SHE & HIM cover the classic "Fools Rush In" for Levi's Pioneer Sessions.

NEW RELEASES REDUX: Albums from Paul Weller, Tift Merritt, Futureheads, Elk city, Peggy Sue, Jack Johnson, and more are streaming this week at Spinner, icymi.

ROGER McGUINN (The Byrds) joined The Rock Bottom Remainders (a band of authors including Dave Barry, Scott Turow and Amy Tan) for a Tiny Desk Concert.

AGAINST ME! did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter. Recommended (moreso than usual, anyway).

SIDE 1, TRACK 1: All Songs Considered links to candidates for the best LP openers ever, and starts taking suggestions for best closing tracks.

THE MAIN INGREDIENT: "Everybody Plays the Fool." Sometimes. BTW, the lead singer is Cuba Gooding... Sr. (The truly live version is interesting, too).

THE HOLD STEADY frontman Craig Finn wants to play a gig based on The Last Waltz -- though not anytime soon, fortunately.

DIANE BIRCH shuffled her iPod for the Boston Globe.

THE TOP 50 GUITARISTS of ALL TIME, according to Gibson.

ROBERT JOHNSON: We've been listening to the immortal 'King of the Delta Blues' at the wrong speed, but now we can hear him as he intended.

CHARLIE SHEEN will plead guilty to a misdemeanor offense and get 30 days jail time, says a source close to the negotiations in the star's ongoing domestic violence case.

SPENCER PRATT's  "crazy behavior" drove wife Heidi Montag and friends "to the edge", according to a former Speidi insider, who spoke out exclusively to RadarOnline.

SARAH FERGUSON: The Duchess of York claims she was totally drunk and broke when she accepted a bribe on video.

CELEBRITY REHAB has been put on ice because they just can't find a big star with a big problem... paging Fergie?

JANUARY JONES ... and Adrien Brody?

KRISTEN STEWART credits her upbringing for saving her from Lohan-dom.

SCARLETT JOHANSSON & RYAN REYNOLDS have snapped up a decidedly unremarkable farmhouse in rural Louisiana.

KHLOE KARDASHIAN is two months pregnant, according to RadarOnline.

SYRIA has told the UN atomic watchdog about past nuclear experiments, but is still refusing to cooperate over allegations that it was building a secret nuclear reactor with North Korea's help, a new report revealed Monday.

IRAN has ramped up security in the run-up to the June 12 'election' anniversary. Meanwhile, the regime has barred private schools from teaching music, saying it clashes with the establishment's Islamic values, following a push to enforce moral standards that may lead to a national dress code for university students.

AFGHANISTAN: Insurgents in Kandahar's undergrowth drag NATO forces into a 'green hell'.

IRAQ: A Sunni-backed secular alliance that challenged Iraq's top Shiite leadership in parliamentary elections won a Supreme Court ruling Tuesday sealing its narrow edge over its closest rival, but still faced daunting odds of forming a government.

THE SWARM hits Wall Street.

MYSTERY FISH challenges the Blobfish for the title of ugliest fish ever.

A BABY ELK was left on the doorstep of the US Forest Service office in La Grande, OR.

A STRAY ROTWEILER leads to a DUI arrest.

VAMPIRE WEEKEND mocks their detractors in the new video for "Holiday."

NEW RELEASES were not posted at Spinner when I last checked, but maybe they will be if you click...

BLITZEN TRAPPER is advance streaming Destroyer of the Void.

VILLAGERS, an Irish folk-rock combo, are advance streaming Becoming a Jackal.

MUMFORD & SONS played a mini-set in MPR's UBS forum.

BILLIE JEAN: The 10 Strangest Covers. It's like Tenfer Tuesday.

GRIZZLY BEAR: Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen talk to The Guardian about their musical histories, gaining in popularity, accusations of pretentiousness, etc.

TRACEY THORN talks to the HuffPo about getting married after 28 years and then writing an album about divorce and heartbreak.

INTERNET SAVED THE VIDEO STAR: The happy comeback of the music video, courtesy of the web.

