THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with THE HIGH NUMBERS! The future Who, live at the Railway Hotel, circa 1964.  The video is just "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" and "I Gotta Dance To Keep From Crying", but contemporary hour-long audio is also available.

BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB perform a stripped-down session, recorded at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee for World Cafe. 

SEAN NELSON (Harvey Danger) performed songs from his debut solo album "Make Good Choices" at KEXP.

WHALERS stopped by KUTX for a mini-set.

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED: The '90s Are Back, Or Whatever...

PEARL JAM drops “Mind Your Manners," from Lightning Bolt, coming in October.

THE SMITH WESTERNS drop "Case and Point," the B-side to"Varsity."

DISCO DEMOLITION NIGHT: Today is the 32nd anniversary of Disco Demolition Night, a promo event occurring during a scheduled twi-nite doubleheader between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers that would prove to be the most ill-conceived promotional idea since the infamous "Ten Cent Beer Night" in Cleveland in 1974. Though some incorrectly think it had to do with racism, homophobia, etc., the event had much more to do with the fact that Chicago radio station WDAI forced out morning host Steve Dahl o­n Chirstmas Eve 1978, to switch to a disco format. A man who is cashiered wearing a Santa suit tends to carry a grudge. Dahl re-surfaced at WLUP with "Do You Think I'm Disco?" -- a parody of Rod Stewart's "Do You Think I'm Sexy?" with lyrics that targeted yuppie narcissism and materialism. He also did a bit where he pretended to blow-up disco records, which Mike Veeck, the son of Sox owner (and legendary showman) Bill Veeck, thought could be turned into a promotion whereby admission was 98 cents (because WLUP was FM 98) for anyone who brought a disco record to be blown up between the two games. It was far more successful and less controllable than either Dahl or Veeck imagined, with young people storming the park to enter, creating a fog of marijuana smoke in the stands, sailing records like frisbees, throwing firecrackers and ultimately storming the diamond after the scheduled demolition had concluded and Dahl was en route to the announcer's booth for the second game. Footage of the event from from stellamasters, along with the aftermath at FuzzyMemories and this compilation of local news coverage from the night is pretty darned good, with cameos from Bill Kurtis and Greg Gumbel.

BIG STAR: An oral history, at Consequence of Sound.

TINA WEYMOUTH & CHRIS FRANZ talk to Rolling Stone about living together, touring and making music as Tom Tom Club releases their first record in 12 years.

MONDEGREENS (Thx, Mike Kelly): Spotify's Most Misheard Lyrics.

WHAT'S IN PRINCE'S FRIDGE? Inquiring minds want to know.

CUTOUT BIN: From Cap'n Jazz to Nirvana, from the Who to A-ha, from the Beatles to Dead or Alive, from Pat Benatar to the Buzzcocks, plus Billy Bragg, the Hold Steady, Stevie Wonder, Paul Westerberg and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases include Grown Ups 2, which is currently scoring 5 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and Pacific Rim, which is scoring 72 percent.

JUSTIN BIEBER & SELENA GOMEZ: Together agin, but with a catch. Also, Biebs apologized to Bill Clinton.

HALLE BERRY & OLIVIER MARTINEZ are planning to get married this weekend.

KHLOE KARDASHIAN exiled LAMAR ODOM to a separate bedroom before booting him from the house.

PAULA DEEN fires her legal team. Yeah, that's her problem.

LEAH REMINI is making a dramatic break from the Church of Scientology.

AMANDA SEYFRIED is profiled by Elle.

JOHN MALKOVICH did a Reddit AMA to promote Red 2.

EGYPT is reportedly looking to suspend its peace accord with Israel in order to wage a massive campaign against jihadists in the Sinai. A leader in the Egyptian Gama'a al-Islamiyya said his group was ready to "fight" for Mohammed Morsi's reinstatement as president of Egypt. Hamas' Mousa Abu Marzouk, who had been based in Cairo, has reportedly fled the country following Morsi's ouster.

