BILLY CORGAN joins PETER HOOK & THE LIGHT on Joy Division's "Transmission" and "Love Will Tear Us Apart" in Chicago.

RYAN ADAMS is advance streaming Ashes And Fire.

THE HEAD AND THE HEART stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

MICHAEL CHAPMAN did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter.

NEIL YOUNG: Acoustic at the Elysée Montmartre, Paris, Dec. 11, 1989.

RADIOHEAD played "Lotus Flower" and "Staricase" on SNL, for ICYMI Monday. BONUS: Live at the Corn Exchange, Nov. 6, 1995.

IT'S PINK FLOYD WEEK on Fallon, featuring The Shins, Foo Fighters (w/ Roger Waters), MGMT, Dierks Bentley, and Pearl Jam.

A.A. BONDY talks to Aquarium Drunkard about his new album, Believers, experiences since his first solo records, discomfort with his own work, liminal states and how, whether autumn or summer, it's all about perspective.

LAURA MARLING talks to the SF Examiner about singledom and the L.A. Times about ideas of femininity. (Thx, Chromewaves.)

SLY STONE -- one of the greatest figures in soul-music history -- is homeless, his fortune stolen by a lethal combination of excess, substance abuse and financial mismanagement. He lays his head inside a white camper van ironically stamped with the words "Pleasure Way" on the side.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: The 3-D Lion King rules the cinema for a second week, taking in 22.1 million.  The rest of the Top 5 are debuts.  Moneyball is money with 20.6 million against a 50 million budget, almost exactly what gurus predicted and another in a long line of Brad Pitt successes.  Nipping at Pitt's heels was Dolphin Tale, with 20.3 million -- all the more impressive against a 37 million budget and competition from Hakuna Matata.  Twihards opened Taylor Lautner's Abduction at 11 million against a 35 million budget, but I suspect few ransom payments next weekend. Star power was also enough to open Killer Elite at 9.5 million -- but with a 70 million budget, DeNiro, Jason Statham and Clive Owen can be glad the Aussie government picked up a share of the tab. Below the fold, Drive plunged almost 50 percent, so maybe I am more in tune with the public than most movie critics; even so, it's over 21 million against a mere 15 million budget.  Last weekend's other debuts, Straw Dogs and I Don't Know How She Does It, fared even worse, plunging 59 and 53.4 percent, respectively.

MONEYBALL:  I read and liked the Michael Lewis book, but was dubious about adaptating a work that is really more about basesball statistics and business than sport.  The project's long and winding road in development was not encouraging.  However, the screenplay by Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian punches up the humor and stresses the theme of the book that sucked me in: the way in which an establishment (here, major league baseball) can operate for an eon based on a fundamental misunderstanding of what is valuable.  As such, the Oakland A's under Billy Beane is a classic underdog story -- or near-classic, as the movie gropes a bit for a Hollywood ending.  Indeed, it's only at the end that you start to notice the 2 hr, 20 min running time, which means it's pretty good.

JONAH HILL talked to New York magazine about Moneyball, Goodfellas, his upcoming animated show Allen Gregory, and growing up.

LINDSAY LOHAN got her claws out in a confrontation with the Indian model wife of millionaire hotelier Vikram Chatwal, just days after the troubled starlet and Chatwal were spotted kissing at his home in New York.

JUSTIN BIEBER rented the entire Staples Center in L.A. for a screening of the movie, "Titanic" for himself and galpal Selena Gomez.

JESSE JAMES & KAT VON D have split again.

KIM DELANEY looked disoriented and disheveled at the Liberty Medal Award ceremony.

KATE WINSLET is dating Richard Branson's nephew Ned Abel Smith.

MELISSA ETHERIDGE and her ex, Tammy Lynn Michaels, are fighting over everything, including whether they were married.

RYAN GOSLING was arrested for a DUI back in 2005, according to the ever reliable Star magazine.

ISLAM in the UK: Thousands of Muslims gathered for a televised rally in London Saturday to fight extremism and promote a moderate, inclusive version of Islam.

IRAN vs SAUDI ARABIA: How they view their roles in the Middle East, each other, and the current "Arab Spring" unrest.

OUR FRIENDS, THE SAUDIS announced on Sunday women would be given the right to vote and stand in elections, a bold shift in the Islamic monarchy as pressure for social and democratic reform sweeps the Middle East.

