REGINA SPECTOR played "Machine" for Fallon.

PETER GABRIEL is advance streaming his orchestral all-covers album.

LOCAL NATIVES are advance streaming their Gorilla Manor LP via NPR.

RADIO FREE SONG CLUB is a a group of veteran writers with a monthly song deadline, including Victoria Williams, Freedy Johnson, Laura Cantrell, Peter Holsapple, and fmr. Golden Palominos like Peter Blegvad and Jody Harris.  You can stream or download the first "issue" now. (Thx, Ken!)

MUMFORD & SONS stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set streaming via NPR.

WILD BEASTS: Tom Fleming shares a few of his favorite things for Pitchfork's Guest List as the band drops a video for "We Still Got The Taste Dancin' On Our Tongues."  The band also stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a chat and mini-set.

VIVIAN GIRLS guitarist Cassie Ramone and drummer Ali Koehler shuffle their iPods for the San Francisco Bay Guardian.

BUZZCOCKS: Steve Diggle talks to Spinner about the deluxe reissues of their first three albums.

WARNER MUSIC will stop licensing its artists' content on free music software, though it should not affect current deals with services like Spotify. Yet.

BANDS AS PEOPLE: For example, "Weezer is your best friend from high school who you lost touch with in college, and when you finally bump into him again after graduation he has somehow become a total f***ing douchebag."

JOHN MAYER overshares with Playboy, including the revelation that Jessica Simpson is "sexual napalm." Not sure what that smells like in the morning.

ANGELINA JOLIE had two days of meetings with Haiti earthquake victims in her role as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. refugee agency. No word on how many orphans she slipped into her knapsack.

TIGER WOODS' number one mistress, Rachel Uchitel, has landed a TV job on "Extra."

LINDSAY LOHAN denies that Samantha Ronson raised a hand to her. Can we get Bill Clinton to translate?

JENNIFER GARNER & JENNIFER BIEL: Hasenfeffer Incorporated?

THE 25 WORST ROM-COMS, according to Moviefone.

PAKISTAN: The Taliban again denied Hakeemullah was killed; the interior minister said he was certain Hakeemullah is dead.

IRAN: Ahmadinejad moved to give the Basij more political power. Pres. Obama sought new sanctions to target the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Nuclear specialists say the country is striving to make real technical progress toward producing a bomb.

A GIANT OARFISH: Perhaps the first sighting of the fish in its natural setting.

WHY YES, you may borrow my gerbil.

DOG rescues family from cat.

LAME DUCK shows disabled boy how to walk.

PETS are chosen over people on Valentine's Day about 20 percent of the time.

OVER 50 COVER SONGS BY THE DECEMBERISTS, courtesy of YANP, which also has the video for a new Colin Meloy song, "Springville."

NICOLE ATKINS & THE SEA did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter, all previously unreleased.

THE BEATLES: Captain's Dead has "The Forgotten Abbey Road Sessions" to stream and download.

JOANNA NEWSOM is now streaming the nine-plus minute "Kingfisher" from her upcoming triple-LP.

DR. DOG premiered "Shadow People" at the 'Gum. Takes a minute to kick in, but nice.

EELS get "Unhinged."

VAMPIRE WEEKEND, class and syncretism are essayed by Robert Christgau.

YOKO ONO: You could be reading an interview with Yoko Ono at PopMatters, right now.

OWEN PALLETT is profiled at The Globe and Mail.

BIKINI KILL: Kathleen Hanna has started a BK blog.

CHARLIE SHEEN: Brooke Mueller is moving back into the house, following their holiday fracas.

ANGELINA JOLIE is headed to Haiti. Make your own adoption joke here.

HOWARD STERN may replace Simon Cowell when American Idol's tenth season begins in 2011.

HUGH HEFNER is the target of a class action lawsuit filed by a Playboy shareholder.

BARBRA STREISAND turned down a 100 million Vegas payday.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 4: Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams return.

