THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with THE BUZZCOCKS!  So many great songs... but they're short, so let's have more than usual.  Start with "What Do I Get?" live at Manchester's famed Electric Circus, followed by "Ever Fallen In Love?" plus "Love You More" and "I Don't Mind" from the Lesser Free Trade Hall.  Add "Everybody's Happy Nowadays" from German TV, along with "Sixteen Again" and "Nothing At All" from The Old Grey Whistle Test.  Finish by juxtaposing the promo clips for "Lipstick" and "Why She's the Girl From the Chainstore" with a recent -- and slightly censored -- live clip of "Orgasm Addict."

THE TOP 25 UNDER-APPRECIATED ARTISTS, according to Rolling Stone... and it's not a bad list at all, maybe because they got help from the blog's readers.  More than a few influences on Pate, too.

THE LONG WINTERS frontman John Roderick talks to the Salem Statesman Journal about a variety of topics including the post-grunge years in the Seattle music scene: "It was actually a really fertile time for music, '94-'98... The rest of the world didn't care about Seattle anymore, so musicians turned inward and played off each other."  There are still a bunch of Long Winters tracks to stream via the ol' HM right now, so you should do that.

EXENE CERVENKA talks to The A.V. Club about different types of songs and different types of audiences.

THE BROKEN WEST has a live mini-set streaming from the World Cafe via NPR.  David Dye thinks they may get his "Rookie of the Year."  I would say they are in the running.

CINCO DE MAYO is tomorrow, so here's your live Liz Phair and your Pee-Wee Herman, because you can never have "Too Much Tequila."  At least, not according to this public service announcement.

DEAN & BRITTA:  Dean Wareham, who may be more productive in a "funk" than most are at their peak, talked to Filter about coming out of that funk to record Back Numbers with wife Britta Phillips and legendary producer Tony Visconti.  Which is a good excuse to relink to the fab video for "Words You Used To Say."

BOB DYLAN has been singing to his grandson's kindergarten class just for fun. The kids tell their parents about the "weird man" who keeps coming to their class to sing "scary" songs on his guitar.

MY MORNING JACKET has a mix CD of nearly two dozen songs that it uses to get into the mood; Harp magazine has the tracklisting.

THE CUTOUT BIN:  This Friday's fortuitous finds from the ol' HM are:  Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's Free; The Ramones - Spiderman Theme; Hoodoo Gurus - Come Anytime; The Vapors - Turning Japanese; The Replacements - Can't Hardly Wait; Nick Lowe - Mary Provost; Eddie Cochran - Summertime Blues; James Brown - Night Train; Big Mama Thornton - Hound Dog; The Black Keys - 10AM Automatic; The Hives - Hate To Say I Told You So; The Crazy World of Arthur Brown - Fire; Donny & Marie - A Little Bit Country; Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Whatever Happened to My Rock and Roll?; Ted Nugent - Free-For-All; Rush - Working Man; Led Zeppelin - Immigrant Song; Ike & Tina Turner - Whole Lotta Love; Sly & The Family Stone - Stand!; and Rhythm Heritage - Theme From S.W.A.T.

SPIDER-MAN 3:  Although I usually joke about going to advance or midnight screenings solely as service to Pate visitors, I should say it's half-true in this case.  One of the reasons I started posting movie-related things here is that -- before this site existed -- I used to get e-mail, phone calls, etc. from my friends who have kids about whether they could see movies like the first Spider-Man, because and my friends knew that I would have already seen it.  I could at least tell them what got a film a PG-13 rating... so I'll update with a review when I get back from the midnight show.

...and I'm back.  As y'all are probably going to see it regardless of my opinion, I'll say it's my least favorite of the series.  Which doesn't mean it isn't good; it is good.  And I wouldn't even say it's a disappointment.  The word I would use is "overstuffed."  Not necessarily a bad thing; an overstuffed chair or couch can be quite comfy.  But in a Spider-Man movie, I think you want to spend a little more time on the edge of your seat.  In particular, it's thematically overstuffed.  The first movie was about Spidey's credo: "With great power comes great responsibility."  The sequel dealt with the temptation to abandon that responsibility.  This movie deals somewhat with the "power" (and fame) side of the equation, and its temptations -- and could have been great had it stuck to that theme.  But the story ultimately turns on another theme; a good theme, which could also have made a great movie.  Juggling both themes, however, ultimately costs the flick a bit in its pacing and character development.  And the humor occasionally strays too far toward camp, though I would have completely forgiven that if not for the overstuffing.  As for taking the kids, I would say the level and types of violence are similar the first one.  However, I'll put one spoiler in the "extended entry" to explain one twist that might matter; you can access that spoiler by clicking the "Read Full Article" link at the bottom of today's blurbs. Overall, I recommend Spidey 3, but more mildly than I would have liked.  BONUS:  PopMatters has "A Guide to All Things Spider-Man," with embedded video and such.

