BEN E. KING,  a singer and songwriter whose 1961 hit “Stand by Me” became an enduring rhythm-and-blues classic and found a new generation of fans through the popular 1986 film of the same title, died April 30 at a hospital near his home in Teaneck, N.J. He was 76.  The WaPo obit will also hook you up with his great "Spanish Harlem," as well as highlights of his turn as lead vocalist for The Drifters -- "There Goes My Baby," "This Magic Moment" and "Save the Last Dance for Me."

SURFER BLOOD advance streams 1000 Palms.

PATRICK WATSON advance streams Love Songs For Robots.

EMMYLOU HARRIS & RODNEY CROWELL advance stream The Traveling Kind.

JOANNA GRUESOME advance streams Peanut Butter.

TRES PADRES: Lou Barlow drops two tracks he recorded with Imaad Wasif and the Melvins’ Dale Crover.

BLUR bassist Alex James tells NME how The Magic Whip almost never happened - and if he'll be voting for his chum David Cameron.

B.B. KING is in hospice care...and there's already a dispute between his daughter and his business manager.

JOHN LYDON, a/k/a Johnny Rotten talks to All Things Considered about losing his memory to meningitis at 7, being a threat to civilization (and loving it) and why he's appeared on reality TV shows.

"UPTOWN FUNK" adds The Gap Band to its songwriting credits.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Avengers: Age of Ultron completely ruled cinemas with 187.7MM.  That's the sencond-biggest opening ever, behind only... The Avengers.  Will it hold that record against Star Wars: The Force Awakens? Hmm... Age of Ultron opened a week earlier overseas, where it has raked in 439MM so far.  Here, the Thursday previews ougrossed the opening weekend of The Matrix,and by Friday night, Age of Ultron outgrossed the opening weekends of dilms like 50 Shades of Grey and American Sniper.  The Age of Adeline placed with 6.3 MM, finishing up a slot but dropping 53 percent.  It's a different age.  Furious 7 showed, falling out of the top slot it enjoyed throughout April with 6.1MM on a 67 percent drop as all the action for action went to Marvel.  Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 fell 62 percent to the fourth slotwith 5.5MM.  Home rounded out the Top 5 with 3.3MM on a 59 percent drop.

KATE MIDDLETON & PRINCE WILLIAM introduced the new Princess of Cambridge on Saturday.

BROOKLYN DECKER & ANDY RODDERICK will welcome their first child this fall.

BRUCE JENNER has been hit with a wrongful death lawsuit by the stepchildren of the woman who died in the Malibu car crash.

HILARY DUFF seems to be Tinder dating for a reality TV show.

ELIZABETH BANKS talks Pitch Perfect 2 and Love and Mercy with The Hollywood Reporter.

CHAD L. COLEMAN  — an actor who famously played Tyreese on “The Walking Dead” and Cutty on “The Wire” had a complete meltdown Friday on a New York City subway train.

GRACE LEE WHITNEY who played the loyal Janice Rand, the personal assistant who served Captain James T. Kirk aboard the USS Enterprise during the first season of Star Trek, has died. She was 85.

ART SPIEGELMAN has called Russian bookstores’ decision to stop selling copies of Maus – his Pulitzer prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust – the “harbinger of a dangerous thing”, as authorities move to remove Nazi insignia ahead of the 70th anniversary of the allied victory in the second world war.

VENEZUELA: President Nicolas Maduro has promised to nationalize food distribution in the South American nation beset with record shortages of basic goods, runaway inflation and an escalating economic crisis.

U.S. AND QATARI officials began talks Thursday about extending security assurances for five senior Taliban members who were released from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl and whose transfer to Qatar triggered an outcry on Capitol Hill.

THE ISLAMIC STATE: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State, was so severely wounded by a US air strike he is said to have handed control to his deputy, a physics professor.

A KITTEN takes on Dalmations.

A DOG infected humans with the Plague in Colorado, the first such reported case in the US.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: A calf with two heads.

THE VAMPIRE SQUID may not really be a squid.