CHRISTOPHER NOLAN is connected to the next Batman... and the next Superman?

THE TERMINATOR: Rights to the franchise were auctioned off for 29.5 million to a hedge fund creditor, which outbid Sony and Lionsgate.

IRAN: In recent weeks, Iranian security officials have unleashed a wave of arrests across the country in an effort to neutralize the political opposition, silence critical voices and head off widespread protests when the nation marks the anniversary of the revolution on Thursday.

PAKISTAN: The Taliban based in Orakzai Agency confirmed on Tuesday that Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan chief Hakeemullah Mehsud is dead.

DINNER FOR ONE: Let's go to the video.

"ALIEN" FISH discovered in a lake in a mountain cave 1000m below the ground in China.

EATING SCORPIONS and drinking Cobra blood is all in a day's work for the Marines.

AND THERE WERE cows, goats, pigs and chickens all over the highway.

COWS stare unamazed as they outnumber humans in New Zealand.

THE HEAVY: After soundtracking the Kia ad in the Super Bowl, "How Do You Like Me Now?"

NEW RELEASES: The Watson Twins, Hot Chip, Yeasayer, Xiu Xiu, Massive attack, a Buzzcocks reissue and more are streaming this week via Spinner.

SHEARWATER is advance streaming The Golden Archipeligo via NPR.

NO AGE did three free songs for Daytrotter, all previously unreleased.

LYLE LOVETT stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set, streaming now via NPR.

THE WHO: The Super Bowl halftime show had me craving the real thing, like "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" (some great Moon moments) and Pate fave "The Kids Are Alright." A super Twofer Tuesday.

VAN DYKE PARKS, who has worked with everyone from the Beach Boys and Bob Dylan, to U2, Joanna Newsom and Clare and the Reasons, talks to the San Francisco Chronicle about his eccentric career.

THE DRUMS, blending early rock'n'roll and girl-group pop with mid-1980s Manchester, are profiled at the Times of London.

THE MAGNETIC FIELDS: At the Toronto Star, Stephin Merritt chalks up his experimentation up to restlessness.

MTV is no longer Music Television. As always, they're the last to know.

BRADGELINA have begun legal action against the News of th World for reporting they were going to split.

LINDSAY LOHAN and SAMANTHA RONSON have turned violent?

CHARLIE SHEEN was officially charged with three crimes in Aspen, Colorado: felony menacing, misdemeanor 3rd degree assault and misdemeanor criminal mischief.

MICHAEL JACKSON: Dr. Conrad Murray pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of the late singer.

CAMERON DIAZ and A-ROD: "Totally hooking up"?

SACHA BARON COHEN and ISLA FISHER plotting a secret wedding?

JESSICA BIEL eats a chocolate-covered cricket.

SARAH SILVERMAN discusses her new boyfriend in a way that's not at all a slam on ex Jimmy Kimmel, nosiree.

TIM ROBBINS is joining the cast of Green Lantern.

THE THING is getting a threeboot, with Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Joel Edgerton.

THE SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SWIMSUIT ISSUE: Just in time for Gratuitous Tuesday.  The cover model is Brooklyn Decker.

IRAN: Officials from the US, France and Russia called Monday for stronger measures against Tehran after Iran told the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency that it would begin enriching its stockpile of uranium for a medical reactor in Tehran as early as Tuesday. But China is not onboard.  The developments coincided with new indications on Monday that Iran was seeking to develop a more sophisticated military capability, including a powerful antiaircraft missile system and remotely piloted drones for surveillance and attacks.

IRAQ: The Iranian-backed League of the Righteous has kidnapped a US citizen and backed out of "reconciliation talks" with the Iraqi government. The kidnapping comes only a month after the US released the top leader of the group.

KITTEHS were the halftime show at the Puppy Bowl.

DOGS have their own beach in the heart of downtown Tampa.

