THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with THE LEMONHEADS!  Evan Dando's songbook has always struck me as autmnal, though not all of it really is.  For example, a very young Dando released his take on Suzanne Vega's hit "Luka" in May '89.  He dissolved the band after releasing the Lovey LP, but returned with a new lineup on "It's A Shame About Ray" in July '92. Despite Johnny Depp's appearance in that video, the Ray album lingered in the lower reaches of the charts, despite being filled with grunge-pop goodness like "Rockin' Stroll" and "Confetti."  But that November, Atlantic released the band's take on Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson," which shot to No. 19 on the UK charts and landed Dando unlikely US gigs like "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee."  The flip side of that single was the goofy "Being Around," which becomes a singalong live.  The followup LP, C'mon, Feel the Lemonheads, hit the Top 5 in the UK, but only No. 56 in the US, with the single "Into Your Arms," which would later turn up on the soundtrack to Before Sunrise and in an FTD commercial.  The other two videos from the LP, like "Ray," sport celeb cameos -- Angelina Jolie turns up in "It's About Time" and a young Chloë Sevigny can be seen in "Big Gay Heart" (which Dando makes safe-for-broadcat with a funny spoonerism).  Unfortunately, Dando would soon slide into heavy drugs and the next album, Car Button Cloth was not nearly as successful -- commercially or artistically.  An unremarkable solo album and sporadic gigs would follow, until Dando got his personal life together and revived The Lemonheads brand with a self-titled LP in 2005, from which "Black Gown" was the lead track.  BONUS:  Dando and Mudhoney's Mark Arm fromted the DKT-MC5 on a ripping version (is there any other kind) of the classic "Kick Out the Jams" of The Late Late Show.

OKKERVIL RIVER plays songs from The Silver Gymnasium on WNYC Soundcheck. 

WILD BELLE stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set. 

VALERIE JUNE plays a WFUV Live performance from City Winery.

JOHNNY CASH, Live in Amsterdam, Feb. 26, 1972.

ROBERT POLLARD drops "Tonight's The Rodeo" ahead of Blazing Gentlemen. 

WOODEN WAND &  THE WORLD WAR IV gives "Directions to Debbie Harry's House" ahead of their self-titled LP.

COUSTEAU: "The Last Good Day of the Year." Or close to it.

BIG STAR: Jody Stephens talks to KUTX about the new documentary, with a 1978 cut of Alex Chilton covering Ernest Tubbs as a bonus.

NIRVANA: Dave Grohl talks to Rolling Stone about the making of In Utero.

KING CRIMSON is reforming with three drummers, says Robert Fripp.

THE FIVE MOST VITAL 4AD RECORDS DEBUTS, according to Drowned in Sound.

CUTOUT BIN: 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 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, which is currently scoring 64 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; the expansion of Rush, which is currently scoring 86 percent; Don Jon, scoring 82 percent; and Baggage Claim, scoring 9 percent.

RUSH: Ron Howard has been selling this as a film with sex, speed, and suspense.  Rush, which chronicles the rivalry of 1970s Formula 1 racers James Hunt and Niki Lauda, delivers on all those elements. But Rush is also a film about (obvious pun intended) what drives these two men, both the similarities and the differences (In real life, the two were less antagonistic than the film portrays).  It asks questions about the degree to which they drive each other, and whether happiness is the enemy of victory -- but offers no easy answers, which is probably all to the better.  Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl both deliver strong perfomances and one wonders if there was a bit of art imitiating life in the back of their minds.

DON JON:

KALEY CUOCO: The Big Bang Theory star is engaged to tennis star Ryan Sweeting.

LAMAR ODOM's life is now revolving around smoking crack and partying with 2 young women.

LINDSAY LOHAN will get to keep her huge paycheck from Oprah Winfrey, but only after an intense showdown.

RICHARD GERE & CAREY LOWELL split after 11 years of marriage.

JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT suggests he's got a girlfriend. People were talking, y'know.

