THE RAVEONETTES play "She Owns the Streets" at the Ed Sullivan Theater.

JASON LYTLE (Grandaddy) is advance streaming Dept. of Disappearance.

MARTHA WAINWRIGHT is advance streaming Come Home to Mama.

DAVID WAX MUSEUM brings their "Mexo-Americana" to the World Cafe.

CATE LeBON performs at WNYC Soundcheck.

SATURDAY LOOKS GOOD TO ME drops "Sunglasses," their first new song since 2008.

THE BEATLES: "Love Me Do" turned 50 on Friday, bringing retrospectives from The Guardian, the BBC and the NME.

MARK EITZEL talks to Stereogum about musicals, being broke, the American Music Club, his new LP, and more.

JOHN CALE talks and spins tunes in a Turntable interview at Stereogum.

JENNY LEWIS talks to Inland Empire Weekly about Rilo Kiley, her solo work, film scores and more... (Thx, LHB.)

THE BEACH BOYS: Mike Love gives his side of the latest breakup, which sounds fishy to anyone who followed the news during the last tour.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Taken 2 tops the chart with an impressive 50 million opening -- the third (possibly second) biggest October opening ever. But pent-up demand and possibly disappointing word-of-mouth may result in a less leggy performance than the original's 145 million (but willeasily profit on a 45 million budget).  Hotel Transylvania places with 26.3 million on a solid 38 percent drop under direct competition with Frankenweenie.  Pitch Perfect shows with 14.7 million and will easily profit.  Looper takes the fourth slot with 12.2 million; its 40 percent drop is good in light of cometition with Taken 2, and will easily profit.  Frankenweenie rounds out the Top 5 with 11.5 million, which is probably disappointing to Disney, despite the fact that it's about a child's beloved pet dying.

FRANKENWEENIE: Picking up where I left off, the fact that this is a Tim Burton film based on a short film by Tim Burton ought to tell you what to expect here.  Incidentally, the short was rejected for theatrical release by Disney in the 80s due to its macabre subject; the gamble here was that times have changed, and maybe they haven't.  Ironically, the sensitivity of the underlying subject may make this one of Burton's most personal and emotionally present films in years.  At the same time, the animated format allows him more license for homage to the horror classics (a Hammer Dracula flick has a TV cameo) and to take the original concept to epic proportions I won't spoil for all of those hesitant or waiting for home video. A film which haunts on more than one level.

KRISTEN STEWART & ROBERT PATTINSON are being pushed together by K-Stew's mom, according to RadarOnline.

STEVEN TYLER thinks the entire Nicki Minaj/Mariah Carey beef is being orchestrated by American Idol for ratings. Shocka!

GWYNETH PALTROW had a star-studded 40th birthday party.

HULK HOGAN is threatening legal action over a leaked sex tape.

CHRISTINA HENDRICKS: Mad Men's ginger bombshell does not like being called "full figured." Pro tip.

COLUMBUS DAY:  I get it as a holiday, so I thought a few words might be in order. Over the course of my life, I have seen the image of Columbus swing from unvarnished hero to genocidal criminal. Columbus was certainly no sweetheart, but at the end of the 15th Century, it is fair to say that Europeans often did not treat each other all that well. Moreover, before the furriners showed up, Native North and South Americans engaged in tribal massacre, infanticide, scalping, human sacrifice, and the ritual skinning of slaves for their priests to wear. It was a far less civilized time all 'round. But the West is civilized today in part because of Columbus. Some four centuries-plus later, we all are still struggling to become more civilized, but focusing criticism o­n the more-civilized while giving the less civilized a pass is not particularly useful to that struggle.

SYRIA: Government forces killed at least 36 people in operations in Damascus suburbs. The government said it had "cleansed" the area of terrorists; rebels called it a massacre.

IRAN withdrew 275 members of its elite Qods Force from Syria. The force had been supporting the Assad regime.

IRAQ executed 10 Iraqis and an Algerian who were convicted on terrorism charges. Iraq has executed 113 people so far this year.

MARU the BOX CAT tries a pink truck.

GATOR POOL PARTIES are ruled unsafe by FL wildlife officials.

SASQUATCH sighting in the Canadian wilderness. Or possibly the evil mutant Sabertooth.

GREAT WHITE SHARK: Gonna need a bigger camera. 

PATE REUNION WATCH: Conditions have created a significant risk of a band reunion occurring in early July 2013. Pate is looking for input from friends and fans via the Claude Pate Facebook page.  I have also set up and will monitor PateBlog on the Twitter, as well as PateBlog -at- aol.com for email (laugh at the aol, but why not be period?). We'll also be looking to set up additional lines of communication as needed and as plans warrant.  The last reunion was great; get involved to help get another one rolling!

...and now, our regularly scheduled programming...

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."

WHITE RABBITS visited WNYC Soundcheck for a live performance and to tell us the meaning of Milk Famous.

IRIS DeMENT stopped by World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

THE CALM BLUE SEA isn't always so calm in a session at KUT's Studio 1a.

SALLIE FORD & THE OUTSIDE SOUND bring some blues-rock to Oregon Public Broadcasting, including a trio of unreleased songs.

ADELE: The full version of her Bond theme, "Skyfall" is online.

ART BRUT get you off to a "Good Weekend."

PETER BUCK talks about the solo LP he said he'd never make at REM HQ.

GRIZZLY BEAR talks to Pitchfork about how they overcame creative difficulties by working more collaboratively.

JEFF TWEEDY talks to the Inland Empire Weekly about Wilco's controversial beginnings and love of the road. (Thx, LHB.)

THE NUMERO UNO GROUP, which does fantastic reissues of rarities and obscurities, gets a lengthy profile from SPIN.

BIG JIM SULLIVAN, reputed to have played guitar on more than 1000 hits --  including 55 number one singles -- died peacefully at home in West Sussex on Tuesday. He was 71.

CUTOUT BIN: From Echo & the Bunnymen to Sam & Dave, from Van Halen to They Might Be Giants, from the Sweet to the English Beat, plus Hot Chocolate, Afghan Whigs, Golden Smog, Nick Gilder and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases are: Taken 2, which is currently scoring 15 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and Frankenweenie, which is scoring 83 percent.  Pitch Perfect expands wide, scoring 74 percent.

TOM CRUISE & KATIE HOLMES: The marriage reportedly was over for six months before Holmes filed for divorce.

RHIANNA & CHRIS BROWN  were apparently getting cozy at the Jay-Z concert Wed. night ... and, based on Twitter, everyone in Brooklyn saw it.

JULIANNE MOORE wuz robbed!

AMERICAN IDOL: Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj reportedly buried the hatchet.

HEIDI MONTAG is appearing at a strip club.  But not stripping.  Yet.

TWILIGHT: BREAKING DAWN, PT. 2 advance ticket sales exceeding those of Part 1.

THE LONE RANGER has a trailer online.

A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD has a teaser trailer online.

TURKEY retaliated with artillery strikes against a Syrian border town after a Syrian army mortar killed two women and three children yesterday inside Turkish territory. The Turkish parliament approved military action beyond Turkish borders. Damascus apologized for the incident. World leaders are seeking to prevent escalation of hostilities between Turkey and Syria.

SYRIA: Four large suicide car bombs exploded in a government district of Aleppo. Assad ordered 30000 more troops into the battle for Aleppo. A regional peace initiative including Egypt, Iran, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia appeared to be failing. Syrian state TV attacked Hamas' leader and Egypt's president for their support of the rebellion.

EGYPT: The political dawn of the Salafists in Egypt has hit a snag.  However, they are running Maria TV, a new Egyptian channel that solely features veiled women.

IRAN: Riot police clashed with demonstrators protesting against Ahmadinejad, blaming him for the plummeting currency. Cyberattacks on Iranian infrastructure and communications companies disrupted internet services.

THEODORE the CAT, snoring loudly.

DINKY the POT-BELLIED PIG scores a redhead as a soulmate.

MAGIC the PONY eats like a college student.

A KING CHARLES SPANIEL has been crowned Britain's pet slimming champion after shedding nearly a third of his bodyweight.

MUMFORD & SONS cover Neil Young's "Dance, Dance, Dance."

GRIZZLY BEAR stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

DARK DARK DARK stopped by The Current at the outset of their latest tour.

LIANNE LA HAVAS brings her British soul stripped down to WNYC Soundcheck.

JOHN CALE guest DJs the latest edition of All Songs Considered, which includes selections from the Beach Boys and Snoop Dogg.

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS drop "Never Is A Long Time" and "Love of Your Life" as a single.

O'JAYS: "Backstabbers."

THE REPLACEMENTS: Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson cut four cover songs that will be released later this year as a limited edition 10-inch vinyl EP, which will be auctioned to benefit Slim Dunlap. Says Westerberg: "We still rock like murder."

BEN FOLDS talks to All Things Considered about the reformation of the Five.

TORI AMOS: Identity, Image, and Acting with Archetypes.

ANDY BELL talks to Drowned In Sound about the making of both Nowhere and Going Blank Again, to his disillusionment with music after disbanding Hurricane #1, to working with the Gallaghers and the questions everyone keeps asking; will Ride and Oasis ever reform and take to the stage one more time.

JESSICA SIMPSON's husband may be seeing his ex-wife, according tot the ever-reliable Star magazine.

NICKY MINAJ cussed out MARIAH CAREY during American Idol auditions. There's video.

RHIANNA & CHRIS BROWN ended up locked in a nightclub bathroom together?

RICHARD BELZER wasn't supposed to talk about anal sex, molestation or give the Nazi salute when he agreed to do a news interview on live TV... but he did anyway.

CAMERON DIAZ talks to Esquire UK about turning 40, among other things.

WOMEN IN HOLLYWOOD: Elle presents the eight leading female dramatists of showbiz, and Sarah Jessica Parker.

CAPTAIN AMERICA 2: Five actresses are in the mix for the sequel, which may also feature Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow.

JERRY SEINFELD riffs on recent NYT article. Really.

YEMEN: Security forces killed three "key" al Qaeda leaders in Aden.

SYRIA:  Damascus saw renewed fighting. Iranian, UN, and NATO officials warned Syria not to use its chemical weapons against anti-government rebels.

IRAN would enrich uranium up to 60 percent purity if negotiations with major powers over its nuclear program fail, an Iranian lawmaker said on Tuesday, in comments that may add to Western alarm about Iranian intentions.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: A sheep with an upside-down head.

SWISS COWS sext farmers.

A RABBIT is rescued from a third-story roof by Essex firefighters.

A PANDA gets the cake torture.

I'M HAVING A PERSONAL TECH ISSUE TODAY, SO NO PICS... but all the usual links.

THE SHINS play "No Way Down" and "The Rifle's Spiral" for Conan.

A.C. NEWMAN is advance streaming Shut Down the Streets.

THE DAREDEVIL CHRISTOPER WRIGHT stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

THE HEAD AND THE HEART stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

HACIENDA stopped by World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

MADNESS drops "My Girl 2" ahead of Oui, Oui, Si, Si, Ja, Ja, Da, Da.

ADELE: Hear a snippet from her theme for the next James Bond pic, "Skyfall."

THE KINGSMEN: "Money (That's What I Want)," in glorious color

THE 1990s: When Alternative Music Became Mainstream.

GRIZZLY BEAR: What does indie-rock royalty buy in 2012?

THE WOODEN SKY frontman Gavin Gardiner talks to The Line of Best Fit about his early influences, touring, and rock n' roll history. (Thx, Chromewaves.)

YOKO ONO talks to Billboard about her legacy, politics and new album with Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore.

BRITNEY SPEARS has been under a conservatorship for more than four years now, and as part of that, those close to The X Factor judge keep a close eye on her internet and cell phone use, according to RadarOnline.

GEORGE CLOONEY is reportedly cutting back on his time with Stacy Keibler.

KRISTEN STEWART & ROBERT PATTINSON will put aside their personal lives in order to help promote the lives of Bella and Edward for the last installment of "The Twilight Saga." Shocka.

LINDSAY LOHAN is vowing to get her revenge on the congressional aide she accused of choking her at the W Hotel on Park Avenue South in the early hours of Sunday morning.

JOHN TRAVOLTA & OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN are reuniting for a Christmas album.

DANIEL CRAIG tells GQ he misses getting falling down drunk in public, among other things.

TEN CULT FILMMAKERS Who Went Mainstream. 

