THE BLIND BOYS of ALABAMA join LOU REED on "Jesus" at the Ed Sullivan Theater.

SHE & HIM premiere a new song, "In the Sun," at P-Fork. This nifty track features guest vocals Tilly and the Wall.

SOCIAL STUDIES did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter, three unreleased, including a cover of "Let's Live For Today."

MAGNETIC FIELDS: Stephin Merritt talks to Drowned In Sound about the sincerity of folk music, the influence of alcohol on creativity and future ventures into writing stage and film musical scores.  DiS is also streaming the Realism album.

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS premiered a new song with a NSFW title to download or stream via the 'Gum.

WILCO is offering two live shows for download, and asking that people donate to OXFAM and Doctors Without Borders.

PRINCE wrote a new song, "Purple and Gold," for the Minnesota Vikings. I know he's a fan, so why this?

GIRLS: I'm relinking "Lust For Life" a bit earlier than I normally would -- profanity and all -- because I have an earworm.

YO LA TENGO: James McNew talks to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the Popular Songs album, cover songs, longevity, soundtracking, and more...

DAVID BOWIE tells The Guardian what's in heavy rotation on his iPod.

FYFE DANGERFIELD of The Guillemots gives Drowned In Sound a track-by-track tour of his solo LP.

THE NOUGHTIES saw a never-ending 1980s revival that left no trend unturned. But has it finally run its course?

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: It's Avatar for a sixth straight week, with another 36 million on a fantastic 16 percent drop.  By today, Avatar should pass Titanic's 1.85 billion worldwide take.  Legion debuted in the second slot with 18.2 million against a 26 million budget.  The Book of Eli drops 48 perectent to make 17 million in the third slot.  The Tooth Fairy opened in the fourth slot, with 14.5 million against a 48 million budget.  The Lovely Bones rounds out the Top Five with 8.8 million on a 48 percent drop.  Below the fold, Extraordinary Measures opened in seventh place with seven million against a 31 million budget.

BRADGELINA have seen divorce lawyers and signed a £205 million split deal, according to the uber-reliable News of the World. Multiple sources close to the family tell People that the rumors are false.

ANDY DICK was arrested in West Virginia on two felony counts of sexual abuse in the first degree.  He groped some folks in a bar.

THE HOPE FOR HAITI TELETHON has raised a record-breaking 58 million, with more donations continuing to pour in from around the world.

TIGER WOODS is not the man pictured at a Mississippi sex rehab clinic.

NICOLE KIDMAN has hired Angelina Jolie's manager, after becoming box office poison.

THE SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS went to these folks. Congrats to the winners, especially the cast of Mad Men.  So far, I think awards season has been a little unkind to The Hurt Locker and Up in the Air.

SERPICO on Serpico.

JEAN SIMMONS, the woman behind Spartacus, has died after losing her battle with lung cancer at the age of 80.

TERROR in the UK: The terror threat level was raised from "substantial" to "severe", meaning a terrorist attack is considered "highly likely." Fears that Islamist terrorists plan to hijack an Indian passenger jet and crash it into a British city helped to prompt the weekend's heightened alert.

YEMEN: American law enforcement officials have been told to be on the lookout for female suicide bombers who may attempt to enter the United States.

THE ANACONDA BREEDING BALL: Let's go to the video.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: An albino fawn.

CAT RESCUED from a chimney. Ho, ho, ho.

A NY DAIRY FARMER shot and killed 51 of his milk cows in his barn before turning the rifle on himself.

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with HARRY NILSSON! The BBC aired "The Music of Nilsson" in 1971, including a mashup of "Mr. Richland's Favorite Song" and "One," "Gotta Get Up," a medley of "Walk Right Back," "Cathy's Clown" and "Let The Good Times Roll," and really moving take on "Life Line." Then there are two videos from The Point!  -- "Think About Your Troubles" and "Are You Sleeping" -- sandwiching "Joy." The set concludes with "Without Her," "Coconut" and "1941."

