THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with U2! Live at the US Festival in May, 1983. Your setlist includes "Gloria" and "I Threw A Brick," "A Day Without Me," "An Cat Dubh and "Into The Heart," "New Year's Day," "Surrender," "Two Hearts Beat As One," "Sunday Bloody Sunday," "The Cry" and "Electric Co."  Your encores are "I Will Follow" and "40."

ST. VINCENT stopped by for a chat and mini-set at Morning Becomes Eclectic.

BENJY FEREE did three free songs for Daytrotter, one previously unreleased.

VALENTINE'S DAY at NPR: Stream the Make-out Mix, the Break-up mix, or Carrie Brownstein's Something for Everyone.

THE REPLACEMENTS: Captain's Dead has their Sire-era demos to stream and download.

THE THERMALS are streaming "Canada" as an advance track.

THE STRANGE BOYS have a video out for the title track to the upcoming "Be Brave" LP.

CRACKER guitarist Johnny Hickman talks to the Washington Examiner about the band's biggest hit since its 1993 platinum-selling album "Kerosene Hat."

BASIA BULAT talks to the Ottawa Citizen about possible future plans.

GOOGLE shut down at least six popular music blogs that it claims violated copyright law. Fortunately, faves like GvsB and MOKB were unaffected.  Google blogged its explanation.

CUTOUT BIN: From CSN & Y to the Ramones, from Apples in Stereo to the Baby Huey Story, from the Velvet Underground to the George Baker Selection, plus Doug Sham, Raphael Saadiq, Cat Stevens, the Undertones, Wanda Jackson, Wilco and more -- this weekend's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW PLAYING: This weekend's wide releases include the ensemble rom-com Valentine's Day, which is currently scoring 13 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, which is scoring 57 percent; and The Wolfman, scoring 35 percent.

VALENTINE'S DAY: National Review's Jonah Goldberg won't be seeing it, for reasons having nothing to do with politics.

THE TOP 10 WEREWOLF MOVIES, according to the Contra Costa Times.

ALEC BALDWIN was taken to Manhattan hospital from his Central Park West apartment shortly after midnight Thursday morning following a 911 call from his 14-year-old daughter Ireland, sources said. But his rep says he went to work.

JOHN MAYER had a bit of a breakdown onstage in the wake of his crazed Playboy interview.

PENELOPE CRUZ is in negotiations to join Johnny Depp and sail the seven seas in "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," the fourth installment of the movie series being directed by Rob Marshall.

EWAN McGREGOR was spotted looking cozy with co-star Mélanie Laurent, which is not a good look for a married man.

HOLLYWOOD'S TOP-EARNING ONSCREEN COUPLES, according to Forbes magazine.

ALEXANDER McQUEEN: The British fashion designer was found dead after taking his own life, just days after the death of his mother, Joyce.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN: Happy 201st birthday to the 16th President of the United States. Two things you may not have known about Honest Abe: (1) he was an early adopter of the telegraph; and (2) he once sported a punky haircut.

IRAN: On the anniversary of Islamic Revolution, Ahmadinejad announced that Iran is "a nuclear state." Opposition leaders Karroubi and former President Khatami were attacked when they attended an opposition rally. Tehran cracked down on internet access in the wake of anniversary protests.

A TURKEY VULTURE crashes through a copter windshield, enjoys the landing.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: They are now armed with hi-tech weaponry.

PSA: Don't tell a police dog to sit on the job.

BULL vs TIGER: Who you got?

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.