THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with THE GO-GOs!  They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts. Kind of a hard band to place seasonally. Their debut, Beauty and the Beat, which yielded hits like "Our Lips Are Sealed" and "We Got the Beat," as well as great album cuts like "This Town," "Lust to Love," "Tonite" and "How Much More," came out in late Summer 1981, iirc, and "Lips" was climbing the charts that Fall, so I mentally place the band in this time of year. And it's still warm enough that the title track to the too-quick sophomore album, "Vacation," -- or their cover of the Capitols' "Cool Jerk" -- doesn't sound too out of place. "Get Up and Go" was also a single from that LP, but it didn't make the Top 40.  The band would chart twice more -- in 1984, with "Head Over Heels" and "Turn to You" -- before splitting and the near-inevitable reunion tours.

JOSH RITTER advance streams Sermon on the Rocks.

DONOVAN: NPR advance streams Gazing With Tranquility, a tribute LP featuring  Sharon Van Etten, the Flaming Lips, Chris Mars, Hamilton Leithauser and more.

THE MANTLES davnace stream All Odds End.

SON LITTLE advance streams a self-titled LP. 

CHRIS WALLA advance streams Tape Loops.

THE MARCH VIOLETS stream Made Glorious. Released in 2014, but they're finally touring.

TOM PETTY reveals a 90s heroin addiction in a forthcoming biography written by Warren Zanes (of the Del Fuegos and the Rock Hall of Fame, iirc). Obligatory: I saw the Del Fuegos open for TP.

THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME nominees are announced. Rooting for Cheap Trick, the Cars,Los Lobos, the Smiths, and Steve Miller of course.

FATHER JOHN MISTY discusses the whole Taylor Swift-Ryan-Adams-Lou Reed controversy.

THE 100 BEST SONGS of the 1990s, according to NME.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases are Pan, the prequel currently scoring 29 percent on the ol' Tomatometer, and The Walk, which expands wide scoring 87 percent.

TOM CRUISE is relocating to Florida: “He thinks all the people in Hollywood are fake.”

BILL COSBY lost his bid to stop another civil lawsuit against him from going forward, but his deposition in the case will be sealed at least until December.

MARVEL STUDIOS adds Ant-Man and the Wasp, and three mystery movies, to Phase 3 of its schedule.

KATE HUDSON & NICK JONAS were just a fling, allegedly.

ST VINCENT & CARA DELEVIGNE flaunted their matching diamond bands from the front row of Chanel's Parisian show.

RUSSIA's air campaign in Syria is not only supporting Assad, it's giving cover to fighters from the so-called Islamic State. Senior U.S. lawmakers have begun probing possible intelligence lapses over Moscow’s intervention in Syria, concerned that American spy agencies were slow to grasp the scope and intention of Russia’s dramatic military offensive there. A number of cruise missiles launched from a Russian ship and aimed at targets in Syria have crashed in Iran, two U.S. officials told CNN.

TWO WHALES, One Paddleboarder.

AN 8-FT KING COBRA missing for more than a month was found under a dryer in a garage not far from its reality TV star owner's home near Orlando.

A TARANTULA was spotted crossing the road in Ottawa, Canada.

OLIVER the PARROT enjoys his owner's hair dryer.

JOHN LENNON would have turned 75 this week. Maybe he's watching the wheels somewhere.

THE ARCS stopped by WFUV's Studio A for a chat and mini-set.

SHAWN COLVIN played the Rockwood Music Hall.

GLEN HANSARD stopped by World Cafe for a chat and a downloadable mini-set.

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED: Tracks from Bob Dylan, Frank Turner, Daughter and more highlight the latest edition.

SON LITTLE drops “Go Blue, Blood Red."

TRANSLATOR is "Everywhere That I'm Not," including the "Where Are They Now?" file.

PRINCE: Pitchfork profiles the Artist circa Dirty Mind.

PAVEMENT: Magnet is exerpting its cover story on the making of Slanted And Enchanted.

DEAFHEAVEN: George Clarke Talks to Paper magazine about dealing with sudden attention, staying focused and the importance of the Cranberries on their sound.

HARRY NILSSON: Syd Straw, Steve Barton of the band Translator, and other musicians are lobbying for his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

CAREY MULLIGAN & MARCUS MUMFORD welcomed their first child.

BLAKE SHELTON & GWEN STEFANI: Shamelessly flirting on The Voice.

LANCE BASS claims he was "inappropriately touched" while N'Sync.

RICK MORANIS turned down the Ghostbusters reboot.

DANIEL CRAIG talks to TimeOut about taying in shape, Sam Mendes and Spectre.

MERYL STREEP singled out two global institutions as bastions of lingering 21st century sexism—the Catholic Church, and the Rotten Tomatoes movie review site.

