THE HOLD STEADY was "Stuck Between Stations" o­n The Late Show with David Letterman the same night Madge stopped by.

THE SMITHEREENS' frontman Pat DiNizio tells the Boston Globe that Meet the Smithereens is not o­nly a tribute to "the holy grail of all Beatles records," but also a tribute to "the importance of albums and the whole album-listening experience."

THE CLASH: IckMusic has posted their set at the US Festival in 1983 -- guitarist Mick Jones

DANCE THIS MESS AROUND with The B-52's, circa 1979, o­n the Show That Cannot Be Named, though whoever posted "Rock Lobster" did, so catch 'em before the lawyers do! BONUS: 25 years later, the band appeared o­n the Peacock network to perform the lesser-known "Whammy Kiss."

NEW RELEASES: The Smithereens release Meet the Smithereens, a full cover album of Meet the Beatles. Stream at the link. America returns with help from various indie rockers; you can stream "Ride o­n" and "Golden" via the 'gum. The Shins officially release "Phantom Limb" as the single in advance of the album. Al Green's greatest and Crowded House's last concert are streaming from AOL this week.

V2 RECORDS , home to such acts as the White Stripes, Moby and the Raconteurs, laid off its staff Friday, sending smaller bands like Margot & The Nuclear So & So's reeling.

NEKO CASE, PAOLO NUTINI and IMOGENE HEAP are the trifecta to watch in the current installment of AOL's 3x3 series.

MY BLOODY VALENTINE are set to make another album, according to frontman Kevin Shields.

SEEN YOUR VIDEO: Upcoming singer Amy Whitehouse joins Paul Weller for a cover of Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine."

ADVANCE TRACKS: Pitchfork has posted a new track from Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, titled "The Sons of Cain," from the band's next album, due in March. Stereogum has o­ne from Patty Griffin, titled "Heavenly Day," as well as country legend Charlie Louvin with Will Oldham o­n the standard "Knoxville Girl." Elvis Costello, Jeff Tweedy and Superchunk are just a few of the other cameos o­n that album. There are four new o­nes from Lucinda Williams posted by her label, though you have to give your e-mail address to hear three of 'em.

DAVID BYRNE: The NYT has a lengthy profile o­n the evolution and influence of "Indie Rock

MLK DAY starts with a vintage clip of Dion playing "Abraham, Martin & John." The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. didn't set out to be a great man. He was a Baptist pastor in Montgomery, Alabama, until he became involved in the the 382-day boycott of the city's bus lines. Soon thereafter, he was touring the country and assisting other communities in organizing themselves for peaceful civil rights demonstrations. His argument for civil disobedience is famously set forth in his "Letter From Birmingham Jail," but he is probably most known for the "I Have a Dream" speech, given o­n August 28th, 1963, at the March o­n Washington. A bit of his prophetic last speech turns up in this clip of U2's "Pride (In the Name of Love)" from the ZooTV tour. And as long as I'm dragging U2 out, I'll throw in "MLK" as well.

MICHAEL BRECKER, arguably the most influential jazz sax player of the post-John Coltrane era, died at 57 from myelodysplastic syndrome, a blood and bone-marrow disease formerly known as pre-leukemia. In addition to playing with his brother Randy as the Brecker Brothers, he recorded sessions with acts including James Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, Chaka Khan, Bruce Springsteen and Parliament-Funkadelic. There's already a tribute video o­n the Tube, though you might prefer the fusion of the Brecker Bros' "Some Skunk Funk" at the Fuji Jazz Fest in 1992.

THE LOVE ME NOTS lead off the Boston Globe's "6 pop acts ready to break out in '07," which namechecks the farfisa-heavy, nugget-y sound of bands like The Lyres and The Greenhornes. It turns out the band has a soon-to-be-released record produced by Jim Diamond, who also produced The Romantics -- but don't hold that against them. Instead, stream a few from TheirSpace. "Voice In My Head" would be my pick to click, but YMMV.

MORRISSEY: News that the Moz might enter the Eurovision Song Contest has bought out those in the biz that love -- and hate -- him.

ROCK PLAZA CENTRAL: The Canadian folk-pop group's "My Children, Be Joyful" makes Song of the Day" at NPR. And Kathryn Yu knows her stuff.

SCHOOLS of ROCK: The Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp is offering the chance to perform with Paul Stanley of Kiss, or be judged by Brian Wilson. But music-blogger Heather Browne is excited about New York City's Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls. The camp is named after Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, so -- like Heather -- I'll serve up her version of "Hound Dog," but o­n video.

THE WRENS: New Jersey's Star-Ledger has a lengthy profile of "indie rock's elder statesmen": "Now, in their late 30s and early 40s, the Wrens are in limbo. They are successful enough to book gigs across the United States and Europe but can't make enough money to quit their white-collar jobs." But that could -- and should -- change. At the moment, you can stream a bunch via the ol' Hype Machine.

AN AQUARIUM DRUNKARD has posted his latest podcast, including songs from Taj Mahal to the Beastie Boys to Lou Reed to Alejandro Escovedo to Harry Nilsson to R.E.M, and many others.