KISS: Gene Simmons has been accused of sexual assault and sexual battery by a makeup artist.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Shrek Forever After repeats at the top of the Memorial Day Weekend receipts with 55.7 million. It's 21 percent drop looks good until you look at the 39 percent drop it took over the normal three-day gross.  Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time debuts at No. 2 with 37.8 million -- not an especially promising start for what Jerry Bruckheimer hoped would be a franchise.  Its reported 200 million budget is likely on the low side, and even after international receipts come in, this one may have to hope DVD bucks bail it out.  Sex & The City 2 slid from second to third over the course of the weekend with 37.1 million; including its Thursday opening, its 45 million total still looks kinda anemic against a 100 million budget. (The original opened with 57 million on a smaller budget. Ouch.)  Iron Man 2 drops to No.4 with another 20.6 million, benefiting from the weak competition.  StarkExpo 2010 has raked in 279 million domestically.  Robin Hood rounds out the Top 5 with 13.6 million, but has taken in only 86.3 million domestic against a 200 million budget.  Fortunately for Crowe and his Not-So-Merry Men, the flick has taken in 154.6 million overseas.

LINDSAY LOHAN reportedly has vowed to avoid "those people" -- the ones creating massive temptation -- and has become friends with DJ Samantha Ronson again. Oh, and here's a funny story involving a pleasure chest.

CHARLIE SHEEN is considering a plea bargain in he may spend up to 45 days in jail.

CELINE DION is pregnant with twins after undergoing her sixth in-vitro fertilization attempt.

ALICIA KEYS is engaged and pregnant.

HEIDI MONTAG & SPENCER PRATT are separated. The plastic surgery disaster will be moving in with friend Jennifer Bunney this summer while the two film their upcoming new show. Just to play even, I'll note that he seems to be a total d-bag.

BARBARA HERSHEY & NAVEEN ANDREWS are dunzo after about a dozen years.

GUILLERMO DEL TORO is no longer directing the two movies based on J.R.R Tolkien's "The Hobbit", but will continue to co-write the screenplays.

IRON BABY: An awww... some faux trailer.

ISLAMISM in the UK: Home secretary Theresa May is facing a stiff test of the Conservative party's claims to oppose radical Islam after her officials chose to allow a misogynist Muslim preacher into Britain.

IRAN: In their last report before the UN Security Council votes on sanctions against Iran, international nuclear inspectors declared on Monday that Iran has now produced a stockpile of nuclear fuel that experts say would be enough, with further enrichment, to make two nuclear weapons.

PAKISTAN: US officials tell ABC News that al Qaeda's No. 3 has been killed. Also, a Taliban commander who serves as a key link to al Qaeda and who carried out the assassination of a former Pakistani prime minister is said to have been killed in a US predator strike in Khyber in mid-May.

AFGHANISTAN: Iran is training and arming the Taliban, says General Stanley McChrystal. The Kandahar campaign will take months, says Adm. Mike Mullen.

IRAQ: The US military "is on track and will stay on track" to meet its Aug. 31 deadline to get down to 50K troops in Iraq.

A BABY LEMUR at the Bronx Zoo. Let's go to the video.

A PIGEON is held under armed guard after it was caught on an alleged spying mission for arch-rival and neighbor Pakistan.

A SAUSAGE-ADDICTED KOOKABURRA has been sent to bird boot camp to shed weight.

SEWER RATS -- like most forms of life -- are scared away by bagpipes.

ABOUT 15000 SNAKES snakes were spotted slithering along a road near a village in northern Beijing this week in what local authorities said may have been part of a Buddhist ceremony.