PAKISTAN: The public assault by the Obama administration on the Pakistani intelligence agency as a facilitator of terrorist attacks in Afghanistan has been met with scorn in Pakistan, a signal that the country has little intention of changing its ways, even perhaps at the price of the crumpled alliance.  The US said "the lines of communication with our Pakistani counterparts remain open" despite the ISI's support of the Haqqani Network.

PUGS vs ZOMBIE: Who you got?

A NEW (AND VERY CREEPY) WORM is looking for a name.

ALBINO FAWN captured on camera in Montana.

CATS IN HATS: The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house all that cold, cold, wet day.

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

... with LLOYD COLE! His debut with the Commotions is right in the heart of Pate's heyday, so I'm partial to the early tracks, like "Perfect Skin," "Rattlesnakes," "2CV" and "Forest Fire," and even tracks from the sophomore LP, like "Brand New Friend" and "Lost Weekend." I haven't been as big a fan of his later solo work, though he does still come up with gems like "She's a Girl and I'm a Man."  BONUS: Cole's "Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken" later inspired Camera Obscura's "Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken."

WILCO played a full hour-long set as an online-only Live On Letterman session.

THE OLIVIA TREMOR CONTROL, live at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City.

ZOLA JESUS: Nika Roza Danilova talks about and advance streams Conatus.

BIG TROUBLES are advance streaming Romantic Comedy (produced by Mitch Easter).

YOUTH LAGOON is advance streaming The Year of Hibernantion.

BEIRUT palyed a Tiny Desk Concert at the offices of NPR.

50 ARTISTS Who Influenced Kurt Cobain. Plus, Nevermind producer Butch Vig (who also produced The Service's George's Duty-Free Goulash) talks to Morning Edition.

MOUNTAIN GOATS: John Darnielle talks to the Des Moines Register about headlining the first Maximum Ames Music Festival tomorrow. Go Ames!  His version of Ace of Base's "The Sign." is obligatory for this.

GIRLS: Christopher Owens gives The Atlantic a track-by-track tour of Father, Son, Holy Ghost.

MATES OF STATE talk to Paste about keeping their duo dynamic.

VAN DYKE PARKS talks to the Daily Swarm about his first new music in 15 years, what it was like to watch Harry Nilsson sing, and more...

THE TOP 100 BEATLES SONGS, according to Rolling Stone. Introduced by Elvis Costello.

CUTOUT BIN: From KISS to Glen Campbell, from Todd Rundgren to Lou Rawls, from Dramarama to Jay & the Americans, plus the Kinks, John Lennon, Marshall Crenshaw, Cheap Trick and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are now streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases include Dolphin Tale, which is currently scoring 84 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; Abduction, which is currently scoring zero (albeit on few reviews); Moneyball, which is scoring 92 percent; and Killer Elite, scoring 27 percent.

EMILY DESCHANEL (Bones) and her husband David Hornsby(, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) welcomed their first child Wednesday, a baby boy.

BRAD PITT tells the Today Show Jennifer Aniston is a dear friend. Really.

DENISE RICHARDS turned down a 100K offer to appear on Two and a Half Men.

LINDSAY LOHAN is ignoring advisers telling her to complete her community service.

SCARLETT JOHANSSON and... Kieran Culkin? Or was it just two old friends reconnecting?

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER is writing an autobiography.

DARK SHADOWS: Your first look at Johnny Depp as a non-sparkly vampire.

J. EDGAR, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, has a trailer online.

IRAN: Ahmadinejad speaks to the UN, denying the Holocaust, suggesting the US was involved in the 9/11 attacks and asserting Tehran wouldn't recognize Israel's right to exist even if the United Nations were to accept a Palestinian state into its ranks. Imagine how much fun he'll be with nukes!

SYRIA: The European Union plans to impose new sanctions on Syria, including a ban on oil investments. Turkey is considering imposing sanctions and coordinating its efforts with the US.

EGYPT: Islamists reach out to secular liberals... but do they mean it?

PAKISTAN: US officials said there was mounting evidence that Pakistan's powerful intelligence agency had encouraged a guerrilla network to attack US targets, while a Senate committee voted to make aid to Islamabad conditional on fighting the militants.

IRAQ: On the eve of what is likely to be a nearly complete withdrawal of United States forces from Iraq, one of the great questions is what radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr is going to do.

GRAEME the CAT visits a Melbourne train station twice a day to drop off and pick up his owner.

A MACAQUE clings to a DOG after Typhoon Roke hit Japan... Mass hysteria!