CAT OWNERS are more likely to have university degrees than those with dogs, according to a scientific survey of pet ownership.

A GIANT PANDA is to be given a language instructor to teach her Chinese when shes returns 'home' from the US.

AN EAGLE'S BEAK was repaired by a dentist with a highlighter.

SPOON went the live-in-studio route for "Written in Reverse."

DENT MAY & HIS MAGNIFICENT UKULELE did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter.

LA STRADA also did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter. Two good sets for a Monday.

ALLISON MOORER played the World Cafe on Friday; you can stream the whole gig via NPR.

SOUL TRAIN TURNS 40: All Things Considered celebrates, with video.

THE DEL FUEGOS: "Don't Run Wild."

SLEIGH BELLS talks to the Seattle University Spectator about their buzz and their "delirious fuzzed-out sound." (Thx, LHB.)

POPTIMIST: Music as commodity and as art: "Not long ago a man who wrote a hit song could not only buy that house in the country but everything that went with it... now a man who writes a hit song is lucky if he gets his last year's overcoat out of hock with the proceeds." That was written in 1932.

LATE NIGHT WALK-ON MUSIC: Questo of The Roots explains the fees charged for the songs played when guests walk on alte night talk shows. (Thx, TV's Andy Levy.)

VIC CHESTNUTT is memorialized at the Oxford American.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: In a shockingly good debut, Dear John dethrones Avatar as cinema champ, taking in an estimated 32.4 million on Super Bowl weekend.  The Nicolas Sparks adaptation was projected to land somewhere in the low 20-millions, where it would still have given Avatar a run for its money -- but it is now almost certainly in the black, given a 25 million production budget.  Avatar drops to second place, with 23.6 million domestic, and a 630 million domestic total. From Paris with Love opened in the third slot with 8.1 million, which is the worst Travolta debut since Lucky Numbers in 2000.  Good luck making back that 55 million budget.  Edge of Darkness plummeted 59 percent, taking in only 7 million in the fourth slot.  The Tooth Fairy rounds out the Top Five with 6.5 million.  Below the fold, a number of films suffered from Super Bowl weekend, though Crazy Heart rode the Oscar bounce to about 3.7 million on 819 screens.

LINDSAY LOHAN reportedly threw a drink in the face of former galpal Samantha Ronson.

CHARLIE SHEEN's Mercedes was found crashed in a steep ravine near his home in Sherman Oaks, Calif. Sheen claims he was notified at 4 a.m. by an OnStar-like diagnostics company that the car had been involved in a wreck and the airbags had deployed.

TIGER WOODS has been reunited with his two children after leaving the rehab clinic where he was being treated.

WARREN SAPP was arrested by Miami Beach police and charged with misdemeanor domestic battery stemming from an allegedly violent confrontation with his girlfriend.

JENNIFER ANISTON celebrated her 41st b-day in Cabo with Gerard Butler, her costar in the upcoming comedy, The Bounty Hunter.

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE picked up his Hasty Pudding Award, with gf Jessica Biel in tow.

DAREDEVIL is getting a reboot, but probably not with the best intent.

THE SUPERBOWL ADS are all on Hulu.

TURKEY: A 16-year-old girl was buried alive by relatives in southeastern Turkey in a gruesome honor killing carried out because she reportedly befriended boys.

IRAN has drawn up tough conditions on its proposed deal to ship out stocks of nuclear fuel, condemning the agreement to failure. Shocka. And Ahmadinejad ordered his atomic agency to significantly enrich the country's stockpile of uranium.

X

TEA CUP CHIHUAHUAS: Let's go to the video. (Thx, Rebecca.)

DEAD IGUANAS are killing dogs in Florida.

SIXTEEN PANDA CUBS, photographed in their new home for the first time after being separated from their mothers. Awww...some pics at the link.

MONKEY spotted in Darwin.

COYOTE spotted in Central Park.

