THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with SLY & THE FAMILY STONE! Watch 'em rip through a medley of "Everyday People" and "Dance to the Music," plus "Hot Fun in the Summertime," "Don't Call Me N*gger, Whitey," and "I Want to Take You Higher" on network TV, circa 1969.

THURSTON MOORE stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session... and plays the UBS Forum.

KEN STRINGFELLOW stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

4 AD REVISITED: Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins) & Brendan Perry (Dead Can Dance) perform on the air at KEXP.

NIRVANA: The Nevermind Sessions.

FLAMING LIPS & LIGHTNING BOLT have a joint EP which has turned up online.

NEWPORT FOLK FEST: Tracks from Earl Scruggs, Tegan & Sara, Gillian Welch, Wanda Jackson and more are part of a streaming preview at NPR.

DIAMOND KNIGHTS: "Destination Diamonds".  For the 70s vibe in the heat of late July.

MICK JAGGER: Closet Conservative?

THE FIVE BEST MUSIC STREAMING SERVICES, according to Lifehacker.

CREEM: Don't call it a comeback yet.

THE PERIODIC TABLE of Heavy Metals.

CUTOUT BIN: From the Clash to KC & the Sunshine Band, from fIREHOSE to Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, from Eddie Cochran to the Sweet, plus the Ramones, Yardbirds, Tommy Keene, the Hues Corp. and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are now streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases are: Cowboys & Aliens, which is currently scoring 43 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; The Smurfs, currently scoring 11 percent; and Crazy, Stupid Love, scoring 74 percent.

AMY WINEHOUSE: Sudden abstinence from alcohol might have been what led to her death, according to a report. Hmm.

JENNIFER LOPEZ is expected to close her American Idol deal this week.

JOSH GROBAN talks to GQ about kissing Emma Stone in Crazy Stupid Love (which got cut from the film) and more...

DENISE RICHARDS opens up about her series of botched boob jobs... and her Hollywood lesbian experience, just in time for Gratuitous Friday.

FRIENDS: An even friendlier show than I remembered.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 4 moves back to Dec. 21, supposedly based on bullish sentiment.

THE 10 GREATEST UNMADE MOVIES, according to PopMatters.

TERROR in the USA: A US serviceman is in custody after he allegedly admitted he was planning an attack on the US Army base at Fort Hood, TX, the same base where 13 people were killed in a 2009 terror attack.

LIBYA: Rebel officials have recalled Abdel Fattah Younes, who is leading the military campaign against Gaddafi, from the front line. Younes defected to the rebel side in February, was being questioned after rumors circulated that he was suspected of having had secret talks with Gaddafi's government.

IRAN has nominated a senior leader in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to lead OPEC.

IRAQ:  Pres. Talibani pardoned 50 Mahdi Army fighters and leaders. The Mahdi Army's Promised Day Brigade claimed it carried out five attacks over the past week against US forces in Baghdad, Dhi Qar, Wasit, and Maysan.

PUPPY fakes its own death.

AN ORPHAN ZEBRA only eats when his keeper wears stripes. Aw.

THE STORK delivered five babies to a nest in Burgenland, Austria, which experts are claiming is a sensation.

HORDES OF BATS: A drought in Texas, where 1.5 million bats are living under a bridge in Austin, has fuelled a bat frenzy with locals gathering each night to view the nocturnal creatures.

VIVIAN GIRLS "Take It As It Comes." Fab Shangri-La-esque pop.

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

MOONFACE: Wolf Parade frontman Jason Krug is streaming his solo album, Organ Music not Vibraphone like I'd Hoped.

STROKED: Stereogum unloads a tribute album to The Strokes' This Is It.

THE DEATH SET did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter. The opening to "Can You Seen Straight?" may seem familiar to you.

WILCO & BILLY BRAGG: Mermaid Avenue Demos.

JOE HENRY drops and discusses "Odetta" from his upcoming Reverie.

GIANT DRAG drops "Meowch" in advance of Waking Up Is Hard To Do.

CAMERON CROWE unveils the trailer for Pearl Jam Twenty.

FLEET FOXES: Robin Pecknold talks to The Current about the evolution of the band and its music.

PETER MURPHY talks to The Quietus about Bauhaus, Catholicism, Twilight, his Ninth solo LP, and more...

PAUL McCARTNEY: Greg Kot goes myth-busting.