A YOUNG FEMALE GRIZZLY fitted with a satellite collar for more than a year embarked on several lengthy swims across portions of Flathead Lake, wildlife officials in Montana said.

A BALD BABY PENGUIN who was abandoned at birth has been accepted back into his family thanks to the nurturing intervention of staff at an aquarium in China.

ONE SQUID SPECIES swings both ways, nttawwt.

R.E.M. have decided to call it a day as a band, just over 30 years after releasing their debut single on Hib-Tone Records. Generally considered the Godfathers of Indie (back when it was merely "college rock"), one might ask, "Well, how did they get there?"  Some of it was being in the right place (America) at the right time (post-Punk and post-New Wave). The old joke was that it took four to make a R.E.M. record -- three to listen to the Soft Boys and one to write indecipherable lyrics.  But these four from Athens were always a bit more than that; the echo of Robyn Hitchcock's old band was just as much a melding of the Byrds and the Velvet Underground with Wire and power-pop into something simultaneously challenging and accessible.  Of course, signing to promo-savvy IRS Records, which was having success with the Police, the Go-Gos and others didn't hurt a bit.  They steadily climbed the ladder of music industry success, but altered the pop music landscape in the process, and tended to remember where they came from, promoting vital bands like the Replacements, Hüsker Dü, the Minutemen and Sonic Youth with opening slots (Bill Berry told me they tried to get Camper Van Beethoven after their debut LP, but the schedule didn't work out), along with forerunners like The dB's and yes, Robyn Hitchcock (REM axeman Peter Buck would also guest on Hitchcock's records before joining one of his bands).  Indeed, the band also adopted various indie figures as touring members of the band -- dB's frontman Peter Holsapple, The Posies' Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow, and Young Fresh Fellow Scott McCaughey all spring to mind.  When drummer Bill Berry left following a brain tumor, the band's album's tended to hold less of the public's attention, although this may have been simply another case of music fans constantly on the search for the new sound, the flavor of the month (Up and Reveal may be underrated albums in their catalog).  Even during this period, the band produced solid work, with a number of memorable tunes.

So let's close this era with a video dump, starting with "Radio Free Europe" and "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)" from their network TV debut, and the clip for "Pretty Persuasion" and an acoustic take on "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville." Next, live takes on "Driver 8" and "Can't Get There From Here" recorded in Raleigh, NC, circa 1985. "Begin the Begin," which opens the 25-year-old Lifes Rich Pageant is represented with a clip featuring Bill Berry from the band's 2006 induction into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. That album's follow-up "These Days" is represented with a clip from Tourfilm, but "Fall On Me" was the band's first major foray into the pop charts.  Document's "The One I Love" took them up another rung, although "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" may have ended up embedded further in popular culture over time. The band's WB debut, Green, boasted a couple of chart-toppers, "Orange Crush" and the inspiredly goofy "Stand," though I'll take "Pop Song '89" over the latter most days.  Out of Time would be the band's first No. 1 LP, riding the improbably mandolin-driven worldwide hit "Losing My Religion" and another goofy track, "Shiny Happy People" (again, give me the harmonies of "Near Wild Heaven").  Automatic for the People most likely makes us think of "Man In The Moon" and especially "Everybody Hurts," although the challending lead single, "Drive," actually charted higher in the US at the time.  Monster was one, topping the US and UK charts; "What's The Frequency Kenneth?" entered the pop culture in a very odd way, so I have to link the Dan Rather clip.  New Adventures in Hi-Fi, the band's final LP with Berry reached No. 2 in the US, and "E-Bow the Letter" and "Bittersweet Me" got comparatively modest airplay.  Up slipped another notch, reaching No. 3 in the US; the lead single, "Daysleeper," had a typical REM vibe, but I loved the Brian Wilson-esque sound of "At My Most Beautiful."  That sound would also feature on the Reveal LP, although "Imitation Of Life" was the safe single. I'll confess to having lost my passion for the band by this point -- and thus have zero to say about Around the Sun -- but it was still always comforting to hear them knock a song out of the park, particularly "Supernatural Superserious" from 2008's Accelerate.  I hoped that would be the start of a second wind for the guys, but it was to Collapse Into Now, apparently.  Here's your bonus track, bringing things full circle.

LOW stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session and did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter.

YOUNG MAN is advance streaming Ideas of Distance.

JAMES BLAKE stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

VIVA VOCE stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set, including a cover of Big Star's "Thirteen."

