THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with JAMES BROWN!  The Godfather of Soul took his final curtain call last Christmas, so what better way to get ready for a new year than to watch him Live at the Olympia Theatre - Paris, France March 8th, 1971.  Or the 1987 British TV documentary, "The Story of James Brown" (Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6), if you prefer a variety of performances over the decades.  Funk legend William "Bootsy" Collins is staging a tribute concert to his mentor near Cincinnati on Saturday, so I thought you might want to check out JB and Bootsy together on "Sex Machine."   "Dean of Rock Critics" Robert Christgau spoke about JB at a scholarly memorial at Princeton, which you can stream via NPR.  BONUS:  JB's "Funky Drummer" is probably the most sampled drum loop of all time; Sample Spotters has an admittedly incomplete listing of just how pervasive even a few seconds of JB can be.

THE KINKS' original lineup plans to play together for the first time in nearly four decades in 2008, according to frontman Ray Davies.

OF MONTREAL, coincidentally, covers The Kinks' "Days," which YANP has posted along with an embedded concert video.

JENS LEKMAN did a three-song Take-Away show for La Blogotheque in Portland.

THE IOWA COMPILATIONS -- including tracks from Pate, The Eclectics, The Dangtrippers, Moveable Feast, and more --have been posted at Nothin' Sez Somethin'. (Thanks, Ken King!)

RADIOHEAD will be webcasting "a pre-recording of some songs and other bits" on New Year's Eve.

THE WOMBATS are "Moving to New York."  They're from Liverpool, but don't call it an invasion.

THE WEAKERTHANS frontman John K. Samson talked to Canada's JAM! about winter, work ethics, and his love affair with Winnipeg.

FIERY FURNACES are premiering a new video for "Duplexes of the Dead" over at the 'Gum.

PATTI SMITH:  The always outspoken poet-singer-songwriter talked about the selections on her covers album with DC's Express.

REST of 2007:  The A.V. Club lists "The Least Essential Albums of 2007."  The NY Press takes potshots at Ten Overrated Critical Faves of 2007 (a list with which I generally disagree, but it's still funny).

CUTOUT BIN:  This Friday's fortuitous finds -- from Moldy Peaches to the 'Mats, from The Jam to the Jackson 5, from Arcade Fire to ABBA -- can be streamed individually or jukeboxed at the new Pate page on the ol' HM.

MISCHA BARTON, formerly of The O.C., is the latest Hollywood hottie to be busted for DUI, possession of narcotics and driving on a suspended license.  US Weekly asks the obvious question and gets an interesting answer.

REBECCA DeMORNAY, the hooker with a heart of gold from Risky Business, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor DUI, stemming from her October 30 arrest.

JAMIE LYNN SPEARS:  The anonymous "entertainment lawyer" who had the 16-year-old's rumored pregnancy in a blind item in October claims Britney wants the 100K currently being offered for new photos of Jamie.

LINDSAY LOHAN, meanwhile, has her ex-bf selling photos he took of her while they were together.  Classy!  Li-Lo denies consuming alcohol or any type of drug before her 2005 Beverly Hills car crash.

JESSICA ALBA is set to wed her longtime boyfriend Cash Warren, according to her her rep.  Cue Vader again.

JENNIFER ANISTON knocked up by Jason Lewis?  Inquiring minds want to know.

NOW SHOWING:  This weekend's wide releases mostly opened on Tuesday, including: The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, which is currently scoring 71 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; Alien Vs. Predator - Requiem, which is currently scoring 13 percent; and Denzel Washington's The Great Debaters, which is scoring 76 percent.  Juno, which I raved about yesterday, has expanded to 998 screens, so let's call it wide to remind you of its 94 percent score.

THE WRITERS' STRIKE:  Though I am generally sympathetic to the writers' plight, a recent piece by Steve Boriss at PJM explains why the studios are hanging tough.

SEAN PENN & ROBIN WRIGHT PENN:  Dunzo, after 11 years of marriage.

MICHELLE WILLIAMS & RYAN GOSLING were spotted enjoying a romantic meal in NYC, according to the ever-reliable Star magazine.

THE HILTONS could be likely to contest the will of Hotel magnate Barron Hilton, after he announced that he's leaving 97% of his wealth to charity.  Of course, they really cannot do that before he dies, can they?

VANESSA HUDGENS & ZAC EFRON ate still making High School Music with each other, most recently at Hollywood's hottest hole-in-the-wall, Lola's, which apparently forgot about the drinking age being 21.

BRANDY:  According to TMZ, the hang-up in deciding whether to file vehicular manslaughter charges against the singer-actress is that Brandy may have been a victim, not a culprit.

GRATUITOUS FRIDAY:  Having behaved myself for the holidays, it's time for six naked Victoria's Secret supermodels.  And all sorts of Marisa Tomei nudity fdrom Sidney Lumet's latest movie, Before The Devil Knows You're Dead.

PAKISTAN:  Benazir Bhutto was assassinated, icymi (though that would have been tough to do).  A spokesperson for the al-Qaeda terrorist network has claimed responsibility for the murder.  US intell officials say they cannot confirm the report, but Russia's Foreign Ministry called Bhutto's death a terror attack.  You can read varying obituaries from London's Telegraph and Christopher Hitchens.  Nawaz Sharif, an Islamist sympathizer and opponent of Pres. Musharraf -- who one might expect to benefit from Bhutto's death -- announced his party was boycotting next month's elections.  Earlier Thursday, at a different political rally in the same city, a rooftop sniper opened fire on supporters of Sharif, leaving four people dead and at least five injured.  Given the tense relations between Pakistan and India, you can find lots of coverage at NDTV.  Author Aaron Mannes argues that a real investigation of the assassination is needed, while recognizing it likely will not happen.  Meanwhile, US Special Forces were already set to increase their presence in Pakistan amid assessments that the country is to become the central battlefield for al Qaeda as it is driven from Iraq.

IRAQ:  The Washington Post reports on competing Shiite factions in Iraq, while IraqPundit notes the elephant in the story.  The L.A. Times reports on the US nudging Iraqi officials to stop turning to US forces for services and logistics such as fuel deliveries and clinic construction, and to begin working through the relevant ministries in Baghdad.  Michael Yon has a new dispatch from Anbar, as well as a thank-you letter to America from LTC Jim Crider, the commander of the 1-4 CAV soldiers based at FOB Falcon in southern Baghdad (one of the more restive areas, iirc).  The Iraqi Army claims to have captured the minister of defense of the Islamic State of Iraq, al Qaeda's political front organization.

SHEEP-PIG:  A shaggy hog story.  Does whatever a sheep-pig can. 

PEACHES the WOMBAT was a little too tubby for a flower pot at an Aussie wildlife rehabilitation center.

THE SIBERIAN TIGER that mauled three visitors at the San Francisco zoo, killing one, may have had inside help escaping from its den,

A DOG OWNER is taking on China's 30000 web censors by attacking the Beijing municipal government's regulations barring any dog over 14 inches high and restricting each family to only one dog.

THE TOP TEN NEW ORGANISMS OF 2007, courtesy of Wired magazine.