LIBYA & SYRIA: As the United States prepares to send weapons to the Syrian opposition, former Libyan rebels are now going public with the news that they have been doing exactly that for the last year.

IRAN: An exiled opposition group said on Thursday it had obtained information about a secret underground nuclear site under construction in Iran, without specifying what kind of atomic activity it believed would be carried out there.

A FRENCH BULLDOG tackles the stairs.

SEVEN WHITE LION CUBS were born June 6 in Japan. Awww...some pics.

A TURTLE causes a three-car pileup in New Jersey.

A GOLDFISH learns to play soccer.

YO LA TENGO gets animated for the "Ohm" video.

THE DANDY WARHOLS stopped by Oregon Public Broadcasting for a chat and mini-set. 

LAURA MARLING stopped by Oregon Public Broadcasting for a chat and mini-set.

UNCOVERED QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE: QotSA covers by women, streaming via the Wall Street Journal.

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED: Tracks from the Pixies, John Grant and Volcano Choir (a Justin Vernon side project) highlight the latest edition.

OF MONTREAL drops "fugitive air" ahead of lousy with sylvianbriar. Oh yes.

TITUS ANDRONICUS sorta covers Icona Pop's hit single "I Love It."

MARTHA REEVES & THE VANDELLAS: Annette Beard just had a July 4th birthday (thx, Andie), so i went with "Dancing In The Streets", based on its protest anthem status.

SHE & HIM stopped by WFUV for an interview. 

SCOUT NIBLETT: Emma discusses her new album, her covers of Janet Jackson and TLC songs, and her take on astrology at The Rumpus. (Thx, LHB.) 

CHEAP TRICK filed a million-dollar lawsuit against the Canadian blues fest where the band was nearly killed in 2011.

DAFT PUNK co-brands "Get Lucky" condoms.

SHARKNADO: The day you've been waiting for is finally here. There's even a Police Chief Brody joke.

RANDY TRAVIS suffered a stroke.

GEORGE CLOONEY & STACY KIEBLER broke up by phone after months of phoning it in, iykwimaittyd.

JUSTIN BIEBER: Not a fan of Bill Clinton. Or mop buckets.

JESSE EISENBERG & MIA WASIKOWSKA were caught canoodling on camera in Toronto.

ELTON JOHN is lucky to be alive after a potentially fatal appendix abcess. 

LINDSAY LOHAN: You may want to sit out a few more rounds, Champ.

DENZEL WASHINGTON: Cheating scandal with photos?

COURTNEY COX: Oof.

THE DISSOLVE: Pitchfork Media's movie site launches.

THE UNITED STATES said that a decision on troop withdrawals in Afghanistan is not "imminent." Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a naturalized US citizen, pled not guilty to all 30 charges today in a federal court in Boston.

SYRIAN rebels in Aleppo dispersed civilians protesting against a rebel blockade of food and medical supplies into government-held areas of the city; the head of the sharia council told rebels to allow food through the blockade. Protesters demanded that Islamic state of Iraq and al-Sham fighers leave Menbej city.

EGYPT: Islamist militants killed two people and wounded six in an overnight attack in the Sinai. Two additional security posts were also attacked by gunmen. Egypt's prosecutor's office ordered the arrest of numerous Muslim Brotherhood officials.

SCAREDY CATS: The Supercut.

MAN KICKS LOG. I mean alligator. Oops.

I want my DogTV.

A 19-FOOT PYTHON creates a chaotic crime scene.

BECK medleys "BIllie Jean" and "Get It On (Bang a Gong)" with his "Sissyneck" in Paris.

SAN CISCO is advance streaming their eponymous full-length debut.

F*CK BUTTONS is advance streaming Slow Focus.

JAY-Z is streaming Magna Carta Holy Grail.

PET SHOP BOYS are advance streaming Electric.

SUPERCHUNK drops "Me and You and Jason Mitoo" ahead of I Hate Music.

REGINA SPEKTOR drops "You've Got Time" from the Orange Is The New Black soundtrack.

