BAD MOVIES OF THE DECADE, according to The A.V. Club.

IRAN has been conducting a campaign of harassing and intimidating members of its diaspora world-wide -- not just prominent dissidents -- who criticize the regime, according to former Iranian lawmakers and former members of Iran's elite security force, the Revolutionary Guard, with knowledge of the program.  Part of the effort involves tracking the Facebook, Twitter and YouTube activity of Iranians around the world, and identifying them at opposition protests abroad, these people say.

PARROT TANTRUM: Let's go to the video. (mild language warning)

ORCA: How killer whales use a 'karate chop' to stun and then finish off killer sharks.

THOUSANDS OF ROTTING CAMELS are polluting vital waterholes and sacred sites in the Aussie Outback.

DOG PHOTOGRAPHER dies at 13, which is a decent age for a dog.  Cyrus's portfolio lives on.

ORANGUTAN PHOTOGRAPHER still going strong.

THE FEELIES cover Jonathan Richman's "Egyptian Reggae."

SHEARWATER has a new song, "Castaways," on the Matablog, along with details on their upcoming LP.

THE COURTEENERS did the four free songs thing at Daytrotter, one previously unreleased.

BARRY WHITE -- and a new box set -- get a segment plus tracks from NPR's Morning Edition.

THE LOVELL SISTERS played a mini-set of virtuoso Bluegrass at the World Cafe.

GRAMMY NOMINATIONS went to all of these folks, though these are the major categories.  The L.A. Times: "The 2010 Grammy nominations are a complete puzzler, and one has to wonder just where Recording Academy voters are discovering their music."

THE BEACH BOYS: It's the "Little Saint Nick," natch.

MORRISSEY lists his Desert Island Discs for the BBC.

MOUNTAIN GOATS: John Darnielle talks to New York magazine about the new album, Law & Order, fans naming children after people in his songs and why he wants an Amy Grant tattoo.

THE HOLD STEADY: Craig Finn talks to Spinner about the differences between his current band and Lifter Puller.

JOE SHANAHAN, owner of the Metro/Smart Bar music-club complex, is profiled by the Chicago Tribune.

PETER BJORN & JOHN visit the Hockey Hall of Fame with the National Post.

TIGER WOODS: The National Enquirer caught Tiger Woods in a steamy extramarital affair two years ago, but killed the story in exchange for the golfer doing a rare cover-shoot for its sister mag - despite Tiger's exclusive deal with a rival publication, a former editor told The New York Post.  Also the text messages to the cocktail waitress are out.  Woods issued a statement that he let his family down with his "transgressions" (plural) and is working things out in prvate.  Working things out may entail intense marriage counseling, a seven-figure payment and a a total rewrite on the couple's prenuptial agreement.

LINDSAY LOHAN and Samantha Ronson may be getting back together, with the help of... John Mayer?

MARILYN MONROE was caught seemingly smoking pot on a newly unearthed home movie.

JESSICA SIMPSON's creepy ex-preacher dad had a run-in with a gorilla in Africa.

MEREDITH BAXTER: One of America's best-known TV moms comes out of the closet as a real-life lesbian.

TOM-KAT UPDATE: Another baby in the works?

THE 10 MOST-WATCHED TV EPISODES of the decade: "With the increasingly fractured TV universe, we probably won't see a list quite like this again."

IRAN freed five British sailors detained last week when their racing yacht drifted accidentally into Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf.  Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad says the days of friendly relations with the UN nuke watchdogs are over.  Ahmadinejad also said that Iran will itself enrich uranium up to 20 percent purity in a blow to Western efforts to stop Tehran's sensitive nuclear activities.

AFGHANISTAN: European and other US allies will contribute more than 5000 new troops to the international force.  Except from Poland, the pledges came in small numbers from small nations, with France and Germany remaining silent.  The Taliban currently contest or control large areas of the country (map at the link).

IRAQ: Civilian deaths in Iraq have dropped to a six-year low in November.

SWARMING MONSTER WORMS and SEA STARS, in timelapse.

NAKED MOLE RATS may be the record-setters among mammals for being able to survive without oxygen. No word about clothed ones.

STARLINGS give paparazzi the bird.

MOOSE accused of murder; husband cleared.

JOE STRUMMER loved Bruce Springsteen, as it turns out -- which put me in mind of the posthumous all-star version of "London Calling" at the 2003 Grammys.

THE XX stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set streaming via MPR.

THE TOP 10 ALBUMS of 2009, according to the World Cafe's David Dye, including tracks from Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears and Allen Toussaint, both of which could have been on my faves list. 

ANDREW W. K. did a Tiny Desk Concert at the offices of NPR.

THE 30 BEST COVER SONGS OF THE DECADE, according to Paste, with plenty of embedded audio.

HOT CHIP is advance streaming the title track to their One Life Stand album.

U2 cover "Merry Christmas, Baby (Please Come Home)," ripped from the premiere, for extra retro goodness.