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with R.E.M! Live at the Capital Theater, in Passaic, NJ, on June 9, 1984.  Your set list includes: "Pale Blue Eyes";  "Second Guessing"; "Hyena"; "Letter Never Sent"; "Harborcoat"; "7 Chinese Brothers"; "Pretty Persuasion"; "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)"; "Gardening At Night"; "9-9"; "Windout"; "Old Man Kensey"; "Sitting Still"; "Driver 8"; "Carnival Of Sorts (Boxcars)"; "Radio Free Europe"; and "Little America."

YEASAYER is advance streaming their new album.

AMANDA PALMER stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and twofer streaming via NPR.

BLITZEN TRAPPER stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set, also via NPR.

DAWES: I missed their World Cafe session last week, but better late than never.

BIG STAR, "the unluckiest band in America," got a feature on Fresh Air.

SOUL ASYLUM: Captain's Dead has them Live at the Aragon Ballroom, on Sept. 15, 1995.

ST. VINCENT is "Laughing with a Mouth of Blood." And Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein.

SHANE MacGOWAN recruited singer Nick Cave, Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie, the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde, Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock Clash guitarist Mick Jones, Johnny Depp and singer Paloma Faith to cover "I Put a Spell on You" for Haiti relief.

DEERHOOF and XIU XIU will cover Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures at an Austrian music fest this spring.

DEAD MILKMEN frontman Joe Jack Talcum talks to the Chico News and Review about his current projects. (Thx, LHB.)

PITCHFORK FEST tix go on sale today.

JAY REATARD died January 13 due to "cocaine toxicity," and "alcohol was a contributing factor in his death."

KISS vs. MINI-KISS: Coming to a Super Bowl near you.

CUTOUT BIN: From Husker Du to Mama Cass, from Buddy Holly to Pavement, from Cheap Trick to Fairport Convention, plus Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, the Beach Boys, the Zombies, Mountain Goats and more -- this weekend's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases are From Paris With Love, which is currently scoring 37 percent; and Dear John, which is scoring 28 percent.

TIGER WOODS is leaving sex addiction rehab by the end of this week, and his wife is picking him up.

BRITTANY MURPHY died from multiple drug intoxication, pneumonia and "iron deficiency anemia" in what the coroner has concluded was a accidental death.  L.A. County Coroner officials believe Brittany's condition was "treatable" but no one took her to the hospital in time.

CHARLIE SHEEN will be charged with felony menacing in connection with the Christmas Day incident with wife Brooke Mueller, according to law enforcement sources.

LINDSAY LOHAN, secret hoarder? Let's go to the video.

REESE WITHERSPOON: Back in the dating pool?

JENNIFER ANISTON wants to be set up with a wealthy businessman.

IRAN said on Wednesday that it had fired a rocket into space carrying living organisms - a rat, two turtles and worms.

PAKISTAN: In their joint operations against Taliban militants hiding in the tribal areas, the United States and Pakistan seem to have embraced a classic bit of battlefield advice: Don't get mad, get even.

AFGHANISTAN: Domestic political resistance is building to Pres. Karzai's two-track plan to end the war by negotiating with Taliban leaders while enticing their foot soldiers with the promise of jobs and development projects. Meanwhile, in a rare break from traditional military secrecy, the US and its allies are announcing the precise target of their first big offensive of the Afghanistan surge in an apparent bid to intimidate the Taliban.

CAT IN BED: Your moment of Zen.

GOTH KITTENS = Cruelty.

A PHEASANT is terrorizing a North Yorkshire village - trapping people in their homes and attacking people in the street.

AN AUSSIE is facing charges after his attempts to kiss a police sniffer dog led to a row in which he was pepper sprayed and arrested.

THREE CHEETAHS spare tiny antelope's life and play with him instead... Mass hysteria!

SHARKS attacked and killed a 38-year-old man near Stuart Beach in southern Florida on Wednesday. What say you, Police Chief Brody?