THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with T.REX!  Been a while since I featured Marc Bolan & Co, so here's a few items off the beaten path, like this working version of "Get It On (Bang A Gong)," which is a little nsfw toward the end.  French TV is the source for live clips of "Hot Love," "Cadillac," "Telegram Sam" and "Jeepster" circa 1972, as well as "Ride A White Swan" from 1970. The band's "Baby Strange" later found its way into Big Star's setlists.  Still, "20th Century Boy" may be my favorite track from the band. Wanna go deeper? Check out the documentary, The Story Of Marc Bolan & T.Rex.

J MASCIS is advance streaming Several Shades of Why.

THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART are advance streaming Belong.

THE JAYHAWKS palyed a session with bonus tracks at KEXP. Listening to this one now and digging it muchly.

DeVotchKa stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

STEVE RILEY & THE MAMOU PLAYBOYS played a Tiny Desk Concert at the offices of NPR.

MAC McCAUGHAN (Superchunk) covers Springsteen's "Bobby Jean."

TODD RUNDGREN: "Bang the Drum All Day." Because it's Friday.

COLOR ME OBSESSED: A Replacements documetary will feature commentary from members of Husker Du and Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn, make appearances, as do the Decemberists's Colin Meloy, Titus Andronicus' Patrick Stickles, Superchunk's Mac McCaughan and Jesse Malin. Trailer at the link.

BEADY EYE: Liam Gallagher and Gem Archer talks to The A.V. Club about the post-Oasis project.

THE DISMEMBERMENT PLAN: Travis Morrison talks to Glide about the band's reunion, reissues and future plans...

MARNIE STERN talks to Westword about guitar-tapping and songwriting.

CUTOUT BIN: From the Smiths to Stevie Wonder, from the Minutemen to Tom Jones, from the Hold Steady to the Chi-Lites, plus the Beatles, Art Brut, Rod Stewart, Boomtown Rats 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 the alien invasion flick Battle: Los Angeles, which is currently scoring 36 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; the animated alien invasion flick (of sorts) Mars Needs Moms, currently scoring 44 percent; and the reimagined Little Red Riding Hood, which is scoring 06 percent.

CHARLIE SHEEN: The LAPD and other law enforcement converged at Sheen's house in a pre-planned raid, because of a possible violation of the temporary restraining order obtained by Brooke Mueller; reportedly the alleged violation involves weapons.  Sheen tweeted that the situation was "all good." Earlier, Sheen filed a 100 million dollar lawsuit against Warner Bros. and Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre, not only demanding he get paid for the 8 scrapped episodes of the show, but also claiming to sue on behalf of the cast and crew. Sheen angered the production staff and crew of Two and a Half Men with his recent vitriolic attack on co-star Jon Cryer, according to RadarOnline, which may explain the half-apology Sheen delivered the other day. Parks and Recreation executive producer Michael Schur shot down the idea that Rob Lowe would be leaving the NBC comedy to replace Sheen on CBS, noting Lowe is under a multi-year contract. Kelly Preston is backing Sheen, despite the fact that he shot her in the arm during their engagement in 1990. In contrast, ex-wife Denise Richards wants to keep their son Sam away from Sheen this weekend. And for your moment of zen, watch Charlie Sheen's Winning Recipes. Tickets for his live tour go on sale this weekend.

LINDSAY LOHAN got more time to mull over a plea deal in her theft case which positively involves jail time. The judge is reportedly miffed that TMZ got that story.

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE & JESSICA BIEL are dunzo.

CHRISTINA AGUILERA got tipsy at Osteria Mozza three days after a wine-drenched feast there led to her public intoxication bust.

SCARLETT JOHANSSON & SEAN PENN have reunited, this time for a late, cozy dinner at Hollywood's celebrated Chateau Marmont.

RYAN REYNOLDS has his first post-ScarJo galpal.

TONY DANZA: Who's The Divorced?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY has joined the cast of Syfy's four-hour miniseries Neverland -- a live-action prequel to J.M. Barrie's classic Peter Pan -- as the voice of Tinker Bell.

CARS 2 has a new trailer online.

TERROR in the USA: Jamie Paulin Ramirez, a US citizen and accomplice of "Jihad Jane" Colleen LaRose, pled guilty in US federal court to a terrorism charge related to a plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist; LaRose pled guilty to similar charges last month. The two women had traveled overseas "to participate in and in support of violent jihad."

IRAN: The US State Department is concerned over reports of Chinese firms aiding Iran's nuclear weapons program.

OUR FRIENDS, THE SAUDIS opened fire on several hundred protesters marching in the city of Qatif.

LIBYA: France became the first country to formally recognize the Libyan opposition - the Interim Transitional National Council - as legitimate representatives of the Libyan people on Thursday. Heavy airstrikes have driven the rebels from the strategic oil town of Ras Lanuf. Gaddafi's forces appear to be gaining momentum, with vastly superior air power, weaponry, and cash reserves.

PAKISTAN: An anti-Taliban tribal leader threatened to stop supporting the government after a suicide attack in Peshawar. Some Pakistani drivers for NATO supplies have refused to ship materials to Afghanistan.

PUPPEH vs ICE CUBE: Who you got?

A WATCHGATOR guarding almost 2,300 marijuana plants valued at least 1.5 million was seized by Department of Justice agents.

ROGUE CHICKENS flock through a Phoenix neighborhood.

SERVICE SNAKE: A man from Shelton who uses a snake as a service animal traveled to Olympia, WA, on Tuesday to lobby against a bill that would narrow the definition of an aid animal.

A SEEING-EYE DOG for the seeing-eye dog.