LUCERO stopped by the World Cafe to play a mini-set of "rough-hewn, punk-infused alt-country."

HACIENDA stopped by KUT for a mini-set of garage rock, including covers of The Everly Brothers and Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs

CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS stopped by WXPN for a chat and mini-set streaming on demand via NPR.

VAN MORRISON: Captain's Dead has him to stream or download at the Fillmore West on April 26, 1970.

SONDRE LERCHE premiered the video for "If Only" at the 'Gum. 

THE HOLD STEADY loses Franz Nicolay. Noooo! Wish the both well moving forward.

NEW PORNOGRAPHERS release details of their upcoming Together album, including guests.

SONIC YOUTH: Lee Ranaldo talked to The Varsity about the music industry, who he likes, and new beginnings. (Thx, LHB.)

SHEARWATER: Jonathan Meiburg talks to Drowned in Sound about the upcoming Golden Archipeligo album.

TEN ARTISTS Who Never Got Their Due, according to the Houston Press.

CUTOUT BIN: From We Are Scientists to Crosby, Stlls and Nash, from Led Zeppelin to Serge Gainsbourg, from the Jam to Steely Dan, plus the Hold Steady, Martin Briley, the Lemonheads, Sly and the Family Stone and more -- this weekend's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases include The Tooth Fairy, which is currently scoring 12 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; Extraordinary Measures, currently scoring 19 percent; and Legion, which embargoed reviews until today.

CONAN O'BRIEN and the network have struck a 45 million dollar deal for his Tonight Show exit -- 7.5 million of which will go to pay staffers.  O'Brien will be free to return to TV in eight months, without losing any of the payout.

TARA REID is engaged.

THE HOPE FOR HAITI TELETHON did not invite Kanye West. Shocka!  Meanwhile, Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie are planning a massive 25th anniversary re-recording of "We Are the World."

JON CRYER told authorities his life was in danger - possibly by a hitman - and the FBI is investigating.

HEIDI MONTAG's debut album has sold less than 1000 copies, according to Nielsen Soundscan. Ouch.

JESSICA ALBA claims she furnished most of her house through Craigslist.

THE RUNAWAYS: New hi-res images from the rock biopic.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND: Johnny Depp talks Mad Hatter in a behind-the-scenes clip.

DIRECTORS' ROUNDTABLE: James Cameron, Jason Reitman, Quentin Tarantino, Kathryn Bigelow and Lee Daniels chat at the L.A. Times.

JAN GABRIEL, the voice of once ubiquitous radio motorsports commercials, diedof kidney problems last "Sunday! Sunday!! SUNDAY!!"  The iconic ads were produced by Steve Cronen of Starbeat Recording Studios, home of the Starbeat dictaphone. (Thanks, Dad.)

IRAN has told the International Atomic Energy Agency it does not accept the terms of a deal to ease concerns about its nuclear program, diplomats say. Shocka.

CHUPACABRA FOUND? Or is CBS just desperate?

DOGS can suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder, just like humans.

CHICKEN LICKING is a jailable offense in Britain.

COYOTE captured in Harlem. Don't buy your GPS system from ACME.

SPOON helps Conan O'Brien out the door with "Written in Reverse."

BEACH HOUSE is advance streaming Teen Dream via NPR.

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED: Tracks from Jay Reatard, Jeff Mangum, Smith Westerns and more are featured in the current installment of the long-running series.

THE LOW ANTHEM played a Tiny Desk Concert at the offices of NPR.

KATE McGARRIGLE, the Canadian folk icon and mother to Martha and Rufus Wainwright, has died of cancer at 63. Spinner has the statement from Rufus.

THE XX dropped the video for "VCR" on P-Fork, along with a remix by Matthew Dear.

VAMPIRE WEEKEND tops the Billboard chart with Contra, which is only the 12th indie album to do so since 1991.

