THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with THIN LIZZY!  Won't be long 'till Summer comes, now that Thin Lizzy is back in rotation.  Here's Phil Lynott & Co. live at the Sydney Opera House in 1978, playing "Jailbreak," "Bad Reputation," "Cowboy Song," "The Boys Are Back In Town," "Waiting For An Alibi," and "Are You Ready?"

BONNAROO: You can listen live to selected sets from this weekend's big fest at AT&T's Blueroom starting with the Drive-By Truckers at 12:30 EDT today.

MISSION OF BURMA: Roger Miller talks to the Boston Herald about playing their Vs. album live for the Pitchfork/ATP fest this year.

IRON & WINE: Sam Beam stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set you can stream on demand via MPR.

SILVER JEWS mastermind David Berman talks to Prefix about the upcoming album and its musical simplicity.  He is also the subject of an essay at the Village Voice.

JAMIE LIDELL brought his own brand of four-eyed soul to the Peacock network with this take on "Another Day."

FLEET FOXES lead singer Robin Pecknold talks to Drowned In Sound about how the band came together, songwriting and more...

THE TOP 25 GUITAR SONGS, according to Rolling Stone readers, as opposed to writers. Oof.

WOLF PARADE talks to the Montreal Gazette about the recording of their new album.

CUTOUT BIN: From the Undertones to King Curtis, from the Sweet to the Polyphonic Spree, from Los Hombres to Exile  to the Beatles, Talking Heads, Stevie Wonder, Patterson Hood covering Big Star and more, this Friday's fortuitous finds can be jukeboxed or streamed separately via the Pate page at the ol' HM.

TOM-KAT UPDATE: In next month's Playboy, Dr. Drew Pinsky, host of VH1's "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew," says: "A lot of people in the public eye who behave strangely have mental illness we can learn from, and much of it is based on childhood trauma, without a doubt. Take a guy like Tom Cruise. Why would somebody be drawn into a cultish kind of environment like Scientology? To me, that's a function of a very deep emptiness and suggests serious neglect in childhood - maybe some abuse, but mostly neglect." Cruise's lawyer compared the TV doctor's analysis to Nazi methods.  Pinsky issued a tempered apology.  I would note that Scientology generally despises psychology and psychiatry and claims they led to the rise of the Nazis.  Cruise's lawyer knows his client.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases are The Incredible Hulk, which is currently scoring 73 percent on the ol' Tomatometer, and M. Night Shamalayan's The Happening, which is currently scoring 14 percent.

EDWARD NORTON -- and Edward Norton's hair -- have slipped off to a desert island rather than do publicity for "The Incredible Hulk." Norton re-wrote parts of the script but fell out with Marvel and Universal -- supposedly over the final cut, but there may be money issues involved.

PAM ANDERSON & TOMMY LEE -- together again.  Check your survival gear.

JEN & JOHN: Aniston's relationship with her much younger beau Mayer is giving her a glowing new sense of self.

CHARLIZE THERON blasts celebrities who constantly court media attention, branding their attitude "sad" and "ugly", in the July issue of British GQ magazine.

MADONNA and BRITNEY SPEARS are about to get socked with scandalous, tell-all books about their wild and crazy lives.

MATT DAMON has transformed into Fat Damon for his new role in The Informant.  Now he sorta looks like a Wahlberg.

THE 50 WORST SEX SCENES IN CINEMA, according to IFC.com and Nerve.com.  Embedded videos galore.

ZOOEY DESCHANEL talks about her first acting gig with Letterman.  Let's go to the video.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA's Tricia Helfer and Katie Sackhoff are biker chicks. They took up motorcycling last year because they were each "tired of being on the back of a guy's bike," said Sackhoff.  Video at the link.

ISLAMISM in the USA: Textbooks at a private Islamic school in northern Virginia teach students that it is permissible for Muslims to kill adulterers and converts from Islam, according to a federal investigation released Wednesday. Other passages in the school's textbooks state that "the Jews conspired against Islam and its people" and that Muslims are permitted to take the lives and property of those deemed "polytheists."

TERROR in the UK: Top secret documents about al-Qaeda left on a train could have been useful to terrorists, a security expert said today.

OUR FRIENDS, THE SAUDIS: The Cassation Court on Tuesday declined to endorse a general court ruling to sentence a girly man to 10 years' imprisonment and 1,500 lashes.  Girly man?

IRAQ: Basra residents are both hopeful and fearful more than two months after the Iraqi military sent thousands of US-backed reinforcements to pry Iraq's second-largest city from the grip of Shiite militias and criminal gangs.  But if the housing market is an economic indicator, then Iraq's southern city of Basra is in the midst of an economic boom. Iraqi reinforcement troops deployed to the oil-producing southern city of Amarah on Thursday as the military geared up for another crackdown against Shiite militiamen.

THE COW was not happy with the service from the local auto repair spot.

A SMALL, UPPITY DOG is being sought by the Poughkeepsie Police.

A RARE UNICORN DEER is drawing hundreds of curious visitors to the nature preserve in Tuscany, NY. Pic and video at the link.

GEORGE, who is 14, was awarded the "The Oldest Living Rabbit" honors by Guinness after several vets confirmed his age.

SCENT of a DINGO: Keeps kangaroos and other marsupials out of places they're not wanted... but drives the ladies wild!  Okay, maybe not that last bit.