THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE...

...with the wicked, wicked WILSON PICKETT, live from Germany, circa 1968. This disappeared from the Tube, but I've managed to find almost all of it reposted there or elsewhere.  His band warms up the crowd with the instrumental "Soulfinger," but Pickett electrifies from the moment he enters for "Everybody Needs Somebody" and doesn't let up through "Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won't Do)," "Mustang Sally" and "Stagger Lee," and "Funky Broadway," during which people dancing in front of the stage start turning up o­nstage (And why not? This rawks almost as hard as The Who's cover of "Shakin' All Over").  The tumultuous finale of "Land of 1000 Dances" from amid the crowd remains missing, but this other "Land of 1000 Dances" from 1966 is almost as wild, and in color to boot. Raw and riveting; if this can't put you in a weekend state of mind, probably nothing can.

DEHD plays WFUV.

MAKING MOVIES plays KEXP.

JULIEN BAKER shares "Guthrie."

VOXTROT shares "Fifteen Minutes."

KHRUANGBIN covers Booker T & The M.G.’s “Green Onions" as electronica.

BLONDIE shares a previously unreleased 1980 track "I Love You Honey, Give Me A Beer," the demo for what became their 'Autoamerican' closer "Go Through It."

METRIC reflects on their two decades in music and the indie sleaze phenomenon.

POTENTIAL SONGS OF THE SUMMER, according to Pitchfork.

THE BEST ALBUMS of 2022 (So Far), according to The Ringer.

THE BEST DEBUTS of 2022 (So Far) according to NME.

MANNY CHARLTON, founding guitarist for Scottish hard-rock figureheads Nazareth, is dead at 80.

JAMES CAAN,  who built a durable film career in varied roles across six decades but was forever identified most closely with one of his earliest characters, the quick-tempered, skirt-chasing Sonny Corleone in the original “Godfather” movie, died on Wednesday. He was 82.Earlier this year, he and others spoke to Variety about the 50th anniversary of "The Godfather."  And here's a remembrance from Owen Glieberman.  And here's a Top 10 list.

HUGH GRANT, who once played the British Prime Minister, had a bit role in the TV coverage of Boris Johnson's resignation.

REESE WITHERSPOON & WILL FERRELL are doing a wedding comedy.

DENISE RICHARDS defends her decision to join OnlyFans after her daughter did.

DAREDEVIL's Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio are returning in Echo on D+.

QUENTIN TARANTINO embraces Minions and Peppa Pig.

BRAD PITT believes he suffers from prosopagnosia, a rare “face blindness” disorder — but “nobody believes” him.

LUCK has a trailer online.

CATS & DOGS, living together...

PUPPER Achievement Unlocked.

MANAGING THE GROCERIES is always a bit tricky.

DIAMOND KNIGHTS: "Destination Diamonds".  For the 70s vibe in the heat of July.

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED features Sylvan Esso, Ondara, Momma, Nora Brown and more.

1997, playlisted by World Cafe.

THE VELDT does a shoegaze cover of Curtis Mayfield's "Check Out Your Mind."

ROBERT POLLARD: "I like to write songs." Rating: True.

CARLOS SANTANA collapsed onstage at Pine Knob from heat exhaustion and dehydration.

KATE BUSH, raking in the big bucks from Stranger Things.

THE NUMBER ONES looks at TLC's iconic "No Scrubs."

CLERKS 3 has a trailer online.

AMSTERDAM, a new film from David O. Russell, as a trailer online.

TOM CRUISE is making huge bank from Top Gun: Maverick.

THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER director Taika Waititi talks about following Ragnarok and more.

MINIONS: Why Gen-Z Is Wearing Suits to See The Rise of Gru.  And why it's banned in the UK.

DAVID HARBOUR called RYAN REYNOLDS for advice after the Hellboy reboot flopped.

HAYDEN PANETIERRE, on years of dependency on booze and opioids.

CELEBS tap "digital twins" to interact with millions of fans.

ROTTEN TOMATOES: Has inflation hit the Tomatometer?

DOGS & CATS, living together...

A BABY LAMB, rescued from the rocks.

A SMORGASBORD for sloths.

TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS: "Here Comes My Girl."

SOAK plays a mini-concert on World Cafe.

LUCIUS plays KEXP.

NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE share "Timberline" from the "lost" album Toast, coming this week.

MANIC STREET PREACHERS cover Madonna's "Borderline."

ELVIS songwriter Mike Stoller talks about hits he wrote for the King and others.

THE 50 BEST ALBUMS of 2022 (So Far), according to Paste.

THE 20 BEST ALBUMS of 1982, according to Paste.

CROSBY, STILLS & NASH return to Spotify after a five-month protest.

FORMER IKETTE P.P. ARNOLD alleges that Ike Turner “trapped her in a room and raped her.”

THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER's early buzz is mixed.

STRANGER THINGS: David Harbour on failure, Lily Allen and the season finale.

PAPER GIRLS: Another period sci-fi has a trailer online.

R KELLY, removed from a suicide watch.

AMBER HEARD's legal team moves to have Johnny Depp's verdict thrown out. (spoiler: unlikely)

CHRIS ROCK & LAKE BELL fuel couple rumors.

QUENTIN TARANTINO and wife Daniella are parents to a baby girl.

KEANU REEVES: Still Awesome.

KELSEY GRAMMER, teasing more Frasier.

HELICOPTER MODE: Activated.

A MAMA POLAR BEAR, breaking through thin ice at different intervals so her cub can stop to breathe.

DINOSAUR DNA: How much is it worth?