MEMORIAL DAY has become -- in the minds of some -- a day devoted to uncovering their swimming pools and barbeques. So take a moment (preferably at 3 p.m. local time) to remember what it's really about.  Read about Joyce Johnson and the "Arlington Ladies" who attend every funeral in Arlington National Cemetery, to ensure no soldier is buried alone.  While I'm not a big believer in the hackneyed journalism of "grim milestones," it's an appropriate moment to mark the 1000th death of a US serviceman in Afghanistan.  And to re-read "A Death in the Family," as powerful as it was when Christopher Hitchens wrote it in 2007.  Revisit the Mudville Gazette for items like William Wyler's footage of the last mission of the Memphis Belle and Alfred Hitchcock's footage of the liberation of the Belsen concentration camp.  The Wikipedia entry for Memorial Day notes a race track connection unrelated to the Indy 500.  It's a good day -- as good as we are liekly to get -- for Sgt. Barry Sadler's No. 1 smash, "Ballad of the Green Beret."  or the movie adaptation of Gen. George S. Patton's "Speech to the Third Army."  As "Greyhawk" writes at the Mudville Gazette, "This is Memorial Day weekend. Enjoy it. Celebrate it - the people who died to give you that right would appreciate it. But they didn't die peaceably in their beds, these dogs who fell protecting sheep from wolves."

DENNIS HOPPER, who debuted in "Rebel Without a Cause," changed the face of Hollywood by directing and acting in "Easy Rider," spun completely out of control with substance abuse, and made a stunning comeback in 1986 with both "Hoosiers" and "Blue Velvet," died Saturday after a long battle with prostate cancer.  Hopper was 74, though that's just the years, not the mileage.  Though that "Blue Velvet" clip would be my tribute, Elizabeth Banks is right that Hopper's scene with Chistopher Walken in "True Romance" is a "cinematic Ali v. Frazier.''  Of course, both clips warrant a content warning, so consider yourself warned.

 Back tomorrow with the usual helping of tripe.

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with KATRINA & THE WAVES! "Walking On Sunshine" turns 25 this week, earning the song and the band a feature on All Things Considered, and an indie tribute EP assembled by Brooklyn Vegan. But we can dig a little deeper for pop gems like "Brown Eyed Son," "Do You Want Crying?", "Que Te Quiero" and "Red Wine and Whiskey."  BONUS: Guitarist, songwriter and Soft Boy Kimberley Rew also wrote "Going Down to Liverpool," later covered by The Bangles.

FYFE DANGERFIELD of the Guillemots stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a chat and mini-set.

THE FEELIES stopped by the World Cafe for a mini-set.

CAITLIN ROSE did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter.

VAMPIRE WEEKEND drops "Jonathan Low" from the Twilight: Eclipse soundtrack. Vampire synergy.

THOSE DARLINS have a short documentary streaming at Paste.

HOT CHOCOLATE: "You Sexy Thing." Believe in miracles?

MOUNTAIN GOATS frontman John Darniells talks to Straight.com about the band's 17th LP.

CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG talks to Drowned in Sound about her dad (Serge), her film career and her own intriguing musical journey.

PHIL COLLINS: At The Quietus, Gary Mills hits the ground running with a one-man Dunkirk-style rescue mission for the sake of the reputation for the drumming Tory homunculus.

THE NINE GREATEST RUSH SONGS, according to Paste.

IS GOOGLE KILLING the music download?

THE CUTOUT BIN: From Brinsley Schwartz to Iggy Pop, from Bob Dylan to Murray Head, from the Undertones to REO Speedwagon, plus Katrina & the Waves, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Los Bravos, OK Go, Led Zeppelin 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 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, currently scoring 46 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and Sex and the City 2 (which technically opened yesterday), scoring 15 percent.

GARY COLEMAN is currently listed in critical condition in a Provo, Utah, hospital. UPDATE: Multiple media sources are reporting that Coleman is dead at age 42.

JESSE JAMES: Dad is explaining the black eye and broken arm he supposedly inflicted on Jesse during his childhood. Sister Julie James says Jesse's claim of child abuse is "completely true."

TIGER WOODS' legal team told him he can't date until his divorce is finalized. Meanwhile, Elin Nordegren is planning an extended trip to China within the next few months.

LINDSAY LOHAN: Planning to fool her alcohol-monitoring bracelet?

JOHN TRAVOLTA & KELLY PRESTON say they are having one baby, not two.

KENDRA WILKINSON says her sex tape broke her heart, despite evidence that she tried to sell it herself and is making a truckload of money from it.  Somehow, her husband has been understanding about the whole thing.