SELLING OUT: The L.A. Times reports o­n the trend of rock acts playing corporate gigs and billionaire birthday parties, with some choce quotes from Sammy Hagar, including, but not limited to: "The money," Hagar said, "was very good. I won't say how much, but it was good. But I didn't do it for the money

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE...

...with JIMI HENDRIX at MONTEREY: Like you couldn't see this coming all week. Surprisingly, it's not all o­n the Tube, but we do have "Killing Floor" (intro by Brian Jones), "Can You See Me?" "Foxy Lady" (his fingers will move, as you will see), "Like A Rolling Stone," "Rock Me Baby," "Hey Joe" (just the teeth solo), "The Wind Cries Mary," "Wild Thing" and Purple Haze." It was a beautiful day. Didn't even rain. No buttons were pushed.

NOISE POP 2007, running Feb. 27th - March 3rd, has posted the festival schedule, and it seems more pop than noise. So if you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.

EMILY HAINES and the SOFT SKELETON visited DC's 9:30 Club for a full concert the other night, so you can stream the whole thing from NPR now.

MOUNTAIN GOATS frontman John Darnielle talks to PopMatters about alienating longtime fans and the part of his life where he returned to school for English and classical studies.

JOHN LEE HOOKER: Tom Terrell of NPR has an audio review of the JLH box set, which he says "shows us why every major guitar player in rock has drawn inspiration from Hooker."

SEEN YOUR VIDEO: Field Music's "A House Is Not a Home" is the melodic single from the band's Tones of Town, due in the US in February. I gave you the Pitchfork link because there are two advance MP3s to download there also.

THE ROCK & ROLL HALL of FAME: The Village Voice has "a look at the artists who made the cut this year and consider what the Hall is trying to say about itself by bringing these people in."

GREG DULLI talks to Billboard about his upcoming projects with Mark Lanegan (as the Gutter Twins) and a reunited Afghan Whigs.

THE DECEMBERISTS are auctioning off autographed instruments, clothes, artwork and more for a youth charity. That link will hook you up with even more band news and video of performances and interviews in the AT&T Blue Room.

JAMES BROWN: In Alabama, a 70-year-old man shot his 62-year-old friend when the two got into an argument over James Brown's height.

THE CUTOUT BIN: This Friday's fortuitous finds from the ol 'HM include -- Elvis Presley, Scotty & Bill - Mystery Train; Elvis Costello - Miracle Man; Yvonne DeCarlo - The Secret of Love; Lily Allen - Smile (Mark Ronson Revisit); The Chocolate Watch Band - I'm Not Like Everybody Else; Kinks - Oklahoma, USA; Islands - Waterloo Sunset; The Who - Pictures Of Lily; Flamin' Groovies - You Tore Me Down; Matthew Sweet - Magnet And Steel; The Isley Brothers - Fight The Power (Part 1); Lenny Kravitz & Iggy Pop - Rebel, Rebel; David Vandervelde - Jacket; Broken Social Scene - Almost Crimes; and Pearl Jam - Love Reign O'er Me (KISW radio rip).

BRITNEY SPEARS: Fed-Ex is demanding an astonishing 50 million

MONTEREY POP: Day 4 of this theme week offers some performances from the documentary, plus outtakes. Janis Joplin, with Big Bother and the Holding Company sizzle through "Ball and Chain" and "Combination of the Two." Simon & Garfunkel, who helped open the fest, had everyone feelin' groovy with "Homeward Bound" (intro by Papa John Phillips), "The 59th Street Bridge Song" and "The Sound Of Silence." Canned Heat covered the blues classic, "Rollin' and Tumblin'," while The Grateful Dead had the "Viola Lee Blues." Jefferson Airplane play "Somebody to Love," "High Flying Bird" and "Today." Quicksilver Messenger Service offer "All I Ever Wanted to Do." Laura Nyro sang the "Wedding Bell Blues." The Mamas and the Papas gave their signature, "California Dreamin'."

STAGECOACH: Speaking of festivals, Coachella's country cousin has just added Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris, Neko Case and more to previously announced acts like George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams, the Flatlanders, Sara Evans, Earl Scruggs, Chris Hillman, Alejandro Escovedo, and Ramblin' Jack Elliott.

EL PERRO DEL MAR: Sarah Assbring's melancholy pop was featured o­n the World Cafe, so you can stream a couple of tracks from NPR now. And host David Dye adds her album is finally getting a US release.

THE PIPETTES! Speaking of bands that need a US release, Chromewaves linked up word that the grrl-group is crossing the Atlantic to play Canadian Music Week in March, raising speculation of an SxSW appearance -- and other US dates? No word at the band's website or MySpace page yet...

LOU RAWLS JR. is suing MARVIN GAYE III, claiming he was attacked by Gaye's four dogs. It is a small world.

MATT & KIM: The drum-and-keyboard duo talk to the San Francisco Bay Guardian about the "cute" label and being "totally a summertime band." Their new, blood-soaked video for "5K" is still pretty cute, but those made queasy by fake blood might prefer "Yea Yea," which features a food fight. I think this is an act that inspires either love or hate. Right now, I'm in the first category, but I could easily see it going the other way.

ALBERT HAMMOND, JR., the first of The Strokes to go solo, talks to the Village Voice about his understated approach to promoting the album, "which operates in an appealingly casual guitar-pop mode