YO LA TENGO brought "Ohm" and "I'll Be Around" to Fallon, with an assist from... Fred Armisen.

BAD RELIGION is advance streaming True North.

MOUNTAINS are advance streaming Centralia.

JOE PUG, Live at Bottom of the Hill, Jan. 5, 2012.

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

PAZZ & JOP 2012: You youngsters will never know how important this was in the 80s.

RICHARD HAWLEY talks to Drowned In Sound about the phenomenal success of Standing At The Sky's Edge , being wired on tramadol after breaking his leg and why he has no time for "Strictly Comefuckwit".

MARIANNE FAITHFULL talks to The Guardian about being cast as a sex kitten of the 60s, drugs, homelessness, and why she will never sell Mick Jagger's love letters.

VILLAGERS: Conor talks songwriters -- and his fave songs from each -- with Drowned In Sound.

NIKI & THE DOVE are profiled at the Village Voice.

CHARLIE SHEEN is going to be a grandpa. What could go wrong?

JEREMY RENNER is going to be a father; the baby mama is reportedly living in his L.A. pad.

ROBERT PATTINSON & KRISTEN STEWART are dunzo again, according to the ever-reliable Sun.

LINDSAY LOHAN is still living the high life by working as a professional escort, according to the ever-reliable Star magazine. Her dad -- one of the sources quoted -- is already denying the quotes.  Meanwhile, her movie The Canyons has been snubbed by Sundance.

JUSTIN BIEBER & SELENA GOMEZ: The latter confirms their split.

JESSICA SIMPSON says getting knocked up is again interfering with her wedding plans.

THE 100 HOTTEST WOMEN of the 21st CENTURY, according to GQ. Portions NSFW.

THE MANTI TE'O DEAD IMAGINARY GIRLFRIEND STORY, icymi.

CONRAID BAIN, a veteran stage and film actor who became a star in middle age as the kindly white adoptive father of two young African-American brothers in the TV sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes,” has died of natural causes at 89.

MALI: In the first stages of a ground offensive, French special forces engaged in combat with Islamist fighters in Diabaly. France estimates it is facing about 1300 jihadist fighters based in the north. The MNLA said it was against al Qaeda and terrorism but would not fight alongside the French.

SYRIA did not use chemical weapons against residents of Homs in a December attack, a US State Department investigation shows, but did apparently misuse a riot-control gas in the incident, according to senior US officials. Mind you, that would also be the conclusion the US would want to reach, given that our govt had threatened to intervene if Assad used WMDs.

LIBYA: A car bomb killed a member of the National Security Directorate in Benghazi.

EGYPT: A spokesman for Pres Morsi said on Wednesday that inflammatory comments that he made about Jews before taking office had been intended as criticism of Israeli policies toward the Palestinians but had been taken out of context. LOL.

IRAN could produce enough weapon-grade uranium for one or more nuclear bombs by mid-2014, and the United States and its allies should intensify sanctions on Tehran before that point is reached, a report by a group of US nonproliferation experts said.

EVIL HAMSTER: Let's go to the video.

ORLANDO THE CAT beats the pros in a British stock-picking challenge.

THREE FUGITIVE PIGS: What makes them go whee whee whee whee home?

A BUNNY thrown from a bridge by a hooligan gets the kiss of life from a homeless man.

FATHER JOHN MISTY covers R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly" aboard the S.S. Coachella.

FOUR TET drops a free EP of rarities.

PETRA HADEN is advance streaming Petra Goes to the Movies.

FIDLAR is advance streaming their self-titled album.

EBSEN & THE WITCH advance stream Wash the Sins Not Only the Face.

OKKERVIL RIVER'S Will Scheff drops "Shock Corridor" from his new, un-Okkervil Lovestreams project.

JUNIP drops "Line Of Fire" ahead of their self-titled LP.

R. DEAN TAYLOR: "Indiana Wants Me." I have fond memories of The Service's cover version.

STEVIE NICKS gets a meaty profile (w/ interview) at The Observer.

TEGAN & SARA talk to Rolling Stone (separately) about making Heartthrob, why they decided this was the time to broaden their sound and how they got over their vicious sibling rivalry.

WHERE THE HELL IS MEMPHIS? NPR's "Sense of Place" series interviews Memphis author Robert Gordon and Stax Museum curator Levon Williams, adding archival pieces with Booker T. Jones and Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, and the late Issac Hayes. 

LINDSAY LOHAN's maybe-fired attorney pleaded not guilty on Li-Lo's behalf of lying to police, preventing a bench warrant... and a plea deal that would've involved rehab.