RUSSIAN Foreign Minister Lavrov has claimed that homemade sarin was used in a chemical attack in Aleppo on March 19, and that a similar but stronger concentration of sarin was used in the Aug. 21 attack in Damascus. Lavrov said that an "understanding" between Russia and the US has been reached on a draft UN resolution on Syria.  US and Russian officials now believe that the vast majority of Syria’s nerve agent stockpile consists of “unweaponized” liquid precursors that could be neutralized relatively quickly.

RARE BLUE-FOOTED BOOBIES: Let's go to the video.

A TESTICLE-EATING FISH was caught in New Jersey.

14 BABY PANDA CUBS, One Blanket.

35 SPECTACULAR WILDLIFE PHOTOS from the National Geographic Photo Contest.

THE POLYPHONIC SPREE fails Rube Goldberg in "Raise Your Head."

QUASI is advance streaming Mole City.

LIZ PHAIR perfoms Exile In Guyville Live at the Fillmore East, June 23, 2008.

JIMMY WEBB: The legendary songwriter stopped by WFUV for a chat and mini-set.

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS perform Southern Rock Opera Live in Salt Lake City, January 2002.

YUCK's latest single is "Memorial Fields."

ANNA CALVI "Suddenly" drops a new trackahead of One Breath.

POLICA gets "Smug"ahead of ahead of Shulamith.

THE TEMPTATIONS: "Psychedelic Shack." That's where it's at.

BOOKER T. JONES stopped by WFUV's Studio A to talk music and play records.

CULTS talks to Pitchfork about bath salts, Beyobce, and the tough decisions and loneliness that led to their second LP, Static.

TY SEGALL talks to The Guardian about taking the (drum) throne for his Fuzz side project.

OKKERVIL RIVER, ranked by Stereogum.

BRITNEY SPEARS: Are ticket sales for her Vegas run "disastrously poor"? Or is it "the best-selling show in the history of Vegas"?

SAMUEL L. JACKSON talks Quentin Tarantino, Spike Lee, grammar and more in highlights from his Playboy interview.

ROBERT PATTINSON's mystery brunette is Sean Penn's model daughter.

LAMAR ODOM is breaking his silence to rip his own father to shreds for claiming that the Kardashians drove him off the deep end.

LINDSAY LOHAN and Matt Nordgren have decided to go their separate ways just one week after their romance became public.

MICHAEL DOUGLAS & CATHERINE ZETA-JONES are fighting for their marriage.

LIBYA: Authorities acknowledged that the theft of US military equipment from a US Special Forces base in Libya is more serious than previously reported; dozens of armored GMV vehicles are missing, along with hundreds of weapons and most of the night-vision goggles. The son of Defense Minister Al-Thani is said to have been kidnapped in the Tripoli suburb of Janzur by gunmen.

SYRIA: In a statement issued yesterday, 13 Syrian rebel groups, including the al Qaeda-affiliated Al Nusrah Front, agreed to create an Islamist opposition force in Syria to be run only by groups fighting in Syria, rejecting the Syrian National Coalition and other groups "formed abroad." The new coalition of powerful Islamist groups also includes at least three major Free Syrian Army units. The US-backed Free Syrian Army has not responded to the announcement. A flurry of accusations that Syria has transferred some of its chemical weapons to Lebanon and Iraq is casting suspicion over Damascus' compliance with a deal brokered by the US and Russia to hand over its chemical arsenal.

IRAN: President Rouhani claimed that the greatest danger in the Middle East is that of chemical weapons in Syria falling into the hands of terrorists, and warned against a military intervention in Syria. He also said Iran is ready to engage on talks about its nuclear program as long as Iran's right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes is respected.

PENGUIN CHICKS learn to swim at the Chester Zoo.

WILD PIGS menace suburban Atlanta.

A SEXIST GORILLA is sent to therapy.

THE COOKIE MONSTER OF THE SEA, caught on camera.

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE is not my bag musically, but here he covers The Jacksons' "ShakeYour Body (Down To The Ground)." And there's plenty of cowbell.

PASSION PIT is streaming the Constant Conversations EP via Spotify.

KURT VILE shares a mixtape of the songs that influenced Walking On A Pretty Daze.

MOBY is advance streaming Innocents.

VAN MORRISON, Live at the Fillmore West, April 26, 1970.

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED surveys 20 LPs on its 2013 Fall Music Preview.

