THE LABOR DAY WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with CHEAP TRICK, live at ChicagoFest '81! Can you honestly tell me you forgot? Forgot the magnetism of Robin Zander, or the charisma of Rick Nielsen? Your set list includes: "Stop This Game," Hello There," "I Want You to Want Me," "On Top of the World," "Reach Out," "Baby Loves to Rock," "Gonna Raise Hell," "Dream Police," "Ain't That a Shame," "Surrender," "Just Got Back," "Day Tripper" and "Goodnight." You can access the individual songs from the link, or let the whole thing roll.

OKKERVIL RIVER advance streams Away.

TEENAGE FANCLUB advance streams Here.

ST. PAUL & THE BROKEN BONES advance streams Sea of Noise.

ADAM TORRES advance streams Pearls to Swine.

IAN SWEET advance streams Shapeshifter.

JACK WHITE shares an unplugged version of The Raconteurs' "Carolina Drama."

FIRST CLASS: "Beach Baby" may fall into that category of summer song Oliver Wang once described "tinged with fragility and marked by melancholy."  It's even more true of the long version, with those French Horns and choral vocals in the c-section...

THE MONKEES' legacy is explored at Salon.

APOLLONIA's farewell letter to Prince.

LYDIA LOVELESS talks to PopMatters about identity, the vision for Real,  and her disdain for a neighboring state.

THE 96 BEST ALTERNATIVE ROCK SONGS of 1996, according to SPIN.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases are Morgan, which is currently scoring 42 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and The Light Between Oceans, scoring 61 percent.

CHRIS BROWN: The woman who accused Chris Brown of pointing a gun at her allegedly wrote a text message shortly after the incident saying she was going to frame Chris with the gun allegation out of revenge ... but she denies sending any such message.

RHIANNA just sealed the deal by getting a tattoo for Drake.

CHLOE GRACE MORETZ & BROOKLYN BECKHAM have called it quits.

LEONARDO DiCAPRIO's charity has been urged to repay donations linked to a Malaysian fund that backed his film The Wolf of Wall Street. The foundation is being investigated by the Justice Dept over alleged ties to a 3.5 billion dollar embezzlement scandal whose "misappropriated" funds were used to bankroll the 2013 film, according to reports.

PAMELA ANDERSON co-bylines a Wall Street Journal piece on the dangers of pornography.

BLACK LIGHTNING seems headed to your television.

WHY DEADWOOD Is a Top-10 TV Show of All Time.

WHY MOVIES STILL MATTER: What goes wrong when the dominant way of discussing art is political.

IRAN: The United States and its negotiating partners agreed "in secret" to allow Iran to evade some restrictions in last year's landmark nuclear agreement in order to meet the deadline for it to start getting relief from economic sanctions, according to a think tank report published on Thursday.

RIDING AN OSTRICH through the streets of Almaty, Kazakhstan.

THE BABY GORILLA at the Philadelphia Zoo is having a naming contest, but Harambe and Apey McApeface are right out.

MILLIONS OF HONEY BEES have been wiped out by anti-Zika efforts.

A WOOD ANT COLONY thrives in a nuclear bunker.

THE GO-GOS said farewell at the Greek Theatre. The main set ended with "Our Lips Are Sealed" and "We Got The Beat" because of course, but they encored with a cover of Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball," plus “Get Up And Go” and “Head Over Heels.”  

FUNKADELIC (ft George Clinton and Parliament) visits Morning Becomes Eclectic.

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

CAVEMAN also stopped by World Cafe for a mini-set.

STING dropped his first pop single in years, “I Can’t Stop Thinking About You." It's not bad.

DAVID BOWIE: Who Can I Be Now? (1974-1976 )will include a a new mix of “TVC 15.”

BONNIE RAITT covered INXS's "Need You Tonight" on Kimmel.

M WARD talks to Drowned in Sound about More Rain, Brian Wilson, and more...

JENNY LEWIS talks to the Chicago Tribune about revisiting her debut album, her relationship with her late father and working with the legendary Lucille Ball.

BJORK talks to The Guardian about her 360-degree VR show.

DE LA SOUL: Ten of Their Best.

GENE WILDER: Mel Brooks and Denise Nickerson (Violet Beauregarde) add their tributes to the late, beloved actor.

