THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with THE LOVIN' SPOONFUL! The obligatory "Summer in the City" because it's June, of course.  But let's do the other big hits: "Daydream," "Do You Believe in Magic," and "You Didn't Have To Be So Nice."  Also, the band gets some orchestral backing on "Darlin' Be Home Soon," which is lesser-known today, but which reached No. 15 on the Billboard charts in 1967.

BOB MOULD stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

JESSICA LEA MAYFIELD stopped by World Cafe for a mini-set.

LEE FIELDS & THE EXPRESSIONS stopped by WFUV's Studio A to perform some of their new songs.

WARREN HAYES (The Allman Brothers Band, Gov't Mule) performs in the WNYC Soundcheck studio.

DAVE SITEK (TV on the Radio) drops "God D**n Beauty" as a solo single.

OPERATORS, the new wave project featuring Divine Fits members Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs) and Sam Brown (New Bomb Turks, etc.) plus Devojka, drops "True."

CASTANETS: Raymond Raposa drops  “Out For The West,” the lead single from the upcoming Decimation Blues.

STEVE PERRY rejoins THE EELS for more Journey tunes, an Eels tune, and a Sam Cooke tune. Sounds better this time, esp. on "Lights."

PARQUET COURTS: Ptichfork spent two days on the road with a band the writer later describes to his cab driver as “punky and a little weird.”

THE RAMONES' debut album goes Gold after 40 years.

LANA DEL REY: "I wish I was dead already."

JEFF BECK turns 70; Rock's Backpages has a profile from 1973. 

CUTOUT BIN: From The Who to Camera Obscura, from Issac hayes to Arctic Monkeys, from the Replacements to Howard Jones, plus Eels, the Psychedelic Furs, the Rolling Stones, The Cars 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: How to Train Your Dragon 2, which is currently scoring 92 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and 22 Jump Street, which is scoring 87 percent. Both sequels are projected to open in the mid-60 millions..

HARRISON FORD was injured by the door of the Millennium Falcon on the set of Star Wars: Episode VII. Obligatory.

THE KIM KARDASHIAN & KANYE WEST wedding album.

JUSTIN BIEBER is off the hook for a felony in an attempted robbery investigation.

ROBIN THICKE names his next album after his estranged wife, Paula Patton.

RUBY DEE, who personified grace, grit and progress at a time when African-American women were given little space in movies and on stage, died Wednesday in New Rochelle, N.Y. She was 91.

UKRAINE: Three Russian tanks and other military vehicles crossed the border on Thursday, prompting a skirmish between Ukrainian and Russian forces, acting Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said.

IRAN: Five weeks before a deadline to broker limits on Iran’s nuclear program, Iranian and American negotiators are far apart on crucial issues and digging in their heels.

IRAQ is falling apart; here are four things to know. Parliament in Baghdad has delayed voting on a request to grant the prime minister emergency powers as the north slips out of government control.The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham has set out a list of rules for residents of Mosul as it seeks to impose its Islamist rules on Iraq's second city. One is "Repent or Die." Females should only go outside "if necessary". With the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, an offshoot of al Qaeda, rapidly gaining territory, Iran deployed Revolutionary Guards units to Iraq, according to Iranian security officials. ISIS is currently trying to take a power plant in Baiji that powers much of Baghdad.  President Obama said Iraq is going to need help due to the jihadist advance, and that his team is working to determine the most effective aid to offer. The White House has refused previous Iraqi requests for American airstrikes against Iraqi insurgents. The US has been flying reconnaissance drones over Iraq since last year. US officials are now considering options including US airstrikes, intelligence sharing, stepped up provision of military equipment, and enhanced training of Iraqi and Kurdish forces. Officials said US ground troops would not be deployed in Iraq.

DEAR KITTEN: It's a Friskies ad, but well played.

THE 100000 COCKROACHES are her children.

A FROG's tongue can lift three times its body weight.

THIS LITTLE PIGGY ain't going to market.