JESSICA CHASTAIN once swore off dating actors, but there she is with Tom Hiddleston, whom the Daily Mail fails to identify as Loki.

JESSICA SIMPSON will star in a semi-autobigraphical comedy pilot.

BRITNEY SPEARS: The pop tart's split from fiancee-conservator Jason Trawick was engineered by her father and Trawick.

MEGAN FOX bemoans fame and fortune - likening herself to an Aztec sacrifice -  but won't go away.

VICTOR GARBER came out to a blogger after the Golden Globes.

JOHN McTIERNAN: The director of Die Hard, Predator, The Hunt For Red October, The Thomas Crown Affair remake and more, heads to federal prison for his role in the Anthony Pellicano wiretap case.

BLAZING SADDLES: Headed to Broadway?

MALI: West African troops are expected to arrive in Mali "within days" to repel Islamist forces, which are said to have pulled out of Gao and Timuktu after several days of French airstrikes. Ansar Dine said it made a "tactical withdrawal.  French Pres Hollande said France's goals in Mali were: "stop[ping] the terrorist aggression... making Bamako safe... and enabling Mali to recover its territorial integrity."

SYRIA: A secret State Department cable has concluded that the Syrian military likely used chemical weapons against its own people in a deadly attack last month.

EGYPT: A 2010 video shows now-Pres. Morsi urging Egyptians to "nurse our children and our grandchildren on hatred" for Jews and Zionists. In a television interview months later, the same leader described Zionists as "these bloodsuckers who attack the Palestinians, these warmongers, the descendants of apes and pigs." Representatives of Morsi have declined repeated requests over more than three days for comment on his remarks.

PAKISTAN has plunged into a leadership crisis. As hundreds of thousands demonstrate against corruption, the country's high court has ordered the arrest of Prime Minister Ashraf. Populist cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri has declared a "revolution." Meanwhile, the government took administrative control of a vast province bordering Afghanistan and Iran, responding to an increasing number of sectarian attacks linked to homegrown Islamist extremists there.

IRAQ: Assassinations and attempts may provoke another civil war.

A DEAF BULLDOG senses the Blues.

GINA THE CHIMP is addicted to adult videos.

PRO TIP: Don't stand close to the rhino.

A MOUSE carefully released into the wild was killed within seconds by a hawk. Video at the link.

THE SOFT MOON drops a video for the fuzzy "Die Life."

NEW RELEASES from Christopher Owens, Free Energy, Erin McKeon and more are streaming this week at Spinner.

YO LA TENGO played five new songs at World Cafe Live, plus a cover of The Spinners' "I'll Be Around."

GRAHAM PARKER & THE RUMOUR stopped by World Cafe to chat about the reunion and play a mini-set of new stuff.

NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS dropped a lyric video for "Jubilee Street."

ROY ORBISON provides vintage performances of "Running Scared" and "Oh, Pretty Woman" for Twofer Tuesday.

JOHNNY MARR talks to The Guardian about finally embracing his old sound, David Cameron and why he and Morrissey don't talk any more.

BLOC PARTY: Kele Okereke talks to the Aquarian Weekly about where the band draws musical inspiration, touring, and Four. (Thx, LHB.)

BJORK talks to Filter about Biophilia and nature.

JOHNNY CASH: At Paste, six musicians discuss Cash, the 45th anniversary of At Folsom Prison, and the legacy of The Man in Black.

BRADLEY COOPER & JENNIFER LAWRENCE are not dating, according to the former: "I could literally be her father."

JODIE FOSTER clarified her Golden Globes speech, whatever it was.

GLENN CLOSE: The obligatory drunken Golden Globes GIF.

LINDSAY LOHAN may or may not have fired the man keeping her out of jail.

RUSSELL CROWE has been sharing some intimate rubdowns with burlesque goddess Dita Von Teese, according to the NYP.

ZACK SNYDER denies reports of involvement with the new Star Wars.

SOUTH PARK's Trey Parker and Matt Stone have wooed investors and raised money to form their own production studio.

NATALIE WOOD: New details released today by the Los Angeles Coroner's Office that show the actress had bruises on her body that "appeared fresh and could have occurred before she entered the water" and drowned three decades ago.

JURASSIC PARK 4: June 13, 2014. Oh dear.

MALI: For years, the United States tried to stem the spread of Islamic militancy in the region by conducting its most ambitious counterterrorism program ever across these vast, turbulent stretches of the Sahara. But as insurgents swept through the desert last year, commanders of this nation’s elite army units, the fruit of years of careful American training, defected when they were needed most — taking troops, guns, trucks and their newfound skills to the enemy in the heat of battle, according to senior Malian military officials. US planning collapsed swiftly when heavily armed, battle-hardened Islamist fighters returned from combat in Libya.