WHO'S ON TOP IN MUSIC? It's gotten hard to say.

HUGH HEFNER denies a claim by ex-fiancee Crystal Harris that it would only last two secs. (We all assume HH is on the blue pill, yes?)

JESSE JAMES & KAT VON D reportedly fought over another woman before splitting up.  Sorta bad timing for Kat to get a tattoo of Jesse's face. Meanwhile, JJ  was awarded sole custody of his daughter on Monday.

ALEXANDER SKARSGARD & KATE BOSWORTH have called it quits after almost two years together.

KEVIN SMITH is developing a daily, half-hour, syndicated talk show that would blend celebrity chat and comedy.

SEX & THE CITY may be getting prequels.

THE TOP 10 ALIEN INVASION MOVIES, according to the Boston Herald.

INDIA & PAKISTAN agreed to a set of small but significant concessions to ease tensions in the disputed border region of Kashmir and pledged to work toward closer ties between their mutually wary, nuclear-armed countries.

EGYPT: A Newsweek/Daily Beast poll shows: the Muslim Brotherhood is poised to win the largest share of the vote in parliamentary elections; the man who appears to have a clear shot at the presidency, Amr Moussa, has made his name criticizing Israel; and a large majority of respondents favor amending or revoking the cornerstone of regional stability, the Camp David Accords.

YEMENI military officers claimed an al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula commander known as Ali Saeed Jamil was among 12 AQAP operatives killed during fighting in Zinibar.

IRAN: Gen. Dempsey said Iran would make a "serious miscalculation" if it attempted to carry out a mass casualty attack against US forces in Iraq. Iran's chief of police blamed the West for the current rise in crime.

IRAQ: An Al Qaeda bomb maker killed himself and two of his children in a premature detonation at his home in Kirkuk. Aw.

A KITTEN with a broken leg squeezes under a closed door and runs up stairs.

A GLOWING DOG, created by cloning, could help find cures for human diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

SIX ORPHAN GORILLAS are looking for homes, if you have some free space.

A MEXICAN MILK SNAKE terrorized a plus-size store in Coventry.

A GOLDEN RETIEVER thwarts a sexual assault.

BEIRUT joined THE NATIONAL on "Fake Empire" in Switzerland.

SUFJAN STEVENS stopped by WNYC for a chat and mini-set.

THE CALM BLUE SEA is advance streaming their less-than-calm self-titled debut.

WHISKEYTOWN: Forever Valentine Demos.

CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH drop "Maniac" as an advance track from Hysterical.

THE  PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART drop "Tomorrow Dies Today" as the flip side to their new single.

DAN PEEK, a founding member of folk rockers America, passed away on Sunday; the cause of death is still unknown.  Peek, who wrote the hit song "Lonely People," left the band in 1977 to pursue a solo career in Christian Rock.

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS: John Linnell talks to The A.V. Club about the band's recent A.V. Undercover taping, hating hooky songs, and the joys of turning music into objects.

PETE TOWNSHEND disputes Roger Daltrey's claim that The Who's guitarist is virtually deaf, and announces plans to properly tour Quadrophenia for the first time.

THE BBQ SHOW: Mark Sultan gives his side of the split with King Khan and talks solo album(s).

GENE SIMMONS proposes to Shannon Tweed. Only took 28 years.

AMY WINEHOUSE was cremated after a "moving yet humorous" memorial service.

JESSE JAMES & KAT VON D have called off their engagement and broken up.

CAREY MULLIGAN & MARCUS MUMFORD reportedly are getting engaged after just five months together.

SELMA BLAIR and her fashion designer boyfriend, Jason Bleick welcomed a baby boy on Monday.

LAURYN HILL gave birth to a baby boy over the weekend, her sixth child, according to several reports.

LINDSAY LOHAN and the FRENCH HOTEL have officially buried the hatchet on the old feud - and partied together in Malibu this weekend.

LISA MARIE PRESLEY - rocked by a heart-numbing emotional meltdown - turned to Scientology pal John Travolta to help get her life back on track, according to the ever-reliable National Enquirer.

YEMEN: Fighting in the south intensified in recent days as tribesmen in Abyan Province sided with government troops against Islamic militants.

LIBYA: France appears to have persuaded Britain to support a shift in attitude toward Gaddafi, suggesting that he could be allowed to remain in Libya in return for giving up power in a broader deal including a cease-fire.

