THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with THE YARDBIRDS! Live circa 1967, featuring someone the announcer calls "Timmy Page."  Your setlist inlcudes "Shapes of Things," "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago," "Over Under Sideways Down," and "I'm a Man."

BEST COAST play a bouncing set drenched in jangling guitars and hooky melodies live from the KEXP studio.

REGINA SPEKTOR stopped by WNYC Soundcheck with her new material.

BAD VEINS squeeze a huge sound out of a small setup for KEXP.

THE BEACH BOYS stream five songs from That's Why God Made the Radio.

DAVID BOWIE is streaming the remastered Ziggy Stardust.

NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE: Live in Birmingham, England, June 2, 1987.

FRIENDS go "Home" ahead of Manifest!

BEACHWOOD SPARKS return with "Sparks Fly Again."

LOS CAMPESINOS! "Tiptoe Through The True Bits" in an outtake fro Hello Sadness.

BECK's new single is streaming at Third Man Records.

LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM: "Holiday Road."

JON PRATT, Pate's frontman and a "former punk rocker with a soul patch" is busy redefining the kilogram. (via Friend of Pate and fmr KUSR DJ Terry Nielsen. Thanks!)

JAPANDROIDS talk to Pitchfork about rock'n'roll myths, the tenuous balance of being a two-man band, and the difference between Jack White and the Replacements.

PAUL McCARTNEY talks to Drowned in Sound about the RAM reissue, "wooly" years, songwriting and more.

18 ANTI-BEATLES SONGS, compiled by The A.V. Club.

CUTOUT BIN: From John Travolta to Jimi Hendrix, from Little Richard to the Soft Boys, from the B-52s to Gladys Knight & the Pips, plus Cheap Trick, Glen Campbell, Fairport Convention, Rush and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: Snow White and the Huntsman is this weekend's wide release, scoring 50 percent on the ol' Tomatometer.  For Greater Glory opens near-wide on 700 screens, scoring 18 percent.

JESSICA SIMPSON will be shedding baby weight with a four million dollar sponsorship.

JUSTIN BIEBER: Oslo's mayor has launched an investigation into a near-catastrophic Justin Bieber concert in Norway - after 49 teenage girls were injured.

ZHANG ZIYI vehemently denies allegations she had been paid to have sex with a disgraced politician.

ASHTON KUTCHER & DEMI MOORE are not reuniting, sources tell People.

MARY-KATE OLSEN has found amour again with former French president Nicolas Sarkozy's younger brother, Olivier.

GEORGE LUCAS confirmed plans to retire from mainstream film-making in favour of "hobby" movies.

IRAN's enrichment of uranium to 20 percent "is our right" and "is not a step towards a bomb," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in an interview. Meanwhile, a US security institute has published satellite images which it said increased concerns that Iran was trying to "destroy evidence" of suspected past research relevant for developing a nuclear weapons capability, hours after diplomats said the UN atomic watchdog showed what appeared to be similar imagery at a closed-door briefing in Vienna.

PAKISTAN:  The United States has sent a handful of military trainers back into Pakistan in a sign the two nations may be able to achieve some low-level cooperation against militants despite a string of confrontations that have left Washington's relations with Islamabad in crisis.

IRAQ moves closer to normality as responsibility for security in Baghdad is handed over from the Iraqi Army to the police.

PUG vs DUCK: Who you got?

A SHARP-DRESSED PIG ran loose on a highway just outside of Pittsburgh. They all go crazy.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: A baby bird with two heads and three beaks.

PUNTUNG, a Sumatran rhinoceros missing a foot and a working uterus, undergoes "assisted reproduction" to try to save the species. Wang dang.

YESTERDAY was our biggest traffic day ever.  Thanks to our regular readers, web-crawling robots and creepy stalkers!

ALAN SPARHAWK (Low) & THE PORTLAND CELLO PROJECT play Sucidal Tendencies' "Institutionalized" for The A.V. Club Undercover.

THE POLYPHONIC SPREE played World Cafe Live last Friday; you can stream the gig on demand now.

M WARD stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

CROCODILES are advance streaming the fuzz-laden Endless Flowers.

THE ROLLING STONES: Live in St. Kilda and Sydney, circa 1966.

THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM covers Tom Petty's "You Got Lucky."

INXS: "Don't Change." Because it's the time of year for Adventureland.

