THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with SHINDIG CHRISTMAS '64! The full episode has gone dark, but still-available clips include The Beach Boys' "Dance, Dance, Dance," Bobby Sherman and Donna Loren singing "Keep on Searching," the Righteous Brothers doing "The Jerk" and an awesome milk commercial, Marvin Gaye with "How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You" and Adam Faith with "Watch Your Step," Donna Loren returning with a Spector-esque, but rougher "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," and The Beach Boys deliver a set including "Little Saint Nick," "Monster Mash" (yes, really) "Papa Oom Mow Mow," and "Johnny B. Goode." Lastly, we have Marvin Gaye with "Hitch Hike" and The Beach Boys on "We Three Kings."

THE HEAD AND THE HEART play a mini-set at World Cafe Live.

DALE EARNHARDT JR JR brought their effervescent style of electro-pop to KEXP's Midday Show.

BLACK JOE LEWIS hit WFUV's Studio A to play songs from his new LP, Electric Shave.

THE BESNARD LAKES stopped by KEXP's Midday Show for a chat and mini-set. 

BLITZEN TRAPPER drops a video for "Thirsty Man."

AL GREEN is profiled by the Oxford American (Thx, LHB).

OKKERVIL RIVER's Will Sheff talks to Salon about nerddom.

CHEAP TRICK: A Delaware judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed by three members of the rock group Cheap Trick against the band's ex-drummer, Bun E. Carlos, saying a dispute among the musicians should be decided in federal court in Illinois, where they formed.

THE TOP ALBUMS of 1989, according to Slicing Up Eyeballs readers.

THE CUTOUT BIN is taking a week off.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases are The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, which is currently scoring 73 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas, which went unscreened for critics as usual.

PRINCE will appear on the Super Bowl episode of "The New Girl."

THE GOLDEN GLOBES nominations went to these folks.

SUSAN SARANDON claims she was stoned through almost all of these awards shows.

KHLOE KARDASHIAN is reportedly done with Lamar Odom, and the final straw was the alcohol/drug-fueled rap song in which Lamar brags about cheating on her.

JASON SIEGEL to play David Foster Wallace? Um...okay?

SYRIA: The OPCW's report on chemical weapons use in Syria found that such weapons were "probably used" in five of seven reported instances, and that in three of those five, soldiers were targeted. The instances of probable use were: Khan al-Assal, near Aleppo city, in March; Saraqeb, near Idlib city, in April; and in Jobar, Ashrafiat Sahnaya, and Ghouta, all near Damascus, in August.

IRAN: The Homeland Security Department has investigated whether Iranian operatives exploited a controversial U.S. visa program for immigrant investors, according to a DHS memo revealed on Thursday.

LIBYA: Benghazi has become a regional hub for Islamist extremists seeking to hone their combat skills.

EMU vs WEASEL BALL: Who you got?

BEE RUSTLING: Is there anything lower?

A BABY MONKEY with a wacky haircut was born at the Leicestershire zoo.

A MASSIVE TOILET SNAKE bit a man where only a man is bit.

SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS drop a video for “Ain’t No Chimneys In The Projects.”

IRON & WINE: Sam Beam graced KEXP with his southern charm and shared songs from Iron & Wine's new album Ghost On Ghost, along with some all time favorites.

MINOR ALPS: Matthew Caws and Julianna Hatfield come together for their first ever performance as Minor Alps in celebration of Barsuk's 15th anniversary. 

NPR MUSIC is streaming their 100 Favorite Songs of 2013.

MARK McGUIRE is streaming The Sounds of Xmas.

WOODEN SHJIPS drops a video for "Everybody Knows."

JOHN LYDON (a/k/a Johnny Rotten) talks to Clash about Virgin (his former label), the general state of the music industry and the world in general. (Thx, LHB.)

ROBERT POLLARD talks to Rolling Stone about songwriting, writer's block, and the future of Guided by Voices.

TOTO keyboardist and "Africa" lead vocalist David Paich was not thrilled that CBS used the song in a piece about Nelson Mandela's memorial.

MORRISSEY's solo albums, ranked by Stereogum.

PAUL WALKER died after the speeding Porsche in which he was riding hydroplaned on reflective plastic markers in the street ... at least that's what his family and accident reconstruction experts believe.

POPE FRANCIS is Time's Man of the Year. Sorry, Miley.

THE SAG AWARDS nominations went to these folks.

ASHTON KUTCHER & MILA KUNIS share a PDA at Sun Records in Memphis.

DREW BARRYMORE is having a second girl.

MADONNA and Brahim Zaibat have split after three years.

PETER SELLERS: Two of the comedian's early shorts, long thought lost, were discovered in a London dumpster.

IRAN: The White House says that an Iranian ballistic missile test would not invalidate a recently signed nuclear accord meant to temporarily halt some of Iran’s most controversial nuclear work.