GERMANY: The Foreign Ministry said Germany would provide cargo planes and medical personnel to assist France in the military intervention in Mali, but ruled out deploying troops.

IRAN is working with southern secessionists in Yemen to expand its influence and destabilize the strategic region around the Straits of Hormuz, the US envoy to Yemen was quoted as saying on Sunday.

POLAR BEAR rattles a BBC cameraman's cage. Where is Werner Herzog when you need him?

THE PYTHON CHALLENGE, essayed by Dave Barry.

A 7-FOOT GATOR was apprehended near the main runway of the Punta Gorda Airport.

A THIEVING 3-LEGGED DOG walks into an Invercargill dairy, helps himself to a dog roll and gets away with the loot.

JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION gets a bit psychedelic with this clip for "Bag of Bones."

NEW ORDER is streaming the unreleased collection of Lost Sirens.

L PIERRE, a/k/a Aidan Moffat (The Arab Strap), is streaming The Island Come True.

AARON NEVILLE is advance streaming My True Story.

WIDOWSPEAK is advance streaming Almanac. 

THE RONETTES: "Baby, I Love You," without the Wall Of Sound. (Thx, Jon Hahn.)

CHEAP TRICK: "I Want You... to Want Me," on Aussie TV, circa 1979. Nary a cord in sight.

DAVID BOWIE: Tony Visconti talks to Billboard about the icon's surprise reappearance.The Guardian dives even deeper, reporting there are at least a dozen tracks that did not make it onto the upcoming LP.

SCOTT WALKER speaks with World Cafe host David Dye about terrifying his musicians with machetes on his latest record, Bish Bosch, as well as why he never listens to his old material and the "giant in a general's toilet" of "Zercon."

BBC SEX ABUSE SCANDAL: The British police and the country's leading child welfare group drew a horrific picture of more than 200 cases of sexual abuse of children as young as 8 by the television host Jimmy Savile in a report released on Friday, and prosecutors admitted for the first time that they could have brought Mr. Savile to trial before his death in 2011 but failed to do so. During his time at the BBC, Savile played a central role in two shows — “Top of the Pops,” featuring rock bands playing their latest hits, and “Jim’ll Fix It,” in which Savile responded to requests from viewers.

THE 15 BEST TOM WAITS SONGS, according to PopMatters.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Zero Dark Thirty tops the chart with 24 million and has a 29 million gross to date against a 35-40 million budget. Clearly, the Oscar snub of Katherine Bigelow didn't affect biz. A Haunted House placed with 18.8 million against a 2.5 million budget; clearly, the 9 percent Tomatometer was similarly ignored.  Gangster Squad shows with 16.7 million against a budget reportedly as high as 75 million. Ouch. Django Unchained drops 45 percent to the fourth slot with 11 million.  Les Miserables rounds out the Top 5 with 10.1 million. Below the fold, both Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook did increased biz seemingly tied to those Oscar noms.

BRITNEY SPEARS and Jason Trawick have broken up. Trawick was also removed as Britney's co-conservator. Spears is in “serious talks” to move to Las Vegas and headline a “Celine” type show.

LINDSAY LOHAN confirms the NYT article linked here Friday was pretty accurate, though she denies any drunk driving.

JENNIFER LAWRENCE and her boyfriend, About a Boy actor Nick Hoult, have split after two years of dating.

JASON SUDEKIS & OLIVIA WILDE are engaged.

DEMI MOORE is dating restaurateur Harry Morton.

EVAN RACHEL WOOD and husband Jamie Bell confirmed that they are expecting their first child.

MAN OF STEEL Henry Cavill made his red carpet debut at the Critic's Choice Movie Awards with a lady on his arm, and not just any lady, but MMA fighter and Haywire star Gina Carano.

TAYLOR SWIFT: Dumped for not putting out enough?

JESSICA SIMPSON and her fiance Eric Johnson spent much of their recent Hawaiian getaway fighting over her treatment of her father Joe, according to RadarOnline.

THE GOLDEN GLOBES were awarded to these folks.

MALI: President Francois Hollande says French troops are taking part in operations against Islamists in northern Mali. The US and African Union have also expressed support for the mission. France is finding the Islamists surprisingly "well-trained, well-equipped, and well-armed." The Islamist militants warned that France would pay a price for its intervention in Mali. President Hollande said France would not give in to "terrorist blackmail." Britiain is sending two RAF C-17s to provide logistical support for the Malian Army in its attempt to stem the advance of Islamist fighters. British personnel could play a role in training the Malian army, a Government minister has suggested.