AFGHANISTAN: The government disputed findings from a scathing US report that said Kabul officials are thwarting US efforts to protect American aid money from being stolen.

IRAN: The power struggle between Iran's leadership is a clash of goals includingAhmadinejad's opposition to the practice of spreading Iranian power abroad by arming Iraqi militias and trading drugs for arms with Afghanistan's Taliban, according to an unnamed Iranian source working in the country's Foreign Ministry.

IRAQ: Arrayed on a table in an air-conditioned room at the Victory Base complex are the killing tools from attacks on American soldiers over the last several months - the detritus of munitions smuggled in from Iran, according to the soldiers here whose job it is to conduct the forensic analysis of evidence collected from the battlefield.

PIT BULL and CHICKS, swimming together...

A RAMPAGING KANGAROO left a 94-year-old Australian woman recovering in the hospital.

CAT blamed in Pennsylvania stabbing incident.

PEI PEI the ORANGUTAN is missing his pregnant mate so much he has started to dig a tunnel in the hope of being reunited with her.

CULTS: "Go Outside" finally gets an official -- and Jonestown themed -- video.

NEW RELEASES from Little Dragon and Release the Sunbird, plus Roxette's Greatest Hits are smong those streaming this week at Spinner.

FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE advance streams Sky Full of Holes.

GIVERS played a Tiny Desk Concert at the offices of NPR.

THE REPLACEMENTS, Live at CBGB, October 12, 1984.

THE CARS' new video for "Free" and their vintage video for "You Might Think" are your Twofer Tuesday.

KING KHAN talked to the L.A. Times about his nervous breakdown, current tour and future plans.

COLIN MELOY & CARSON ELLIS offer a download excerpt of the children's book, Wildwood.

DRIVING: A survey of motorists lists their Top 10 Driving tunes and albums.

THE BEST SONGS OF 2011 (So Far), according to Crawdaddy.

AMY WINEHOUSE: The cause of her death will remain a mystery for at least a few more weeks. A police source tells People (contrary to UK tabloid reports) there was no paraphernalia or sign of drugs in Winehouse's Camden home.

RUSSELL BRAND remembers Amy Winehouse... which is an achievement for him.

LINDSAY LOHAN: Despite being warned to finish her community service for shoplifting and drunken-driving convictions on Thursday, the troubled starlet is hoping to jet to St.-Tropez this Thursday and stay until Aug. 2. Meanhile, Li-Lo denies reports of being falling-down drunk Saturday niht.

KRISTIN CAVALLARI & JAY CUTLER: A friend of Cavallari, who knew the couple socially, says the Chicago Bears quarterback was "beyond controlling"  and didn't like Cavallari going out.

LEIGHTON MEESTER has sued her mother Constance for spending money on herself - money that the actress had been sending for the care of her brother Lex, who has medical issues.

MARIAH CAREY got a little wacky on HSN.

JURASSIC PARK 4: Confirmed by Spielberg at Comic-Con.

COMIC-CON: Whitney Matheson interviewed Kevin Smith, Val Kilmer, Rob Lowe and Paul Reubens.

YEMEN: US-trained counterterrorism forces from the Republican Guards are being deployed against tribesmen in Arhab,and are reported to have killed more than 40 people.

LIBYA: Opposition leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil said Gadhafi and his family could remain in Libya as part of a political solution to the five-month-old conflict, provided they give up power and rebel leaders can determine where in Libya and under what conditions they remain.

IRAN accused the US and Israel of murdering a scientist who was involved with Iran's nuclear program.

AFGHANISTAN: A year-long military-led investigation has concluded that US taxpayer money has been indirectly funneled to the Taliban under a 2.16 billion dollar transportation contract that the United States has funded in part to promote Afghan businesses.

BUDDY the BULLDOG: Not a great swimmer. 

A DIVER risks the Pinnocchio treatment from a whale.

DEAD PARROT triggers a high-speed car chase. Maybe he was just resting.

A CHIPMUNK takes up a bad habit. Alvin!

AMY WINEHOUSE recently went to rehab, but she's dead, dead, dead -- of undetermined causes so far.  However, the Daily Mail claims she bought ecstasy, cocaine and ketamine on the night before her death.  She was 27, the same age as Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix. Here's your full NYT obit, icymi.  Rolling Stone has her tumultuous life in pictures.

