THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

... with THE HOLLIES!  Improbably live in Split, Croatia, circa 1968 -- just months before Graham Nash left the band.  Your set list includes "Stewball," "On A Carousel," "Dang Me," "Very Last Day," "Do The Best You Can," "A Taste Of Honey," "Jennifer Eccles," and "Carrie Anne."

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

SONNY & THE SUNSETS did six free songs for Daytrotter. Recommended.

PAVEMENT: Live at Mississippi Nights, October 14, 1999.

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

SEU JORGE is advance streaming Seu George and Almaz.

DEE-LITE finds that "Groove Is In the Heart," with a little help from Bootsy Collins and Q-Tip.

WOLF PARADE: Dante DeCaro sounds off to Straight.com on the things that enquiring minds want to know.

SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS: Benjamin Curtis talks to New York magazine about bonding with rock stars, working with twins, and how Brian Eno saved their record.

10 PARTY SONGS Gawker never wants to hear again.

CUTOUT BIN: From the Jam to the Jags, from Ray Charles to Gang of Four, from Martha & the Muffins to Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes, plus Pavement, Social Distortion, Red Rider, Big Star, the Jackson 5 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 Salt, currently scoring 57 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and Ramona and Beezus, which is scoring 52 percent.

MAD MEL UPDATE: A text message from Gibson to Grigorieva in which he admitted, "Oksana, I wasn't safe for you last night," is a key part of the explosive domestic violence investigation into their January 6 bust-up.  Another text message may figure into Gibson's claim of extortion.

BRADGELINA collect an undisclosed sum of cash from the uber-reliable News of the World, which falsely reported that Jolie and Pitt were legally separating and had negotiated custody arrangements. ALSO: Pitt will star in "World War Z," which chronicles a worldwide zombie outbreak through the first-hand accounts of survivors.

LINDSAY LOHAN did an interview and photoshoot for the October issue of Vanity Fair just before going to jail.

JEREMY LONDON's troubled wife  has been released from a Los Angeles hospital after she suffered a brain hemorrhage.

ROMANTIC COMEDIES are ruining relationships.

TRON: LEGACY has a new trailer online, with more Olivia Wilde added.

XERXES: Zach Snyder is working on a screenplay for Frank Miller's coming sequel to "300."

PAKISTAN: Days after India-Pakistan talks broke down on the issue of terror, the US pointed out links between the Taliban and Pakistani spy agency ISI and assured India that its role in Afghanistan was "not being diminished" to the advantage of Islamabad.

AFGHANISTAN: The threat of plunder.

TORTOISE humps a plastic bag. The audio is key.

CARELESS BEAVER floods the highway. Hey, nice beaver!

HEFTY MARMOTS: Blame global warming.

BEDBUGS: Listen All Of Y'all This Is Sabotage.

AUTOMATIC COW WASH aims to boost milk production. Sing it with feeling, y'all.