THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with A CHRISTMAS SHINDIG! The full episode has gone dark, but still-available clips from 1964 include The Beach Boys' "Dance, Dance, Dance," Bobby Sherman and Donna Loren singing "Keep on Searching," the Righteous Brothers doing "The Jerk" and an awesome milk commercial, Bobby Sherman with "Sleigh Ride," Donna Loren returning with a Spector-esque, but rougher "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," and The Beach Boys returning for a set including "Little Saint Nick," "Monster Mash" (yes, really), "Papa Oom Mow Mow," "Johnny B. Goode," and "We Three Kings."

THE HIVES visit World Cafe.

GEDDY LEE talks up his memoir at World Cafe.

DINSAUR JR brings Kim Deal, Jason Isbell, and Laura Jane Grace onstage for cameos.

GANG OF YOUTHS cover "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."

BRIGHT EYES covers John Prine's "Christmas in Prison."

BLEACHERS shares "Alma Mater."

AMANDA PALMER shares "The Ballad of the New York Times."

TOM WAITS made a are public appearance... to honor Nicolas Cage.

THE KILLERS, on label rejection, their recent scrapped album and the joy of Bake Off.

ADELE, on her dream Hollywood job, her big feelings, and volunteering at her son's school.

MR. & MRS. SMITH has a trailer online.

CHICKEN RUN 2: Behind The Scenes.

THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE unveiled its choices for the year’s 10 best films and 10 best TV shows.

OPPENHEIMER is getting a Japanese release.

JOHN WOO Returns to Hollywood With a Blood-Soaked Christmas Thriller.

THE HOUSE OF MOUSE may add shopping and gaming to D+.

GWYNETH PALTROW still hasn’t seen Avengers: Endgame. And more.

THE BEST MOVIES OF 2023, according to The Ringer.

A HERDING DOG, doing it well. Dang.

A CAT's online massage class.

THIS HORSE is leaving the barn.

THE RAVEONETTES' 2011 video for 2001's "The Christmas Song."

BOB DYLAN, Live at Jones Beach, New York, on 30 June 1988.

U2 covers "A Rainy Night in Soho" in tribute to Shane MacGowan.  And so does Glen Hansard.

MICHAEL SHANNON & JASON NARDUCY cover R.E.M.'s "Radio Free Europe."

VALERIE JUNE covers Duran Duran's "Ordinary World."

CAR SEAT HEADREST: Will Toledo on his live LP, his recovery from long COVID, the state of Bandcamp, and more.

AARON DESSSNER on Taylor Swift.

SCREAMING FEMALES breaks up.

R.E.M.'s Top Five Cover Songs.

THE 37 BEST ROCK ALBUMS of 2023, according to Pitchfork.

NORMAN LEAR, who revolutionized American comedy with such daring, immensely popular early-‘70s sitcoms as “All in the Family” and “Sanford and Son,” died on Tuesday. He was 101.

A SECOND FORMER GRAMMYS CEO is facing a lawsuit for sexual assault.

PUFF DADDY has been accused of gang-raping and sex-trafficking a 17-year-old schoolgirl.

POOR THINGS director Yorgos Lanthimos on Emma Stone's weird sex scenes.

MAHERSHALA ALI has hopes for the Blade reboot that had seemed derailed.

TAYLOR SWIFT is TIME's Person of the Year.

WONKA gets a good review from Timothee Chalamet's mother.

DECEMBER 7, 1941: A "date which will live in infamy." I'll be watching Tora! Tora! Tora!  BTW, the first nation invaded by the US after entering WWII was Morocco, then Algeria, iirc. War is strange.

A POSSUM in your Christmas tree.

COWS & DOGS, living together...

A BABY HORSE, rescued from a bridge.

THE RAMONES: "Merry Christmas (I Don't Wanna Fight Tonight)."

THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH plays KEXP.

CAT POWER & IGGY POP cover Marianne Faithfull's "Working Cass Hero."