SYRIA: Western and Israeli security experts suspect Syria may have tons of unenriched uranium in storage and that any such stockpile could potentially be of interest to its ally Iran for use in Tehran's own disputed nuclear program.  US officials are discussing with Middle East governments the steps needed to ensure that Syria's chemical and biological weapons sites are secured when Assad leaves office.

IRAQ closed all border crossings with Syria until further notice.

A PUPPY learns to navigate the stairs.

SCAVENGING DOGS have been left bleary-eyed after inadvertently feasting on cannabis while on walkies in northwest England.

AN ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER was busted for swiping a Chihuahua from an elderly nun.

ROCKY RACOON went out from his room and made off with some poor golfer's iPhone.

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

... with XTC! Live on Rockpalast, February 10, 1982. Your setlist includes: "Respectable Street" (still one of my faves), "Towers of London," "Runaways," "Jason and the Argonauts," "Burning With Optimism's Flames," "Snowman," "Ball And Chain," "Sgt. Rock (Is Going to Help Me)," "No Thugs In Our House" (another fave), "Senses Working Overtime" (ditto), "Making Plans For Nigel," "Living Through Another Cuba," "Generals and Majors," "Real By Reel," and "Life Begins At The Hop."

DIRTY PROJECTORS visited WNYC Soundcheck for an unplugged set in the studio -- and to make some predictions for 2013.

DAVID BYRNE & ST. VINCENT perform a full set, culminating with "Burning Down the House," at NPR.

THE HELIO SEQUENCE stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

TOWNES VAN ZANDT, Live in Mpls, 1973.

CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN drops “Someday Our Love Will Sell Us Out” from their first LP of new stuff in eight years.

GUIDED BY VOICES drop "Copy Zero" ahead of a new EP.

TEGAN & SARA cover the Stones' "Fool To Cry" for HBO's Girls Season 2 soundtrack.

THE BESNARD LAKES drop "People Of The Sticks."

WHITE RABBITS cover "Instant Karma." Gonna knock you right on the head.

MOUNTAIN GOATS: John Darnielle spoke to Spinner on his new son's strange affinity for "Scarface," his opinions of his own songs and the importance of throwing things away.

BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB: Robert Levon Been and drummer Leah Shapiro talk to Rolling Stone about coping with the loss of Been's father, former Call frontman Michael Been.

SOLANGE KNOWLES talks to The Guardian about her sister, her career, and her new project with Dev Hynes.

THE 16 BEST POSTHUMOUS ALBUMS, according to Spinner.

CUTOUT BIN: From the La's to AC/DC, from Don Dixon to Paul Anka, from Marvin Gaye to the Violent Femmes. plus Robyn Hitchcock, CCR, the Velvet Underground, the Jam and more -- this year's final fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases include: Gangster Squad, which is currently scoring 36 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and A Haunted House, which was not screened for critics. In addition, Zero Dark Thirty expands wide, scoring 94 percent (Here's my take from Monday).

LINDSAY LOHAN: Here Is What Happens When You Cast Lindsay Lohan in Your Movie.

BRITNEY SPEARS: Y'all can't fire me; I quit.

THE OSCAR nominations went to these folks. Congrats.

ELTON JOHN and David Furnish have welcomed their second baby via surrogate.

LILY ALLEN and husband Sam Cooper became second-time parents when Allen recently gave birth to a baby girl in London.

CHARLIE SHEEN is covering a huge chunk of the funeral costs for the paparazzo who died while covering Justin Bieber.

IRAN is the likely culprit in a wave of cyber-attacks on US banks. Iran's oil minister acknowledged that oil exports have fallen by more than 40 percent due to economic sanctions. Iran's leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, warned the Iranians not to criticize upcoming presidential elections.

PAKISTANI transporters who carry NATO supplies to land-locked Afghanistan have gone on strike, disrupting the flow of goods to Western forces in a protest against a new customs regime aimed at cutting theft.

AFGHANISTAN: Lawmakers said disaster and civil war would follow if Washington pushed ahead with a suggestion to withdraw all its troops from the country after 2014.

A QUOKKA: I had no idea.

DOLPHIN STAMPEDE in the waters off Dana Point in SoCal.  So long, and thanks for all the fish.

QANTAS had its own dramatic ''snakes on a plane'' episode when a three-meter python joined passengers on an early morning flight to Papua New Guinea.

A NEW CAT BREED uglier than the sphynx.