CHRIS BROWN: The woman claiming Chris Brown pulled a gun on her is wanted in NYC for questioning in connection with criminal theft.

DRAKE & RHIANNA: Not hiding it anymore.

DANIEL RADCLIFFE: Harry Potter again?

JIM BROADBENT is joining Game of Thrones.

PAGET BREWSTER is returning to Criminal Minds after Thomas Gibson got the boot.

JAMES BOND is targeting Idris Elba, Michael Fassbender, Tom Hiddleston, Luke Evans, Charlie Hunnam, and Aidan Turner.

STRANGER THINGS: The buzzy Netflix series gets a second season.

SAUDI ARABIA: A court sentenced a man to ten years in prison and 2000 lashes for expressing his atheism on Twitter.

THE ISLAMIC STATE has buried thousands in mass graves.

ANGRY CAT versus Postman. (Thx, Zoey!)

A BABY GORILLA debuted at the Philadelphia Zoo.

AFRICAN ELEPHANTS are disappearing faster than we thought.

LOCAL BEAGLE runs for President.

SLEIGH BELLS drops a video for "It's Just Us Now" well ahead of Jessica Rabbit

BETH ORTON plays WFUV's Studio A.

BIG THIEF plays the Tiny Desk.

SEX STAINS, fronted by Allison Wolfe (Bratmobile), steams a self-titled debut.

GUIDED BY VOICES shares "Glittering Parliaments" from Please Be Honest.

DEVENDRA BANHART shares “Saturday Night" ahead of Ape In Pink Marble.

COLD CAVE drops “The Idea of Love” as a single.

R.B. GREAVES: "Take a Letter, Maria."

OKKERVIL RIVER's Will Sheff talks to Songwriting magazine about how the new record came together. (Thx, Frank Yang.)

DINOSAUR JR's J Mascis, interviewed by Henry Rollins.

BRANDON CANNING (Broken Social Scene) talks to PopMatters about his Home Wrecking Years.

THE 10 BEST DOLLY PARTON SONGS, according to Stereogum.

GENE WILDER, on Willy Wonka's character and wardrobe. Peter Ostrum (Charlie Buckett) mourns. No one did hysteria like Wilder, but he was also a comedian of kindness.

CHRIS BROWN was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon.

DRAKE & RHIANNA are “definitely a couple,” a source close to Rihanna tells ET.

GONNA GO CRAZY ON YOU: Heart singer Ann Wilson's husband was arrested early Saturday morning after being accused of assaulting his 16-year-old twin nephews, Curtis and William Crowe - sons of Heart member Nancy Wilson and her former husband, writer-director Cameron Crowe.

CIVIL WAR: Team Thor?

RYAN REYNOLDS paid the Deadpool writers to be on-set.

DAVE CHAPPELLE prefers "Enough is Enough" to "Black Lives Matter."

AND WHERE ARE THEY NOW, the little people of Foamhenge?

TURKISH ground forces delivered a lightning strike on Islamic State fighters in Syria last week unilaterally without giving officials in Washington advance warning.This drew a rebuke from the United States, which said it was concerned the battle for territory had shifted away from targeting Islamic State.

LILO and ROSIE went on a road trip...

DOGS had a slumber party, and humans were invited.

YOUR DOG knows what you're saying, according to brain scans.

QUOTH THE RAVEN, "Here's a listicle."

SHOVELS & ROPE joined "St. Anne's Parade" for a video.

VETIVER played for KEXP at Pickathon.

WOODS played a mini-set in the KEXP studio.

BLIND PILOT stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

WILCO shares “Someone to Lose” ahead of Schmilco.

BON IVER shares "33 'God'" ahead of 22, A Million.

CROWDED HOUSE, which hit the Top Ten twice in 1987 with "Don't Dream It's Over" and "Something So Strong," are your Twofer Tuesday.

HALL & OATES: The Ultimate Test of Musical Taste?

STURGILL SIMPSON is mad that country’s ACM Awards are now naming an award after Merle Haggard.

ANGEL OLSEN talks to The Guardian about her new album and why it's bigger than gender and sex.

