NEW RELEASES: Paste will point you to Big Red Machine, Halsey (and NIN), CHVRCHES, and more.

BILL'S INDIE BASEMENT has The Hawks, Steve Gunn, Supergrass and more.

JACKSON BROWNE visits World Cafe.

COURTNEY BARNETT shares a cover of the Velvet Underground's "I'll Be Your Mirror."

THE EVERLY BROTHERS gave voice to teenage anxiety and longing.

LEE "SCRATCH" PERRY, whose pioneering work with roots reggae and dub opened up profound new depths in Jamaican music, has died aged 85.

RON BUSHY, the longtime drummer of rock band Iron Butterfly, passed away Sunday morning at UCLA Medical Center. He was 79.

THE NUMBER ONES looks at Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start The Fire."

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Candyman tops the chart with 22.4MM, which is solid for a horror film in late August during a pandemic.  Free Guy places with 13.55MM on a seemingly solid 27 percent drop.  Paw Patrol shows with 6.6MM on a 50 percent drop than might be steep for family fare, which has done pretty well even as covid cases have risen.

ED ASNER, the burly character actor who won seven Emmy Awards — five of them for playing the same character, the gruff but lovable newsman Lou Grant, introduced on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” — and later starred in film hits like “Up” and “Elf”<b class="css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10"> — died on Sunday at his home in Tarzana, Calif. He was 91. Here's his final interview.

KIM KARDASHIAN and KANYE WEST aren't calling off their divorce (yet).

BRITNEY SPEARS is under investigation by the Ventura County Sheriff's Department for allegedly striking her housekeeper during a “dispute” last week.

THE SUICIDE SQUAD out-streamed other DC movies in the last year, including Wonder Woman 1984 and the “Snyder cut” of Justice League.

THE KING'S MAN has a trailer online.

JOSEPHINE BAKER will be reinterred at the Panthéon in Paris 46 years after her death.

JAMES CORDEN, unpopular in a rat suit.

A SOLID POINTER in the store.

AUSTRALIAN MOTORISTS stopped to help a black swan and its cygnet get through traffic in Perth.

SPOTTED: Cow at a McDonald's drive-through in Wisconsin.

A FOUR-LEGGED WHALE that lived around 43 million years ago was identified by scientists in Egypt.

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with THE BANGLES!  Live in Pittsburgh, circa 1986.  Your setlist includes: 1 Let It Go; 2 Restless; 3 Walking Down Your Street; 4 James; 5 Going Down to Liverpool; 6 He's Got a Secret; 7 September Gurls; 8 If She Knew What She Wants; 9 Return Post; 10 Live; 11 In a Different Light; 12 Want You; 13 Angels Don't Fall in Love; 14 Hero Takes a Fall; 15 Manic Monday; and 16 Walk Like an Egyptian.

LUCY DACUS visits World Cafe.

BACHELOR plays KEXP.

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED features Big Thief, George Harrison, Hand Habits, and more.

CARIBOU's video for "You Can Do It" is filled with doggos.

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS' John Darnielle holds forth on Bonnie Raitt, Depeche Mode and more.

KACEY MUSGRAVES is profiled in the New York Times.

GENE SIMMONS apologizes to DAVID LEE ROTH.

THE NATIONAL reunited earlier this year and "shared a lot of ideas" for new music.

R KELLY: A woman told a New York court on Thursday of a relationship she had within which he would film their sexual interactions and yell at her for disobeying his commands.

DIANE KRUGER & NORMAN REEDUS are engaged.

EMILY VanCAMP and Josh Bowman secretly welcomed their first child together, a baby girl named Iris.

THE LION KING prequel is roaring into life.

JAY CUTLER, a/k/a Jerkface, is having trouble dating post-divorce.

DAVID DUCHOVNY Turned Down Scientology, Doesn't Care About UFOs, and Loves Making Sweet Music.

JAKE TAPPER, on his book (and movie) The Outpost.

PARROTS, nesting in a palm tree.

A SCHOOL OF RAYS, caught by drone.

SUGAR GLIDERS, doing their thing.

SHOCKING BLUE: She's your "Venus."

MEN I TRUST streams their Untourable Album.

MIGOS play a Tiny Desk Concert from home.

DEERHOOF shares the jagged, angular "Plant Thief."

FIERY FURNACES return with “The Fortune Teller’s Revenge.”

TEN REASONS to love Charlie Watts. Also: The Stones' tour will go forward, including a tribute to Watts.

