U2: "Pride" and "MLK." Crushingly obvious. Have a dream.

GANG OF FOUR are advance streaming Content, the band's first LP in 15 years.

WANDA JACKSON is advance streaming The Party Ain't Over, featuring 12 cover songs produced by Jack White and myriad cameos.

THE OLD 97s stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

MISTER HEAVENLY, the indie supergroup featuring Man Man's Honus Honus, Islands' Nick Thorburn, Modest Mouse's Joe Plummer, and (as a touring member) Superbad/Scott Pilgrim actor Michael Cera-- are giving away a free two-track single in exchange for an address.

DION: A vintage (and this year, crackly) performance of "Abraham, Martin & John."

JAYHAWKS: Gary Louris talks to Spinner about the runion tour and follow-up album.

ARETHA FRANKLIN shot down reports that she had been stricken with pancreatic cancer, saying the surgery she just had is going to add 15 to 20 more years to her life.

LIZ PHAIR talks to the Denver Post about playing Matador 21, composing for TV, and more...

MYSPACE teeters on the brink; Digital Music News and Paid Content examine the impact on bands.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE:  The Green Hornet rode Black Beauty to the top of the chart with 34 million (against a reported 90 million budget).  After decades of development limbo, it's remarkable feat and major January debut, albeit inflated by 3-D receipts.  Cameron Diaz and Jay Chou may make this one do decent business worldwide.  The Dilemma opened in second with 17.4 million -- when Vice Vaughn and Kevin James usually open in the 30-40 million range.  After EdTV, Ron Howard should have considered that comedy is not his genre.  True Grit slides to third with 11.2 million, but has made 126.4 million against a 38 million budget.  The Coens' latest seems leggy and hasn't even opened overseas yet.  The expansion of The Kings Speech finds it leaping from ninth to fourth with 9 million and a 44.6 million total against a 15 million budget.  Black Swan again rounds out the Top Five with 8.1 million and a 73 million total against a 13 million budget.  Below the fold Season of the Witch tanks from third to tenth.

CHARLIE SHEEN: CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler told the nation's TV critics that "we have a high level of concern" about Charlie Sheen and the reported personal problems that he may or may not be wrestling with off-camera, but expressed confidence in his professionalism on the network's hit show, Two and a Half Men.  Sheen's Vegas hotel room was an orgy of booze and women -- complete with "big booby blonde girls fighting for his attention" -- according to a source who viewed the debauchery with her own eyes.

OWEN WILSON and his girlfriend, Jade Buell, have welcomed a son.

LINDSAY LOHAN was rejected by Donald Trump for a Celebrity Apprenticeship. However, Li-Lo is close to off the hook for the alleged altercation at Betty Ford.

ALICIA SILVERSTONE is expecting her first child with hubby Christopher Jarecki.

ZSA ZSA GABOR's right leg was amputated Friday because of a large, deep lesion that proved resistant to antibiotics, her surgeon said.

THE GOLDEN GLOBES went to these folks, after a night of heavy drinking an payola. On the plus side, host Ricky Gervais delivered a savage opening monologue.

AL QAEDA in the Arabian Peninsula planned to add poison to a bomb that was used in an assassination attempt that targeted a deputy Saudi interior minister, according to Jaber al Faifi, a member of the terror group.

IRAN's nuclear energy chief said the country's nuclear program has not been impacted by sanctions and enrichment of uranium was proceeding.  Meanwhile, the New York Times carries a long report suggesting the Stuxnet computer virus was designed as an American-Israeli project to sabotage the Iranian program.

PAKISTAN's minorities minister and an MP say they will defy death threats they have received for their efforts to reform blasphemy laws.

WEIGHTLESS CATS: I Can Haz Gravity?

JINX the CAT nurses Alfie the Piglet...Mass hysteria!

OVER 100 BABY BATS riddled with maggots and fly eggs, scratching for survival on the Gold Coast, Australia, have been rescued and wrapped in cute blankies.