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with R.E.M! Live at the Capital Theater, in Passaic, NJ, on June 9, 1984. Your set list includes: "Pale Blue Eyes"; "Second Guessing"; "Hyena"; "Letter Never Sent"; "Harborcoat"; "7 Chinese Brothers"; "Pretty Persuasion"; "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)"; "Gardening At Night"; "9-9"; "Windout"; "Old Man Kensey"; "Sitting Still"; "Driver 8"; "Carnival Of Sorts (Boxcars)"; "Radio Free Europe"; and "Little America.

TWEEDY perfoms live in the KEXP studio.

JEFF THE BROTHERHOOD performs live in the KEXP studio.

LITTLE WINGS covers Van Morrison, Billy Idol, Bruce Springsteen and Lil Wayne at Aquarium Drunkard. 

OH CANADA: LTOBF brings you its 25th or 35th compilation of bands from the Great White North.

TITUS ANDRONICUS dropped “Dimed Out” ahead of a cameo-laden rock opera, The Most Lamentable Tragedy.

RYAN ADAMS covered Bryan Adams's "Summer of '69" at the Ryman Auditorium.

MOUNTAIN GOATS: John Darnielle choreographs Ace of Base's "The Sign." (Language warning) A perennial fave.

THE JESUS & MARY CHAIN: Jim Reid talks to Consequence of Sound about Psychocandy, sobriety, and his hero, Lou Reed.

KIM GORDON talks about her memoir at The Quietus.

CHUCK PROPHET talks to Paste about his glam-rock LP, Night Surfer.

DE LA SOUL did a Reddit Ask Me Anything.

THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON is this weekend's sole wide release, clocking in at 74 percent on the ol' Tomatometer. The original would be tough to top, and while there's plenty of action, director/writer Joss Whedon wisely doesn't try to top the inter-dimensional invasion of the Chitauri.  Indeed, the basic plot is nothing revolutionary.  Instead, he relies on his large, talented ensemble and an often more comedic tone, not unlike his work on Firefly/Serenity. He also throws out a fair number of curveballs.  Some of these twists were likely dictated by the Marvel Cinematic Universe's differences from the comics (dictated by other studios owning the rights to certain characters; others are setting up Phase Three of these increasingly inter-related Marvel movies (even seeing Guardians of the Galaxy will deepen the viewer's understanding here).  Indeed, there are some Easter eggs for the comics nerds, who all "oohed" at the mention of Wakanda. And at least one or two curveballs will be as unexpected as they are emotional.  And these twists generally work pretty well. David Spader does well as the movie Ultron. The comics' Ultron was created by Hank Pym (whom we will not meet until Ant-Man arrives later this Summer), whereas Spader neatly reflects his creation by Tony Stark in the MCU.  There is a preview of Phase Three during the credits, but there's no bonus scene at the very end--again, Whedon wisely deciding not to imitate the original.

ROBERT DOWNEY JR intended to be complimentary with a statement about Mexican-born director Alejandro Inarritu that some have interpreted as racist, the actor's publicist said. RDJr also endorsed Joe and Anthony Russot to take over for the two Avengers: Infinity War films.

ROSIE O'DONNELL's estranged wife claims she wants custody because Rosie drinks and smokes too much.

COURTNEY STODDARD has been offered a million bucks for her sex tape.

BRUCE JENNER plans to return to motivational speaking.

JUMP STREET plans to expand with a female spin-off and a Men In Black crossover.

BEN AFFLECK cameoing as Batman in Suicide Squad?

IRAN: Britain has informed a United Nations sanctions panel of an active Iranian nuclear procurement network linked to two blacklisted firms, according to a confidential report. Also, Iran has been shipping weapons to Yemen's Houthi rebels since at least 2009, according to a confidential U.N. report, indicating that Tehran's support dates back to the early years of the Shiite militia's insurgency.

NEPAL: A 15-year-old hotel worker was rescued from the rubble five days after a devastating earthquake.

VIETNAM: 40 years after the war, has the single most positive views on capitalism of any country, with an enthusiasm that is even more widespread than in Germany, India, or the United States.

MAKING A BED With Cats.

SIX DUCKLINGS, saved by a ringtone.