DEVENDRA BANHART talks to The Australian about his feminine side, surfing, and more... 

PATTERSON HOOD and his dad, David Hood (of the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio), are profiled at OnlineAthens. (Thx, LHB.)

THE BEST ALBUMS of 2009, according to Prefix readers.

TIGER WOODS was caught on camera at the sex rehab clinic, blowing PR plans for the family photo op.

CHARLIE SHEEN went to the hospital to visit wife Brooke Mueller in the ICU.

JOHN MAYER is on the cover of the Rolling Stone, where he says he isn't proud of the way things ended with Jennifer Aniston.

AMY WINEHOUSE was put on double-secret probation by a British court after pleading guilty to assault.

BRITNEY SPEARS has been baffling staff at an LA hotel by impersonating Stewie from hit TV cartoon Family Guy.

MARISA MILLER may have just placed No. 2 on AskMen.com's list for the "99 Most Desirable Women of 2010," but Page Six claims she is no longer working with Victoria's Secret.

MIRANDA KERR a Victoria's Secret Angel, is profiled by GQ with photos, just in time for Gratuitous Thursday.

THE 25 MOST STYLISH MEN in the WORLD is also running at GQ, for some equal opportunity voyeurism.

(500) DAYS OF SPIDER-MAN: Marc Webb has finalized a deal to direct Sony's "Spider-Man" reboot.

YEMEN has retracted its claim that the deputy leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was captured after a car accident in Shabwa province. Meanwhile, some American former convicts who converted to Islam in prison have moved to Yemen and a few may have joined extremist groups there, according to a new Senate report.

OUR FRIENDS, THE SAUDIS: Health authorities in Jeddah have shut down an "illegal" women's fitness center attached to a hospital, closing one of the few venues where Saudi women are able to exercise, local media said on Wednesday.

CATWEED: Let's go to the commercial.

EMO OTTER climbs tree as an act of "teenage rebellion."

OHIO turns out to be the place to get bit by a bat.

MONKEY MATH: A German team of neurobiologists has found that rhesus macaques can engage in abstract mathematical reasoning using specific brain cells dedicated to the comprehension of math rules and relationships.

RICHARD ASHCROFT dropped the first United Nations of Sound video, "Are You Ready?", at NME.

CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG is advance streaming IRM (co-written and produced by Beck) via NPR.

SHEARWATER dropped another advance track, "Black Eyes," from The Golden Archipeligo.

NEW RELEASES UPDATED: Eels, Sppon, Editors, Dawn Landes, the Crazy Heart soundtrack and more are streaming via Spinner.

SONGS FOR HAITI: Paste is opening its download vault to anyone who donates to Haiti relief charities.

COLD WAR KIDS stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a chat and mini-set, now streaming via KCRW.

LOS CAMPESINOS! release a clip for "Romance is Boring."

PAZZ and JOP 2009 is posted at the Village Voice. Analysis at All·Idols.

YEASAYER: Chris Keating and Ira Wolf Tuton talk to The Line of Best Fit about the differences in the UK and American markets.

THE FLAMING LIPS: Wayne Coyne talks to Drowned In Sound about the Dark Side of the Moon, the Arcade Fire feud, creativity and more...

NEKO CASE talks to Under the Radar about her career in general.

FINAL FANTASY: Owen Pallett gives Drowned In Sound a track-by-track tour of Heartland.

CONAN O'BRIEN's exit from the Tonight Show is now estimated to cost the network between 32.5 million and nearly 40 million bucks.  Jay Leno says he has no hard feelings toward O'Brien, which is easy to say since he is getting exactly what he always wanted.

TIGER WOODS: What the golfer will go through in treatment.

KATE MOSS is engaged to Kills guitarist Jamie Hince.

LINDSAY LOHAN: Still cutting herself?