SYRIA: The top Syrian rebel commander supported by the West was run out of his headquarters in northern Syria over the weekend and fled to Turkey and then Doha after Islamist fighters took over facilities run by Western-backed opposition, U.S. officials said Wednesday.

IRAQ:  Al Qaeda's Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have increased attacks on strategic targets in parts of western Iraq in the past three months in a bid to make their putative state a reality, security officials and analysts say.

LAMB CAM: Let's go to the video.

MAN BITES DOG. Naked man, police dog.

SQUIRT THE SNAKE is mourned by a Celebrity Apprentice.

A DOG hit by a car is rescued on a busy highway by an 11-year-old.

THE FOO FIGHTERS, Live at... a pizza joint in Moorpark, CA?

EZRA FURMAN is streaming Day of the Dog, which The Guardian calls "rock'n'roll at its fuzziest, providing a punky take on powerpop and R&B." it's eclectic.

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

WOODEN SHJIPS brought their hazy, psychedelic rock to the KEXP studio.

LAKE STREET DIVE stopped by Oregon Public Broadcasting for a chat and mini-set.

ROBIN THICKE & RON BURGUNDY cover the Christopher Cross, um, classic, "Ride Like The Wind."

THE RAMONES: "Merry Christmas (I Don't Wanna Fight Tonight)."

NICK LOWE talks to All Things Considered about his Christmas album, and plays a couple of tunes.

BOB DYLAN: What can we learn from his handwriting on "Mr. Tambourine Man"? 

THE WALKMEN: Inside Their Final Days.

DROWNED IN SOUND lists their favorite albums and top songs of the year. 

KATE WINSLET welcomed her third child, a son, on Saturday.

JULIA ROBERTS looks knocked up.

JUSTIN BIEBER called a curvy fan a ‘beached whale’... before enjoying a sunbathing session with a topless blonde.

TOM CRUISE is still trying to make Jack Reacher happen.

EMMY ROSSUM talks to Esquire, mostly about her pets, and the body she found in the road.

BETTE MIDLER will play Mae West in a HBO biopic.

PAKISTAN: US SecDef Hagel told Pakistani officials that keeping supply lines open may be key to the continuance of military aid to Pakistan.

EGYPT: Security forces clashed with Muslim Brotherhood supporters at al Azhar University.

SYRIA: The United States has suspended delivery of non-lethal aid into northern Syria due to concerns over gains by Islamist rebels there.

IRAQ: A suicide bomber killed 11 people in an attack at a funeral in Baqubah. Seventeen more Iraqis were killed in bombings and attacks in Abara and at a Shia shrine near Baqubah.

CORGI ON A CAROUSEL: Let's go to the video.

ICELANDIC HERRING: Not afraid of the Rolling Stones. Should've shown 'em Keith.

ANOTHER FUGITIVE REINDEER took it on the lam; this one swam into Lake Dillon in CO.

A BULL SEAL stranded honeymooners on a remote island for days by stealing their dinghy.

DEVENDRA BANHART drops a clip for "Mondo Taurobolium," ft. voice work from Rose McGowan.

DR DOG streams their new four-track Oh My Christmas Tree EP.

ARIEL PINK streams Early Live Recordings.

THE DISMEMBERMENT PLAN played a Tiny Desk Concert at the offices of NPR. 

EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY: Live in Nottingham, Feb. 9, 2004. 

ST. VINCENT: Annie Clark drops "Birth In Reverse" ahead of her self-titled fourth LP.

SUMMER CAMP covers Wham!'s "Last Christmas."

THE FLAMING LIPS, KE$HA & NEW FUMES cover The Stone Roses' "Elizabeth My Dear."

BOB GELDOF, by his own admission, is responsible for two of the worst songs in history: "'Do They Know It's Christmas?" and "We Are The World."

RAY DAVIES stopped by World Cafe to talk about his new memoir, Americana: The Kinks, The Riff, The Road: The Story.He talks to The Observer about London's changing face, eavesdropping and his fear of big fish and artichokes.

JIMI HENDRIX: The Guardian excerpts a new collection of interviews.

BAD RELIGION talked to Weekend Edition about their Christmas album. 

THE BEST ALBUMS of 2013, according to Q magazine. 

LINDSAY LOHAN may be sued by Barron Hilton after he as attacked at the Miami masion where she has been staying.Looks like there were drugs at the party.

LAMAR ODOM cut a deal in his DUI case — agreeing to plead “no contest” to the crime and in exchange he'll be on probation for the next 3 years.

BRITNEY SPEARS talks motherhood, perfectionism, heartbreak - and why, with her Vegas residency starting, she's feeling the pressure.

MACAULAY CULKIN has formed a pizza-related Velvet Underground tribute band.