RICHARD BUCKNER is advance streaming Our Blood.

THE BLACK ANGELS stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

OTHER LIVES stopped by Oregon Public Broadcasting for a session.

THE GRATEFUL DEAD with THE BEACH BOYS: Live at Fillmore East, NYC,  April 27, 1971.

ST. VINCENT drops "Surgeon" in advance of Strange Mercy, due 9/13.

JOURNEY: "Don't Stop Believin'" turns 30. It's the most downloaded song recorded in the 20th Century.

THE FEELIES -- and Retromania -- are essayed by Ann Powers for NPR.

THE HEAD and the HEART frontman Josiah Johnson talks to the Calgary Herald about the two types of buzz band, his band's formation, and more.

JOHN LYDON - aka Johnny Rotten - has revealed his home in London burned down two weeks ago, destroying songs he had written for the latest PiL (Public Image Limited) record.

ARE WE NOT NEW WAVE? Modern Pop at the Turn of the 1980s, excerpted at PopMatters.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Captain America upsets Harry Potter at the cineplex with 65.8 million, possibly edging otu Thor as the biggest-opeing for a comic book movie this summer (the actuals may put Cap in 2nd).  I think Marvel has to be happy that a late bloomer did this well here, as it may not do the same business Thor did overseas.  Deathly Hallows plummeted 72 percent with 48 million as it seems fans poured out to see it last weekend.  However, Part 2 has already passed the total of 2 other Potter movies and may well be the first to crack a billion at the box office.  Friends With Benefits took the third slot with 18.5 million, slightly less than No Srings Attached, but not bad considering that most people interested in this type of story likely went and saw No Strings Attached recently.  Transformers: Dark of the Moon comes in fourth with a decent 12 million, setting up a potentially close finish with Potter for the year's top grosser.  Horrible Bosses rounds out the Top Five in leggy fashion with 11.7 million, for a 82.4 million total to date against a 35 million budget.  Below the fold, it's worth noting that Midnight in Paris at No. 10 is quietly becoming the biggest success Woody Allen -- or Owen Wilson, for that matter -- has had in a while.

ARNOLD & MARIA: Schwarzenegger and Shriver's 13-year-old son is in serious condition in a Los Angeles-area hospital following a surfing accident on a beach in Malibu. Also, Arnold is filing a revised divoce petition that won't ask the judge to deny spousal support.

LINDSAY LOHAN ended Saturday night crying, screaming and barely able to walk. Alcohol may have been involved.

LEO DiCAPRIO & BLAKE LIVELY still seem like an item.

JENNIFER ANISTON talking marriage with Justin Theroux?

KRISTIN CAVALLARI & JAY CUTLER have called off their engagement.

MILA KUNIS: Leading-Lady Material?

OLIVIA WILDE (Cowboys & Aliens) is profiled by the New York Times.

SNOW WHITE & THE HUNTSMAN: First Look.

GLEE: Reports of a mass exodus at the end of the upcoming third season have apparently been greatly exaggerated.

HARVEY PEKAR may be getting something that Superman, the other comic book hero born in Cleveland, doesn't have: a statue.

BEAVIS & BUTTHEAD RETURN: Your Sneak Peek.

TERROR in NORWAY: The 32-year-old suspected of gunning down scores of young people at a summer camp and setting off a bomb in downtown Oslo that killed at least seven is a mystery to investigators: a right-winger with anti-Muslim views but no known links to hardcore extremists.

TERROR in the USA: A jury convicted Mohammed Wali Zazi of conspiring to obstruct the investigation of a terror plot and destroying bomb making materials. Mohammed attempted to cover up a plot by his son, Najibullah, to carry out bombings on New York City trains.

YEMEN: Tribesmen stopped a convoy of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters from reaching Zinjibar; one AQAP fighter was killed.

IRAN: The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps denied that it shot down an unmanned US spy plane over a nuclear enrichment plant. An Iranian nuclear scientist and his wife were murdered in front of their home in Tehran.

CORGI RODEO: Let's go to the video.

GAMERA, a 12-year-old African tortoise that recently had its front left leg amputated due to injury is now moving just fine, thanks to a swiveling wheel attached to his shell by doctors at Washington State University's veterinary hospital.

A LION is most likely to eat you just after a full moon, research has shown.

RABID BATS on the rise in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties.