JEMIMA PEARL goes a bit 80s in "I Hate People," featuring Iggy Pop and Thurston Moore.

ANDREW BIRD played the World Cafe on Friday; you can stream the gig now via NPR.

PATRICK WATSON played NYC's Mercury Lounge as part of the CMJ Music Festival; you can stream the gig now via NPR.

PATTERSON HOOD played a mini-set for the World Cafe, streaming on demand via NPR.

REM: Michael Stipe talks to NPR about the band's new double album, Live at the Olympia.

WATCH THE BEATLES rehearse "I Should Have Known Better" from a BBC control room.

MORRISSEY canceled a concert after collapsing on stage after just one song.

THAO WITH THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN: Thao Nguyen talks to OregonLive and Paste, with embedded audio at the latter.

THE ZOMBIES classic, Odessey and Oracle, is on sale as an MP3 LP at Amazon for about two bucks. (Thx, LHB.)

THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME: Its 25th anniversary concerts' lineups, and the institution itself, are worth arguing about.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Paranormal Activity rises to the top slot with 22 million -- marking perhps the most successful platform release in history, as a home video production that cost 18K -- and which Paramount paid 300K to distribute -- has made 62.5 million ahead of the Halloween weekend.  Saw VI comes in second with 14.8 million -- the pic cost a mere 11 million, but prior installments of the franchise routinely opened in the 30 million range.  Where the Wild Things Are drops to third, with 14.4 million -- a 56 percent drop suggesting it did not connect with younger kids and will likely need overseas receipts and DVD sales to recoup its 100 million budget. Law Abiding Citizen held pretty well at No.4, taking in 12.7 million.  Couples Retreat rounds out the Top Five with 11 million, which puts the total above its 70 million budget.  Below the fold, Astro Boy debuted in sixth with seven million against a 65 million budget. Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant debuted at No.8 with 6.3 million against a 40 million budget.  Amelia debuted near-wide at No. 11, making 4 million against a 40 million budget.

THE FRENCH HOTEL, who was burglarized last year of an estimated two million bucks in jewelry, has gotten most of her valuables returned by the LAPD.

KATE HUDSON has A-Rod flirting with Buddhism?

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE got a restraining order against a trespasser.

BRAD PITT was in a minor motorcycle accident, after being struck by paparazzi.

LINDSAY LOHAN is getting desperate enough to work for free.

MAD MEL UPDATE: Gibson baby mama Oksana Grigorieva is refusing his prenup offer, according to the National Enquirer.

ROBIN WRIGHT PENN can't wait to get divorced.

JON and KATE could be back in court today over 151K.

RACHEL EVAN WARD and DITA VON TEESE had an awkward run-in at a fashion event.

THE A-TEAM: Your first look at the new crew.

ISLAMISM in DENMARK: Danish police said on Thursday that a Palestinian father had hit a primary school teacher and bitten his ear after he had shaken the hand of the man's daughter.

IRAN: Influential Iranian lawmakers criticized a UN-drafted agreement that requires Tehran to send its atomic stockpile abroad for processing. Iranian state media has raised new conditions for the deal.

PAKISTAN: Pakistani forces Saturday captured the hometown of the chief of the country's Taliban movement, officials announced, the first big gain in the weeklong ground offensive in South Waziristan. A suicide bomber attacked a suspected nuclear-weapons site Friday.

IRAQ: Two synchronized suicide car bombings struck at the heart of the Iraqi government, severely damaging the Justice Ministry and provincial council complexes, leaving leaving at least 132 dead and more than 520 wounded, and raising new questions about the government's ability to secure its most vital operations.

THIS CAT betrayed his girlfriend.

WHY DOGS don't like Halloween.

TEACUP PIGS are all the rage in Britain right now. Slideshow at the link.

RAT STUCK IN THE SIDEWALK: Awww... poor rat.

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with the MOUNTAIN GOATS at the M-SHOP, which Pate fans know is a fabulous, initmate venue in the Memorial Union at ISU.  Selections include "Dance Music" and "Houseguest," though I'm partial as always to "This Year" and especially the anthemic finale of "No Children." BONUS: John Darnielle interprets Ace of Base's "I Saw the Sign" (language), while Pony Up backs the duo on a cover of Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back in Town."  EXTRA: Darnielle talks to Paste about the Bible, his feminism, his reticence at playing autobiographer, and his least favorite singer-songwriter trope.

R.E.M. LIVE AT THE OLYMPIA is streaming in full via NPR.

MARTHA WAINWRIGHT does the four free songs thing for Daytrotter.

THE TEN BEST ROCK ANTHEMS, according to AOL radio listeners, with embedded audio. Half-awesome, half-cringeworthy.

DAVENDRA BANHART shares some hazy musings with ClashMusic. 

ANDREW BIRD talks to the Burlington Free Press about finding his solo voice, and more...

LLOYD COLE talks to the New Zealand Herald about 25 years of making a commotion, fan-financing his next LP, and more...

COUSTEAU: The "Last Good Day of the Year." Though we really only know in hindsight.

THE PICTURE SHOW: How Photographers Created Rock And Roll.

FARGO ROCK CITY: Tom Ruprecht, a longtime writer on CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman," and Craig Finn, frontman of the popular rock band the Hold Steady, are teaming to write and produce a coming-of-age comedy, based on the 2001 memoir by music scribe Chuck Klosterman, who will join the pair in producing.

GREAT LAKES SWIMMERS: Tony Dekker explains to the Daily Times how the band came to record its new LP in the Thousand Islands area of the US/Canadian border.

EIGHT OVERHYPED BANDS YOU'LL FORGET BY NEXT YEAR, according to Crave.  I happen to disagree with a few of them.

WHO IS THE BEST LYRICIST TODAY? Answers at Drowned in Sound and NME.

CUTOUT BIN: From Nirvana to The Knack, from Candi Staton to the Mightly Lemon Drops, from The Who to Surf City, from Talking Heads to Teenage Fanclub, plus U2, Prince, The Clash, Jens Lekman, Otis Redding, and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING:  This weeken's wide releases include SAW VI, which was not screened for critics, natch; the animated Astro Boy, currently scoring 50 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, which is scoring 29 percent.  Opening near-wide is the biopic Amelia, scoring 21 percent.

JESSICA SIMPSON... and Gerard Butler? Oddly, the obligatory denial comes from her camp.

JOHN TRAVOLTA EXTORTION CASE ends in a mistrial.  The judge has ordered a retrial.

MADONNA has given Glee the rights to her catalog and an all-Madge-music episode is in the works for early next year.  The Daily Mail writes about Madge's "fresh-faced... age-defying appearance," while wondering whether she was wearing gloves to cover her wrinkly hands.  No decoder ring necessary.

SOUPY SALES, who was catapulted to national fame on his comedy and pie-in-the-face slapstick, died Thursday of cancer in NYC. He was 83.

AMY WINEHOUSE is surgically enhanced.

ROSIE O'DONNELL's wife has moved out and is spending most nights away from her, according to Radar.

NICOLE KIDMAN says Hollywood has probably contributed to violence against women by portraying them as weak sex objects.

CHARLIZE THERON to replace Mel Gibson in Mad Max 4?

SIENNA MILLER won an apology from the NYT, which misstated the nature of the relationships that she had with Heath Ledger and Sean Combs.

IRAN and Israel recently took part in a conference in Cairo on nuclear non-proliferation in the Middle East, the Israel Atomic Energy Commission said Thursday, but Tehran said the report on the meeting was untrue.

PAKISTAN: A US airstrike in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan may have killed a senior al Qaeda operative. But the reports may be confusing one of al Qaeda's senior-most leaders with a senior explosives trainer and expert.

AFGHANISTAN: Defense Secretary Robert Gates sounds out NATO defense ministers this week in search of more support for the war in Afghanistan, but there are myriad reasons why the US should not expect the largest NATO countries to offer up more combat troops.  Meanwhile, a surge of US Marines and a focus on security bring peace to a Helmland town.

BOBBY THE BEAR plays hockey.  Sadly, no fight breaks out.

DOGS are increasingly taking human names, at least in Vancouver.

CAT survives two miles in an SUV engine, driving through the Bronx.

A NEW BREED OF GIANT SPIDER  - which has huge five-inch females and tiny males - has been discovered by scientists.

SAVE THE GIBLETS!

GIRLS now have a video for "Laura," another warped pop ditty from their Album.

DAN MANGAN is streaming his Nice, Nice, Very Nice album, and talks to the Singing Lamb about taking it on the road. (Thx, Chromewaves.)

THE GET UP KIDS did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter.

JAY FARRAR talks to Billboard about the soundtrack to the upcoming documentary "One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur," which is still streaming via NPR.

LIVING COLOUR visited WNYC a few days before releasing The Chair in the Doorway, its first album in six years.

MAYER HAWTHORNE has released a video for "Green Eyed Love."

RAY DAVIES talks to Prefix about the Kinks Choral Collection.

SUFJAN STEVENS talks to The Quietus about the BQE (still streaming this week) and other projects.

GOOGLE AUDIO: Coming soon?

IMOGENE HEAP talks shop with the BBC about her third album, Ellipse.

TOM CRUISE responds to the Bornson Pinchot interview linked here yesterday.  Also, it seems Cruise was Christian Bale's inspiration for American Psycho.

LINDSAY LOHAN is refusing another round of rehab, according to Radar,

DID MICHAEL JACKSON sign his will?

NICOLE RICHIE and JOEL MADDEN are showing off the latest addition to their family, Sparrow.

ROSIE O'DONNELL and partner Kelli Carpenter are on the rocks.

JENNIFER ANISTON and JOHN MAYER are an item again, according to OK!, which iirc is the second gossip rag to take up this story.

ROMAN POLANSKI, convicted rapist, could return to the US voluntarily if Swiss extradition proceedings drag on long enough.

DR. NO is no more.

TERROR in the USA: Federal prosecutors have charged a Massachusetts man with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, alleging he and co-conspirators traveled to the Middle East seeking training, discussed attacking a shopping center, and distributed videos promoting holy war.

IRAN has tentatively struck a deal that will involve shipping most of its known supply of low-enriched uranium overseas, but it may delay Iran's nuclear ambitions by only months.

DOG PLAYING BASKETBALL: Let's go to the video.

ESCAPED OSTRICH RAMPAGE ends in truck death.

CHIPMUNK stands up to a gang of Starlings.

TARANTULA on a PLANE: British Airways cancelled a flight between Edinburgh and London after a passenger said he saw a tarantula crawling between his legs.

ARCTIC MONKEYS: "Cornerstone" is the second video from the band's Humbug LP. Like this better than the first one, fwiw.

THE FLAMING LIPS stopped by Mourning Becomes Eclectic for a chat and mini-set via KCRW.  Includes a little Pink Floydage.

THE XX gets a World Cafe twofer, and are profiled by The Independent.

WAVVES did three free songs for Daytrotter, two previously unreleased.

ZOO ANIMAL stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set streaming via MPR.

BUILT TO SPILL plays "Oh Yeah" at the Ed Sullivan Theater.

WHY FLEET FOXES will never be as big as America.

PAVEMENT: Bob Nastanovich gives The Quietus a few tidbits about next year's reunion.

THE BEATLES, Complete on Ukelele. Again.

THE TOP TEN SONGS AT MY FUNERAL: A British clergyman's lament.

TOM-KAT UPDATE:  The couple joined John Travolta and wife Kelly Preston -- plus over 4000 other Scientologists -- at the 25th anniversary of the International Association of Scientologists held at Saint Hill Manor in East Grinsted, West Sussex.

BRONSON PINCHOT dishes about Tom Cruise and other past-co-stars to The A.V. Club.

VIC MIZZY, a film and television composer best known for writing the memorable theme songs for the 1960s sit-coms "Green Acres" and "The Addams Family," has died. He was 93.

BILL MURRAY talks to the Times of London about Fantastic Mr. Fox.

LINDSAY LOHAN's ex-con dad says he's not serious about kidnapping her to keep her away from bad influences.

JOSS WHEDON blogs about directing an episode of "Glee."

DIANE KEATON: Not missing men.

DITA VON TESSE: Topless girl-on-girl photos, just in time for Gratuitous Wednesday.  I would say NSFW beyond the first click, but isn't that obvious?

PAKISTAN: Heavily armed militants put up a fierce fight on Tuesday to protect a Taliban stronghold in South Waziristan. The Pakistani Army has struck deals to keep two powerful, anti-US tribal chiefs from joining the battle.

AFGHANISTAN: Pres. Karzai's camp today declared a "deadlock" as a UN-backed watchdog reported "clear and convincing evidence of fraud" in Afghanistan's election and reportedly revised the results to force a second round of voting. Meanwhile, security may be deteriorating in the north.

IRAQ: The security situation in northern Iraq has improved greatly in recent years, a senior US military officer told Pentagon reporters.

WILY COYOTE survives 600 mile trip in a car bumper.

KRILLEN the CAT survived 19 hours in a freezer.

CRIME-FIGHTING LEECH cracks a cold case Down Under.

HOW MEERKATS CONQUERED THE WORLD: They guarantee hit TV ratings. They sell car insurance. They scare off burglars. The Independent explains why meerkats really are beyond compare.

GRAND ARCHIVES have a new video out for "Oslo Novelist."

NEW RELEASES: Phoenix, Kings of Convenience, Sufjan Stevens, Leonard Cohen, Otis Redding, White Denim, Electric Six, The Slits, Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, the New Moon sndtk and more are streaming this week via Spinner.

BON IVER's last show (for a while) is available to stream or download via Radio Milwaukee.

VOLCANO CHOIR talks to Paste, which also has a stream of the debut album.

AN HORSE does the four free songs thing for Daytrotter, and talks to the Singing Lamb about touring, record stores, and more...

WORLD PARTY: Karl Wallinger "Put the Message in the Box" and gets "Way Down Now" for Twofer Tuesday.

MISSION OF BURMA: Clint Conley talks to Blurt about his band's longevity.

THE ANTLERS: Darby Cicci talks about being on a label, touring, and such at nyctaper.

YOKO ONO talks to The A.V. Club about the simplicity of breathing, John Lennon's pianos, and the controversy of art.

ECHO and the BUNNYMEN: Ian McCulloch is questioned in Interview.

MONTY PYTHON: The surviving members engaged in Q & A with the audience after the premiere of Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyers' Cut).

JAY LENO is killing many of NBC's more than 200 affiliates.

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE and JESSICA BIEL: His friends want him to stay with her. So does his Mom. Aw.

LINDSAY LOHAN will file a restraining order against her ex-con father in the next two days, according to Radar.

MEGAN FOX, having bombed in Jennifer's Body, has decided to start saying nice things about Transformers.

KHLOE KARDASHIAN and LAMAR ODOM have struck a deal with a prenup - and even though Lamar gets to keep his earnings separate, Khloe got more than he initially offered.

ALEXANDER SKARSGARD and KATE BOSWORTH were caught canoodling during and after the 2009 Scream Awards.

IRAN's negotiators have toughened their stance on the nuclear program, signaling that Tehran will refuse to go ahead with an agreement to hand over 75 percent of its enriched uranium. Shocka.

IRAQ: Security forces detained an Iranian operative in southern Iraq in the latest operation designed to curb Iran's influence in the war-torn country.

AFGHANISTAN: Experts question the US plan to find, sway group's less extreme members of the Taliban.

ADORABLE DOG FIGHT: Let's go to the video.

WHEN SHARKS ATTACK... in Edinburgh?

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: A cat with 24 toes.

OWL in the BOX: "He was pretty mad so it was really tricky to photograph him."