THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with JOHN HUGHES! The sportos, motorheads, geeks, sluts, buds, wasteoids, dweebies and dickheads, they all adore him. They think he's a righteous dude. The writer/director behind "Sixteen Candles," "The Breakfast Club," "Pretty in Pink," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "Weird Science," National Lampoon's "Vacation" movies, "Home Alone," "Planes, Trains & Automobiles" and many more died at the age of 59, three years ago Monday.  Hughes masterfully married music to movies, so I pay video tribute to him today, starting (of course) with "Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds from The Breakfast Club (the drumming o­n this song is impeccable), and Karla DeVito's "We Are Not Alone," along with the Ramones playing "Blitzkrieg Bop" (from National Lampoon's Vacation), David Bowie's "Young Americans" and The Vapors o­ne-hit wonder, "Turning Japanese" and Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell" (all from Sixteen Candles, which opens to a clip of veteran WLS DJs Larry Lujack and Tommy Edwards), Van Halen's cover of "(Oh) Pretty Woman" and General Public's "Tenderness" (both from Weird Science), the Psychedelic Furs re-recorded title track from Pretty In Pink, which also featured Jon Cryer lip-synching to Otis Redding's "Try A Little Tenderness", The Smiths' "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" (a Hughes perennial), and OMD's "If You Leave," plus two more from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, "Danke Schoen" and "Twist and Shout" (which was shot o­n Dearborn and Randolph Streets in Chicago, with International Polka Queen Vlasta atop the float, though Cameron and Sloane were in front of the Post Office), plus Yello's unforgettable-no-matter-how-you-try "Oh, Yeah." Videos are scarce for Some Kind of Wonderful, but I found Flesh for Lulu's "I Go Crazy" and the March Violets' take on the Stones' "Miss Amanda Jones."

SOUL ASYLUM, live at the UBS Forum, via The Current.

BEST COAST stopped by The Current to play a few songs.

CHARLES BRADLEY brought his funky, live-wire energy to a soulful set at Newport 2012.

tUnE-yArDs: Merrill Garbus and her band brought her looping and loopy grooves to life at Newport 2012.

R STEVIE MOORE is advance streaming Lo Fi High Fives. "Here Comes Summer Again" ought to be on the new Beach Boys LP.

JOHN CALE drops the psychedelic "I Wanna Talk 2 U," with an assist from Danger Mouse, iirc.

BOB DYLAN drops "Early Roman Kings" in an unusual spot.

CREAM syncs "I Feel Free" at the Beat Club.

THE ENGLISH BEAT: Dave Wakeling discusses the band's catalog with The A.V. Club.

DINOSAUR JR: J Mascis talks to Drowned in Sound about Black Sabbath, Lou Barlow, and more...

HERE WE GO MAGIC is profiled at SPIN.

THE 10 BEST OTIS REDDING SONGS, according to Paste.

CUTOUT BIN: From Bruce Springsteen to the Peanut Butter Conspiracy, from Blur to the Byrds, from Cee-Lo Green to the Doobie Bros., plus Led Zeppelin, Redd Kross, Archie Bell & the Drells, Del McCoury and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases are the Total Recall reboot, which is currently scoring 27 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, scoring 33 percent.

KRISTEN STEWART & ROBERT PATTINSON have finally started talking to each other again? Meanwhile, Rupert Sanders has been told by wife Liberty Ross to forget about directing Snow White and the Huntsman 2 if he wants to win her back.

MACAULAY CULKIN denies reports claiming he's a chronic dopehead with 6 months to live.

KATY PERRY & JOHN MAYER were seen leaving the Chateau Marmont hotel in West Hollywood.

MILEY CYRUS' Los Angeles home was swarmed by police, fire and rescue squads responding to a report of a possible home invasion, but the pop star was apparently the victim of a "swatting" prank.  Or at least it will be called a prank until the police accidentally shoot someone.

SCARLETT JOHANSSON has been so scarred by her phone being hacked that she's ditched virtually all technology and fears she's being watched all the time, according to the ever-reliable Star magazine.

