THE FEELIES joined YO LA TENGO on the Velvet Underground's "Sister Ray" during YLT's annual Hannukah run at Maxwell's. (Thx, Ken King.)

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

JOEY KNEISER is streaming Midnight For The Graveyard Heart.

LEAGUES: The Nashville trio features two unreleased songs from World Cafe Next.

10 R.E.M. COVERS, rounded up by Largehearted Boy.

GLAM CHOPS: Art Brut's Eddie Argos has a "Countdown to Christmas."

TRACEY THORN talks to the Daily Swarm about her Christmas LP, Everything But The Girl, X Factor, and more.

SHE'S WITH THE BAND: Quotations from Pamela Des Barres.

GEORGE CLINTON was ordered to transfer his copyrights in certain songs to court appointed receiver.

THE 10 BEST PRETENDERS SONGS, according to Stereogum.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey tops the chart with 84.8 million, which is a December record.  Nevertheless, it may earn less than Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, and cost more to make (250-70 million). No one will have to hold a garage sale for Peter Jackson, but he may want to consider tightening up the next two installments (more on that below. Rise of the Guardians, capturing what's left of the family market is a distant second with 7.4 million, with Lincoln a close third at 7.2 million (financially, Rise will be lucky to push worldwide, while Lincoln is easily profitable).  Skyfall takes the biggest Hobbit hit, dropping from first to fourth with 7 million.  Life of Pi hangs in to round out the Top 5 (again) with 5.4 million.  Overall, the box office is way up over both last weekend, and the same weekend last year.

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY is a movie that just can't win... at least with a lot of the top film critics.  By expanding a single book into three movies, Peter Jackson simultaneously pits slimmer material against the more epic LotR trilogy and invites everyone to recall their discomfort with the multiple endings of LotR: Return of the King.  Is this first Hobbit "too long"? It is slowly paced -- particularly in the first two acts -- but I never felt bored or that the film dragged, particularly given the amount of exposition and character introduction required.  Perhaps my age is showing, but if I'm paying as much as I am for a movie (particularly with the tech premium for 3-D, 48 fps), I am going with the mindset that if Jackson wants to ramble a bit and dip into secondary material to enrich what is going to be a 7+ hour story, I'm not going to get impatient about it.  I suppose it may be an issue for younger viewers.  I will say that, like some others, the 3-D 48 fps presentation (48 frames per second as compared to the typical 24 frames for film or 30 for video) was occasionally disconcerting and strangely reminiscent of videogame action, so choose your presentation wisely.  In short, I might not have made the upfront choices Jackson made, but I found his execution of them entertaining and unworthy of the harsh words some have had for the effort.

LINDSAY LOHAN sent a belated “thank you” card and flowers to Charlie Sheen for that 100k check he gave her. She reportedly admits her life has gone off the rails and she desperately needs professional help.  Meanwhile, a strip club may save her storage locker.

AMANDA BYNES's lawyer convinced the judge to throw out two criminal charges against the actress.  A decidedly unhappy city attorney intends to continue a DUI case against her.

RUSSELL CROWE revealed he is determined to bring his family back together and lashed out at 'false and cruel' reports surrounding his love life.

MATT. DAMON. opens up about those ol' gay rumors about him and Ben Afflleck.

MARISA MILLER and her husband, music producer Griffin Guess are parents after welcoming their first child on Thursday.

DONALD FAISON married CaCee Cobb, Jessica Simpson's former personal assistant.

KRISTEN STEWART: I rarely do fashion stories but get a load of this.

SYRIA: Rebel forces made gains in the northern area of Aleppo. Government troops assaulted a rebel-held area southwest of Damascus. US officials said Syrian government forces had loaded dozens of bombs and shells with chemical weapons.

EGYPTIANS went to the polls to vote for a new constitution. New Islamist groups are emerging in Alexandria, including Hazemoun, the Third Islamist Current, and the Salafi Front.

AFGHANISTAN: President Karzai said US and NATO troops should withdraw from Afghan villages as soon as possible.

A CAT politely asks for attention.

CHEETAHS from the Houston Zoo work out at the Sam Houston Race Park.

SQUABBLING BLACK SWANS reconcile in Regent's Park.

A MUZZLED DOG alerted humans to animals in distress by honking the car horn.