BRENDAN CANNING (BSS) drops "Plugged In" ahead of You’ve Gots 2 Chill.

KING KHAN & THE SHRINES work it like Wilson Pickett in "Land of the Freak."

ROBERT POLLARD tells MAGNET he's not sure there’s going to be a next Guided By Voices album.

TEGAN & SARA: The former talks to the Ottawa Citizen about things international and interviewing producers for their latest LP. (Thx, LHB).

AMANDA PALMER talks to The Quietus about several things spiritual. 

U2: Zooropa turns 20. Get Off My Lawn.

AMANDA BYNES rolled into a New York courtroom Tuesday to answer those bong-tossing charges sporting an aqua-colored wig, sweatpants, a tank top and sneakers.

KEVIN & DANIELLE JONAS are expecting their first child.

ELISABETH HASSELBECK is leaving The View for FNC.

JENNIFER LOPEZ is profiled by W magazine.

JASON STATHAM to propose to Rosie Huntington-Whiteley?

TEEN MOM Farrah Abraham was asked to cut short her 10-day stay at a high-end rehab center in Florida because she was a “disruptive influence” on other patients.

ELLEN PAGE talks to The Guardian about Plan B, feminism and the constant sexism in Hollywood.

DUMB AND DUMBER starts shooting in September.

SYRIA: Russia delivered to the UN an 80-page report claiming that Syrian rebels used sarin gas in a deadly attack near Aleppo in March.

LEBANON: A car bomb exploded in a crowded parking lot in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Tuesday, killing no one, but wounding about 50 people in what was a rare attack inside one of Hezbollah’s most secure areas. Retaliation for Syria?

EGYPT: The Muslim Brotherhood rejected the constitutional declaration issued by interim President Mansour overnight. Hazem El-Beblawi was appointed as the new Egyptian prime minister.

KITTENS in pig pillows.

WHEN A FOX ATTACKS you on the toilet.

SNAKE ON A TRAIN: Tired of these mothers.

A MONSTER LOBSTER, caught off the coast of Gloucester.

FRANZ FERDINAND drops a mod video for for "Right Action."

ANDREW CEDERMARK: The former Titus Andronicus guitarist advance streams Home Life.

DAVID LYNCH (yes, that David Lynch) advance streams The Big Dream.

THE HANDSOME FAMILY plays a mini-set for WNYC Soundcheck. 

NEIGHBORS roll out some crunchy power-pop at KEXP.

PATE REUNION PHOTOS: Taken by Aurora Engle-Pratt and Doug Hansen, posted by Naomi Pratt, and visible to the public via the Facebook. Don't miss the awesome shot of my bald spot!  Seriously, thanks to Aurora and Doug for documenting a terrific weekend.

BIG STAR: An indie-star lineup  including Kurt Vile, Sharon Van Etten, R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, the Mekons’ Sally Timms, Marshall Crenshaw, Richard Lloyd and sole surviving Big Star member Jody Stephens, covered Big Star's Third in full in Central Park, including "Holocaust," plus a version of Alex Chilton’s Box Tops oldies-radio staple “The Letter." It's a Twofer Tuesday of legend.

JEFF TWEEDY gets a meaty profile in Chicago magazine.

GIMME SHELTER: The story behind Mary Clayton's haunting backup vocals on the Stones classic.

LIZ PHAIR: An oral history of Exile in Guyville, courtesy of SPIN.

THE 100 TOP CANADIAN ALBUMS, according to the CBC.

RANDY TRAVIS is in critical condition after suffering from complications stemming from viral cardiomyopathy.

GEORGE CLOONEY & STACY KIEBLER are technically together, but there's trouble in paradise.

JENNIFER ANISTON & JUSTIN THEROUX put on a show of togetherness amid split rumors.

50 CENT exploded into rage at his 16-year-old son in the months before he was arrested on domestic violence and vandalism charges, hurling a string of obscenities at the teenager via text messages.

MATT. DAMON. is profied by Esquire.

RYAN REYNOLDS is profiled by Details.

