THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with the MUSIC of LENNON & McCARTNEY! Both Beatles and non-Beatles tunes, as interpreted in different languages and in styles from pop to jazz to classical for this 1965 TV special. John and Paul introduce some of the segments, which include Sir George Martin, Peter & Gordon, Lulu, Marianne Faithfull, Dick Rivers, Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas, Cilla Black, Henry Mancini, Esther Phillips, Peter Sellers... and yeah, yeah, yeah, The Beatles.  (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7.)  BONUS:  If you missed it lasttime I posted it, I recommend The Beatnix playing "Stairway To Heaven."

SHE & HIM:  Zooey Deschanel & M Ward dropped an advance track, "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?", to stream or downoad via the 'Gum.  Has a bit of a retro feel, but without the obvious chliches.

JOE HENRY:  The singer-songwriter talks mostly about his production work with the Detroit Free Press.

SCOTLAND YARD GOSPEL CHOIR -- which is jangly and sorta twee, not gospel -- stopped by KEXP for a chat and mini-set which you can stream (or just the music) via NPR.

ROLLING STONES:  A similarly named magazine is showing some of Ethan Russell's fab photos from the band's late 1969 tour (that would end in the ill-fated Altamont festival), plus two vintage stories about the tour and tragedy.

THE RAVEONETTES:  The brand spankin' new video for "Candy" is kinda cheap, but the song makes up for it.  I'm thinking the burlesque dancers are from the tour Ken King and I saw for the last album.

CAT POWER:  Chan Marshall's Jukebox debuted at No. 12 on Billboard's Top 200 Album Chart -- not only her best ever, but the best debut in the 20 year history of Matador Records.  She has a new website for the album, which is streaming music via the ol' HM!

THE EDITORS stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set you can stream on demand via MPR.

VAMPIRE WEEKEND:  Rostam Batmanglij lists a few of his favorite things -- including Tchaikovsky's deep cuts -- for Pitchfork's "Guest List" feature.

CUTOUT BIN: From Jack Black to Patsy Cline, from the Staple Singers to the Replacements, from the Ramones to Roy Orbison, this Friday's fortuitous finds overfloweth and can be jukeboxed or streamed individually on the Pate page at the ol' HM.

BRITNEY SPEARS reportedly has been classified at UCLA as "Gravely Disabled," meaning the patient is unable to take care of basic needs; it is a possible basis for involuntary commitment.  Her inner circle, including her estranged mother Lynne, chose to admit her to the UCLA Medical Center because of its experience with treating bipolar disorder.  TMZ claims that when admitted, the pop wreck said she was on Adderall, a stimulant used to treat Attention Deficit Disorder, and was taking up to ten laxatives a day.  For a time, she was hurling profanities at her parents and staff.  The ever-reliable National Enquirer claims Spears had been on a 24-hour meth binge before she was rushed to the hospital.  Sources tell PageSIx that Spears' legal team has been instructed by the pop tart's family not to talk to Sam Lutfi.  Mama Lynne feels that the biggest problem facing Britney's recovery is the circle of friends she's become involved with and desperately wants to take her daughter home to Louisiana  as soon as she's released from the hospital.

JUSTIN CHAMBERS, who plays Dr. Alex Karev on "Grey's Anatomy," checked himself in to the psych ward at UCLA Medical Center this week.  It's becoming the "in" spot in Tinseltown.  Co-star Katherine Heigl found out from a swarm of paparazzi.  Video at the link.

HEATH LEDGER:  Apparently bowing to pressure from celebrities and Hollywood publicists, Entertainment Tonight and The Insider have decided not to broadcast more footage from a video which shows the late Heath Ledger talking about his use of marijuana at a drug-fuelled Hollywood party, but it is of course posted on the Internet.

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE cheated on Jessica Biel with Kate Hudson, according to the ever-reliable Star magazine.

NOW SHOWING:  This weekend's wide releases are Jessica Alba's horror-thriller The Eye, for which advance reviews were embargoed (I'm guessing they won't be stellar); the fantasy-comedy Over Her Dead Body, which is currently scoring 19 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and the comedy Strange Wilderness, which wasn't screened for critics at all.  There Will Be Blood expands to wide releasse, with its 90 percent score.

CLOVERFIELD director Matt Reeves is in early talks with Paramount to direct a "Cloverfield" sequel, and he has also made a deal with GreeneStreet Films to direct "The Invisible Woman."

BE KIND, REWIND involves Mos Def and Jack Black re-creating movies on erased videotapes, so it's only fair that director Michel Gondry returns the favor by re-creating the official trailer for the movie.

MARY LYNN RAJSKUB, who plays computer whiz Chloe O'Brian on Fox's 24, is pregnant: "With the strike going on, I had to keep busy!"

ETHAN HAWKE is about to become a father again, this time with Ryan Shawhughes, described as the former nanny to his children by Uma Thurman.

CHUCK and SAMANTHA WHO?  Zachary Levi and Christina Applegate, stars of the shows just mentioned, were... wait for it... caught canoodling in a dark dive named Ye Olde Coach & Horses in L.A.  Bonus points to Metromix for actually using the word "canoodling."

FARRAH FAWCETT apparently has lots of cancer.

INDIANA JONES IV:  Empire magazine has a new exclusve still from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, along with comments from producer Frank Marshall.

TUBE THRILLER:  A gueriila perfomance of the Jacko classic breaks out on the London Underground.  Pretty good, though it's hard to top those Filipino inmates.

DOUBLE-DIPPING:  Just in time for Superbowl parties, the New York Times examines the potential health risks of the Seinfeldian phenomenon.

ABU LAITH al-LIBI, considered by some as the third-ranking terrorist in al Qaeda and fourth in the world, has been snuffed in Pakistan, most likely by your friendly neighborhood Predator drone.

THE MILITARY and the MEDIA:  The Washington Post runs with a story reporting that the Army reached an all-time high of 17.5 suicides per 100,000 active-duty soldiers in 2006.  The story fails to mention that the national suicide average is 21.5 per 100,000 for males ages 20 to 34.  Oddly enough, the Hartford Courant did the same basic story, with the same basic omission, last year.  I applaud the Army's efforts to get a handle on the rise in suicides -- a trend contrary to past periods of combat.  I do not applaud newspapers who fail to note how remarkable the troops are with regard to their peers in the civilian sector.

FLOCKE: Knut's successor as official cuddly polar bear cub learns to crawl at the Nuremburg Zoo.

WHEN OWLS ATTACK:  Captured on surveillance video.

PET HOARDING:  A new case in Virginia Beach, VA includes not only more than 100 live ferrets, but also 89 frozen ferret carcasses.

DEER busted for breaking and entering in Parker City, IN.  In a bizarre coincidence, the home's owner lives in Virginia Beach, VA.

A RABBIT and an EAGLE have become unlikely best friends in China.  Pic at the link; the bunny seems to be a little uneasy, if you ask me.