A ZEBRA photobombs a German tourist.

A RESCUED SNAKE pukes up a frog.

DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 shares a video for "Virgins."

ALL PEOPLE advance streams Learn Forget Repeat.

RYAN ADAMS streams three songs from a new 7″ called I Do Not Feel Like Being Good, via Spotify.

JOSE GONZALEZ plays a Tiny Desk Concert.

SAM FERMIN stopped by WFUV for a set.

CHUMPED covers Sex Bob-omb's “Threshold,” from Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World.

DIAMOND YOUTH drops “No Control” ahead of Nothing Matters.

HOT CHOCOLATE: "You Sexy Thing." Believe in miracles?

BRIAN WILSON talks to Aquarium Drunkard about his latest (and last?) album, the Wrecking Crew, and Love and Mercy.

SPEEDY ORTIZ talks to NME about intra-band tumult, the indie "boy's club," and their sophomore LP.

CREAM: The Guardian dug up Melody Maker's 1966 preview of the band's first gig.

MEW is profiled at Paste.

DAVE LETTERMAN reflects on 33 years of late nights with the New York Times.

ROBERT DOWNEY JR stays for an interview about walking out on an interview.

MILEY CYRUS, who recently broke up with her boyfriend of five months, Patrick Schwarzenegger, is getting close again to ex-fiancé Liam Hemsworth.

PAMELA ANDERSON is a million dollars richer, and Rick Salomon is a lot happier after their divorce went through.

MARK HAMILL shared family pics from Return of the Jedi.

SEINFELD heads to Hulu for 160MM dollars.

FRANCE:  Cartoonist Luz, who drew Charlie Hebdo's front cover picture of Mohammed following the massacre of the satirical weekly's editorial team by jihadists in January, has told a French magazine he will no longer draw the prophet.

SAUDI ARABIA's  king has removed his half-brother as crown prince, replacing him with his nephew, and elevated his son to the position of deputy crown prince, in the most significant repositioning of power among the royal family since King Salman assumed the throne in January.

LIBYA: The Tripoli-based Islamist faction rejected the UN's peace proposal that included recognizing the rival internationally-recognized parliament as "the only legislative authority in the country."

A CRAZY, TENTACLED CATERPILLAR in Peru.

A BULL had an apparently amorous interest in a Florida police car.

CONEHEAD TERMITES invade Broward County, FL. Mepps! Mepps!

A TORTOISE which had part of its legs chewed off by a rat has been fitted with wheels.

JACK ELY, a co-founder of the Kingsmen, the man whose unintelligible singing of Richard Berry's "Louie, Louie" made it a teen anthem and FBI target, died at his home in Redmond, Oregon, after a long battle with an illness. He was 71.

JACK WHITE played unplugged in Fargo, his final show for the foreseeable future.

MIKAL CRONIN advance streams MCIII via iTunes.

DJANGO DJANGO advance streams Born Under Saturn via iTunes.

GOOD RIDDANCE streams Peace In Our Time, their first since 2006.

THE ROLLING STONES drop an alternate version of "Can’t You Hear Me Knocking."

THE REPLACEMENTS rolled out "Whole Foods Blues" on tour.

RICHARD THOMPSON dropped "Beatnik Walking" ahead of Still, produced by Jeff Tweedy.

SIR PAUL McCARTNEY plays "Another Girl" live for the first time. The Beatles never did so.

JONI MITCHELL's rep denies the singer is in a coma.

CAT POWER: Chan Marshall is a mom now.

DAVE NAVARRO is dating Fox News anchor Andrea Tantaros.

EMMY THE GREAT talks to Hunger about her new EP and upcoming LP. (Thx, Frank Yang)

HILARY DUFF is on Tinder.

AMY ADAMS  is to marry her longtime fiancé Darren Le Gallo this weekend in Los Angeles, multiple sources confirmed to Page Six.

CHRIS EVANS talks Captain America with Entertainment Weekly.

ALICE EVE (Star Trek: Into Darkness) got into social media trouble with comments about Bruce Jenner.

FULL HOUSE: John Stamos calls out the Olsen twins.

