Topic: Karl

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with A CHRISTMAS SHINDIG! The full episode has gone dark, but still-available clips from 1964 include The Beach Boys' "Dance, Dance, Dance," Bobby Sherman and Donna Loren singing "Keep on Searching," the Righteous Brothers doing "The Jerk" and an awesome milk commercial, Marvin Gaye with "How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You" and Adam Faith with "Watch Your Step," Donna Loren returning with a Spector-esque, but rougher "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," and The Beach Boys deliver a set including "Little Saint Nick," "Monster Mash" (yes, really) "Papa Oom Mow Mow," and "Johnny B. Goode." Lastly, we have Marvin Gaye with "Hitch Hike" and The Beach Boys on "We Three Kings."

THE DECEMBERISTS' Colin Meloy stopped by WFUV for a chat and mini-set.

M WARD stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session sans Zooey.

WE ARE THE WILLOWS stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

SONGS WE LOVE 2014 is a streaming mix at NPR.

THE JUILIANA HATFIELD THREE drops "If I Could" ahead of a reunion LP.

COURTNEY BARNETT & EVAN DANDO duet on his Lemonheads nugget, "Being Around."

BELLE & SEBASTIAN is profiled at length in The Guardian.

SMASHING PUMPKINS frontman Billy Corgan talks to Rolling Stone about losing his fanbase.

TEN BADASS ANTI-HOLIDAY TRACKS from the Houston Press. (Thx, LHB.)

THE 5 BEST TOM PETTY ALBUMS OF 2014 that Tom Petty did not release and had no involvement in whatsoever.

THE CUTOUT BIN takes another hiatus this week, as I'm just getting over a sinus infection. 98.6 as I write this, though. Whoo!

NOW SHOWING:This weekend's wide releases are Exodus: Gods and Kings, which is currently scoring 32 percent on the ol' Tomatometer (Ridley Scott, where's your Messiah now?); and Top Five, currently scoring 93 percent.

SCOTT RUDIN, bigtime movie producer, issued a public apology for the racially insensitive comments regarding President Obama that surfaced in an exchange of hacked private e-mails between him and Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman Amy Pascal.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY is expecting her first child with her husband, Klaxons singer James Righton.

BILL COSBY: Vanity Fair has published an article by one of his accusers, Beverly Johnson.

ZOOEY DESCHANEL is being sued because she allegedly broke a horse.

INSIDE OUT: The next Pixar pic has a trailer online.

INDONESIA: The new head of Indonesia's counterterrorism agency warned that the number of Indonesians joining the Islamic State has more than tripled since June, and said the total number of Indonesians who have joined the group in Iraq and Syria is about 514.

SYRIA's military and ISIS may be sworn enemies but instead of wiping each other off the battlefield they have been delicately dancing around each other.

BOKO HARAM: The Other Islamic State.

CHIHUAHUA vs GREAT DANE: Who you got?

THOUSANDS OF CROWS roosting at night in a western Ohio city's downtown have some residents comparing the landscape with the Alfred Hitchcock movie The Birds as they work to drive them away.

PACIFIC BARRELEYE: A deep-sea fish with tubular eyes and a transparent head.

CAT FANCY is dead; Long Live Catster (and Dogster).

KATE PIERSON trades Fred Schneider for Fred Armisen in "Mister Sister," the single from her upcoming solo debut.

NOISE TO THE WORLD 2, featuring tracks from Deer Tick, Dum Dum Girls, and more, is streaming.

ROBYN HITCHCOCK stopped by World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

BENJAMIN BOOKER plays the Rockwood Music Hall.

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

PATSY CLINE & FERLIN HUSKY: "Let It Snow!"

MY MORNING JACKET: Jim James talks to Rolling Stone about two new albums.

KATHLEEN EDWARDS talks to the Toronto Star about quitting music (for now, anywat) and opening a cafe named Quitters.

JOHNNY MARR talks to Willamette Week about Portland, beards, the theremin, and more.

NPR's 50 FAVE ALBUMS of 2014, with streaming tracks.

BILL COSBY: One of the women accusing the comic of sexual assault may have found a way around the statute of limitations.

TAYLOR SWIFT is secretly dating The 1975's Matt Healy.

KATE HUDSON was spotted making out with Derek Hough before she and Muse rocker Matt Bellamy publicly split.

FREIDA PINTO & DEV PATEL: The Slumdog Millionaire costars have called it quits on their relationship after almost six years.

EVANGELINE LILLY talks about about marching to her own drum in Hollywood.

THE SAG AWARDS nominations were announced.

LIBYA: The UN is expanding peace talks in Libya to include the rival government based in Tripoli, in addition to the internationally recognized government currently in Tobruk.

