THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with JOE JACKSON!  Pate frequently attempted "One More Time" to hilarious effect, so today I stick with Joe's early material, including "Sunday Papers" live on the OGWT, "Kinda Kute" on the Kenny Everett Video Show, a Beat Crazy-era run of "On Your Radio" the official clip for "It's Different For Girls" and a bracing live take on "I'm The Man." That last one is taken from the Rock Goes To College show, which also boasts this pulsing version of his signature "Is She Really Going Out With Him?"

NEKO CASE & WILL SCHEFF played DC's 9:30 Club last night, so you should be able to stream the sets on demand via NPR.

DAN AUERBACH of the Black Keys stopped by the WFUV studios for a session streaming via NPR.

CAMERA OBSCURA: Carey Lander does a quick Q&A the Daily Growl. (Thx, LHB.)

THE AVETT BROS get som local love from the Winston-Salem Journal.

MAN MAN releases a video for "Rabbit Habbits" starring Fred Armisen, Charlyne Yi, and Martin Starr.

BIGMOUTH STRIKES AGAIN: Slate essays Morrissey in middle age.

VETIVER: Andy Cabic talks to Tuscon Weekly about signing with Sub Pop, touring, etc.

MARIANNE FAITHFULL talks to PopMatters about suffering, her covers album, and Frank Sinatra.

CUTOUT BIN: From the Ramones to Terry Jacks, from Yo La Tengo to Prince, from Peter Sellers to Nirvana, plus No Doubt covering Adam Ant, Glasvegas covering The Ronettes, Band of Horses covering the Rolling Stones, a Pink Floyd demo, plus more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NEW RELEASES: This weekend's wide releases are Hannah Montana The Movie, currently scoring 35 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; Observe and Report, currently scoring 64 percent; and Dragonball Evolution, scoring 23 percent.

OBSERVE & REPORT apparently contains a date rape scene... and New York magazine does not think that's the worst of it.

BRITNEY SPEARS walked offstage minutes and three songs into her sold-out show in Vancouver, because too many people were smoking.  She returned a half-hour later.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN is named as the "other man" in a New Jersey divorce case.

LINDSAY LOHAN & SAMANTHA RONSON: People runs a piece speculating as to whether the pair will reunite, but all of the quotes are from Camp Lohan. Meanwhile, Lohan is dying her hair and getting tattooed.

BILLY BOB THORNTON gave a bizarre interview to the CBC to promote his band, the interest in which is not at all connected to his acting career, okay?

DAVID PROWSE, who wore the Darth Vader suit in the original Star Wars trilogy, has been treated for prostate cancer, which may explain why he went public with his complaint that he has not received residual payments for Return of the Jedi because producers told him that it has not made a profit.

MEGAN FOX is the top consideration top play She-Hulk, the girly version of the giant, green comic-book superhero.

GLOBAL WARMING: New research from NASA suggests that Arctic warming has been caused in large part by laws introduced to improve air quality and fight acid rain. Meanwhile, climate scientists say Australia -- beset by prolonged drought and deadly bush fires in the south, monsoon flooding and mosquito-borne fevers in the north, widespread wildlife decline, economic collapse in agriculture and killer heat waves -- epitomizes the "accelerated climate crisis" that global warming models have forecast.

NORTH KOREA: Kim Jong Il, who has not been seen in public since he suffered a stroke in August last year, has been unanimously re-elected Supreme Leader.

IRAN: The US will join direct talks between UN and European powers and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program.  Meanwhile, the theocracy's atomic chief declares the Islamic republic has installed around 7000 centrifuges at its Natanz uranium enrichment facility.

AFGHANISTAN & IRAQ: Pres. Obama plans to request new funding from Congress for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he risks a backlash from antiwar lawmakers.

CAT & EAGLE, hangin' out together... mass hyteria.

CAT with PUPPIES, teaching them to catch mice... mass hysteria.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: Horses with hair extensions.

CAT BURGLAR steals hats, shorts, underwear and 27 pairs of gloves.

TOKYO CAT CAFES: In an increasingly childless and aging nation, cat cafes are becoming staggeringly popular: "She's the prettiest girl we have at our cafe. Everybody wants to touch her, but we ask that customers only do so if she doesn't resist you."