A DEADLY PUFF ADDER SNAKE starts a long and winding road to the hospital.

MASS COW DEATHS: An investigation is under way after 200 dead cows were found in a field in the Town of Stockton, Wisc.

A STRANDED BABY DOLPHIN was rescued near Sanibel, FL.

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

... with GARAGE ROCK! After surveying power-pop a couple of weeks ago, I found myself in the mood for a dozen Nuggets, like Music Machine - "Talk Talk"; Blues Magoos - "We Ain't Got Nothin' Yet"; The Knickerbockers - "Lies"; The Outsiders - "Time Won't Let Me"; Count Five - "Psychotic Reaction"; The Seeds - "Pushin' Too Hard"; 13th Floor Elevators - "You're Gonna Miss Me"; The Standells - "Dirty Water/ Why Pick On Me"; The Leaves - "Hey Joe"; Electric Prunes - "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night," the Crazy World of Arthur Brown - "Fire" and The Nazz- "Open My Eyes."

TAPES 'N' TAPES stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

JESCA HOOP stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

MOONDOGGIES visited Oregon Public Broadcasting for a chat and mini-set in audio and video.

SURF CITY drops "Crazy Rulers of the World" as a free track from Kudos.

ARCTIC MONKEYS: "I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor." Their ferocious (Domino) debut.

TENNIS: Patrick Riley, half of the up-and-coming duo, talks to Paste about how it all began, how their current adventure is faring and where the winds will blow them next.

PJ HARVEY talks to MOKB about Let England Shake, the upcoming royal wedding, and more...

DESTROYER: Dan Bejar talks to Beatroute about the making of Kaputt. (Thx, Chromewaves.)

DIRE STRAITS: The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council has ruled that "Money for Nothing" is too offensive for Canadian radio.

CUTOUT BIN: From Cheap Trick to Nilsson, from James Brown to Steely Dan, from Bob Dylan to the Smithereens, from Bruce Springsteen to Weezer, plus Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper, Quincy Jones, the Replacements, Redd Kross and more --  this Friday's fortuitous finds are now streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases are the comedic reboot of The Green Hornet, currently scoring 44 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and The Dilemma, which is scoring 26 percent.

PETER FONDA found the corpse of a sucide in a car on Sunset Blvd.

RYAN REYNOLDS & SANDRA BULLOCK have become so close that the actress is letting her 'Proposal' co-star get closer to her son, Louis.

JAKE GYLLENHAAL BLINDSIDED TAYLOR SWIFT, according to her pals.

RYAN SEACREST is going to pop the question to Julianne Hough, according to RadarOnline.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY has officially split with Rupert Friend, after meeting on the set of 2005's Pride & Prejudice.

STING & TRUDIE STYLER tell Harper's Bazaar of their fondness for tawdry sex.

CHARLIE'S ANGELS got officially greenlit as a pilot at ABC.

SPIDER-MAN: Your first look at the reboot.

AFGHANISTAN's foreign minister said the US-led force in the country should "definitely" stay beyond the 2014 deadline set by Pres. Obama.

IRAQ: Despite Iraqi leaders' insistence that the US meet its end-of-2011 deadline for withdrawing all troops, the contours of a large and lasting American presence there are starting to take shape.

A POLAR BEAR dances for love.

PET HOARDING: A fifth grade teacher and her husband face hoarding and child abuse charges in Denton, FL, after authorities found 71 cats and 12 dogs inside their filthy home. BONUS: Near Baltimore, authorities rescued 88 bunnies; video at the link.

A MOOSE that attacked a skier accompanied by her dog in the British Columbia back country was probably only defending its calf, a conservation officer said.

THE WOOLY MAMMOTH, extinct for thousands of years, could be brought back to life in as little as four years thanks to a breakthrough in cloning technology. What could go wrong? They've spared no expense...

IRON & WINE did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter, including 3 new ones. There's also video.