ADRIENNE LENKER shares "Ruined."

BLUR is going away again.

THE 50 BEST ALBUMS of 2023, according to Pitchfork.

THE 50 BEST ALBUMS of 2023, according to Stereogum.

DENNY LAINE, who co-founded the Moody Blues and Wings, has died at 79. Sir Paul has a eulogy.

THE CRITICS' CHOICE nominations went to these folks.

HUGH GRANT grumps out over his Wonka experience.

GRETA GERWIG talks Barbie on 60 Minutes.

THR's ACTORS' ROUNDTABLE: Cillian Murphy says he knows what a meme is now.

JONATHAN MAJORS' ex-girlfriend feared him.

JAMIE FOXX's first public appearance after his mysterious medical issue. 

ANGELINA JOLIE is rebuilding her life.

RUFUS SEWELL is engaged to his girlfriend, Vivian Benitez, who is thirty years his junior.

PEOPLE's 2023 Most Intriguing People List.

SELF-RELIANCE, directed by Jake Johnson, has a trailer online.

TROLLING your dogs.

CATS & DOGS, living together...

A HORSE tries to make a snow angel.

GLAM XMAS:  Wizzard's awesome "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day" and Slade's "Merry Christmas Everybody" (1973's UK Xmas No. 1) are your Twofer Tuesday.

OLIVIA RODRIGO visits World Cafe.

BELLE & SEBASTIAN appeared on The Simpsons.

BRENDA LEE's “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” tops the Hot 100 for the first time this week, 65 years after its release.

LANA DEL REY, on wanting children.

THE TOP 100 SONGS of 2023, according to Pitchfork.

THE NUMBER ONES looks at Adele's stately ballad "Set Fire To The Rain."

NICOLAS CAGE wants to quit movies for television.

GODZILLA x KONG has a trailer online.

GTA 6 has a trailer online.

JULIA ROBERTS talks MATTHEW PERRY.

GAL GADOT called out the silence over media reports of sexual violence committed by Hamas during the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel.

FLORENCE PUGH was hit in the face by a flying object during an appearance at CCXP 2023 on Sunday.

SPIDER-MAN: NOIR is moving forward.

ADAM McKAY's serial killer comedy film starring Robert Pattinson and Robert Downey Jr. has been cancelled at Netflix.

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: Behind the Scenes of the Most Spectacular Show On TV.

UTAHN GORED BY A BISON admitted he was the “idiot in this scenario.”

A BUNNY sticks the landing.

CLIFFORD, but not red.

U2 cover "Merry Christmas, Baby (Please Come Home)."

NEW RELEASES: Paste will point you Guided by Voices, Peter Gabriel, and more.

BILL'S INDIE BASEMENT has Harp, Trevor Horn, and more.

LANA DEL REY covers the John Denver classic “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”

GRANDDADDY shares "Cabin In My Mind."

KISS played their final two shows at MSG, allegedly.

KATE PIERSON, from her memories of the B-52’s very first shows in New York City to appearing in the Flintstones movie and singing with R.E.M. and beyond.

THE TOP 50 SONGS of 2023, according to Rolling Stone.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé tops the chart with 22MM, which is a pretty good total for the post-Thanksgiving frame.  The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes places with 14.5MM on a respectable 50 percent drop.  Godzilla Minus One, an actual subtitled Toho epic, shows with 11MM and almost universally good reviews.

THANKSGIVING: Eli Roth promises a second helping.

ROBERT DOWNEY JR's Third Act.

RYAN GOSLING talks Kenergy.

MICHAEL B. JORDAN crashed his Ferrari into a parked car.

JODIE FOSTER hopes people ate tiring of superhero movies.

KELSEY GRAMMER shares the soundtrack of his life.

HOW NICOLAS COPPOLA Became Nicolas Cage.

CATS & DOGS, living together...

DOG and Butterflies.

DEER, prancing through the forest at night.

CATCHING a falling bear. Pretty sure I've seen this before, but still cool.