THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

... with DISCO DEMOLITION NIGHT! This Sunday marks the 30th anniversary of the anniversary of Disco Demolition Night, a promo event occurring during a scheduled twi-nite doubleheader between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers that would prove to be the most ill-conceived promotional idea since the infamous "Ten Cent Beer Night" in Cleveland in 1974. Though some incorrectly think it had to do with racism, homophobia, etc., the event had much more to do with the fact that Chicago radio station WDAI forced out morning host Steve Dahl o­n Chirstmas Eve 1978, to switch to a disco format. A man who is cashiered wearing a Santa suit tends to carry a grudge. Dahl re-surfaced at WLUP with "Do You Think I'm Disco?" -- a parody of Rod Stewart's "Do You Think I'm Sexy?" with lyrics that targeted yuppie narcissism and materialism. He also did a bit where he pretended to blow-up disco records, which Mike Veeck, the son of Sox owner (and legendary showman) Bill Veeck, thought could be turned into a promotion whereby admission was 98 cents (because WLUP was FM 98) for anyone who brought a disco record to be blown up between the two games. It was far more successful and less controllable than either Dahl or Veeck imagined, with young people storming the park to enter, creating a fog of marijuana smoke in the stands, sailing records like frisbees, throwing firecrackers and ultimately storming the diamond after the scheduled demolition had concluded and Dahl was en route to the announcer's booth for the second game.  This compilation of local news coverage from the night is pretty darned good, with cameos from Bill Kurtis and Greg Gumbel.  The Chicago Tribune has a photo gallery, and interviews Dahl, with embedded video.

IDA MARIA did five free songs for Daytrotter, two previously unreleased.

SUMMER MIX: Tom Moon streams a few new songs for the road.

LIZ PHAIR: Exile in Guyville, Live at the Fillmore, June 23, 2008.

SPOON frontman Britt Daniel talks to Decider about about the new album's progression-including how AC/DC and Dabney Coleman factored into it-and what to expect from this weekend's hometown stand. The Austin American-Statesman surveys the band's rise.

MARK OLSON talks to Decider about about the past and future of the Jayhawks.

FREE: "All Right Now." Wouldn't be Summer without it.

THIRTEEN SURPRISINGLY ENJOYABLE SONGS about the end of the world. With an embedded jukebox.

GLASVEGAS: Rab Allan was interviewed by Contactmusic at the Glastonbury fest about their follow-up LP, opening for U2, and more...

RHETT MILLER talks to KTVU and the Colorado Springs Independent.

CUTOUT BIN: From AC/DC to Gram Parsons, from Spinal Tap to Stevie Wonder, from Thin Lizzy to Tommy Keene, plus The Hollies, Wilco, Black Joe Lewis, Wilco, Talking Heads and more  -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases are Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno, which is currently scoring 75 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and the teen comedy I Love You, Beth Cooper, currently scoring 10 percent.

ALAN RUCK (who plays a Dad in "I Love You, Beth Cooper") was already 29 when he played Cameron Frye in 1986's "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"? Whoa.

MICHAEL JACKSON: Arnold Klein admitted he once donated sperm - but continued dodging questions about being the father of Michael Jackson's two oldest children.

RYAN REYNOLDS & SCARLETT JOHANSSON are planning to adopt... someday.

KRISTEN STEWART not pregnant. Shocka.

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS: Quentin Tarantino talks to Variety about the final cut, possible prequels, the star system, and the future of adult drama.

THE HURT LOCKER expands to 50 screens this weekend. The first eight minutes are streaming via Hulu.

WHIP IT, a roller-derby comedy starring Ellen Page, Drew Barrymore and Kristen Wiig, gets a first look at USA Today.

AUGUSTUS GLOOP got lucky. Vincent Smith Jr was unlucky.

AFGHANISTAN: The US military is sending thousands of mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles to Afghanistan, even while a new version is being built.

IRAN: Opposition supporters defied an enormous security presence on the streets of Tehran to gather, by some estimates, in the thousands. The Lede is back on the case, too.

IRAQ: Bombings killed more than 40 on Thursday in the worst violence since US combat troops withdrew from urban areas last week, while US forces released five Iranian officials suspected of aiding Shiite insurgents.

JESSE the CAT was outcatted by her owner.

A DRUNKEN BADGER blocked a road near Goslar in northwestern Germany.

A SWARM OF TUTRTLES closed a runway at JFK Airport.

A GOAT was rescued from a tree, but not with cooking spray.

A NEW MONKEY has been discovered in a remote area of the Amazon.

AN 8-FT GATOR was lassoed in an apartment in Oakland Park, FL.