FATHER JOHN MISTY drops a video for "Chateau Lobby No. 4."

FOXYGEN stopped by World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

HONEYBLOOD stopped by World Cafe for a chat and mini-set

PAT BENATAR & NEIL GIRALDO played a Tiny Desk Concert at the offices of NPR.

HORSE FEATHERS play a couple in the KUT studio.

GLAM CHOPS: Art Brut's Eddie Argos has a "Countdown to Christmas."

WILCO frontman Jeff Tweedy talks to The Independent about the band's 20th anniversary, and his new family band.

MICHAEL STIPE talks to CBS This Morning about R.E.M.

DOLLY PARTON talks to The Guardian about still going strong in her fifth decade of making music.

STEREOGUM's Favorite Songs of 2014.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Exodus: Gods and Kings tops the chart, but with a mere 24.5 million.The holiday season gives the Ridley Scott epic a shot at recouping its 140 million budget statside, leaving overseas markets to provide the additional 280 million it needs to reach profitability in theaters. But overall bad reviews and a B- Cinemascore suggest that may not happen, particularly with another Hobbit arriving this Wednesday, and another Night at the Museum coming Friday.  Ouch.  Mockingjay likely benefitted from the Exodus thud, as it dropped only 40 percent to place with another 13.2 million.  This Hunger Games still lads the prior installment, but is likely to profit to the tune of 400 million worldwide. The Penguins of Madagascar show with 7.3 million on a 33 percent drop; with 58.8 million domestic to date, and another 100 million overseas, this installment of the franchise seems unlikely to profit in theaters.  Top Five debuts in the fourth slot with 7.2 million against a reported 10-12.5 million budget, which means this one may well profit through the holiday season.  Beg Hero 6 rounds out the Top 5 with 6.1 million on a leggy 24 percent drop, continuing a slow rollout overseas that has earned 70 million to date.

BILL COSBY broke his silence Friday, albeit briefly, only to lecture the media on remaining “neutral” regarding the growing list of rape and sexual abuse allegations against him, and to say that his wife is standing by him.

ANGELINA JOLIE will be withdrawing from public events scheduled over the coming days due to a mild bout of chicken pox.

HAYDEN PANETTIERE is a new mom after welcoming her first child with fiancé Wladimir Klitschko on Tuesday, Dec. 9.

JOSH CHARLES is a new father after welcoming a son on Tuesday, Dec. 9.

MILEY CYRUS was hospitalized Friday night for what looks like some kind of weird flesh wound on her wrist.

EMMA WATSON and boyfriend Matthew Janney, a top rugby player for Oxford University, have gone their separate ways.

SPAIN: A High Court prosecution of 15 members of an Islamic State recruiting group in Madrid revealed that it was headed by former Guantanamo detainee Lahcen Ikassrien, who used Madrid's largest mosque as a recruitment center.

UNITED KINGDOM Defence Minister Fallon said the UK will send a few hundred troops to Iraq in January to help train Iraqi and Kurdish soldiers; the British deployment will also include a small "force protection" contingent. A recently released US Senate report on post-9/11 CIA interrogations disclosed that information gained from former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg had led to the 2004 capture of al Qaeda's Dhiren Birot a.k.a. 'Issa al-Britani' or 'al-Hindi,' who was plotting a dirty bomb attack in London.

LIBYA's internationally recognized prime minister said that pro-government troops are moving toward Triploi "to liberate it" from Islamist militias and the rival government.

MAYBE THE DOG ate your homework. Yes, really.

A METER-LONG WORM was found inside a man's foot.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: A two-headed baby salamander.

AFRICAN WILD DOG PUPS have been adopted by a Golden Retriever.

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with A CHRISTMAS SHINDIG! The full episode has gone dark, but still-available clips from 1964 include The Beach Boys' "Dance, Dance, Dance," Bobby Sherman and Donna Loren singing "Keep on Searching," the Righteous Brothers doing "The Jerk" and an awesome milk commercial, Marvin Gaye with "How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You" and Adam Faith with "Watch Your Step," Donna Loren returning with a Spector-esque, but rougher "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," and The Beach Boys deliver a set including "Little Saint Nick," "Monster Mash" (yes, really) "Papa Oom Mow Mow," and "Johnny B. Goode." Lastly, we have Marvin Gaye with "Hitch Hike" and The Beach Boys on "We Three Kings."

THE DECEMBERISTS' Colin Meloy stopped by WFUV for a chat and mini-set.

M WARD stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session sans Zooey.

WE ARE THE WILLOWS stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

SONGS WE LOVE 2014 is a streaming mix at NPR.

