THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with THE B-52s!  The quirky combo from Athens, GA, has had a long and storied career, but we'll stick to the early stuff this weekend.  So, from the self-titled debut, classics "Planet Claire," "Rock Lobster,"  "Lava," and "Dance This Mess Around." And from the sophomore LP, Wild Planet, "Party Out of Bounds," "Give Me Back My Man", "Private Idaho" and "Dirty Back Road."  BONUS: "Song For A Future Generation," because it's the first song I heard them play live. DOUBLE BONUS: "Deadbeat Club," because get off my lawn.

THE RAVEONETTES are advance streaming Observator.

HELVETIA is advance streaming Nothing In Rambling.

RYAN SHAW showcased songs from his new album at World Cafe Live. But he also sang my fave, "Do the 45."

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED considers the most important band of your college years, maybe.

CAT POWER dropped a Sun bonus track, "Fire."

EARTH WIND & FIRE: The fish, the barrel, the smoking gun.

LED ZEPPELIN: Barney Hoskyns, the author of a new oral history of the band, has a longread at The Guardian on how they became the biggest cult rock music has ever seen.

THE XX have kept their lives out of the spotlight. But for how much longer?

DIVINE FITS: Britt Daniel and Dan Boeckner talk to The Globe and Mail about collaboraion, influences and more.

DAVID BOWIE: PopMatters excerpts The Man Who Sold the World: David Bowie and the 1970s.

CUTOUT BIN: From Hall & Oates to the Jesus & Mary Chain, from the Bar-Kays to Marshall Crenshaw, from the Flamin' Groovies to Tears For Fears, plus REM, David Bowie, Sugar, Al Stewart 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 The Words, which is currently scoring 17 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and The Cold Light of Day, currently scoring 8 percent. Must be September!

TOM CRUISE: Scientologists reportedly turned Isabella and Connor Cruise against Nicole Kidman.

AMY POEHLER & WILL ARNETT are separating after nine years of marriage.

AMANDA BYNES can no longer drive the streets of Los Angeles because her driver's license has been suspended, according to records from the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

BRITNEY SPEARS scares NBC, according to Simon Cowell.

KELSEY GRAMMER will fork over roughly 30 million in his divorce.

ALEC BALDWIN 2.0?

JAMES FRANCO may have to shell out another arm and a leg following a lawsuit filed by his former NYU film instructor.

THE GULF: The rise of the Muslim Brotherhood and its ideological affiliates in the Arab Spring uprisings has stoked fears among Gulf Arab governments that the United States may one day abandon its traditional allies as it warms up to Islamists.

EGYPT: In his first foreign policy speech, Pres. Morsi called on Syrian president Assad to step down and warned Iran against interfering in Arab affairs.

AFGHANISTAN: After the formal transfer of Afghan detention operations on Sept. 9, the US military will continue to oversee detention of non-Afghan prisoners at Bagram Air Base, and will still be involved in the screening of newly captured Afghan detainees.

A KOALA hitches a boat ride.

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF RATS killed by Hurricane Isaac have washed up onto the beaches of Mississippi and created a foul-smelling mess that officials say will take days to clean up.

A NEWLY-ADOPTED DOBERMAN turned out to be pregnant. Very pregnant.

A FAT CAT became too demanding for kidnappers. Rename him Red Chief.