NEIL PATRICK HARRIS is nearing a deal to appear in the May sweeps Glee episode that's being helmed by his Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog director, Joss Whedon.

CHRIS PINE and OLIVIA MUNN are dunzo.

ROBERT PATTINSON has signed on for Friday's Hope for Haiti telethon in London, with performances by Jay-Z and Bono.

DAKOTA FANNING is happy with her first lesbian scene... in the Runaways movie.

TOBEY MAGUIRE to star in The Hobbit?

THE TOP 99 DESIRABLE WOMEN, according to AskMen, just in time for Gratuitous Thursday.

IRAN is reviewing all areas of co-operation with Britain in the wake of calls by its MPs to cut diplomatic relations, its foreign minister has said. At the same time, one of the MPs involved blamed "British policies" for the bomb attack which killed an academic nuclear physicist in Tehran last week.

AFGHANISTAN: Defense Secretary Gates cited progress in areas of southern Afghanistan as evidence that the new US strategy is making an impact. "I don't think anyone is prepared to go too far in talking about success down there," he said. "It is early yet."

RETURN of the SHIBA INU CAM: Mama's got a brand new litter.

A GOAT checks out a strip club. In true goat fashion, the club was closed.

BELUGA WHALES check out Arctic divers, try to eat their camera.

A CAT on a cat, like a furry tattoo.

CASPER the COMMUTER CAT has died after being struck by a hit-and-run driver.

BRENDAN BENSON and CORY CHISEL cover Tom Petty's "American Girl." Throw in a vintage TP take from the OGWT, and you have Twofer Tuesday.

NEW RELEASES: Surfer Blood, Vampire Weekend, OK Go, Freedy Johnson, etc. were still streaming via Spinner, last I checked...

FOUR TET is advance streaming the There Is Love In You album this week.

LAURA VEIRS stopped by Oregon Public Broadcasting for a chat and mini-set in audio and video.

SPOON: Britt Daniel talks to the NY Post, while the band's album is advance streaming via NPR and The Guardian.

SMASHING PUMPKINS is streaming a new song, "A Song for a Son."

PANDA BEAR debuted all sorts on new material in Berlin.

GIRLS' latest video is for "Morning Light."

FINAL FANTASY: After a career working in the shadows, is the world ready for Owen Pallett's divisive solo album about a farmer's fictitious world of Spectrum?

KEN STRINGFELLOW (Posies, Big Star, REM) is profiled by... the Jakarta Times? Man gets around.

BRIAN ENO talks to The Guardian (and the BBC) about gospel, Abba and the death of the record.

PRAVDA RECORDS, Pate's label, celebrates 25 years. Congrats!

CONAN O'BRIEN may yet get to take Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and (ahem) the bear with him as part of his deal to exit the Tonight Show.

TIGER WOODS is planning to return to the PGA tour in the Spring, according to RadarOnline.  Meanwhile there's more smoke behind the rehab rumor.

DEMI MOORE tweeted that she skipped the Golden Globes because she was "Feeling sick and having a bad hair day!"

KATE BOSWORTH and ALEXANDER SKARSGARD were caught canoodling in the crowded bar area of the Beverly Hilton's pool area at HBO's Golden Globes party.

JENNIFER LOPEZ has nabbed a guest spot on Glee.

JENNIFER ANISTON and GERARD BUTLER romance rumors reignite, just in time for the release of their upcoming movie The Bounty Hunter.

YEMEN: The Yemeni government said it has captured the deputy leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

IRAN has appointed a Qods Force commander as Ambassador to Iraq.  Meanwhile, US intell agencies are quietly revising their widely disputed assertion that Iran has no active program to design or build a nuclear bomb.

PUPPY cries like a baby.

A CHAMPION LABRADOR fetches a deadly copperhead snake.

A GECKO that fits on a pencil eraser.

FIVE PENGUIN CHICKS debut at the Omaha Zoo.

AN ELEPHANT CALF is born at the Melbourne Zoo.