THE JUILIANA HATFIELD THREE drops "If I Could" ahead of a reunion LP.

COURTNEY BARNETT & EVAN DANDO duet on his Lemonheads nugget, "Being Around."

BELLE & SEBASTIAN is profiled at length in The Guardian.

SMASHING PUMPKINS frontman Billy Corgan talks to Rolling Stone about losing his fanbase.

TEN BADASS ANTI-HOLIDAY TRACKS from the Houston Press. (Thx, LHB.)

THE 5 BEST TOM PETTY ALBUMS OF 2014 that Tom Petty did not release and had no involvement in whatsoever.

THE CUTOUT BIN takes another hiatus this week, as I'm just getting over a sinus infection. 98.6 as I write this, though. Whoo!

NOW SHOWING:This weekend's wide releases are Exodus: Gods and Kings, which is currently scoring 32 percent on the ol' Tomatometer (Ridley Scott, where's your Messiah now?); and Top Five, currently scoring 93 percent.

SCOTT RUDIN, bigtime movie producer, issued a public apology for the racially insensitive comments regarding President Obama that surfaced in an exchange of hacked private e-mails between him and Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman Amy Pascal.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY is expecting her first child with her husband, Klaxons singer James Righton.

BILL COSBY: Vanity Fair has published an article by one of his accusers, Beverly Johnson.

ZOOEY DESCHANEL is being sued because she allegedly broke a horse.

INSIDE OUT: The next Pixar pic has a trailer online.

INDONESIA: The new head of Indonesia's counterterrorism agency warned that the number of Indonesians joining the Islamic State has more than tripled since June, and said the total number of Indonesians who have joined the group in Iraq and Syria is about 514.

SYRIA's military and ISIS may be sworn enemies but instead of wiping each other off the battlefield they have been delicately dancing around each other.

BOKO HARAM: The Other Islamic State.

CHIHUAHUA vs GREAT DANE: Who you got?

THOUSANDS OF CROWS roosting at night in a western Ohio city's downtown have some residents comparing the landscape with the Alfred Hitchcock movie The Birds as they work to drive them away.

PACIFIC BARRELEYE: A deep-sea fish with tubular eyes and a transparent head.

CAT FANCY is dead; Long Live Catster (and Dogster).

KATE PIERSON trades Fred Schneider for Fred Armisen in "Mister Sister," the single from her upcoming solo debut.

NOISE TO THE WORLD 2, featuring tracks from Deer Tick, Dum Dum Girls, and more, is streaming.

ROBYN HITCHCOCK stopped by World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

BENJAMIN BOOKER plays the Rockwood Music Hall.

MIKE DOUGHTY stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

PATSY CLINE & FERLIN HUSKY: "Let It Snow!"

MY MORNING JACKET: Jim James talks to Rolling Stone about two new albums.

KATHLEEN EDWARDS talks to the Toronto Star about quitting music (for now, anywat) and opening a cafe named Quitters.

JOHNNY MARR talks to Willamette Week about Portland, beards, the theremin, and more.

NPR's 50 FAVE ALBUMS of 2014, with streaming tracks.

BILL COSBY: One of the women accusing the comic of sexual assault may have found a way around the statute of limitations.

TAYLOR SWIFT is secretly dating The 1975's Matt Healy.

KATE HUDSON was spotted making out with Derek Hough before she and Muse rocker Matt Bellamy publicly split.

FREIDA PINTO & DEV PATEL: The Slumdog Millionaire costars have called it quits on their relationship after almost six years.

EVANGELINE LILLY talks about about marching to her own drum in Hollywood.

THE SAG AWARDS nominations were announced.

LIBYA: The UN is expanding peace talks in Libya to include the rival government based in Tripoli, in addition to the internationally recognized government currently in Tobruk.

UNITES STATES Secretary of State John Kerry asked Congress for a green light to go after Islamic State affiliates anywhere in the world as debate on a new authorization for use of force got underway Tuesday.

THE ISLAMIC STATE has executed several of its own militants, including the group’s top official in Mosul, on charges of espionage, Kurdish sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Tuesday.

A YELLOW LABRADOR opens the fridge.

A TURQUOISE CAT has been turning heads on the streets of a Bulgarian seaside resort.

...AND THERE WERE CALVES all over the Turnpike.

A SHEEP wearing a festive red-and-green sweater who was found wandering around Omaha has been reunited with his owner.

OFF! dropped a video for “Over Our Heads” featuring Jack Black, skydiving, LSD, gore, a grizzly bear, and more...

EX HEX performs in the WNYC Soundcheck studio.