LAURYN HILL checks into prison on those tax convictions.

IRAN: Ahmadinejad described his denial of the Holocaust as one of his greatest achievements, the Fars news agency reported.

LIBYA: A former Gaddhafi regime security official was assassinated in Benghazi when his car exploded.

SYRIA: At its first central party leadership committee meeting since 2005, the Assad regime's ruling Baath party replaced 16 of its top leaders, including Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa, who will nonetheless remain in office. Ghassan Hitto, prime minister of the rebel Syrian National Coalition, resigned, citing an inability to form an interim government. Hitto is said to be closer to Islamists and less favored by Saudi Arabia, whose candidate, secular dissident Ahmad Assi Jarba, was selected two days ago to lead the Syrian National Coalition. Islamist rebels say the downfall of Egypt's popularly elected Muslim Brotherhood president has proven that Western nations pushing for democracy will never accept them, and reinforced the view of radicals that a violent power grab is their only resort.

EGYPT: At least 51 people were killed as the army opened fire on pro-Morsi supporters in Cairo. Hamas condemned the incident, and the presidency planned to form a judicial committee to investigate it.

COW! Technically, cows. Doing it.

HEY, ARE THOSE RATS in your underwear, or are you just... oh.

A WHALE knocks a surfer out. Kowabunga.

BIGFOOT DNA turns out to be mostly opossum. Dinsdale!

(Ron Hahm, Mike Kelly, Jon Pratt, and Jon Hahn, after the load-out. Photo by or for Ken King)

CLAUDE PATE REUNION WEEKEND: Great times and great shows, with only minor injuries and no arrests.  Playing both all-ages and 21+ shows resulted in some duplication of sets, but with Ron Hahm and Jon Hahn swapping the drum throne for different feels (and in the case of "She's So Special," a different arrangement) on these tunes.  In addition to fan favorites like "Chalk It Up To Fate," "Rope Around The Moon" "You Must Be Dreaming" and "If You Will, I Will," and All The Fixins tracks like "A Matter of Dos" (or is it "Dues?") and "Heartache Junkies," the band also dipped deep into the Pate catalog for numbers not heard at the 2003 reunion, including "I'll Be Your Man," "Tell Me Now," "Runaway," "Drivin'" and "Eye On Everything."  That last song produced a quintessential Pate moment, in which Jon Pratt, wielding his axe in full-on hard-rock mode, eliminated what was surely to be a scorching solo by accidentally stepping on his electronic tuner.  Of course, not every Pate moment carries the whiff of Spinal Tap. The third set ended with a particularly fine version of "Gone Electric" that caused Friend of Pate Susan Jasper -- who did yeowoman's duty hosting we out-of-towners -- to ask, "Is that the best bass line ever?" It may be, though it may be the person who suggested Mike Kelly is a better bassist than ever is correct. The evening almost concluded with an alternately scorching and hilarious version of "My Turn" (ten years down, indeed), but the crowd (and it was a crowd) convinced them to encore with an unrehearsed but raucous rendition of The Yardbirds' "For Your Love."  Special thanks also to Doug Hansen for running the soundboard and monitoring the recording gear at Whiskey River.

Of course, for Friends of Pate, the shows were only part of the attraction. Reconnecting with college pals at the pre-show picnic, between sets or at the Perkin's after-party was also a treat for many of us, by which I mean me.  I would call it Big Chilling, but someone reminded me we're all ten years older than those characters.  Sigh. At the risk of inadvertently omitting anyone not already mentioned, it was terrific to see the O'Neills, Fitzgeralds, Fryzeks, and Cravens, as well as Regina Escue, Charlie Vanek, and Ken King (who rode shotgun with me for dramatic readings from the late Scott Miller's wonderful book "Music: What Happened?"). It was also great to see how well everyone's kids are turning out (though in the case of the band, I'm going to credit Naomi, Elizabeth and Judy).  I will single out only Jon P's daughters because I joked that joining Facebook (to administer the Pate page) and seeing them suddenly ten years older was a depressing reminder of my own age.  In reality, all three seem to have grown into charming young women (though I only got to chat briefly with the eldest about some things Baltimore). Catching them singing along at the first show was particulalrly fun, and Jon tells me they can sing, referring to them as the Von Engle-Trapps.  It seems that Jon and Naomi successfully executed the Ron Burgundy plan. Let's not wait another decade for the next one, m'kay?