THOR: THE DARK WORLD gets its villain.

BFI'S GREATEST FILMS: The 50-year reign of Citizen Kane is over.

SKYFALL: The next James Bond flick has an international trailer online.

SPAIN: Three members of an al Qaeda cell, including a Turkish man, were detained during raids in San Roque and Almuradiel.

SYRIA: Assad digs in for a fight to the death.

CORGI CAM: All day. All night. All Corgi.

ORPHAN KANGAROO & WOMBAT, sharing a pouch...Mass hysteria!

MAN vs MOUSE: Not so fast.

PYTHONS in a BACK YARD: Yes, plural.

A GREAT WHITE SHARK likely attacked a swimmer off Cape Cod. What say you, Police Chief Brody?

THE KILLERS drop a video for "Runaways."

BLITZEN TRAPPER brought their psych-tinged, classic-influenced rock to Newport 2012.

SARA WATKINS brought her mix of pop, country and folk to Newport 2012.

NICK WATERHOUSE visited KEXP for a chat and mini-set of soul I missed the first time around.

YEASAYER is dropping advance tracks via a scavenger hunt.

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED: Tracks from David Byrne and St. Vincent's horn-based collaboration, Django Django, Purity Ring, Heavy Cream and more feature in the latest installment of the NPR series.

999: "Homicide." You better believe it.

SHARON VAN ETTEN talks to the Phoenix New Times about Tramp, the direction her next record might take (and what Nick Cave has to do with it), and her creative process. (Thx, Chromewaves.)

THURSTON MOORE is joining the black metal supergroup Twilight for their upcoming third album.

MATT & KIM explain how they struck lightning at SPIN.

THE ANTLERS: Peter Silberman tells Rolling Stone about the Undersea EP.

PROG ROCK: The Rolling Stone Reader's Poll.

ROBERT PATTINSON is hiding out at is Reese Witherspoon's vacation house after giving Kristen Stewart the boot.

MACAULAY CULKIN is addicted to heroin?

MILA KUNIS & ASHTON KUTCHER take a romantic vacation in Bali.

MILEY CYRUS posed topless in a private shoot for her beau Liam Hemsworth.

MICHAEL DOUGLAS & MATT. DAMON., as seen in the Liberace biopic.

SUMMER STUDIO SMACKDOWN: Which franchises survive to the next sequel?

THE BRADY BUNCH is getting a TV reboot via Vince Vaughn.

THE UNITED KINGDOM: Twin brothers Mohammed Shabir Ali and Mohammed Shafiq Ali from east London were jailed for three years after admitting to raising money to fund terrorism.

SYRIA: Pres. Obama has signed a secret order authorizing US support for rebels seeking to depose Assad and his government, if by "secret" you mean reported worldwide by Reuters.

IRAN seethes with discontent during Ramadan, as jobs and wages have been cut and prices have shot up.

SUPERBIRD: The imperial cormorant dives 150 ft underwater in 40 seconds to feed.

MONGREL and WHITE LION CUB, living together...

HOW DO COWS MAKE FRIENDS? Scientists want to know. I think we can rule out Facebook.

THE SEAL FLU: Swine flu is soooo two years ago.

TENNIS plays "High Road" and "Better Self" for Conan and Twofer Wednesday.

OLIVIA TREMOR CONTROL: Bill Doss, co-founder of the Elephant 6 Recording Company, died Tuesday at age 43. Here's a performance from the seminal psych-pop band at Le Poisson Rouge.

MEGAFAUN brought streaks of classic and experimental rock sensibilities to Newport 2012.

FIRST AID KIT: The Swedish sister act is streaming their set from Newport 2012.

JOE JACKSON stopped by World Cafe to showcase The Duke, his recent Duke Ellington tribute.

CALEXICO drops "Splitter" ahead of the upcoming Algiers LP.

DUM DUM GIRLS drop "Lord Knows" from their upcoming EP.

WILD CHERRY: "Play That Funky Music." It's what they do.

REDD KROSS: Steven McDonald talks to Stereogum about how Researching Blues came to be after a 15-year hiatus.