UNITES STATES Secretary of State John Kerry asked Congress for a green light to go after Islamic State affiliates anywhere in the world as debate on a new authorization for use of force got underway Tuesday.

THE ISLAMIC STATE has executed several of its own militants, including the group’s top official in Mosul, on charges of espionage, Kurdish sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Tuesday.

A YELLOW LABRADOR opens the fridge.

A TURQUOISE CAT has been turning heads on the streets of a Bulgarian seaside resort.

...AND THERE WERE CALVES all over the Turnpike.

A SHEEP wearing a festive red-and-green sweater who was found wandering around Omaha has been reunited with his owner.

OFF! dropped a video for “Over Our Heads” featuring Jack Black, skydiving, LSD, gore, a grizzly bear, and more...

EX HEX performs in the WNYC Soundcheck studio.

STRAND OF OAKS performs on Soundcheck in the Greene Space at WNYC.

CHARLI XCX is streaming Sucker via iTunes.

THE RED AUNTS stream their deluxe greatest hits compilation, Come Up For A Closer Look.

OF MONTREAL drops “Bassem Sabry” ahead of Aureate Gloom.

DENT MAY drops "I'll Be Stoned For Christmas."

SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS: “Ain’t No Chimneys In The Projects.”

JACK WHITE launched his own virtual reality app.

JOANNA NEWSOM talks about her side gig in Paul Thomas Anderson's big-screen adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s 2009 novel Inherent Vice.

THE PIXIES: The A.V. Club looks at Doolittle, 25 years later. Get Off My Lawn.

THE TOP 50 ALBUMS of 2014, according to SPIN.

CHARLIE SHEEN settled his latest custody war with Brooke Mueller, who accused him of drunken visitations with his kids and excessive corporal punishment.

RAPPER EARL HAYES & VH1 STAR STEPHANIE MOSELEY are dead in an apparent murder-suicide. Reportedly, Floyd Mayweather witnessed it via FaceTime.

PRINCE WILLIAM & KATE & BEYONCE & JAY-Z: Paparazzi Apocalypse.

CAM NEWTON: The Carolina Panthers QB suffered two “transverse fractures” in his lower back following a car wreck and will remain in the hospital overnight, according to the Carolina Panthers.

CHRISTIAN BALE meant no disrespect to George Clooney when he publicly advised him to stop whining.

JOAQUIN PHOENIX is engaged to his yoga instructor.

NICOLE KIDMAN talks to Elle about babies, breakups, and life with Keith Urban.

IRAQ's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi pressed outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Tuesday for more air strikes and weaponry to accelerate what he called the "descent" of Islamic State.

IRAN: The US has privately accused Iran of going on an international shopping spree to acquire components for a heavy-water reactor that American officials have long feared could be used in the production of nuclear weapons-grade plutonium.

A DOG comforts a friend having a bad dream.

DONKEYS enjoy a beer as much as the next guy.

ROGUE SHEEP on the lam in Ypsilanti, MI.

FRANKENLOUIE, the world's oldest two-faced cat, has died at the age of 15.

SEAN ROWE covers Richard Thompson's classic "1952 Vincent Black Lightning," live in Troy, NY.

RYAN ADAMS and his band performed an extensive set for WFUV at the legendary Electric Lady Studios in the West Village.

REAL ESTATE joined Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

TOM WAITS: Nighthawks on the Radio (1976) has been re-upped.

JASON MOLINA: North Star Blues Session (2003) has been re-upped.

THE RAMONES: "Merry Christmas (I Don't Wanna Fight Tonight)."

THE WRENS finally finish their album, after a harrowing trip to the ICU with near-death pneumonia.

PRINCE: Author Alan Light tells the Purple Rain story on All Things Considered.

PARLIAMENT: George Clinton goes into detail about partying with Sly Stone, encountering zombies and recording some of the funkiest records of all time.

BRADFORD COX: The Deerhunter frontman has been hospitalized after a car accident and is currently in a hospital in his home state of Georgia.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Mockingjay Part 1 remains atop the chart with 21.6 million in the traditionally slow post-Thanksgiving weekend.This third film continues to lag the second, but at 560.5 million worldwide, it's profitable marketing for the big finale (at least,if it follows the Harry Potter trajectory).  Penguins of Madagascar shows again with 11.1 million on a 56 percent drop. Although this franchise does well worldwide, it's getting hard to see how this one profits before the home market.  Horrible Bosses 2 climbs two notches to show with 8.6 million, though that's a 44 percent drop from its opening -- usually not a great hold for a comedy, but probably alright for this weekend.  Big Hero 6 slides to the fourth slot with 8.1 million on a 57 percent drop that shows how much this weekend hits family movies; having recouped its production budget domestically, it stands a good chance of profiting in Asian and European markets later this month.  Interstellar rounds out the Top 5 with 8 million on a 49 percent drop; this one is likely well into the black at 593 million in worldwider receipts.

