THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with AIMEE MANN's CHRISTMAS CAROL (profanity warnings): Part One has your Scrooge-y set-up with Michael Penn. Part Two features The Office's John Krasinski. Part Three has Michael Cera. Part Four has John C. Reilly.

FANFARLO did a Tiny Desk Concert at the offices of NPR.

KITTY, DAISY and LEWIS did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter, including a cover of "Going Up the Country."

VAMPIRE WEEKEND are streaming another advance track, "White Sky."

FLORENCE and the MACHINE stopped by WFUV for a chat and mini-set streaming on demand.

THE PRETENDERS: "2000 Miles." It felt like Christmas time.

THE TOP ARTISTS OF THE DECADE, based on review data compiled at Metacritic, along with an analysis and compilation of album lists from various magazines. (Thanks, TV's Andy Levy.)

THE TOP 50 ALBUMS of 2009, according to Pitchfork.

AMERICAN INDIE IMPERIALISM! Oh, my!

IDOLATOR is getting refocused on pop music. Not shocking I guess... owner Buzzmedia already has Stereogum to cover the indie scene.

CUTOUT BIN: From the Crystals to the Buzzcocks, from James to Ted Nugent, from Billy Bragg to Billy Squire, plus M Ward, the Flirtations, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, the Clash, the 5,6,7,8s and more -- this weekend's fortuitous finds can be jukeboxed or streamed separately via the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING:  This weekend's wide releases are Avatar, which is currently scoring 82 percent on the ol' Tomatometer, and the rom-com Did You Hear About the Morgans?, which is scoring nine percent.

TIGER WOODS: Elin Nordegren is taking the kids and traveling to Sweden for the holidays, as divorce rumors mushroom.  Nordegren reportedly hired a celebrity divorce attorney.  Meanwhile, Theresa Rogers may be getting a payoff.

JESSICA SIMPSON denies a tabloid report connecting her to Tiger Woods.

KATE HUDSON, upset by her breakup with Alex Rodriguez, found a sympathetic ear from Madonna.

ROBERT PATTINSON and KATY PERRY up close and personal Wednesday night at a supper club in Burbank.

IRON MAN 2: The first full trailer is unlocked.

TOM-KAT UPDATE: David Beckham dishes about an uncomfortable dinner with the couple.

BRADGELINA: New baby rumor.

HOLLYWOOD'S WORST REMAKES OF THE DECADE, according to Movieline.

IRAQ: Iranian-backed insurgents have used cheap, off-the-shelf software to intercept live video feeds from Predator drones, potentially providing them with information they need to evade or monitor US military operations. Bonus: The US has known about the security hole since the 1990s, but assumed local adversaries wouldn't know how to exploit it.

WHIPLASH the COWBOY MONKEY: Okay, it's an old Taco John's ad, but still awesome. More Trumpet!

A COW has been caught jumping six feet on to a roof, after the owners thought they had been burgled. Pic at the link. Maybe it was chasing reindeer.

KUNG FU MONKEYS turn on their master. Pic at the Link.

SANDI the CAT took the ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao, Spain. He has been brought back to Britain, but can't come home for up to six months because of quarantine rules.

YO LA TENGO kicked off Paste's new "Live at Moog" series, and a set from White Rabbits is up now, too. Each also offers a free MP3.

THE 50 WORST SONGS OF THE DECADE are getting a countdown at the Village Voice, with plenty of clips.

HAR MAR SUPERSTAR did three free songs for Daytrotter.

BEST MUSIC OF 2009, according to NPR's Bob Boilen, Carrie Brownstein, Robin Hilton, Stephen Thompson and more...

FUNKY CHRISTMAS: A vintage twofer from Egon, via NPR.

THE WHO is getting a tribute benefit concert at Carnegie Hall, with a lineup including Bob Mould, Bettye LaVette, Mose Allison, Frank Black, Robyn Hitchcock, The Smithereens, and... Bobby McFerrin?

TOM WAITS gives a reading of a "Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis."

THE HOLD STEADY's Craig Finn talks to New York magazine about the stories in his Lifter Puller songs.