RUSSIA: A Moscow court ruled that a controversial anti-Islam film can be banned in Russia, as the film was deemed extremist and capable of inciting ethinic and religious hatred.

GERMANY: A classified report by Germany's foreign intelligence agency says that insider attacks against NATO forces are likely to increase, the Taliban reintegration program will be ineffective, Afghan and US peace talks with the Taliban will go nowhere, Afghan president Hamid Karzai is more likely to defer to insurgents than institute needed reforms, and a greater commitment of foreign troops will be needed to stabilize the country after 2014.

SYRIA: In Homs, government forces evicted thousands of residents and then demolished their homes. Fighting spread across the old section of Aleppo. Government forces shelled towns in the eastern suburbs of Damascus.

AFGHANISTAN: With the surge of American troops over and the Taliban still a potent threat, American generals and civilian officials acknowledge that they have all but written off what was once one of the cornerstones of their strategy to end the war here: battering the Taliban into a peace deal.

A MEERKAT warms himself by the fireplace.

STONER DOGS on the rise in Colorado.

PET MONKEY Under House Arrest.

A 25-LB DOG discovered in the engine compartment of a Chevy Silverado in San Clemente on Monday is doing fine, said to have survived a 110-mile journey on a hot autumn Southern California day with no apparent ill effects.

THE ALABAMA SHAKES play "I Ain't The Same" at Kinks frontman Ray Davies' Konk Studios in London.

NEW RELEASES from The Vaccines, Matt & Kim, Mountain Goats, Heart and more are streaming this week at Spinner.

THIS MANY BOYFRIENDS, with references to Talking Heads, Orange Juice and the Pastels, is streaming their self-titled debut LP.

MUMFORD & SONS stopped by World Cafe to chat about how they achieved success. And, of course, they perform songs from Babel.

HOLY GHOST TENT REVIVAL, recalling '60s and '70s classic-rock influences such as The Band and The Flying Burrito Brothers, contemporary indie-rock acts like Dr. Dog, and New Orleans brass-band jazz, get featured by World Cafe: Next.

THE MOODY BLUES "Ride My Seesaw" on French TV for Twofer "Tuesday Afternoon."

TRAMPLED UNDER FOOT: Barney Hoskyns' new oral history of Led Zeppelin is excerpted at The Quietus.

JAMES MURPHY talks to The Observer about the Velvet Underground, Bowie and Can, and what made him first want to make music.

TORI AMOS talks to The Observer about  playing the piano at two and a half, rage and big ears.

FRANKIE VALLI talks to Weekend Edition about the Four Seasons, his falsetto, hair products...

LINDSAY LOHAN called the police after she claims she was assaulted in her New York City hotel room. The charges were later dropped.

ANNE HATHAWAY finally got her fairy-tale ending when she married actor-jewelry designer Adam Shulman Saturday night.

DREW BARRYMORE and Will Kopelman welcomed their first child - a daughter — on Wednesday.

JUSTIN BIEBER threw up on stage. Video at the link.

ASHTON KUCHER & DEMI MOORE are legally married -- not just in a Kabbalah ceremony -- raising the question of why no divorce papers have been filed yet.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER was lying through his gap teeth when he claimed Maria Shriver knew he was banging other women during their marriage ... this according to multiple sources connected to Maria.

STANLEY TUCCI & FELICITY BLUNT went ahead with a formal wedding ceremony.

SEAN MacFARLANE will host the 85th Academy Awards.

SAUDI ARABIA: In the Saudi version of Ikea's annual furniture booklet, all the women who appear in the catalog published in other countries have been removed via photo retouching.

SYRIA: In Homs, government forces evicted thousands of residents and then demolished their homes. Fighting spread across the old section of Aleppo. Government forces shelled towns in the eastern suburbs of Damascus.

AFGHANISTAN: US military deaths have reached 2000, a cold reminder of the human cost of an 11-year-old conflict that garners little public interest at home as the United States prepares to withdraw most of its combat forces by the end of 2014.

BABY GOATS on a See-Saw.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: A "small animal" is believed responsible for bullet train delays affecting 68000 passengers in Japan.

A KITTEN survives the spin cycle.

OSCAR the DOG goes globe-trotting to raise awareness of abandoned pooches.