DAVID LOWERY (Camper Van Beethoven, Cracker) gave a meaty, fascinating talk about the economics of pop music in the Internet Age at the SF Music Tech Summit: "Not only is the New Boss worse than the Old Boss. The New Boss creeps me out." And he backs it up comprehensively.

PETER CASE talks to PopMatters about The Nerves reunion implosion, songwriting, roots music and more...

WEEN No More, as Gene (Aaron Freeman) dissolves the band.

JACK WHITE gives an economics lesson.

MATTHEW FOX denies habitually beating women, as alleged by his former "Lost" co-star Dominic Monaghan.

CHRISTIAN BALE dated Drew Barrymore once, but she never called him back.

MADONNA's alleged stalker faces retrial.

BILL MURRAY gives a tipsy tour of the Moonrise Kingdom set... and an awesome video autograph.

ZHANG ZIYI is allegedly being investigated for a sex scandal linked with China's former Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai -- and may be barred from leaving China.

IRON MAN 3 has started shooting in NC; on day two, photogs got a glimpse of The Iron Patriot.

G.I. JOE 2 moves from June 29 to 2013; will another 75 million fix it?

LES MISERABLES has a trailer online.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN's Australian trailer is online.

IRAN claims it has defeated the powerful Flame computer virus that has boasted unprecedented data-snatching capabilities and could eavesdrop on computer users.

EGYPT: The Muslim Brotherhood's candidate for the Egyptian presidential runoff is trying to cash in on public resentment of his rival Ahmed Shafiq's ties to the old regime.

PAKISTAN: The doctor who helped the US find Osama bin Laden was convicted of providing support to the Lashkar-e-Islam, according to court documents.

AFGHANISTAN: Afghan intelligence operatives captured five suspected Taliban suicide bombers and 560 kilograms of explosives on the outskirts of Kabul's international airport.

ADORABLE HAMSTER plays dead from imaginary gunshot. Really hamsters it up, too.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: A militant rodent knocked out power to Hudson High School's graduation ceremonies in Michigan.

UNCHECKED HORDES OF GIANT HOUSE MICE are devouring endangered baby seabirds en masse on Gough Island.

A ROGUE KANGAROO that attacked a young mother, leaving her with a 30cm scar, had bailed her up in the garden on two previous occasions.

SLEIGH BELLS' latest video is for "Demons."

NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE are streaming Americana, a collection of folk classics.

EDWARD SHARPE & THE MAGNETIC ZEROS stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

CATHARINE AD streams Reprise: The Covers Collection.

JOHN LENNON: Oddities.

THE VACCINES have "No Hope" ahead of The Vaccines Come Of Age.

THE TEMPTATIONS gallop through "I Can't Get Next to You" live on TOTP.

DOC WATSON, the Grammy-award winning folk musician whose lightning-fast style of flatpicking influenced guitarists around the world for more than a half-century, died Tuesday at a hospital in Winston-Salem, according to a hospital spokeswoman and his management company. He was 89.

ALABAMA SHAKES drummer Steve Johnson talks to ChartAttack about meeting his idols, keeping humble and staying away from stadium shows.

SPIRTUALIZED: Jason Pierce talks to Straight.com about the making of Sweet Heart Sweet Light.

CBGB: The movie is cast.

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE & JESSICA BIEL: Marriage won't change a thing, she says.  Lance Bass has details of the nuptuals after a star-studded engagement party.

CYNTHIA NIXON married longtime galpal Christine Marinoni in NYC over the weekend.

JUSTIN BIEBER is a suspect in a criminal battery, according to law enforcement sources.

LINDSAY LOHAN is being pursued by a tanning salon with a vengeance for not paying a judgment for a humongous tanning bill.

KRISTEN STEWART talks Snow Whire and On The Road with Elvis Mitchell.

SUMMER MOVIES: The Grown-Up's Guide.

RANDALL POSTER, one of the best-known music supervisors in the movie industry, talks to Fresh Air about working with Wes Anderson.

FLAME: The cyber-weapon that dwarfs Stuxnet.  Looks like it hit  Iran's oil terminals. 

YEMEN: US drones killed five al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in a strike that targeted the group's leader for Baydah.

IRAN said it planned to build a new nuclear power plant (they have enough uranium for 5 bombs, according to a think tank).  Iran also admits sending troops to Syria.

AFGHANISTAN: Al Qaeda's second in command for Afghanistan was killed in Sunday's airstrike in the northeastern Afghan province of Kunar, the Coalition reported.

A FAMILY OF DUCKS got a police escort as they attempted to cross a busy highway in Texas.