LOS CAMPENSINOS! Tom gives Drowned in Sound the low down / scoop / details on the upcoming album, Romance Is Boring.

THE GOSSIP: Beth Ditto talks about Portland, various musical influences and more with The New York Times.

JOHN FOGERTY talks to Spinner about "Fortunate Son" and The Big Lebowski.

PAUL McCARTNEY sold out London's O2 Arena in four seconds.

LISA LOEB had a baby girl. Congrats!

TIGER WOODS told his wife that she ruined their Thanksgiving and stormed out of their house before crashing his car, according to RadarOnline.  Woods' alleged mistress launches a ferocious attack on the tabloids and their sources. Meanwhile, a L.A. cocktail waitress tells Us Weekly that she had a steamy 31-month fling with Tiger and has a voicemail recording and text messages to prove it.  And there may be still more women making such claims. BONUS: This animated reconstruction is your must-watch clip of the day.

NICOLE RICHIE is headlining a single-camera half-hour sitcom in development at ABC.

MEL BROOKS and CARL REINER talk to The A.V. Club about the longevity of the straight-guy/funny-guy comedy dynamic, writing plays for critics, and Jewish humor.

THE INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD nominations are out.  Zooey wuz robbed!  But otherwise a good day for (500) Days of Summer, and Anvil!

MILA KUNIS gets a feature and photoshoot at BlackBook.

HARRY POTTER and the DEATHLY HALLOWS: USA Today has a first look.

TWILIGHT: Summit Entertainment faces big money decisions if they plan to split the final vampire book into two movies.

BOURNE 4 seems to be missing a director at the moment.  Paul Greengrass has a statement.

THE BLACK HOLE: Disney's first-ever PG flick is getting a remake from the team working on Tron: Legacy.

IRAN's plans to build 10 more uranium enrichment facilities are largely bluster after the UN's strongly worded letter, analysts say. The British Foreign Secretary, has called for the swift release of the five sailors captured after their yacht strayed into Iranian waters.

AFGHANISTAN: The US is seeking to extend its control over the day-to-day running of Afghanistan with the appointment of an international "high representative" in Kabul in an attempt to bypass Hamid Karzai's much-criticized government.

HELIUM PUPPY? I think not, but cute anyway.

WHEN A TIGER ATTACKS, it looks pretty much exactly like this.

A DEER was missing the foorball game, and really had dibs on the sofa.

DAY OF THE DOLPHIN, er SEA LION: A Russian scientist who trains seals to carry out secret military missions complained in a newspaper interview Tuesday that Russia has fallen behind the US in the race to arm sea mammals.

OVER NINE MILLION SERVED: Thanks for stopping by! 

THE TOP MUSIC VIDEOS OF 2009, according to Pitchfork. Regular Pate visitors were exposed to most of them, including Dinosaur, Jr's "Over It."

NEW RELEASES: The Up in the Air Soundtrack leads the slim pickins this week at Spinner.

THE SWELL SEASON did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter, one previously unreleased.

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED: An advance track from Spoon, plus Charlotte Gainsbourg, Devendra banhart, Tegan & Sara and more in the latest installment of the NPR series.

TED LEO has a new track, "Even Heroes Have to Die," to download or stream via the 'Gum.

GLAM XMAS:  Wizzard's awesome "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day" and Slade's "Merry Christmas Everybody" (1973's UK Xmas No. 1) are your Twofer Tuesday.

DON'T STOP BELIEVIN': How the 1981 power ballad has enjoyed an astonishing second life in the digital age -- and may become the UK's Christmas No.1.

VINCE GUARALDI, likely best-known for scoring A Charlie Brown Christmas (scheduled to air tonight on ABC), was featured on Weekend Edition Saturday.

BRIAN ENO celebrates "The Death of Uncool."

THE FLAMING LIPS are planning to cover Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon live on New Year's Eve.

TIGER WOODS: Cops are stepping up an investigation into whether an act of domestic violence occurred in Tiger's lair, as Woods canceled plans to attend his own golf tournament in SoCal.  TMZ now has an eyewitness account of what happened immediately following Tiger's car accident.  The woman accused by the tabloids of haing an affair with Woods has been linked to other celebs.

REESE WITHERSPOON's rep denied reports that she split with Jake Gyllenhaal.

DAVID HASSELHOFF was released from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Sunday after a psych hold, according tot RadarOnline.

MERYL STREEP: The Fantastic Mrs. Fox gets the cover profile of the new Vanity Fair.

ALEC BALDWIN claims he'll retire from acting when his contract with 30 Rock expires in 2012.

THE HOBBIT may delay filming until mid-summer 2010.

ANTHONY MICHAEL HALL went Breakfast Club on an ex's forehead, during an altercation at her New York apartment earlier this month, police told RadarOnline.

HELENA CHRISTENSEN, the Danish supermodel, has described the joys of posing nude at 40.

HONOR KILLINGS in the USA are raising concerns.