THE HOLD STEADY at Beekman Beer Garden, Sept. 17, 2011.

THE JAYHAWKS "She Walks in So Many Ways" from the new Mockingbird Time, at Hollywood's Ocean Way studios.

PEARL JAM: Cameron Crowe takes a a track-by-track look at the "Pearl Jam 20" soundtrack, complete with quotes from his liner notes.

FLEET FOXES: Robin Pecknold talks to the Baltimore Sun about the pressures of writing the band's sophomore LP, and the future. (Thx, LHB.)

TORI AMOS talks to Spinner about Night of Hunters, its real-life inspirations, her friendship with pro wrestler Mick Foley and how she'll take on any "f---ing heavy metal band" with her emotional lyrics.

BATTLES drummer John Stanier talks to PopMatters about the band's unique take on lyrical expression, the zone of indistinction between rhythm and melody, and the recontextualization of the pop-rock formula.

BON IVER's Justin Vernon is briefly profiled by the L.A. Times.

MINKA KELLY exploded after getting groped on the set of Charlie's Angels's, according to the ever reliable Star magazine.

TEAM ANISTON apparently went ballistic after Brad Pitt's Parade interview, which would explain his copious clarifications.  And maybe Pitt's domestic life with Angelina Jolie and the brood really does resemble One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

MAD MEL UPDATE: Gibson allegedly tried to run over a man outside a Costa Rican bakery ... but at least one eyewitness tells TMZ the man's a liar.

RYAN GOSLING and his current go-to girl Eva Mendes were snapped hiking near Griffith Park Observatory.

STEVE MARTIN has Oscars advice for Eddie Murphy.

ELIN NORDEGREN, the wealthy and beautiful ex-wife of Tiger Woods, is ramping up her romance with her new beau, Jamie Dingman; that there are already rumors of marriage for the pair.

TEEN BRIDE Courtney Stodden has signed a deal with a production company to produce her own reality show. Shocka.

THE 10 GREATEST MOVIE TRILOGIES, according to PopMatters.

TERROR in SWEDEN: A Swedish cartoonist who has received death threats for depicting the Prophet Mohammed as a dog was the target of a planned attack in Gothenburg earlier this month, according to reports.

IRAN: Two American hikers imprisoned as spies for more than two years were released on bail Wednesday, just in time for Ahmadinejad to arrive in NYC for the big UN confab.

AFGHANISTAN: The assassination of Burhanuddin Rabbani in Kabul - apparently by the very group he was trying to negotiate with - suggests a political solution in Afghanistan remains a distant prospect - and is another reminder of how fragile security is in the Afghan capital, according to analysts and diplomats

IRAQ: Prime Minister Maliki called for Syrian President Bashir al Assad to step down. Admiral Mullen said the number of US forces in Iraq will drop to 30,000 by the end of September.

CHIMPS clog dancing. It's CGI, but I don't care.

ADORABLE BABY SQUIRRELS survive a hurricane.

A YOUNG WOMAN on a big horse likely saved a boy from a head-on charging grizzly bear.

PARROT FRAUD: I would like to register a complaint.

GIRLS dropped a video for the infectious "Honey Bunny," which boasts the occasional riff reminiscent of "Kodachrome."

DUM DUM GIRLS are advance streaming Only In Dreams.

VERONICA FALLS are streaming their self-titled debut, out now.

THE STEPKIDS are advance streaming their self-titled debut.

DOMINANT LEGS are advance streaming Invitation.

MASTODON is advance streaming The Hunter.

R.E.M., Live at Tyrone's O.C., April 10, 1981.

TOM WAITS, Live at the Ivanhoe Theater in Chicago, Nov. 21, 1976.

NIRVANA: Three previously unreleased tracks from the upcoming Nevermind box have hit the 'net.

JUNIOR WALKER & THE ALL-STARS: Live at the Ram Jam Club, circa 1967.

WILCO: Jeff Tweedy and Pat Sansone talk to the L.A. Times about the production of The Whole Love.

TORI AMOS talks to PopMatters and Billboard about her new label, the challenge of stepping into the shoes of legends and the upcoming 20th anniversary of her landmark 1992 debut on Atlantic, Little Earthquakes.

NEIL YOUNG is working on an auto-biography.

LEONARD COHEN is issuing a massive box set including all 17 of his studio and live albums.

THE POLARIS MUSIC PRIZE: Arcade Fire beat out artists like the Weeknd, Destroyer, Austra, Colin Stetson, and Braids to win the award.