MEREDITH BAXTER and her longtime partner, contractor Nancy Locke, were married in an intimate ceremony on Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles.

ADAM SANDLER tops the new Forbes list of Hollywood's most overpaid actors.

AFGHANISTAN & IRAN signed a security pact. This will end well.

SAUDI ARABIA: The Interior Ministry is expanding the kingdom's jihadist rehabilitation program, due to fears that jihadists in Syria will engage in terrorism when they return; three more rehab centers are planned in addition to the two already in operation.

LIBYA: A car bomb at the funeral of a Benghazi intelligence official yesterday killed one person and injured six others; it is believed to be the first time a car bomb has targeted a terror victim's funeral in Libya, although the tactic is common in Iraq.

SYRIA: Regime troops and Hezbollah allies advanced against fighters from the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham in the town of Nabek near the Lebanon border.

IRAQ: The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham killed 39 people in a series of bombings and attacks throughout Iraq.

A FOX jumps for joy. And treats.

THE IKEA MONKEY: One year after becoming (in)famous, Darwin is growing into a healthy adolescent.

A TEEN GORILLA uses a human skin care supplement to attract a mate.

COLD-RESISTANT COCKROACHES invade Manhattan.

BEST COAST serves up a tennis-themed clip for "This Lonely Morning."

CULTS dropped by WFUV's Studio A to share some of their new songs and talk about the making of the Static album.

WARREN HAYNES (Gov't Mule) shared some of his new songs and to talk about the making of the cameo-laden Shout! album during this WFUV Live Session.

CROCODILES stopped by the KEXP studio to play songs from their new album, Crimes of Passion. 

THE DEVIL MAKES THREE bring punked-up bluegrass to WNYC Soundcheck.

PATSY CLINE & FERLIN HUSKY: "Let It Snow!"

THE WAITRESSES' Chris Butler talks to NME about "Christmas Wrapping."

NOEL GALLAGHER airs his grievances -- and praises Bowie -- at Rolling Stone.

THE 2014 GRAMMY NOMINATIONS: Winners and Losers.

THE 2013 PITCHFORK READERS POLL is open.

THE A.V. CLUB lists Best Albums and Least Essential Albums of 2013.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Frozen tops the chart with 31.6 million. The 53 percent drop looks steep, but post-Thanksgiving drops tend to be steep.  More significant is Frozen crossing the 100 million mark in 8 days -- just half the time it took Tangled to do so and more in line with a Pixar-like performance.  With school vacation time yet ahead, Frozen should top Tangled with roughly ~225 million domestic by the end of its run.The Hunger Games: Catching Fire also took a steep Post-Thanksgiving drop of 64 percent, but places with 27 million and 336.7 total domestic (though again the matching amount overseas is actually more important for this sequel).  Whether these Games reach 400 million domestic depends on the reseption the next Hobbit gets this upcoming weekend (the reviews so far have been better than for the first Hobbit).  Out of the Furnace shows with a mere 5.3 million, which seems to have been to gritty for the holdiays and not serious enough for the Oscars crowd. Ouch.  Thor: The Dark World slips to fourth with 4.7 million, but comes within spitting distance of 200 million domestic (and 610.3 million worldwide -- the original made 450 mill total). Delivery Man climbed onto the bottom rung of the Top 5 with 3.8 million, but has yet to recoup its production budget.

LINDSAY LOHAN denied masterminding an attack on Barron Hilton at the Miami mansion where Lohan has been staying. Cocaine and booze were in abundance at Lohan's party, where the little brother of Paris was beaten to a pulp. Paris threatened Lindsay on Instagram afterwards.

JESSICAL BIEL definitely wants kids with Justin Timberlake.

PAUL WALKER's death will not stop Fast and Furious 7.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC: LIVE did boffo ratings but was not particularly well reviewed.

INDIANA JONES and the Mouseketeer Ears.

THE UNITED STATES: Turns out the CIA's NOC program is a bit of a flop. Or is that just what they want us to believe?

IRAN: President Obama said Iran was not likely to give up its nuclear program, and put the odds for successful international negotiations on the program at 50/50 at best.

AFGHANISTAN: James Dobbins, the special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, warned the Afghan government that failing to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement could lead to civil war in Afghanistan, and that in the absence of such an agreement, US troops had no reason to stay.

SYRIA: Regime forces continued to battle the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, the Al Nusrah Front, and allied rebels on the Damascus-Homs highway in Reef Dimashq near Nabek. The Syrian National Coalition said the bodies of 40 men, women, and children were found near the city.

CATS as GANDALF: None shall pass!

AN ELEPHANT goes on the lam in Rome after a circus breakout.

BREEDING SLOTHS works better with females. Just a tip.

HO HO HO: A woman jogging was hit by a flying deer on Thursday night in Ashburn, VA.