THE YOUNG REPUBLIC did a set in audio and video at Laundro-Matinee, including a Tom Waits cover.

YELLOW OSTRICH gets a break via KEXP and NPR.

BRAIDS are advance streaming Native Speaker.

DISTRACTIONS are streaming the remixed / remastered edition of Dark Green Sea.

VAMPIRE WEEKEND & BLACK KEYS faced off on the Colbert Report.

OF MONTREAL: Kevin Barnes tells SPIN the band is already debuting new material that will appear on an upcoming EP titled The Controller Sphere. The band has also released a digital box set.

THE DECEMBERISTS: Colin Meloy tells Exclaim! that he's ready to put the Decemberists on hiatus after The King Is Dead. (Thx, Chromewaves.)

TOM TOM CLUB: Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth celebrate their 30th anniversary by talking about the "Genius of Love" and more.

THE YEAR in MUSIC WRITING, courtesy of PopMatters.

KATE HUDSON is pregnant with boyfriend Matthew Bellamy's baby.

JOHN TRAVOLTA & KELLY PRESTON show off their new baby.

NATALIE PORTMAN is excited about getting fat.

CHARLIE SHEEN: TMZ reports that Bombshell McGee was the number two chick in Charlie Sheen's Las Vegas prontourage.

KELSEY GRAMMER's soon-to-be ex-wife strongly insinuated that he likes to dress up in women's clothes.

LINDSAY LOHAN: The Riverside County DA wants further investigation into Li-Lo's alleged violent incident at Betty Ford.

NICOLE KIDMAN fesses up to Botox use.

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO: W Magazine is on set with director David Fincher.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES begins looking for its female lead.

LEBANON: Members of the powerful Hezbollah movement and its allies brought down the unity government after resigning from Prime Minister Saad Hariri's Cabinet.

IRAN that time is running out on a possible nuclear fuel swap deal. More Christian missionaries were arrested in Iran.

PAKISTAN will mount military assaults against terrorists in North Waziristan, a haven for Taliban and al-Qaeda along the Afghan border, the Pakistani ambassador to the United States vowed.

A BABY ELEPHANT plays on the beach.

MASS BIRD DEATH: There was nothing mysterious about the death of a flock of birds in Romania last week -- they were simply drunk, veterinarians said.

GUINEA PIGS implicated in cannabis bust.

MICRO-PIG gets considerably less micro.

OKKERVIL RIVER performed a new song,"Wake & Be Fine," with A.C. Newman and Questlove on Fallon.

OK GO cranked out a couple of free tracks for Daytrotter.

DELTA SPIRIT played Mountain Stage.

PJ HARVEY drops "The Words That Maketh Murder"  as an advance track to Let England Shake. She discusses singing about things that really matter and avoiding self-righteousness on her new album with The Quietus.

SOCIAL DISTORTION drops "Machine Gun Blues" from Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes.

BEST COAST: "When You Wake Up" is their half of the new split-single with Wavves.

THE BAND: "The Weight," from their dancing movie.

BIRD and the BEE: Inara George talks to Spinner about parenthood and other future plans.

10 GLORIOUSLY GEEKY CONCEPT ALBUMS, compiled by Flavorwire.

CROSBY, STILLS, NASH and not Rubin.

TO YOUR BRAIN, music is as enjoyable as sex. Other body organs were unavailable for comment.

CHARLIE SHEEN is hanging out with three adult film performers in Vegas, when he is reportedly supposed to be shooting his TV show.  Sheen arrived, but WBTV and CBS are freaking out.

SHAKIRA is back on the market after 11 years.

SCARLETT JOHANSSON was a "party girl" at Jeremy Renner's birthday bash.

BRITNEY SPEARS, ripping off the Bellamy Bros? (I think she's in the clear on this one.)

MILA KUNIS was secretly blind in one eye and only had her sight restored a few months ago.

JEWEL is pregnant.