HEBRONIX: The former Yuck man is advance streaming Unreal.

MAYER HAWTHORNE is advance streaming Where Does This Door Go?

SPEEDY ORTIZ is advance streaming the 90s flavored Major Arcana.

JODY STEPHENS: The remaining Big Star visited Morning Becomes Eclectic to promo a new documetary about the band and to play some classics with Luther Russell and Jason Hiller.

CHEVY METAL: Dave Grohl joined the rest of this Foo Fighters side project to cover Queen's "Under Pressure."  Grosse Pointe Blank fans know this is another good one for Pate Reunion Weekend.

LOU REED reviews Kanye West's Yeezus.

CAMERA OBSCURA bassist Gavin Dunbar talks to Straight about recording Desire Lines in Portland.

JASON EVERMAN was kicked out of Nirvana and Soundgarden. Then he became an elite member of the U.S. Army Special Forces, one of those bearded guys riding around on horseback in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban.

TOM ROBINSON and Nick Mobbs recall the making of "Glad to be Gay" for The Guardian. 

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Despicable Me 2 rules the cineplex with 142 million over the long weekend, greatly exceeding tracking estimates around 100 million. Against a 76 million budget, this is another smash for  Universal. The Lone Ranger places a distant second of 49 million against a 215 million budget, which is the sort of July 4th flop not seen since Wild Wild West.  Given that example, and the competition from the Despicable sequel, it was sheer hubris of Disney to try this; they now reap the whirlwind.  The Heat shows with 25 million and an 86 million total against a 43 million budget.  Monsters University drops to No. 4, with 19 million -- a 57 percent drop that constitutes Despicable Me 2's second shot to the Mouse.  World War Z rounds out the Top 5 with 18.2 million and a 158.8 million domestic total against a 190 million budget.  Below the fold, White House Down sucks wind, Man Of Steel continues to show weak legs and Kevin Hart pulls in 10.1 million against a 750K budget.

KERRY WASHINGTON married San Francisco 49ers corner back Nnamdi Asomugha.

ELISHA CUTHBERT married Dion Phaneuf, defensemen and captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team, on Saturday, July 6.

GEORGE CLOONEY is said to be back on the market once more after reportedly splitting from girlfriend Stacy Keibler.

NIGELLA LAWSON is getting divorced by multi-millionaire art collector Charles Saatchi.

EMMY ROSSUM: The “Shameless” star has split with her co-star Tyler Jacob Moore after dating for two years, sources tell Page Six.

LINDSAY LOHAN will return to NYC after rehab, accoring to her mother.

KATY PERRY & JOHN MAYER were snapped wearing matching outfits on July 4th, in case you thought they couldn't be more frightening.

SETH MEYERS is engaged to marry longtime girlfriend Alexi Ashe.

JAMES GANDOFINI's will is a tax disaster.

LIBYA: Hundreds of demonstrators from across the country gathered in Algeria Square in Tripoli to protest the influence of armed unofficial militias. The Interior Ministry is still under siege by a militia.

SYRIA: The rebel Syrian National Coalition chose a new leader, Ahmad Assi Jarba, a Syrian dissident with close ties to Saudi Arabia; he has previously been charged with obtaining arms for the Free Syrian Army.

EGYPT: Prominent Sunni cleric Yusuf al Qaradawi issued a fatwa calling on Muslims to support ousted former president Mohammed Morsi. Egypt's president backed away from naming Mohammed el Baradei as prime minister.

CHLOE THE CHIMP takes a bath.

A CHIMP and LYNX, living together... mass hysteria!

FEARLESS MICE on Magic Mushrooms.

COCKATOOS pick locks to reach their reward.