THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

... with THE BYRDS!  a rare 1965 clip of their breakthrough smash cover of "Mr. Tambourine Man"  There are more screaming girls, plus go-go dancers when they hit Shivaree for "Feel A Whole Lot Better."  There are even more dancers when they cover Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" for Shindig! on June 23, 1965, while I'm pretty sure that's Ed Wynn introducing "Chimes of Freedom."  You might recognize the voice introducing "Bells Of Rhymney" from poolside in August 1965 and "It Won't Be Wrong" from a corral in January 1966 on Where The Action Is.  BONUS:  Want one in color?  Here's "Mr. Spaceman."

KEITH RICHARDS, LORD of the UNDEAD has, apparently, been "inundated" with requests from researchers seeking permission to poke around his carcass when he dies.

SNEAK PREVIEWS:  New tracks from My Morning Jacket, Shearwater, Feet Foxes, Cloud Cult and more are featured in the latest edition of All Songs Considered.

THE GUTTER TWINS:  Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan talk to Pitchfork; Dulli drank iced tea and Lanegan watched the Bulls play the Celtics on TV (on mute).

DOMINIQUE LEON writes for Pitchfork, but you can download or stream some of techno takes on Brian Wilson and Harry Nilsson-inflected pop at Stereogum and the 'Gum Mix.

THE BLACK HOLLIES have anew album, but it's the garagey "Tell Me What You Want" that most folks have heard, thanks to the fine folks at Dell Computers.

THE B-52s get a segment and songs on NPR's All Things Considered.

JOHN VANDERSLICE talks to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about influences from Bob Dylan to Lil' Wayne. He also gives a Spring-themed playlist to the Riverfront Times.  (Thx, LHB.)

OKKERVIL RIVER frontman Will Sheff tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette why he has mixed feelings about being labeled as "lit-rock."

THE TOP TEN WORST HAIRSTYLES IN MUSIC, courtesy of MuchMusic.

CUTOUT BIN:  From The Clash to Jackie DeShannon, from The Feelies to Funkadelic, from The Individuals to INXS to the good, the bad and the ugly form the 80s, this expanded edition of Friday's fortuitous finds can be jukeboxed or streamed individually on the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NATALIE PORTMAN & DEVENDRA BANHART have been caught canoodling as she prepares to appear in the freak-folker's next music video.  You can find the money shot at People magazine.

NOW SHOWING:  This weekend's wide releases are the unscreened horror flick Prom Night; the Keanu Reeves crime drama Street Kings, which is currently scoring 28 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and the derk comedy Smart People, which is scoring 45 percent.

ASHLEE SIMPSON & PETE WENTZ are engaged.  The Fall Out Boy asked creepy dad-manager Joe for permission to propose; pneumatic sister Jessica "couldn't be happier."  All just in time for the release of Aslee's new album

BRITNEY SPEARS was so touched by the American Idol Gives Back show on Wednesday she donated 25K to the cause.  And now Moby claims he would wed the Toxic singer in a heartbeat: "The fatter she gets, the weirder she gets, the more I love her."

SCARLETT JOHANSSON & RYAN REYNOLDS had a bit of a lovers' spat in Boston's Financial District the other day.  Word is, the couple is going through "a rough patch," because Reynolds wants to tie the knot, but Scar-Jo is younger and very focused on her career.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY & SIENNA MILLER will première their steamy ménage a trois movie at the Edinburgh Film Festival.

PENELOPE CRUZ & JAVIER BARDEM are to marry later this year, according to the ever-reliable National Enquirer.

WHITNEY HOUSTON's 27-year-old lover Ray-J written a song dissing her ex Bobby Brown and detailing his sex life with the diva.

INDIANA JONES and the Legion of Fans gets a story and video at USA Today.

MISCHA BARTON was sentenced to three years of unsupervised probation in a Beverly Hills courtroom Thursday in her DUI case.  Which is as good an excuse as any to link to new bikini pics at Egotastic.  Call it Gratuitous Friday.

MILA KUNIS talks about David Bowie, Chuck Norris and Forgetting Sarah Marshall with Complex magazine.  Photo gallery and video at the link.  Call it Doubly-gratuitous Friday.

ZOMBIE COMPUTERS are the most vexing net threat today, according to law enforcement and security professionals.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE OIL:  An area of shale and other rock in North Dakota and Montana is estimated to hold the largest potential oil resources in the 48 contiguous states, according to an assessment released Thursday by the United States Geological Survey.  The area, known as the Bakken Formation, might contain 3 billion to 4.3 billion barrels of oil that could be extracted using current technology, the survey said.

IRAQ:  Voices of Iraq quotes a leading figure in the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, Jalal el-Din al-Saghier, as saying that dissolving the Mahdi Army is Moqtada al-Sadr's responsibility, and that top Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called on the Mahdi Army to disarm.  The Jonestown Foundation breaks down the Shiite factions and Iran's Role in the Basra fighting.  The struggle for control of Sadr City has become a testing ground for the Iraqi military, which has been thrust into the lead.  Michael Yon wishes there were more US troops to patrol Niveneh province.

A CHEEKY GIBBON taunts two tigers, and has to hustle when he loses his grip!

MAN'S BEST FRIEND:  I refer, of course, to the giant snail.

AN INJURED BABY ZEBRA was rescued along I-75 outside Atlanta, GA.

ANIMAL HOARDING:  Authorities say a woman has been found living with hundreds of rats and four malnourished snakes in a home outside Rochester, WA.  It seems like everyone missed the obvious solution.

THE SWARM:  About 100 police officers in Mexico were forced to bolt from an open-air firing range when they were attacked - and stung - by swarming killer bees.