QUESTION MARK & THE MYSTERIANS: "96 Tears" and "Girl (You Captivate Me)" for Twofer Tuesday.

NEW RELEASES: Paste will point you to Momma, Camp Trash, and more.

BILL'S INDIE BASEMENT has Guided by Voices, the Mary Onettes, Gwenno, and more.

"WEIRD AL" YANKOVIC gets three hours of discussion and anaylsis on Political Beats with guest Andrew Heaton.

HUSKER DU's Greg Norton has been dagnosed with prostate cancer.

GUIDED BY VOICES Is On (Yet Another) Artistic Roll.

LEONARD COHEN: "Hallelujah" was a five-year journey.

EDDIE VAN HALEN: Inside a Superfan's Secret Friendship.

AEROSMITH's Steven Tyler has left rehab.

THE NUMBER ONES looks at Cher's improbable comeback smash "Believe."

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Minions: The Rise of Gru clinches an Independence Day 4-day opening record of 125.1MM.  Top Gun: Maverick places with 33MM on a leggy leggy leggy 14 percent drop.  Elvis shows with 23.5MM on a leggy 41 percent drop.  Below the fold, The Black Phone is leggy for a horror flick, while Lightyear's 65 percent drop is just a horror. 

THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER has a new trailer online.

DUNE: PART TWO has been delayed a month.

TOM CRUISE's Best Performances, according to Variety.

JAMES CAMERON may not direct Avatars 4 and 5.

MEN IN BLACK at 25: How the Sci-Fi Hit Made Will Smith the Biggest Star of His Era.

JEAN SMART: The star of “Hacks” and “Mare of Easttown” discusses loss, one-liners, and forty years onscreen.

STRANGER THINGS vs OBI-WAN KENOBI: Measuring Summer's Streaming Showdown.

JOE TURKEL, the prolific character actor well known for his roles in “The Shining” and “Blade Runner,” died at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, Calif. on Monday. He was 94.

THE REVOLUTION has started.

A DOGGO takes the bone and the spot.

SWIMMING WITH GATORS: In Florida, obvsly.

A PAIR OF ORCAS are killing Great White Sharks in South Africa.

THE FOURTH of JULY WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with THE BEACH BOYS!  It's time to "Do It Again."  Because folks my age will always remember their mammoth July 4th concerts at the Washington Monument -- as with this 1980 take o­n "Good Vibrations."  Their "Lost Concert" from 1964 includes "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Long, Tall Texan," "Little Deuce Coupe," "Surfer Girl," "Surfin' USA," "Shut Down," "In My Room," "Papa Ooh Mow Mow," and "Hawaii." Their take on "Dance, Dance, Dance" from Shindig! later that year is like a slice of Christmas in July.  There's also a nifty twofer of "I Get Around" and "'When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)" from their first UK TV appearance o­n Ready Steady Go!  The Andy Williams Show serves up "Help Me, Rhonda," while The Jack Benny Hour produced these quick takes o­n "Barbara Ann" and "California Girls."  There's a primitive video for "Wouldn't It Be Nice" that starts with a cameo from Brian Wilson's dogs (Banana and Louie), who appear at the end of the Pet Sounds LP.  And I'll finish with a live version of "God Only Knows" from the 1967 European tour -- one of the last Brian would do for a decade or so.  BONUS: Part 1 and Part 2 of the epic Political Beats podcasts covering the entirety of the Beach Boys' catalog.

RAY CHARLES performs "America The Beautiful" like no one else.

INDEPENDENCE DAY: Bruce Springsteen, circa 1978, before it came out on The River.

AMERICAN MUSIC: The Violent Femmes, circa 1992.

DAVE ALVIN: Hey, baby, it's the "4th of July."

JAMES LILEKS: Truth.

THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER: As performed by Jimi Hendrix, Whitney Houston, Smokey Robinson, members of the Grateful Dead, and Umphrey’s McGee.

THE PROCLAIMERS return with "The World That Was."

PINK FROST shares "Until The Summer Comes."

ANDY PALEY: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview.

FOR THE RECORD: 10 Classic Recording Sessions and the Studios that Shaped Them.

SOCCER MOMMY talks self-immolation and burnout.

THE TOP 20 GUNS N' ROSES SONGS, ranked by The Guardian.

A CANADIAN SOFT-ROCK STATION played Rage Against the Machine’s  “Killing in the Name” for hours and hours.

EZRA MILLER Accused of Harassing Woman in Germany, and Iceland Choking Victim Breaks Her Silence.

TAYLOR SWIFT is reportedly engaged to boyfriend Joe Alwyn, according to British tabloids.

FRIENDS co-creator Marta Kauffman has pledged 4MM to African American studies as an apology for the show's lack of diversity.

LENA HEADEY is being sued by her former talent agency for fees on films including Thor: Love and Thunder (from which she was cut).

ANT-MAN explains why he didn't kill Thanos creatively.

OLIVIA MUNN & JOHN MULANEY have no marriage plans.

HOWARD STERN picks Bradley Cooper as his presidential running mate.

MAGIC MIKE: An Oral History.

31 COMEDIANS share their favorite joke-joke.

TWIGGY: Another Fourth of July tradition, the water-skiing squirrel. She retired last summer, but it remains a great story. Compelling and rich.

TWO DOGS, One Leash.

WHEN YOUR FRIENDS ARE IN THE CLUB and you were turned away at the door.

AN ALPACA, shaved.

A GENTLE WILD ELEPHANT in Sri Lanka calmly walks up to a man and kicks some dirt at him to get him to move aside.

TESTIMONIALS from Your Dog's Fourth of July Support Group.