THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE: 

...with THE BAND!  The Last Waltz, billed as a "farewell" concert after 16 years of touring, found The Band joined by special guests, including Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters, Dr. John, and Neil Young.  Someone has posted virtually all of Martin Scorsese's 1978 documentary, which features concert performances, scenes shot on a studio soundstage and interviews by Scorsese with members of The Band.  The Wikipedia entry for the show has a tracklisting and is pretty good place to start for more background on the concert and the movie.

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

4AD is offering a free 2008 sampler with tracks from TV on the Radio, Deerhunter, Dept. of Eagles, Stereolab, Bon Iver and more, in return for your e-mail address.

GUSTER, whose members have been busy breeding, move from Reprise to Columbia.  Of course, at this time of year, you will also find Adam Gardner playing Hannukah tunes in The LeeVees.

JIMI HENDRIX: You can download Electric Ladyland for 1.99 at Amazon.

JOHNNY CASH, with June Carter Cash, family and friends, on "The 12 Days Of Christmas."  Fish, meet barrel... Bang!

ADELE talks to the Telegraph about her Grammy nominations and critical acclaim, and to Billboard about plans for her sophomore album.

THE DECEMBERISTS have a release date and tracklisting for their next LP, Hazards of Love.

UGLYSUIT pianist Jonathan Martin talks to the Austin American-Statesman's 360 music blog about life since hooking up with the Touch & Go label.

TOM JONES, featured here on Tuesday, talks to the Washington Post about his first album to get a US release in 15 years.

CUTOUT BIN:  From Quincy Jones to Bishop Allen, from Al Stewart to the Music Machine, from Belle & Sebastian to Grand Funk Railroad, Badfinger, the Del Fuegos, Mates of State, Tobin Sprout, Adele, The Kinks and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds can be jukeboxed or streamed separately via the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases are: the remake of the sci-fi classic, The Day the Earth Stood Still, which is currently scoring 21 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; the animated Delgo, which is currently scoring nine percent; and the dysfunctional family comedy Nothing Like the Holidays, which is scoring 54 percent.

UNNECESSARY REMAKES: A full list of essential remakes might be shorter, but this slideshow at PopEater isn't bad.

THE GOLDEN GLOBES nominations were announced yesterday, marking the point where awards season starts to move into full swing, followed immediately by discussions of nomination snubs and surprises.

MADONNA & GUY RITCHIE remain locked in a prolonged legal battle over custody of their children, according to the Daily Mail.

GWYNETH PALTROW & CHRIS MARTIN are holed up in their London home "trying to make their marriage better," a source tells the NYDN.

KATE WALSH of Private Practice is getting divorced by her husband, after a little more than a year of marriage.

ASHLEE SIMPSON & PETE WENTZ have found no buyers for their baby photos? Ouch.

JENNIFER ANISTON, likely still puzzling over public interest in her private life, wears only a necktie on the cover of the January GQ.

KATE WINSLET & LEO DiCAPRIO do a joint interview with Entertainment Weekly, which ends up being more about how Titanic affected them than their upcoming pic, Revolution Road.

THE WRESTLER, which features new Golden Globe nominees Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei, has been in very limited release, but you can watch a clip at Yahoo! Movies. 

THE DARK KNIGHT shatters DVD sales records, though the double-DVD is indeed disappointing in the extras. Fortunately, the movie is pretty good.

CARRIE FISHER promotes her new book, Wishful Drinking, on the Today Show.  She is clearly a hit with Matt Lauer, and even the crew is laughing as she tells stories like the one where her parents got Cary Grant to counsel her to stop doing LSD.

STAR TREK fans may be glad to hear that Majel Barrett-Roddenberry will reprise her role as the voice of the Enterprise computer in the JJ Abrams reboot.  The widow of series creator Gene Rodenberry, she also played Nurse Christine Chapel in the original series.

PAKISTAN has banned Jamat-ud-Dawa -- a charity linked to militants suspected in the Mumbai attacks -- after the UN declared it a terrorist group. The UN Security Council also added the group and four of its leaders to the list of entities and organizations known to support al Qaeda and the Taliban, and as an alias of the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group.

INCREDIBLE ANIMAL VIDEOS: Wired's Top Ten list (of which I have posted at least six over the years) has inspired a follow-up Readers' Choice list (of which I have poseted at least seven over the years).

DOGS have a sense of fairness and resent it when other dogs get better treatment. (Thx, Dad!)

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: The Daily Mail has posted pics of militant squirrels training in Kung-Fu.

BAT and TORTOISE SPECIES NAMES are up for auction by Purdue University, just in time for the holidays!  Like the Star registry, but even bettah!

A FUGITIVE EMU has been on the lam for three weeks after he was sprung by a pig at his 22-acre animal sanctuary in Foster, RI.

BONUS FRIDAY TIMEWASTER: I haven't posted a timewaster in a while, but here's Parachute. (Thx, Ken!)