SHEARWATER: Jonathan Meiburg talks to the Phoenix New Times about writing Animal Joy from a place of chaos. (Thx, Chromewaves.)

GUIDED BY VOICES: Tobin Sprout tells Rolling Stone they are by no means done after their third LP in a year.

THE ROLLING STONES: A Financial Infographic.

LINDSAY LOHAN was extremely hesitant to shoot a steamy sex scene for her new movie, but quickly changed her mind after the crew fulfilled an extremely unusual request.

ROBERT PATTINSON is not partying after booting the cheating Kristen Stewart out of his house.

TOM CRUISE just got served with divorce papers, so he's taking Suri to Disney World.

KATIE COURIC has fallen for a handsome financier seven months after her split with her boy-toy Brooks Perlin.

ANGELINA JOLIE wants a role in the movie adaptation of 50 Shades of Grey?

FRED WILLARD won't get to improv on ABC.

EMMA STONE will star in an untitled love story that Cameron Crowe will direct in the spring.

GORE VIDAL, iconoclastic writer and imperious gadfly, died Tuesday at age 86 of complications from pneumonia.

IRAN: Indian authorities concluded that the Iran's Revolutionary Guards were responsible for an attack on an Israeli diplomat in New Delhi in February.

IRAQ: Britain will help the Iraqi government dispose of what's left of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons, still stored in two bunkers in north of Baghdad, the British embassy in Baghdad announced Monday.

AFGHANISTAN: Pakistan and America signed a deal regulating Nato convoys travelling to Afghanistan on Tuesday as the two countries try to patch up the differences that almost led to a breakdown in their troubled alliance.

BUTTERMILK SKY the NIGERIAN DWARF GOAT plays with her friends.

A WHITE LION & WHITE TIGERS move to Jungle Island.

THE SWARM: Bees turn an Ontario home into a giant honey pit.

PYGMY RABBITS are released into the wild by the Oregon Zoo.

WILCO rolled out the "Art of Almost" and "Laminated Cat" for Fallon and Twofer Tuesday.

NEW RELEASES from Toadies, Suburban Living, Ice Choir, River City Tanlines and more are streaming this week at Spinner.

REDD KROSS is advance streaming Researching the Blues.

JUST TELL ME THAT YOU WANT ME: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac.

TELEVISION: Double Exposure. 

THE NASHVILLE TEENS, with a stompin' cover of "Tobacco Road."

DEAN WAREHAM talks to the Village Voice about his solo album, ending the Galaxie 500 sets, the odds of a Luna reunion, and moving to Brooklyn.

PURITY RING spoke to Rolling Stone and Interview about working in different cities, performing live, the band name, and the future ofthe band.

ARCHERS OF LOAF: Eric Bachmann talks to Creative Loafing about chemistry and more.

ROBERT PATTINSON asked KRISTEN STEWART to move out.  SWATH director Rupert Sanders reportedly has been forgiven by his wife for his fling with Stewart. US Weeekly has cozy photos of Stewart and Sanders.

BRET MICHAELS and his longtime ladylove have called off their engagement.

ELIZABETH BERKLEY and her husband welcome a baby boy.

KOBE BRYANT's wife stands by her man after Olympic party pics surface.

OLIVIA MUNN has an impulse-control disorder which is harmful but not in that fun way.

THE HOBBIT will in fact be three films, confirms Peter Jackson.

NORMAN ALDEN, a character actor who piled up a prodigious number of credits during his five decades in film and television, died July 27 of natural causes at 87.

THE UNITED KINGDOM: The Foreign Office is investigating a report that Britons were among the group of jihadists holding two Western cameramen captive for a week in Syria.

SYRIA: As the uprising against Assad's government grinds on with no resolution in sight, Syrians involved in the armed struggle say it is becoming more radicalized: homegrown Muslim jihadists, as well as small groups of fighters from Al Qaeda, are taking a more prominent role and demanding a say in running the resistance.