IRAN is holding five British yachtsmen hostage as they sailed from Bahrain to Dubai for the start of an international race.

ROOMBA CAT lords its tech advantage over a hapless dog.

TWO DOGS in Beijing have tested positive for swine flu in the second case of animals catching the disease in China along with pigs in the northeast.

BABY BONOBO: Awww...some pics.

BURPING SHEEP: Threat or Menace?

PAUL WELLER & KEVIN SHIELDS: The men behind The Jam and My Bloody Valentine team up for "7 & 3 is the Striker's Name."

TELEKINESIS did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter, including one unreleased.

FRIGHTENED RABBIT also did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter.

THE BIG PINK stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set streaming via MPR.

SAM ROBERTS stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set streaming via MPR.

THE HEADLIGHTS have a new video for "Love Song For Buddy" that's even sadder than the song.

THE ALBUMS OF THE DECADE, according to The Guardian.

ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN: Ian McCullcoch talks to New York magazine about divine inspiration, the voices in his head, and arena rock.

THE XX: Romy Madley Croft talks to the Seattle Times about the band's  debut, with embedded audio.

SINGERS WHO CAN'T SING, courtesy of the Telegraph.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Twilight: New Moon again took the top slot with 42.5 million (66 million over the long weekend), sailing to 230 million so far.  But the sequel did have a drop suggesting frontloading, as The Blind Side almost beat the vampires from Fri-Sun, making 40.1 million on an 18 percent increase over last weekend.  The Sandra Bullock sports drama broke the 100 million mark, too. 2012 held onto the third spot with 18 million, with a 138 million total against a 200 million budget (good thing the worldwide total is about 487 million).  Old Dogs debuted at No.4 with 16.8 million, as people fooled into seeing Wid Hogs have apparently learned something.  A Christmas Carol got an unsurprising holdiay bump, jumping 30 percent to take in 16 million; it too crosses the 100 million mark but will need those holiday legs against a 200 million budget.  Below the fold, Ninja Assassin opened in sixth, with a lackluster 13.3 million (21.2 million since Wednesday) against a 40 million budget.  The Road opened in 11th place, but was on a mere 111 screens.

THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX unfortunately landed in ninth place after expanding wide for the holidays (eighth over the long weekend).  Perhaps people just did not know what to make of the combo of 70's-style animation and director Wes Anderson.  But this is not only a charming movie the whole family can enjoy, but also a return to form for Anderson.  It's no Royal Tenenbaums, but a marked improvement over the disappointing Darjeeling Ltd.  Maybe good word of mouth can build on its good reviews to help a probable Oscar nominee next weekend (before Disney's The Princes and the Frog arrives on Dec. 11th).

TIGER WOODS was injured in a car accident outside his Isleworth home, driving into a fire hydrant and a tree. TMZ claims he was being attacked by his wife over reports of alleged infidelity, and that the star golfer may have been taking painkillers.  The gossip blog further claims that Tiger told a friend he needed a "Kobe special" and said his wife had "gone ghetto" on him.  Also, Woods' wife, Elin Nordegren, changed the story she told the first officer on the scene, according to law enforcement sources.  Woods refused to meet with police over the weekend.  The alleged mistress denies any affair, and is reportedly meeting with celeb lawyer Gloria Allred.

DAVID HASSELHOFF was rushed to a hospital by ambulance Friday after suffering a seizure.

JENNIFER LOPEZ's ex is threatening to make intimate home videos of the star public this week.

ROMAN POLANSKI got out on bail with help from French Pres. Sarkozy and is now under house arrest in his swank ski chalet in Gstaad.  Experts say that if the convicted rapist decides to flee again, the police will not be able to recapture him.

GERARD BUTLER had Thanksgiving dinner with singer Natalie Imbruglia and socialite Kimberly Stewart. So many punchlines.

JESSICA BIEL talks to The Independent about playing an alien and being treated like one.

THE TEN MOST ROMANTIC SCENES OF THE DECADE, according to Cinema Blend.

TOP TEN GULITY PLEASURES OF THE DECADE, according to Cinema Blend.

SWITZERLAND: Voters have supported a referendum proposal to ban the building of minarets, official results show. Women were more likely to vote for the ban.

IRAN, after receiving the dreaded "strongly worded letter" from the UN about its nuclear program, approved plans Sunday to build 10 new uranium enrichment facilities.

IRAQ: Thanksgiving in Tikrit.

SURPRISED KITTEH: Let's go to the video.

A FLATULENT PIG sparked fears of a potentially dangerous gas leak in Axedale, Australia.

A CHOCOLATE LABRADOR is taking a human's job at a BP gas station/convenience store in Clearater, FL.

ICEE THE CAT, rescued from almost certain death after a Colorado snowstorm.

ADORABLE BABY MEERKATS snuggle up to a cuddly teddy after their mother tragically died.

SUPER-TERMITES cause the govt of New South Wales to take extraordinary measures.