SYRIA said Wednesday that government troops had launched a ground assault backed by intense Russian airstrikes and, for the first time, possibly Russian warships firing from offshore, targeting opposition forces. Russia also has pushed Aussie jets out of Syria.

IRAN's  Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday banned any further negotiations between Iran and the United States, putting the brakes on moderates hoping to end Iran's isolation after reaching a nuclear deal with world powers in July.

TWO GUINEA PIGS share a blade of grass, Lady and the Tramp-style.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: An angry, drunken squirrel trashes a bar.

A RODENT unlike any other has been spotted in a small town in the north of the indonesian isle of Sulawesi.

A  20-FT PYTHON was pried off the owner of a northern Kentucky reptile store by local police.

THE ARCS performed "Outta My Mind" on Colbert.

WEYES BLOOD advance streams the Cardamom Times EP. 

FATHER JOHN MISTY played the Columbia City Theater in Seattle. 

THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH played KEXP's Midday Show. 

TURNTABLE KITCHEN shares an Autumn mixtape. (Thx, LHB.) 

DRESSY BESSY returns with "Lady Liberty," featuring Peter Buck on guitar. Catchy. 

TIGUE team with members of Yo La Tengo on "Mouth." 

COURTNEY BARNETT drops a Jack White-produced cover of Boys Next Door's "Shivers." 

TORTOISE drops "Gesceap" ahead of The Catastrophist. 

ALELA DIANE & RYAN FRANCESCONI drop "Shapeless" and "The Sun Today" ahead of Cold Moon. 

FOXING drops "Weave" ahead of Dealer. 

CHRISSIE HYNDE visited Morning Edition and it got a bit contentious, as Hynde often is. 

JOANNA NEWSOM and her new LP Divers are profiled by the New York Times. 

KURT VILE talks to Rolling Stone about B'lieve I'm Goin Down..., the challenge of playing live, and more. 

AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd lost an appeal against his recent conviction for drug possession and making threats to kill a former employee. 

TOM CRUISE, contra prior reports, reportedly attended his daughter's Scientology-based wedding. Nicole Kidman was reportedly blindsided.

ASHLEY JUDD claims she was sexually harrassed by a studio mogul. 

RHIANNA comments on Rachel Dolezal in a Vanity Fair profile. 

ROONEY MARA is speaking out about the controversy surrounding her casting as Tiger Lily in Joe Wright's Pan. 

GEORGE MILLER talks to NME about the theories surrounding Mad Max: Fury Road. 

BOBBI KRISTINA BROWN's boyfriend may face murder charges, a source tells to Us Weekly. 

TWILIGHT author Stephenie Meyer is swapping the characters' genders for a 10th anniversary release. 

MOLDOVA: There have been at least four attempts in five years in which criminal networks with suspected Russian ties sought to sell radioactive material tothe Islamic State  extremists through Moldova, an investigation by The Associated Press has found.

RUSSIA has targeted Syrian rebel groups backed by the Central Intelligence Agency in a string of airstrikes running for days, leading the U.S. to conclude that it is an intentional effort by Moscow, American officials said. Tensions between Russia and Turkey widened on Tuesday over the Russian bombings of Syrian rebels and multiple violations of Turkish airspace, which have deeply undercut Turkey's goals in the Syrian civil war.

IRAN has long been sending troops and material to help Syrian autocrat Bashar Assad wage war against his own people. But now Tehran is busy establishing a state within a state -- which is why Assad now wants help from Russia. 

RUTTING MOOSE duke it out in Anchorage subdivision. 

A RESCUED RACCOON thinks it's a dog... 

A POST-APOCALYPTIC BEAVER survived the dinosaurs. 

BLANKET OCTOPI: The male is less than an inch long; the female is 70x larger. 

GUY GARVEY (Elbow) dropped a video for the sorta-swampy "Angela's Eyes." (NSFW language)

ISRAEL NASH streams Israel Nash's Silver Season. 

ALEX G advance streams Beach Music.

GLEN HANSARD stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session. 

BJORK is streaming a third set of Vulnicura remixes. 

DEAR JANET: Tin Angel Records is streaming a Janet Jackson tribute LP. 

THE MOODY BLUES "Ride My Seesaw" on French TV for Twofer "Tuesday Afternoon."

PATTI SMITH gets an in-depth NYT profile in connection with her new memoir and the 40th anniversary of Horses. 

JR JR: Josh Epstein spoke to PopMatters about the band's formation, its newest album, just what’s in a name or label, and the duo’s approach to both songwriting and prosody.

RUSH reveals their first offering from the forthcoming tour documentary.  

A GUIDE TO PSYCHEDELIC FOLK, courtesy of Pitchfork. It's almost certainly a promo for Apple Music, but still good.

TOM CRUISE & NICOLE KIDMAN were not invited to the daughter's wedding. In fairness, the groom's parents weren't invited either.

JULIANA MARGULIES denies reports that she and Archie Panjabi have had a years-long, hush-hush feud behind the scenes of their hit CBS drama.