NIRVANA faces a lawsuit from the grown nude baby on the cover of Nevermind. 

YOU CAN'T BURY CANTERBURY: A Guide to the Neo-Canterbury Sound.

ABBA: Next Friday.

THE NUMBER ONES looks at the loud, fast downfall of Milli Vanilli and at their final No. 1 hit, the Diane Warren-written ballad "Blame It On The Rain."

R KELLY allegedly made women write "collateral" letters as blackmail.

RON JEREMY was indicted on a slew of sexual assault and rape charges ... and prosecutors say there are now a staggering 21 alleged victims.

MEGXIT: A new chapter in the Sussexes' controversial biography claims Prince Harry was declined the chance to have a wreath laid at the Cenotaph.

THE MATRIX: RESURRECTIONS has a trailer coming.

LETITIA WRIGHT was briefly hospitalized with minor injuries after a stunt rig accident on the set of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” 

REMINISCENCE, starring Hugh Jackman, has become one of the biggest flops in box office history.

CHER listed her pet peeves.

VAL KILMER, on surviving throat cancer.

SPIKE LEE is editing the conspiracy theorists out of his HBO documentary on 9/11.

MICHAEL NADER, best known for his role as “Dex” Dexter on ABC's original version of Dynasty, and as Dimitri Marick on All My Children, has died at the age of 76.

A PARROT takes a phone on a trip.

SHORTCAKE is a vocal rescue Pittie who overcame nerve damage.

A SECRET MEETING: Wait for it.

CHARLIE WATTS, whose strong but unflashy drumming powered the Rolling Stones for over 50 years, died on Tuesday in London. He was 80.  If you're not an NYT subscriber, here's an anecdote from Keith Richards which features therein.  The Guardian has an obit, a profile, a critical look at his role in the Stones, and a life in pictures.  And here are the obits in Rolling Stone and one filled with tributes at the NME.  Here's a video of Watts talking mostly about his kit.  Here's some isolated drum tracks.  And here's how "Jumpin' Jack Flash" looked from his throne.  With Mick and Keith out front, Charlie was truly underrated within the context of the Stones -- not just the jazz-influenced swing he brought to the band which is getting its due in the obits, but also the way he and original bassist Bill Wyman played in tension with each other, providing a friction you didn't hear anyplace else.  And interviews made clear that Watts was fine being in the background (the anecdote linked above being a rare exception to the rule).  He always thought of himself as a musician as opposed to a rock star, and the long-married Watts famously avoided groupies on the road.  So there won't be any other "news" here today.  I consider myself quite lucky to have seen him wield the sticks on the Tattoo You tour; his like will not pass this way again.  Give the drummer some.  BONUS: Here's the Political Beats survey of the Rolling Stones, Part 1 and Part 2, if you want to spend six hours immersed in the catalog of which Charlie watts was the foundation.

 More tomorrow, barring the unforeseen.

HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER visits World Cafe.

TWIN SHADOW visits World Cafe.

THIRD EYE BLIND & BETHANY COSENTINO of Best Coastshare "Again."

JOHN LYDON lost a High Court battle to stop the Sex Pistols' music from being used in a new TV drama.

UB40 founding member Brian Travers has died after a bout with cancer; he was 62.

THE NUMBER ONES looks at the short-lived corporate rock supergroup Bad English's mushy power ballad "When I See You Smile."

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME has a teaser trailer online.

MAYIM BIALIK will be the first guest host of the weekday edition of "Jeopardy!" in the wake of Mike Richards' abrupt departure from the job.

R KELLY: Another accuser took the witness stand on Monday, testifying that the R&B superstar had sexually abused her on his tour bus and in hotel rooms when she was still a high school student and an aspiring singer.

ZENDAYA & TOM HOLLAND's summer of love continues. 

BENNIFER: Affleck was snapped browsing engagement rings at the Century City, Calif. Tiffany's in the company of his mom Sam and son Samuel Monday.

SHANG-CHI & THE TEN RINGS: Early reviews are solid (and include the big trades, not just the geek websites).

BILL MURRAY and his family surprised guests at a hotel in Ireland by performing a cover of Al Green’s ‘Ride Sally Ride’.

TOM CRUISE liked the Chicken Tikka Masala. A lot.

SPIKE LEE is a 9/11 truther.

KITTEN vs BUNNY: Who You Got?

A DOGGO requests just a few more minutes.

ANOTHER DOGGO takes on the dog days.