NOW SHOWING:  Aside from the third coming of the web-slinger, which is currently scoring 65 percent on the ol' Tomatometer (but only 48 percent among the "cream of the crop" critics) this weekend's sole wide release is Drew Barrymore and Eric Bana in the poker movie Lucky You, which is scoring a mere 35 percent.

PETE DOHERTY-KATE MOSS UPDATE:  The supposedly sober supermodel left London restaurant China Tang at 9.30pm, by didn't arrive home until midnight - staggering out of the car with specks of what looks like white powder down her jeans.  I have to think the troubled singer is going to be miffed that Moss copped a powdered donut without him.

BRITNEY SPEARS lip-synched her routine of older hits again in L.A., leading MSNBC's Michael Ventre to ask, "Who are these gullible fools who wait hours for 15 minutes of nothing?"

REESE & RYAN BREAK-UPDATE:  Witherspoon and co-star Jake Gyllenhaal were spotted giving each other an early-morning goodbye Monday after spending Sunday night together, according to the paps at X17.

BRADGELINA:  Despite tabloid break-up rumors, the couple shared a romantic meal in Prague the other night.  Jolie is there shooting the forthcoming action thriller Wanted.

DENISE & HEATHER & RICHIE & CHARLIE:  Former Melrose Place costars Heather Locklear and Jack Wagner are teeing up a hot romance, People reports in its new issue.

LINDSAY LOHAN just can't seem to stop partying -- and, unluckily for her, word on the street is that someone may have recorded her revelry with a cellphone video camera.

THE FRENCH HOTEL  is in big trouble, if the Los Angeles City Attorney has his way.  He wants the celebutard to spend 45 days in jail on a probation violation for allegedly driving on a suspended license.

DAVID HASSELHOFF is a man in crisis!  Extra has obtained recent video in which a shirtless and extremely intoxicated Hasselhoff sits on the floor in his residence in Las Vegas so out of it that he is unable to feed himself a hamburger.  Pics at the link, but no video... yet.  Which means I have to go straight to the Oooga-Chakkas.  UPDATE:  Extra has some Quicktime video up at that first link; there's also video at ET... which was shot by his 16-year-old daughter!

THE 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE, according to Time magazine does not include US Pres. George W. Bush, but does include conspiracy theorist Rosie O'Donnell, and Justin Timberlake.  Pres. Bush made the Top 100 in the reader's poll, though he's far below former American Idol contestant Sanjaya Malaker, U2 frontman Bono, gossip-blogger Perez Hilton, and graphic novelist Frank Miller.

ISLAMISM in the UK:  British intell service MI-5 and police are monitoring about 2,000 individuals who they say are actively involved in supporting al-Qaeda.  Some are thought to have direct links with al-Qaeda in Pakistan.

IRAQ:  The so-called "Islamic State of Iraq" has apparently issued a statement denying the claims of the death of its alleged leader, known as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, and admitting the death of its "official spokesman," a militant who was announced killed by the US.   The Iraqi government has sent a draft oil law to parliament -- a major step towards meeting one of the political benchmarks Washington has set for Baghdad -- but Sunni and (unexpected) Kurdish reservations could derail the bill.  The Bu-Fahed tribe, which had been one of al-Qaeda's staunchest supporters, has switched to join the Anbar Salvation Council, which is aligned with the Iraqi and US gov'ts.  The Karki and Shimouri tribes signed a peace agreement in Diyala province, promising to "consolidate and unify to battle all insurgents that penetrate among (their) tribes."  US and Iraqi forces took back the entire Tahrir neighborhood from al-Qaeda during a weeklong operation that wrapped up recently in Baquba, where Coalition forces had once been too undermanned to tackle AQ.

MYSTERY SERPENT:  It's not the Loch Ness Monster or the Creature from the Black Lagoon, but a seven-to-ten-foot-long creature recently caught on tape by a Florida diver does have scientists scratching their heads.  Video at the link.

SCIENTISTS believe they may have found a chink in the armour of the dreaded cane toad invading Australia en masse.  It's a parasite.

CASH FOR COCKROACHES:  The 25-cent-per-bug offer comes from the Houston Museum of Natural Science, which is trying to secure 1,000 live cockroaches for an updated insect display.

SNAKE on a BUS:  A four-foot snake was found on the Lafayette High School campus in Lousiana, wrapped around the mirror on a school bus just before classes let out.

COWS stare unamazed as they are rented for £80 per month in Eggerstanden, Switzerland.  Lessees may visit their cows as often as they want, milk them and receive a souvenir picture.