PIED PIPER WANTED: Hamelin is again infested with rats.

BREASTFEEDING YOUR POODLE seems wrong, even in Phuket.

A STRAY DOG follows cyclists 1136 miles across China.

GIVERS & DICKIE LANDRY team up cajun-style on Paul Simon's "That Was Your Mother" to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Graceland.

NEW RELEASES from Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Regina Spektor, Scissor Sisters, Ladyhawke, Grass Widow, Marisa Nadler, and more are streaming at Spinner.

JAPANDROIDS are advance streaming their much-anticipated Celebration Rock.

KELLY HOGAN is advance steaming I Like to Keep Myself in Pain. She talks to the Chicago Sun-Times talks about her loves, her songwriting fans, her talented backup band and more...

LIARS are advance streaming WIXIW.

BIZARRE LOVE TRIANGLE: From New Order and Frente. Hospitality's recent version for The A.V. Club Undercover put me in mind of it.

JOEY RAMONE: Morning Edition reports on the construction of his posthumous album.

NEKO CASE: Morning Edition also reports from behind the scenes of her next album.

REGINA SPEKTOR talks to All Things Considered about listening to her bootlegs and more.

DAVID GILMOUR (Pink Floyd) evacuated his home after a WWII bomb was discovered beneath.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Men in Black 3 tops the chart with a mildly disappointing four-day haul of 70 million, although it does dethrone The Avengers.  The give you an idea, the prior two Men raked in 84 and 87 million over five days; MiB3 won't match that, even with the 15 percent 3-D premium on many of these tickets.  Moreover, MiB 3 reportedly had a 230 million production budget, and a 350 million cost once you add in marketing and such.  However, the worldwie gross already exceeds 202 million, so this one will still do alright in theaters and even more in home video.  The Avengers shows with a leggy 49.9 million -- a mere 16 percent drop from last weekend (34 percent on a three-day basis).  Marvel's heroes become the fastest film to break 500 million domestic.  It will likely overtake The Dark Knight next weekend, but increasing competition may block it from 600 million.  Battleship shows with 13.8 million on a disastrous 46 percent plunge (58 percent on a three day basis).  The Dictator drops to fourth with 11.8 million on a 33 percent (45 percent three-day) slide; it totals 45 million against a 65 million budget.  Dark Shadows rounds out the Top 5 with 9.4 million and totals 65 million against a 150 million budget.  Below the fold, Chernobyl Diaries debuted in sixth with 9.3 million.

MEN IN BLACK 3:  On my scale, MiB > MiB3 > MiB2.  And Josh Brolin does a nice Tommy Lee Jones, while Emma Thompson's comedic talents are mostly wasted.  Enjoyable, but not essential. 

ASHTON KUTCHER & DEMI MOORE may be getting back together. But I wouldn't bet on it.

JENNY McCARTHY and BRIAN URLACHER are dating.

AMANDA BYNES is accused of another hit-and-run incident.

BRITNEY SPEARS walked off the set of "X Factor" after a contestant butchered her song, "Hold It Against Me"?  Spears denied it on Twitter. Then she walked off again.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY is engaged to marry her rocker boyfriend, James Righton of The Klaxons.

KIM KARDASHIAN threatens to sue the tabloids if they report....

JENNA JAMESON was busted for DUI.

STAR WARS turned 35 this weekend. Here's 35 reasons to love the original trilogy.

SYRIA: The UN Security Council on Sunday unanimously condemned the Syrian government for its role in the massacre of at least 108 people in Houla over the weekend, even as Syria blamed others for the killing.

IRAN seemingly rejected one of the West's key demands in negotiations over the Islamic theocracy's controversial nuclear program, with a senior official saying Tehran has " no reason" to stop enriching uranium to 20 percent, AFP reported on Sunday. Shocka.

PAKISTAN: The terror state the US calls an ally.

SOCIALLY AWKWARD PENGUINS: Let's go to the video.

CAT HOARDING leads to divorce. Who knew?

ONE BEAR actually prefers an outhouse over the woods.

COWS crashed a small gathering in a Massachusetts town and bullied the guests for their beer.

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. At least I think, that's still the deal -- the government's website seems to be down (good job, feds).  Joyce Johnson and the "Arlington Ladies" who attend every funeral in Arlington National Cemetery, to ensure no soldier is buried alone, take more than a moment.  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, or 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 likely 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" once wrote 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."

UPDATE: This week is a-gonna be jam-packed with great music. Y'all stop back now, y'hear?