HUGH GRANT to become a fourth-time father? 

JULIANNE MOORE revealed which one of her super-famous former costars she would rather give her kidney to: Robert Pattinson or Kristen Stewart. 

MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY transforms into a fat slob to film the upcoming flick Gold in Manhattan. 

EMILY BLUNT revealed that becoming an American citizen felt "bittersweet" and was a decision made "mainly for tax reasons".

TORI SPELLING spills 90210 secrets. 

THE FLASH's big-screen movie may be directed by the best-selling author of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. 

NORTH KOREA released a New York University student who holds a U.S. green card Monday, six months after capturing him crossing into the country from China, South Korea's Unification Ministry said.  

SYRIA: The American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State has begun preparing to open a major front in northeastern Syria, aiming to put pressure on Raqqa, the terrorist group's de facto capital, according to military and administration officials. After years of debating a U.S.-led no-fly zone inside Syria to protect rebels and civilians, Vladimir Putin has established his own no-fly zone in a matter of days -- to protect his new base there.

A FRENCH BULLDOG fends off a pair of 100-lb bears.

TURTLES wear colorful bathing suits so Aussie scientists can learn more about the animals' feeding habits. 

115 LIVE SCORPIONS were seized by customs agents in Paris. 

AN ORPHANED BLACK WIDOW has a small list of suitable foster parents thanks to Canadian licensing restrictions. 

THE FLAMING LIPS backed MILEY CYRUS for “Karen Don’t Be Sad” on SNL, icymi.

GLENN MERCER of The Feelies is streaming Incidental Hum.

OF MONSTERS & MEN stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

MEW stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

LIANNE La HAVAS plays a Tiny Desk Concert.

THE MAMAS & PAPAS: Can't trust that day.

YO LA TENGO talked to World Cafe about the making of Stuff Like That There and getting up early to provide the music for NPR's Morning Edition.

JOY DIVISION: Hadar Goldman talks to The Guardian about the band and buying Ian Curtis's house.

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE's Top ten Songs, according to Stereogum.

THE 100 GREATEST ALT-SINGLES of the 80s, according to PopMatters (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5).

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: The Martian rockets to the top of the chart with 55MM, the second-biggest October debut after Gravity (which along with Interstellar, was the obvious release model here). The film also earned n "A" Cinemascore, so this may replicate the leggy performance of the Sandra Bullock vehicle.  The Martian is Ridley Scott's bigegst debut, and Matt Damon's second-biggest (after The Bourne Ultimatum, which is particularly good news for Damon, who has not struck gold since the his turn as Bourne ended (likely the reason he's returning to that franchise).  Hotel Transylvania 2 places with 33MM on a 32 percent drop, respectable for a sequel featuring Adam Sandler.  Sicario's wide expansion shows with 12MM; it's nicely positioned for awards season and looks profitable against a 30MM budget, so the issue becomesw hether the studio tries to push a gritty R-rated pic onto even more screens next weekend.  The Intern takes the fourth slot with 11.6MM on a 35 percent drop that's faily leggy, tho the pic had no real comedy competition.  Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials rounds out the Top Five with 7.6MM; this one is dropping much faster than the original, but should be profiting already based on strong performances in overseas markets.  Below the fold, Everest took a big hit from The Walk's IMAX debut, and the latter isn't perfoming as strongly as the mountain pic did.

ANDY RODDICK & BROOKLYN DECKER  welcomed their first child together — a baby boy — in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday.

JIM CARREY's ex-gf may have committed suicide with pills prescribed to the actor under an alias.

JOHNNY DEPP is concerned with how quickly his daughter Lily-Rose Depp's fashion career is taking off.

JENNIFER ANISTON & JUSTIN THEROUX made their first public appearance as a married couple on Saturday when they attended the Austin premiere of The Leftovers.

STAR WARS: “Slave Leia's” bikini — a slinky costume originally worn by Carrie Fisher in The Return of the Jedi — fetched a whooping 96K at auction Friday. 

THE STATE OF THE WORLD:  Former U.N. ambassador Bill Richardson on Sunday said he has never seen the state of international affairs in worse shape.

SAUDI ARABIA’S fresh-faced defense minister, the favourite son of King Salman, has become the target of palace intrigues as plotters circulate accusations about his lavish lifestyle and reckless foreign policy. 

SYRIA: Assad said Sunday that his coalition with Russia, Iran and Iraq must succeed in Syria’s war, suggesting the alternative would be a region in chaos.

IRAN signed contracts worth 21 billion with Russia for the purchase of satellite-related equipment, as well as Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft.

A DOG STOPPED by the power of The Force.

GIRAFFES HUMMING could be disturbing the neighbors of an English zoo.

AN ALLIGATOR was confiscated in Rhode Island.

A "SOFA SHARK" was nabbed off the coast of Scotland. No remote was found.