R.E.M.: Bill Berry appears on this year's Christmas single.

JASON ISBELL drinks with American Songwriter.

SAD, DISTURBING CHRISTMAS SONGS, courtesy of Westword.

SPANDAU BALLET may be the first band to play in outer space. Yes, it's "True."

TIGER WOODS: Elin Nordegren is taking the cubs and moving to a new den. Sources tell People that she plans to leave the golfer. And in news too good to check, she may sign a deal with Puma. Us claims that Woods and Rachel Uchitel "are not over," while another of his women may appear in an adult video.  Plus, one of Tiger's doctors is reportedly under investigation for HGH distribution.

COURTNEY LOVE got slapped with a restraining order, prohibiting her from having any direct or indirect contact with her daughter, Frances Bean Cobain.

JAKE GYLLENHAAL and REESE WITHERSPOON: The splitsville story goes wide.

KATE HUDSON and A-ROD: More on their split, including the claim that she always wanted to be on camera. That would be a shock.

LINDSAY LOHAN has been ordered to step up her alcohol education program classes.

TIM BURTON'S ALICE in WONDERLAND has photos and a trailer online.

PRINCE OF PERSIA has a behind-the-scenes clip online.

THE WORST FILMS OF THE YEAR, according to The A.V. Club.

MR. SKIN unveils his annual list of the top celebrity nude scenes of the year.

IRAN test-fired an upgraded version of its most advanced missile, which is capable of hitting Israel and parts of Europe, according to state media. The US is planning an unprecedented missile defense test against an Iranian ICBM.

PAKISTAN: Newsweek reports that Pres. Obama believes that widening the scope of the drone attacks into Quetta would be risky and unwise.  The WaPo reports that Pakistani Pres. Zardari has resisted a direct appeal from Pres. Obama for a rapid expansion of Pakistani military operations in tribal areas and has called on the US to speed up military assistance to Pakistani forces and to intervene more forcefully with India.

IRAQ: Dozens of Iraqi security force members were involved in attacks that killed up to 112 people in Baghdad last week, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Wednesday.

CATS and DOGS, laying together...  Mass hysteria!

FLATULENT TURTLES plague the Great Yarmouth Sea Life Centre at the holidays.

AN INJURED SWALLOW is taught to fly again with a special harness. But will it be able to carry a coconut?

OCTOPUSES have been observed stacking coconut shells and carrying them around as portable shelters. But they have no air speed velocity.

U2 joined ELVIS COSTELLO on his Spectacle show, mashing up "Pump It Up" with "Get On Your Boots" and playing each other's material including "Stuck In A Moment," "Mysterious Ways," and "Two Shots Happy, One Shot Sad." 

ELLIOT SMITH: An unreleased song, "Cecilia/Amanda," is available to stream and download.

JAPANDROIDS did two free songs for Daytrotter, one previously unreleased.

SEA WOLF played material from their new album on Morning Becomes Eclectic.

VISQUEEN's Rachel Flotard talked to NPR's Morning Edition about the songs she wrote during her father's sickness, which became the unexpectedly upbeat rock album Message to Garcia.

THE DARKNESS wuz robbed when "Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End)" only made it to No.2 in the UK for 2003.  Frontman Justin Hawkins was reportedly very bitter about the defeat.

THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME will induct The Stooges, The Hollies, Genesis, ABBA and Jimmy Cliff, while snubbing Darlene Love, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, KISS, and Donna Summer.

WILCO: Jeff Tweedy talks to The Independent about longevity against the odds and a dream comeback.

A.A. BONDY talks to PopMatters about reinventing himself as a working-class folk singer.

JOHN LYDON, a/k/a Johnny Rotten, regrets allowing Sid Vicious into the ranks of the Sex Pistols.

TIGER WOODS: The mistress toteboard stands at 14.  Woods had crisis managers bail him out of sticky situations with women long before Rachel Uchitel became a household name - sources tell TMZ.

RHIANNA gives an interview and revealing photoshoot to GQ.  Her ex, Chris Brown, accused Wal-Mart of blackballing his album, then deleted his Twitter account.