DR. HOOK & THE MEDICINE SHOW: "Cover of the Rolling Stone." A fairly deranged live version.

WIRE: Colin Newman talks to the Irish Independent about the influence of the band in the US, though I think REM will be surprised to learn they came out of the hardcore scene.

JASON ISBELL gets a meaty profile from American Songwriter.

GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR offered its thanks for the Polaris Music Prize, called into question the necessity of the award in general and the corporate-sponsored gala in particular, and affirmed their plans for that prize money.

MICK JAGGER will be a great-grandpa.

90s GIRL GROUPS that time forgot.

MILEY CYRUS talks to Rolling Stone and  -- oddly enough -- it's kinda wacky.

AMANDA BYNES is mentally unfit to stand trial, according to her lawyer in her DUI case.

ROBERT PATTINSON was spied working out with the mystery brunette. 

LAMAR ODOM's dad blames the Kardashians.

LINDSAY LOHAN's mom pleaded not guilty to drunk driving charges, but the judge suspended her license.

PAKISTAN: Jundallah claimed credit for yesterday's suicide attack at a church in Peshawar that killed 81 Christians.

TURKEY: The opposition party accused Prime Minister Erdogan's government of using discretionary funds to recruit, arm, train, and finance al Qaeda-linked groups in Turkey for battle in Syria.

SYRIA: The Al Nusrah Front, the Ahrar al Sham, and the Free Syrian Army's Sahaba Battalions are leading a rebel offensive in southwest Damascus.

ISRAEL: A purportedly internal Israeli document says Iran is seeking minor concessions while preserving its ability to "rush forward to produce nuclear weapons."

IRAQ: Al Qaeda in Iraq killed nine policemen in a suicide assault and attacks on police and military bases in Haditha.

A HEDGEHOG covers Miley's "Wrecking Ball."

AN ALIEN CREATURE? Nah... just a toad eating a bat.

A 4-YEAR-OLD DACHSHUND was freed from a retaining wall by 15 men with shovels and flashlights.

A CAT RESCUE, otoh, ends in a fatal crash on the Florida turnpike.

TEGAN & SARA drop a video for "Goodbye Goodbye."

IRON & WINE: Sam Beam stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

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

MARK MULCAHY (Miracle Legion, Polaris) visits the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set. 

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE is advance streaming the second installment of The 20/20 Experience, if that's your thing.

NIRVANA drops the appropriately-titled "Forgotten Tune," an extra from the in Utero sessions. 

GREASE is the word marking the start of autumn, with "Summer Nights" and "You're the One That I Want" marking Twofer Tuesday.

ELVIS COSTELLO talks to Stereogum about somgwriting, self-awareness, and record stores vs blogs.

THE REPLACEMENTS: Sound Opinions dissects Let It Be. 

MUMFORD & SONS has gone on "indefinite hiatus."

GODSPEED YOU! VLACK EMPEROR takes the Polaris Music Prize.

THE BEST NEW BANDS of 2013, according to Stereogum.

BRITNEY SPEARS may lip-sync her way through two years in Vegas? Her rep denies it.

ROBERT PATTINSON stepped out with his new girlfriend — a mystery brunette.

JACOBY JONES: The Baltimore Ravens wide receiver was hurt after a brawl erupted on a party bus filled with his Ravens teammates. By which we mean a stripper busted his head with a champagne bottle.

ELLEN POMPEO noticed how white the Emmys were.

RHIANNA: Her Instagram of a slow loris triggers two arrests in Phuket.

STEVIE WONDER thinks Marvin Gaye's family should take higher ground in their lawsuit against Robin Thicke.

RIVER PHOENIX: The actor's final hours are detailed almost 20 years later.

MARVEL's second phase of five movies has just begun, but the third phase will include seven movies.

PAKISTAN: A pair of suicide bombers launched a coordinated attack at a Christian church in Peshawar, killing at least 78 people and wounding scores more.

SYRIA: President Assad insisted that Syria's chemical weapons arsenal is secure.