STRAND OF OAKS performs on Soundcheck in the Greene Space at WNYC.

CHARLI XCX is streaming Sucker via iTunes.

THE RED AUNTS stream their deluxe greatest hits compilation, Come Up For A Closer Look.

OF MONTREAL drops “Bassem Sabry” ahead of Aureate Gloom.

DENT MAY drops "I'll Be Stoned For Christmas."

SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS: “Ain’t No Chimneys In The Projects.”

JACK WHITE launched his own virtual reality app.

JOANNA NEWSOM talks about her side gig in Paul Thomas Anderson's big-screen adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s 2009 novel Inherent Vice.

THE PIXIES: The A.V. Club looks at Doolittle, 25 years later. Get Off My Lawn.

THE TOP 50 ALBUMS of 2014, according to SPIN.

CHARLIE SHEEN settled his latest custody war with Brooke Mueller, who accused him of drunken visitations with his kids and excessive corporal punishment.

RAPPER EARL HAYES & VH1 STAR STEPHANIE MOSELEY are dead in an apparent murder-suicide. Reportedly, Floyd Mayweather witnessed it via FaceTime.

PRINCE WILLIAM & KATE & BEYONCE & JAY-Z: Paparazzi Apocalypse.

CAM NEWTON: The Carolina Panthers QB suffered two “transverse fractures” in his lower back following a car wreck and will remain in the hospital overnight, according to the Carolina Panthers.

CHRISTIAN BALE meant no disrespect to George Clooney when he publicly advised him to stop whining.

JOAQUIN PHOENIX is engaged to his yoga instructor.

NICOLE KIDMAN talks to Elle about babies, breakups, and life with Keith Urban.

IRAQ's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi pressed outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Tuesday for more air strikes and weaponry to accelerate what he called the "descent" of Islamic State.

IRAN: The US has privately accused Iran of going on an international shopping spree to acquire components for a heavy-water reactor that American officials have long feared could be used in the production of nuclear weapons-grade plutonium.

A DOG comforts a friend having a bad dream.

DONKEYS enjoy a beer as much as the next guy.

ROGUE SHEEP on the lam in Ypsilanti, MI.

FRANKENLOUIE, the world's oldest two-faced cat, has died at the age of 15.

JOHN LENNON: "(Just Like) Starting Over."

J MASCIS played a Tiny Desk Concert at the offices of NPR.

FRANKIE ROSE performs live in the KEXP Studio.

FRAZEY FORD joined KEXP listeners in the Roadhouse.

BEN WATTplays a mini-set at KUTX.

TWIN SHADOW dropped "Turn Me Up" ahead of a new album that's back on track.

BOB GELDOF, by his own admission, is responsible for two of the worst songs in history: "'Do They Know It's Christmas?" and "We Are The World."

THE 2014 PITCHFORK READERS' POLL is open.

JONI MITCHELL talks to Morning Edition about her new four-disc boxed set, Love Has Many Faces.

THE 20 BEST ALBUMS of 2014, according to The A.V. Club.

THE 20 BEST VIDEOS of 2014, according to Pitchfork.

GRUMPY CAT denies earning 100 million dollars.

AMAL CLOONEY denies pregnancy reports.

LEO DiCAPRIO reportedly broke it off with Toni Garrn again, and picked up 20 women at a club.

LINDSAY LOHAN is recording with Duran Duran? Too good to check. 

KATE HUDSON and her fiancee Matt Bellamy have called off their engagement, and the actress has moved on with Derek Hough.

MARK WAHLBERG wants to wipe his criminal record clean so he can become a reserve police officer.

KEN WEATHERWAX, who played Pugsley on The Addams Family TV show, died at his home Sunday in California after having a heart attack.

SYRIA: Israel conducted two airstrikes near Damascus on Dec. 7; one took place near Dimas, which houses military facilities, and the other hit near Damascus International Airport. Both the Syrian regime and Iran condemned the attack. UN observers have documented numerous interactions between Israeli forces and Syrian rebels in the Golan Heights.

ISLAMIC STATE fighters have lost the initiative in Iraq and are now "on defense" with far less ability to generate the kind of ground maneuvers that enabled the extremists to capture large chunks of Iraq earlier this year, a senior U.S. general said Monday.

A BABY PIG, in slow motion.

COPPER THE POLICE DOG has been credited for saving the life of a missing 6-year-old Utah boy who accidentally fell into an open manhole and became trapped underground.

A DEER burst through the front doors of a New Jersey home, darted through the residence and ransacked the master bathroom. Insert your punchline about the woods here.

A LLAMA...in a Santa hat. He will kill them later.