TONY ROMO is engaged. I'm sure Jessica Simpson is taking it well.

JOHN MAYER: Too "freaked out" to date at the moment.

AVATAR: James Cameron talks to Vanity Fair about Dances With Smurfs.

THE GOLDEN GLOBES NOMINATIONS went to these folks. Congrats!

THE TOP FILMS OF 2009, according to Quentin Tarantino.

ROBIN HOOD, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe, has a trailer online.

CAPRICA: The pilot for the Battlestar Galactica prequel is online.

PAKISTAN: Demands by the US to crack down on the strongest Taliban warrior in Afghanistan, Siraj Haqqani, whose fighters pose the biggest threat to American forces, have been rebuffed by the Pakistani military, according to Pakistani military officials and diplomats.

AFGHANISTAN: FNC's Greg Palkot has video from his embed with a company of Special Force A-Teams.

TAIWANESE PIG FARMERS have started to potty train their pigs to keep them from defecating in nearby rivers.  I think I have a demo video.

IT'S NOT RAINING CATS and DOGS, but there was a slight Pomeranian in the Quad Cities.

GIANT LOBSTER gets a reprieve.

KITTEH rides 120 miles through sub-zero temps in the wheel well of a SUV.

THE MUPPETS: "Ringing of the Bells."

NEW RELEASES: Julian Lennon, Lisa Hannigan and Variety Lab are streaming this week via Spinner.

LOCH LOMOND did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter, two previously unreleased.

THAO and the GET DOWN STAY DOWN stopped by Oregon Public Broadcasting, which has audio and video.

JINGLE JAMS: A Holiday Mix From NPR Music. 

GRIZZLY BEAR is scoring Blue Valentine, starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Phillips.

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS frontman James Darnielle was backed by Superchunk's Jon Wurster on drums.for three Christmas covers -- including Chuck Berry's "Run, Run Rudolph" at the 2006 Trekky Records Christmas show.  It's Threefer Thursday -- like Twofer Tuesday, but it's one more.

LARGEHEARTED BOY's Favorite Albums of 2009.  Different from mine, but all noteworthy.

THE TOP 100 SONGS OF 2009, accoring to Pitchfork.

TITUS ANDRONICUS is releasing a Civil War-themed album, with cameos from the Hold Steady's Craig Finn (as Walt Whitman) and more...

DANGER MOUSE and THE SHINS' James Mercer have launched a viral campaign for their Broken Bells project.

THE NOUGHTIES: A Cultural Golden Age?

TIGER WOODS is the gift that keeps giving in the slow pre-holidays news period.  Florida's Department of Children and Families has an open investigation that it is actively pursuing into a possible domestic violence incident - with a weapon -- between Tiger Woods and his wife.  Business firm Accenture dropped its sponsorship of Tiger.  Elin was spotted not wearing her wedding ring.

COURTNEY LOVE has lost legal control of her daughter.

KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN gave birth to a son.

ORLANDO BLOOM and MIRANDA KERR deny they are engaged.

KATE HUDSON and A-ROD: Dunzo?

LINDSAY LOHAN is selling off second-hand clothes on her family's website.

RICKY GERVAIS was profiled on 60 Minutes.

QUENTIN TARANTINO talks about the Inglourious Basterds DVD and its extras with the MTV.

IRAN: A new anti-government movement has sprung up among protesters in Iran --  with men posting pictures of themselves on the Internet wearing women's head scarves as a political statement.

PAKISTAN: Senior US officials are pushing to expand CIA drone strikes beyond Pakistan's tribal region and into a major city in an attempt to pressure the Pakistani government to pursue Taliban leaders based in Quetta. Of 48 attacks carried out this year, only six have taken place since the end of September, according to data compiled by The Long War Journal.

WHISTLING PUPPY: Let's go to the video.

ESKIMO the REINDEER has a bigger problem than Rudolph.

A TEENAGE DOLPHIN has been accused of bullying swimmers and waterskiers in New Zealand.

WILD BOARS trapped German walkers in a trash dumpster.