THE GRAMMY nominations are announced. Not exactly a banner year, but then I'll be less disappointed when the winners are announced.

BILL COSBY will likely face investigation by the LAPD.

MILEY CYRUS & PARIS HILTON made out in front of Miley's new boyfriend.

MEGAN FOX & BRIAN AUSTIN GREEN escaped unharmed from an accident with a drunk driver.

EMILY DESCHANEL is pregnant and expecting her second child with husband David Hornsby.

AMANDA PEET gave birth to a baby boy on Sunday, her third child with husband David Benioff.

THE UNITED STATES  released six Guantanamo detainees to Uruguay, including Jihad Ahmed Mujstafa Diyab, who had been assessed a "high-risk" detainee with extensive connections to al Qaeda's global network. The US handed over Latif Mehsud and two others detained by US forces in Afghanistan in 2013 to Pakistani authorities. US officials said the unsuccessful raid to rescue US hostage Luke Somers and Pierre Korkie, a South African, from AQAP in Yemen was undertaken after receiving intelligence that the two men were about to be executed.

FRANCE: Nabil Ouerfelli and Yasmine Znaidi, two leaders of the Paris and Gaza-based Islamic charity Pearl of Hope, have been charged with financing terrorism, and the charity has been shut down.

SYRIA: The Associated Press has a five-part look at the embattled city of Kobani.

A PYGMY GOAT acts like a puppy dog.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: Much of the Tampa campus at University of South Florida was without electricity Thursday morning, the work of a militant squirrel.

MICE implanted with human brain cells become smarter.

COWS ON THE LAM in Red Wing, MN.

IAN McLAGAN, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, keyboardist for the Faces and Small Faces, Rod Stewart and the Rolling Stones (to name but a few), has passed away in Austin TX at 69. The Rolling Stone obit embeds classics "Stay With me" and "Itchyco Park," but I'll throw in "Tin Soldier" as a bonus tribute track. BOUNUS: His recent session at The Current.

JAMES gives KEXP listeners a live performance from The Cutting Room Studios in New York City.

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

THE SUN RA ARKESTRA plays a Tiny Desk Concert at the offices of NPR. 

JUKEBOX THE GHOST stopped by World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

ARIEL PINK isn't a misogynist but a nymphomaniac, according to his cal Arts schoolmate John Maus.

CAKE's one-time drummer Peter Ivan McNea has been sentenced to 15-years-to-life in state prison for molesting a three-year-old girl at a Thanksgiving 2009 party.

DAVID BOWIE: Ten of the Best.

ROUGH TRADE'S Top 100 Albums of the Year.

LINDSAY LOHAN is launching a clothing line, named...wait for it...My Addiction.

JIMMY FALLON and wife Nancy welcomed their second child on Wednesday.  He's also Entertainment Weekly's Entertainer of the Year.

ARNIE HAMMER is a first-time father after welcoming a daughter with his wife, journalist Elizabeth Chambers Hammer.

EVA MENDES stopped by The Ellen DeGeneres Showto talk about her new daughter and parenthood with her man Ryan Gosling.

MARIAH CAREY  was so consumed with divorce talk Tuesday evening that she blew off her scheduled taped performance for the Rockefeller Center tree lighting ceremony... but she was to perform live Wednesday night.

ANNIE LENNOX questioned Mdonna's topless photoshoot for Interview magazine. Did she just now realize Madge is "attention seeking"?

CENTCOM reported that since Dec. 1, the US has carried out 14 airstrikes in Syria against the Islamic State, and that the US and partner nations carried out 11 airstrikes against the group in Iraq. Secretary of State Kerry refused to confirm reports that Iranian airstrikes had targeted the Islamic State in Iraq and added that the US is not coordinating militarily with Iran, but said that the net effect of such strikes could be positive.

IRANIAN jets helped Iraqi and allied forces, including Kurdish fighters and Shiite militiamen, chase Islamic State fighters from the two towns in Diyala in late November.

NATO and AFGHANISTAN on Tuesday formally launched the new training and advisory mission that will take over from departing alliance combat troops on Jan. 1.

SOPHIA the RHODESIAN RIDGEBACK: From 2 months to 3 years in 23 seconds.

RATS offer clues to why men like lingerie. It's Science!

SNAIL SLIME: The secret to youthful-looking skin.

BLADE the TORTOISE was fitted with a set of Lego wheels after losing the use of his legs.