WHY THE LONG PLAY FACE? A Tumblr mixing movies (mostly Star Wars) with LP covers. (Thx, Jeff B)

GENE WILDER, who regularly stole the show in such comedic gems as The Producers, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Stir Crazy, died Monday at his home in Stamford, Conn. His nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman said he died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 83.  His family closed the announcment with "We are the Music-Makers, We are the Dreamers of Dreams." But as much as I love "Pure Imagination," my fave Wilder musical moment has to be "Puttin' on the Ritz." Wilder was hysterical...and wet. And Pauline Kael knew it. Lastly, here's Wilder at the 92nd St Y circa 2013.

DEATHSTROKE appears in a video posted by Ben Affleck, or Batfleck.

TAYLOR SWIFT was dismissed as a prospective juror in an aggravated rape/kidnapping case because she told the judge she has a pending civil case that also involves sexual assault.

RYAN LOCHTE will not return to Rio to face charges.

IGGY AZALEA & FRENCH MONTANA are dating.

IRAN has deployed the Russian-supplied S-300 surface-to-air missile defense system around its Fordow underground uranium enrichment facility. Nothing to see here, move along.

THE ISLAMIC STATE: For years, Jesse Morton advocated a violent vision of Islam, inspiring recruits to commit acts of terror. He explained why he had recanted and joined a think tank that researches radicalization.

ETTORE the LABRADOR clearly has a guilty conscience.

GOAT YOGA: Every once in awhile, you stumble upon a phrase that immediately incites you to learn more...

323 DEER were killed by lightning in Norway.

DOG PERSON or CAT PERSON? Your personality gives it away.

CAR SEAT HEADREST made their late-night TV debut playing “Fill In The Blank” for Colbert.

TODD SNIDER returns to the World Cafe with Hard Working Americans.

CLEO PARKER (Girlpool) streams a new EP called Looking Pretty At The Wall.

SINGLE MOTHERS stream a new five-song EP called Meltdown.

SON LITTLE covers “State Trooper” from Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska.

LOCAL NATIVES drop "Coins" ahead of Sunlit Youth.

THE PIPETTES: "Your Kisses are Wasted On Me." Before it all went wrong. Sigh.

R.E.M. will celebrate the 25th anniversary of their seminal 1991 LP Out of Time with a deluxe reissue featuring unreleased demos, live performances and music videos.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE: Rock's most iconic landmarks.

LAURA MARLING has started a podcast, including and interview of HAIM.

TEN GREAT DUOS Who Couldn't Keep It Together.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Don't Breathe tops the chart with 26.1MM against a 9.9MM budget, well above estimates of 9-10MM.  Suicide Squad places with 12.1MM, dropping 42 percent, but finding some legs in the late-summer doldrums.  Kubo and the Two Strings shows with 7.9MM on a higher-than-expected 37 percent drop, making overseas grosses crucial.  Sausage Party holds on to the fourth slot with 7.7MM on a 51 percent drop; 80MM ttal for an R-rated animated comedy against a 19MM budget ain't bad.  The debut of Mechanic: Resurrection rounds out the Top Five with 7.5MMagainst a 40MM budget. Given that the first Mechanic seemed uprofitable, you may want to read about the Statham business.

THE MTV VMAs went to these people. Everyone loved Beyonce, because it's the law. It was a homecoming for Britney Spears (whose latest is getting good reviews). Rhianna and Drake kissed. And Kanye rambled, as he does.

DENISE RICHARDS & BROOKE MUELLER accept big child support cuts as Charlie Sheen runs into legal/financial difficulties.

DWYANE WADE's cousin was killed in a crossfire in Chicago on Friday afternoon.

ANNA CHLUMSKY and husband Shaun So welcomed daughter Clara Elizabeth So on Thursday.

NATE PARKER, director of Birth of a Nation, talked about consent, male privilege, and how he feels about being called a rapist.

LUPITA NYONG'O is dating GQ Style fashion editor Mobolaji Dawodu.

JAMES & THE GIANT PEACH may be made as a live-action film written by Nick Hornby and directed by Sam Mendes?

FRANCE's highest administrative court has stopped a town in France from banning the wearing of the burkini, a ruling expected to set a precedent across the country.

VENEZUELA, a country of 130MM, had 193 new car sales in July.

IRAQ: The fight for Mosul is redrawing the map of the North.

THIS GOLDEN RETRIEVER is not winning the game show.

DOGS from the Louisiana flood seek new homes in Maryland.

AN OKLAHOMA POLICE DOG found five bags of methamphetamine hidden inside a box of Twinkies snack cakes.

A SHEEP delayed a minor-league baseball game.