CHARLIE SHEEN will get as more than 100 million dollars over time from his Two and a Half Men settlement.

TWO AND A HALF MEN, btw, had a stunning 27.7 million viewers Monday night - that's in the ballpark of an American Idol premiere.

ROBERT PATTINSON is recording an album of music described as "stripped-down Ray LaMontagne meets Van Morrison."

RYAN GOSLING is contemplating early retirement.

BRAD PITT further clarifies his recent remarks about Jennifer Aniston.

TRACY MORGAN is engaged.

SIX THINGS the Film Industry Doesn't Want You to Know About.

TERROR in the UK: Six men and a woman were detained in Birmingham for plotting an al Qaeda-inspired mass casualty attack.

IRAN: US officials are considering establishing a direct military hot line with Iran.

SYRIA:  Increasingly convinced that Assad will not be able to remain in power, the Obama administration has begun to make plans for American policy in the region after he exits.

EGYPT has prohibited the formation of a political party by Al Gamaa al-Islamiyya, an Islamist group that was once involved in a bloody insurgency against the government.

PAKISTAN: Nawaz Sharif, head of Pakistan's second-largest political party the Pakistan Muslim League said political parties with armed wings should be banned.

WHEN KITTENS run the phone company.

THE BIRDS: Pet parrots, such as cockatoos, that are let loose in the wild are teaching native birds to talk.

A PACK OF COYOTES has taken up residence in a fire-damaged and abandoned house in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale, worrying neighbors and sparking a controversy over animal rights.

WORLD'S OLDEST BEAVER... teeth.

EMMY THE GREAT's latest video is for "Paper Forest (In The Afterglow Of Rapture)."

NEW RELEASES from Pearl Jam, Jimi Hendrix, CYHSY, Jayhawks, Jens Lekman, Peter Wolf Crier, Ivy, Megafaun, and many more are streaming this week via Spinner.

WILCO is advance streaming The Whole Love.

TWIN SISTER is streaming In Heaven.

dEUS is streaming Keep You Close. (Thx, LHB.)

THE RAVEONETTES drop "Oh Stranger" from the 'Batman: Arkham City' video game soundtrack.

TORCHE is covering Guided by Voices on a new EP, including "Exit Flagger."

JAN & DEAN:  I figured I'd slip in "Surf City" before the Summer officially ends.  Toss in a fan-made vid for "Dead Man's Curve" and you have Twofer Tuesday, not to mention an argument between Barry & Dick.  FYI, technically, neither Barry nor Dick is right, though Dick is closer to the truth.

PEARL JAM: Cameron Crowe writes about the obsession that led to his documentary.

FEIST talks about her upcoming album and more in a New York Times profile by Jon Pareles.

OKKERVIL RIVER: Will Scheff talks to Offbeat about varying thematic interpretations of the new album, Viking sagas, and the potential for an Okkervil River laser show. (Thx, LHB.)

BANDS THAT SHOULD'VE BEEN BIGGER, according to The A.V. Club.

MILA KUNIS & JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE deny sharing intimate photos on their cellphones.

CHARLIE SHEEN is days away from settling his mega-dispute with Warner Bros. over "Two and a Half Men," but sources connected with the negotiation tell TMZ Charlie is not getting what he wants.

LINDSAY LOHAN had a pathetic Fashion Week.

ZOOEY DESCHANEL talks to the New York Post about music, The New Girl and more...

MADONNA talks to Rolling Stone about her upcoming movie about the true-life 1930s love story involving King Edward VIII and American socialite and divorcée Wallis Simpson.

AARON SORKIN broke his nose... writing?

NINE ACTORS You Didn't Know Were in Star Wars Movies.

OUR FRIENDS, THE SAUDIS have begun the trial of an al Qaeda cell that plotted to attack the Al-Udeid and As-Sailiyah US bases in Qatar.

YEMEN: The costs of ignoring the conflict.

PAKISTAN: The Movement of the Taliban said it would continue to strike weddings and funerals of tribal groups who support the Pakistani and US governments.

JEDI KITTENS STRIKE BACK: The highly-anticipated sequel.

A HEDGEHOG was found amid a donation of soft toys to a Wokingham charity shop. Dinsdale!

A WILD HOG with the munchies smashed through a glass entrance at a Goliad Whataburger on Friday night and frightened customers.

HOW TO artificially inseminate a rhino.