JAMIE PRESSLY blew a .22 the night she was arrested for DUI, according to TMZ.

BOND 23 is set to go into production in late 2011. Daniel Craig returns, with Sam Mendes in the director's chair. Perhaps Bond will be infiltrating the dark underbelly of American suburbia.

ANDREW GARFIELD, of The Social Network and the Spider-Man reboot, is profiled by Details.

THE WORST FILMS of 2010, according to PopMatters.

IRAN: The Russians considered touring Iranian nuclear sites. Tehran said it would sue Israel in connection with the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist. The US condemned the 11-year prison sentence for an Iranian human rights lawyer.

OUR FRIENDS THE SAUDIS, issued a new list of 47 most-wanted Saudi terrorists linked to al Qaeda. All of the 47 most-wanted leaders and fighters belonging to al Qaeda are outside of the Saudi kingdom.

AFGHANISTAN: Coalition forces are using the usual winter lull in fighting to build bridges with local leaders.

PENGUIN vs SEAL... by accident.

HEIDI the cross-eyed opossum is becoming a media sensation.

MASS BIRD DEATHS in Italy blamed on indigestion.

COW. (Baby survives.) Do I need to explain that reference?

SHARON VON ETTEN covered R.E.M.'s "Strange Currencies" at the Bowery Ballroom last weekend.

NEW RELEASES from Mew, British Sea Power, Cage the Elephant, Cake, Tapes 'n' Tapes and more are streaming this week via Spinner. Deerhoof's new LP is streaming via Henry Rollins and KCRW.

WAVVES drops "Stained Glass (Won't You Let Me Into Yr Heart)" -- half of a split-single with Best Coast.

TELEKINESIS DROPS "You Turn Clear In The Sun" as an advance track to 12 Desperate Straight Lines.

LYKKE LI drops "I Follow Rivers" as an advance track to Wounded Rhymes.

PETER HOLSAPPLE & CHRIS STAMEY play the Mountain Stage.  It's a threee-run, but it appears that I've never linked it here.

THE BLACK KEYS played "Tighten Up" and "Howlin' For You" on SNL, icymi.

DESTROYER: Dan Bejar talks to Pitchfork about the new album, how he doesn't write songs anymore, and why seeing your favorite bands reuniting can be a little sad.

THE DODOS have recruited Neko Case for their next album.

WIRE: Colin Newman and Graham Lewis sorta survey their career at Drowned In Sound.

ALVIN & THE CHIPMUNKS are suing EMI over royalties on a box set.

RYAN REYNOLDS & SANDRA BULLOCK: He's been making top-secret getaways to her home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, according to RadarOnline.  His future ex, Scarlett Johansson, is reportedly devastated.

OWEN WILSON and Jade Duell are expecting a baby.

MARION COTILLARD, the Oscar winner and recent co-star of Inception, will welcome her first child with longtime love Guillaume Canet.

CHARLIE SHEEN was seen shooting vodka in Vegas.

LINDSAY LOHAN is getting some post-rehab help from Inception co-star Tom Hardy.

MICHAEL DOUGLAS says his tumor is gone.

THE HOBBIT: Andy Serkis has closed his deal to bring back Gollum, joining returning cast members Cate Blanchett and Elijah Wood.

ISLAMISM in the UK: A day after the UKs' former home secretary Jack Straw blamed some Pakistani Muslim men for targeting "vulnerable" White girls sexually, UK-based Hindu and Sikh organizations also publicly accused Muslim groups of the same offence.

AFGHANISTAN: Part of the Taliban insurgency is led by the Taliban commanders who were released by Afghan government and US military.

A BABY PENGUIN is born at Moody Gardens in TX.

WOMBATS might look cute and cuddly, but they are fast becoming a marauding pest at one of Victoria's most famous national parks. Video at the link.

DOGS & TAXES: The two sure things in life.

LUCY: Oldest cat in the world at 39?

RATS overrun City Hall in Los Angeles. And it's actual rats this time.