EELS released a video for "In My Younger Days" from the upcoming End Times album.

FANFARLO and THE SWIMMERS played the World Cafe Friday. You can stream either set now via NPR.

CURTISS A stopped by the Current studios in support of his annual John Lennon Tribute Show. Three of my fave Lennon tunes, plus gossip about The Replacements and Stan Lee. What more could anyone want?

PHOENIX was profiled on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday.

NELLIE McKAY got a feature plus tracks from her Doris Day tribute album on Weekend Edition Sunday.

SUFJAN STEVENS: "Put the Lights on the Tree."

EXPOSED: Why indie rockers are baring it all.

BERNARD SUMNER talks to the San Francisco Chronicle about Bad Lieutenant, New Order, Joy Division, etc.

THE XX is profiled by the New York Observer.

THE HOLD STEADY frontman Craig Finn talks to New York magazine about his screenplay adaptation of Chuck Klosterman's memoir Fargo Rock City.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: The Princess and the Frog easily topped the chart with 25 million, but that is at the low end of what industry "tracking" projected.  If the Frog lacks holiday legs, it could spell the end of 2-D animation at Disney. Lilo & Stitch opened to 35 million eight years ago; Disney hasn't come close since.  The Blind Side slipped back into th second slot with 15.5 million, but it has already taken in 150 million domestic on a 29 million budget.  Invictus debted in the third slot with nine million; it has a 60 million price tag, but should do well worldwide and carry well through awards season.  New Moon drops to the fourth spot with eight million on another big 48 percent drop -- not that anyone is going to cry over its 267.3 million total to date.  A Christmas Carol takes a small drop to round out the Top Five; it has made 242.7 worldwide against a 200 million budget.  It may yet have holdiday legs, though Avatar will take over 3-D screens this weekend.

TIGER WOODS has temporarily quit golf to sort out his private life. Gillette is officially phasing him out of their ads, but Nike is standing by their man. A woman who had a several-year affair with the golfer tried to get pregnant by him for years, according to RadarOnline. Plus, more allegations about the escort service surface at The Sun.

RENEE ZELLWEGER and BRADLEY COOPER: Playing house?

LINDSAY LOHAN is under attack from an Indian charity, which says she is claiming to have helped to rescue 40 child laborers in New Delhi when she was not actually in the country.

MADONNA is no longer Louis Vuitton's material girl, with a younger model taking her place as the face of the brand.

NATALIE PORTMAN will star in and produce "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," a film that is based on the bestselling book written by Seth Grahame-Smith and Jane Austen.

TERRY GILLIAM tells the Wall Street Journal how he finished "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" without Heath Ledger.

STAY COOL, a sort of high school comedy with an unusual cast, has a trailer online.

THE HURT LOCKER chosen as the year's best picture by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Gotta say I liked it.

IRAN says it is ready to exchange the bulk of its stockpile of enriched uranium for nuclear fuel rods - as proposed by the UN - but according to its own mechanisms and timetable. Hey, this wouldn't be yet another stalling tactic, would it?  An Iranian scientist who vanished six months ago has revealed secrets of his country's nuclear program with international weapons inspectors, according to the Sunday Telegraph.  Confidential intelligence documents obtained by The Times of London show that Iran is working on testing a key final component of a nuclear bomb.  Meanwhile, thousands are fleeing the country as the regime tightens the noose on dissent.

PAKISTAN signals a willingness to negotiate with the Taliban through sympathetic Islamist political parties.

IRAQ: Despite recent headline-grabbing bombings, the security situation is continuing to improve. Plenty of charts at the link.

SURPRISED KITTEH: The Sequel. Plus, a scientific explanation.

A DRUNKEN ELK terrorized the streets of Södertälje: "The game warden recognized the elk. It usually walks around and eats apples, gets drunk, and then gets aggressive," said police spokesperson Björn Engström.

PETUNIAS and POTATOES may actually be carnivorous plants, scientists now suggest.

A GIANT RODENT was found crushed to death at the Calgary Zoo, one of a string of odd incidents there.

GORILLAS will now be getting down at the Buffalo Zoo.