HEATHER LOCKLEAR will not be charged with hit-and-run.

50 CENT shed 54 pounds for his upcoming film ‘Things Fall Apart,' in which he plays a football player stricken with cancer.

40 LITTLE-SEEN, SHOULD BE MOVIE CLASSICS, according to The Obscure, the Forgotten, and the Unloved (via LHB). I think Modern Romance is the only one of them I've seen, and heartily recommend it.

NORTH KOREA vowed to attack any South Korean ships which violate their disputed border and Seoul's navy staged its own show of strength amid continuing high tension over the sinking of a warship.

AFGHANISTAN: Intellectuals and respected Afghan professionals are convinced the US is funding the Taliban to prolong the conflict and maintain influence in the region.  Meanwhile, an Afghan police commander claimed that his forces killed a top Pakistani Taliban leader during a clash in Nuristan province. The report has not been confirmed by US officials.

DOG RESCUED from a fence. Stay for the end.

BERTIE may well be the Ugliest Cat in Britain.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: Fish with hands.

SNAKE in a MOTEL in Mason City, IA.

AN ABDUCTED TARANTULA was returned safely to a Maryland library.

26 HEADLESS CHICKENS baffle Alaska State Troopers.

KITTEH survives 30 minutes in a washing machine on spin cycle.

PAUL WELLER reunited onstage with Bruce Foxton to play The Jam's "Eton Rifles."  The two already reunited on Weller's upcoming solo LP, Wake Up the Nation.

NADA SURF stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a chat and mini-set. 

DELTA SPIRIT is advance streaming History From Below.

ARCADE FIRE: The full tracks teased on their website are popping up online.

ONE ESKIMO did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter.

THEODORE also did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter, starting with a raucous cover of "Engine Number Nine."

BECK'S RECORD CLUB continues covering INXS's Kick with "Never Tear Us Apart."

THE MORNING BENDERS: Chris Chu lists a few of his favorite things for Pitchfork's Guest List.

BOOKER T. JONES is profiled at the Telegraph, where he reminds us that "Green Onions" was a B-Side. Who cares what's on the flip side? I do!

SIDE 1, TRACK 1: All Songs Considered is making a list.

CULT of the iPOD: The Justice Department is examining Apple's tactics in the market for digital music, and its staff members have talked to major music labels and Internet music companies, according to several people briefed on the conversations.

JESSE JAMES is now blaming child abuse for his cheating on Sandra Bullock. His stepmom calls the claim "a bunch of crap."

JOHN TRAVOLTA & KELLY PRESTON are having twins, according to the ever-reliable Star.

ELLEN DeGENERES has started a record label and signed a kid from YouTube.

LINDSAY LOHAN: The Portrait of Dorian Li-Lo.

HARRY POTTER & THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: Spy photos. Slightly spoilery if you haven't read the book.

DIANE KEATON & ELLEN PAGE are doing a pilot for HBO.

ART LINKLETTER, who as the gently mischievous host of TV's "People Are Funny" and "House Party" in the 1950s and '60s delighted viewers with his ability to get kids - and grownups - to say the darndest things on national television, died Wednesday. He was 97.

TERROR in NYC: US officials, in an urgent visit, sought to convince Pakistan that Washington would be under intense pressure to respond if another plot with ties to the Pakistani Taliban led to American casualties.

AFGHANISTAN's intelligence agency has arrested a group of Taliban members believed to be behind last week's attack in Kabul, which killed 20 people.

IRAQ: The US grapples with shifting from amilitary- to diplomatic-run effort.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: A militant rodent disrupted the Yankees-Twins contest at Target Field earlier this week.

A HORDE OF FROGS forced the closure of a key Greek highway for two hours.

A MAJOR GRASSHOPPER INVASION could descend this summer on Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska and the Dakotas, damaging rangeland and crops, ranchers, farmers and scientists say.

SHARKS can become invisible. What say you, Police Chief Brody?

GOAT RAPE traumatized actor Adrien Brody.