EGYPT's election of an Islamist president has rekindled a long-suppressed display of public piousness that has aroused both "moral vigilantism" and personal acts of faith, such as demands that police officers and flight attendants be allowed to grow beards. Scattered incidents of violence and intimidation do not appear to have been organized, but they represent a disturbing trend in Egypt's transition to democracy.

A TIGER SHARK takes 15K of photo equipment.

AN ORPHAN WOMBAT greets the world from a man-made pouch. 

LIONESS vs CROCODILE, clearing a path across the river for her kids.

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES: Several young gorillas have been spotted destroying snares that are set to maim and kill wild apes.

THE ARCTIC MONKEYS played "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor," and covered The Beatles' "Come Together" at the Olympics' opening ceremonies, icymi.

WILCO played a career-spanning set at the 2012 Newport Folk Festival.

ALABAMA SHAKES are also streaming their Newport set.

SPIRIT FAMILY REUNION brought their sweetly ramshackle Americana to Newport as well.

HUSKER DU, Live at 1st Ave, August 28, 1985.  I might have attended this one.

RICHARD THOMPSON has the "Hots For the Smarts."

THE FLAMING LIPS: Wayne Coyne is profiled by The Observer.

DIRTY PROJECTORS: David Longstreth talks about his upcoming short film and more at L.A. Weekly. (Thx, LHB.)

CAT POWER: Chan Marshall talks to Interview about the upcoming Sun, which features synthesizers, programmed beats, looping guitars, and live drums—all of which Marshall played and recorded herself.

FATHER JOHN MISTY: Josh Tillman talks to Straight about finding his true voice and leaving Fleet Foxes.

IT'S THE SAME OLD SONG, just simpler and louder.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: The Dark Knight Rises again to top the chart with 64 million -- but that's a sixty percent drop from last weekend at the hands of the Olympics and one batcrap crazy bastid in Colorado. There aren't too many sad stories about a movie that has already made half a billion world wide, but this is close.  Ice Age: Continental Drift places with a fairly leggy 13.3 million.  The Watch shows with a 13 million debut, marginally below already low predictions of a 14-16 million opening.  Step Up Revolution debuts at No. 4 with 11.8 million, which seems bad against a 33 million budget, but this franchise generally does much better overseas.  Ted rounds out the Top 5 with a leggy 7.4 million.

KRISTEN STEWART & ROBERT PATTINSON are not on speaking terms... but he reportedly wants to know all the details directly from the man she cheated with, SWATH director Rupert Sanders. The cheating reportedly went on for months.

DANE COOK issued an apology for cracking a joke about the “Dark Knight Rises” massacre. Even I know comedy = tragedy + time.

THE JACKSONS: Katherine Jackson says she's had a change of heart and is now ready to split guardianship of Michael's 3 children with her grandson TJ.

KATY PERRY & JOHN MAYER were... wait for it... caught canoodling at Soho House in West Hollywood.

MILA KUNIS & ASHTON KUTCHER aren't hiding their relationshiop anymore.

JEERMY RENNER learns to not take Viagra before boarding a 10-hour flight.

MADONNA was booed and called a "slut" by some of her biggest fans in France.

MODERN FAMILY: The adult cast cuts a deal to end their contract standoff.

SYRIA: Heavy fighting continued in the city of Aleppo. Rebels repelled the first attacks, however the main government assault has yet to begin. Fighting ended in Damascus.

CYBER-WAR: The man in charge of America's cyber operations said that on a scale of one to 10, the nation's preparedness to deal with a major cyber attack on critical infrastructure sits at a dismal three.

HELLOO, IRAN: The US Air Force's massive 30000 lb bunker-buster bomb critical for striking heavily fortified Iranian nuclear facilities is "ready to go."

A KITTEN found covered in industrial-strength glue and unable to move is recovering after strangers teamed up to save him.

TEVA the SEA LION CUB is born at the Memphis Zoo.

A DEATH-CHEATING CAT is on his fifth life after surviving his second coyote attack in a series of near-death experiences.

MYSTERY MONSTER washes onshore in New York. Pretty much an annual event at this point.