THE FHM 100, just in time for Gratuitous Wednesday.

SUZANNE CROUGH CONDRAY, who played the youngest daughter on hit 1970s television show The Partridge Family, has died at 52.

THE ISLAMIC STATE: A senior female ISIS agent apparently is a twenty-something female believed to be from Seattle.

NIGERIA: 200 girls and 93 women rescued from Boko Haram terror camps in Sambisa Forest on Tuesday are "not the Chibok girls," Nigerian Army spokesman Sani Usman said.

SAUDI ARABIA announced the arrest of 93 suspects with ties to the Islamic State group who it says were planning multi-pronged attacks on the U.S. Embassy, security forces and residential compounds where foreigners live.

IRAN: A U.S.-flagged ship was recently intercepted by an Iran Revolutionary Guard naval patrol, the U.S. Navy revealed. The Marshall Islands, a small country that gained independence from the U.S.  in 1986, will almost definitely have to rely on the U.S. to retrieve a cargo ship flying its flag that was commandeered Tuesday by Iran's Navy, apparently in Iranian waters.

GIRAFFES, ZEBRAS & OTHERS drink from a water trough.

WHEN SEA LION ATTACKS: A Cali fisherman worried he was going to die after a sea lion attacked, pulling him overboard.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: Vampire squirrels are a thing.

THE POCKET SHARK is so rare that this is the second ever spotted.

JASON ISBELL & AMANDA SHIRES covered Warren Zevon’s “Mutineer" for Letterman.

WARM SODA advance streams Symbolic Dream.

LORD HURON stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

TODD RUNDGREN, Hans-Peter Lindstrøm, and  Emil Nikolaisen are advance streaming Rundanns.

ELBOW drops "What Time Do You Call This?" from the Man Up soundtrack.

MATES OF STATE have a "Staring Contest" ahead of their You're Going To Make It EP.

MIKE VIOLA (Candy Butchers, The Wonders) drops "Stairway to Paradise."

FFS: The Franz Ferdinand/Sparks collab drops “Collaborations Don’t Work”.

THEM: "Baby, Please Don't Go" and a French TV take on "Gloria" for Twofer Tuesday.

DJANGO DJANGO talks to NME about mythology, the occult and their new LP.

WHY DO PEOPLE HATE NICKELBACK? NPR investigates.

MP3 BLOGS are still a Thing...just more niche.

SID TEPPER, the man behind hundreds of popular rock and pop hits sung by artists including Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra, died on 24 April, aged 96.

SESAME STREET dropped “Aveggies: Age of Bon Bon."

FULL HOUSE may be headed to Netflix, but an unauthorized tell-all is headed to Lifetime.

VANILLA ICE defends ADAM SANDLER.

NIKKI REED & IAN SOMERHALDER got hitched.

STANA KATIC (Castle) wed her longtime love Kris Brkljac at a private family monastery on the Dalmatian Coast in Croatia.

KHLOE KARDASHIAN & LAMAR ODOM are not talking reconciliation, but they don't want to close the door on the marriage either.

JAYNE MEADOWS ALLEN, award winning stage and screen actress, died peacefully of natural causes Sunday night at age 95. Folks will remember her for The Honeymooners, but as a kid, I dug her and Steve Allen on PBS's Meeting of Minds. 

AFGHANISTAN: Thousands of Taliban fighters attacked Afghan forces in the northern province of Kunduz in an effort to seize control of the provincial capital and outlying districts. Afghan officials have said that several areas of Kunduz are now under the jihadist group’s control.

IRAN: The world is "closer than ever" to reaching a comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran but the work is far from over, with key issues unresolved, Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday told a global gathering on nuclear disarmament, where he and Iran's foreign minister met on the sidelines.

TOURIST FLIPS OFF A MONKEY, Suffers Consequences.

THE LANGUAGE OF CATS: How they're actually telling humans what to do.

A DOBERMAN who ingested nearly three wrist watches is recovering after undergoing a procedure to remove the pieces at the MSPCA's Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston.

A FOX in Chernobyl has made a large sandwich using cold meats and bread fed to him by a radio crew in the area.