EGYPT: Security forces continued to target Islamist militants operating in the Sinai and destroy smuggling tunnels along the border with Gaza. The Ibn Taymiyyah Media Center, a jihadist media unit, called for attacks against the army. An Egyptian court banned all Muslim Brotherhood activities and ordered the seizure of assets tied to the Islamist group.

A SIBERIAN HUSKY + Leaves = Autumn.

MAUDE THE KITTEN drove across Ireland in the engine.

ABDUCTED NEBRASKAN MONKEYS turned up in Florida.

SIR STUFFINGTON: The one-eyed pirate cat finds fame online.

MAZZY STAR eases us into the week with "California." Kinda the downside of Zeppelin IV.

ELF POWER advance streams Sunlight on the Moon.

THE TURNER BROS are advance streaming Act 1.(Thx, Jon Hahn.)

ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ROOTS, Live at the Brooklyn Bowl. A full set.

J RODDY WALSTON and the BUSINESS stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set. 

SHOCKING BLUE: She's your "Venus."

MOUNTAIN GOATS: John Darnielle talks to Modern Farmer about... goats. (Thx, LHB.)

BILLY BRAGG: The British invented Americana.

WALKING THE SUNSET STRIP: A Fading Beacon of Cool. 

MISSION OF BURMA: Best wedding band ever? (Dunno. Pate and the Young Fresh Fellows are likely in the team photo.)

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Prisoners tops the chart with 21.4 million, unofficially kicking off Oscars season (Moneyball and The Town are prior years' early entries). Despite the stellar cast and mega-release, that's a solid, but not blockbuster opening.  At a 46 million budget, Prisoners will make solid money, esp. given Jackman's international appeal.  Insidious 2 places with a predictably steep 64 percent dive at 14.5 million, but a 60 million total against a 5 million budget almost ensures a third installment.  The Family shows with 7 million on a steep-for-comedy 50 percent drop, but at 25 million domestic, will likely profit against a 30 million budget. Instructions Not Included moves up to No. 4, a leggy performance which is now N0. 6 alltime on the Spanish language chart for North America.  Battle of The Year debuts at the bottom of the Top 5 with 5 million, which is likely disappointing against a 20 million budget.  Below the fold, The Butler cracks the 100 million mark in seventh-place.  So maybe the Butler unofficially kicked off Oscars season even earlier.

ANDY SAMBERG & JOANNA NEWSOM got married at a luxury retreat in Big Sur.

MILEY CYRUS broke down crying in Vegas while she performed a song rumored to be about her break up with Liam Hemsworth. She's reportedly shocked Hemsworth has already moved on. Eliza Gonzalez is telling friends she and Hemsworth are in love. Gonzaelz has been called a plastic surgery addict.

THE EMMY AWARDS went to these folks. Jeff Daniels was surprised, too.

JON GOSSELIN pulled a gun on a photog in Pennsylvania. This is what happens when you put the spotlight back on, people.

LINDSAY LOHAN's mother faces mortgage foreclosure.

MATTHEW McCONNAUGHEY discusses his crash diet for “Dallas Buyers Club.” 

STAR WARS VII: JJ Abrams wants it to feel more real than the prequels.

SYRIA: A former chemical weapons chief in the regime's army said he had on three occasions defied orders to use chemical weapons, and claimed that the regime has already transferred some of its chemical weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon and to Iran via Iraq.

RUSSIA offered to send a small detachment of observers to Syria to help with the destruction of its chemical weapons arsenal.

GERMANY's spy chief said that about 170 German Islamists have traveled to Syria for jihad, and warned that 50 have gone to Syria in recent months.

EGYPT: The Youth Movement of Tawhid and Jihad in Egypt in a recent statement declared war on the US and said the Egyptian army is simply an arm of the US.

IRAQ: Al Qaeda in Iraq killed more than 70 people in a series of suicide attacks and bombings in Baghdad and Bayji.

EAGLE CAM: Let's go to the in-flight video.

POISON-PROOF RATS are discovered in Sweden.

850 SNAKES were found in a raid on an animal control officer on disability. Authorities also say they found a few tarantulas and a couple of freezers with frozen mice and alligator carcasses.

A YOUNG HORSE, left alone on a farm in New Brunswick while his pals were away for training, found mischief that made him news this week when he climbed onto his owners' roof.