THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with BLIND FAITH! Live at London's Hyde Park in June 1969. After an introduction and brief segments about supergroup members Steve Winwood, Rick Grech, Ginger Baker, and Eric Clapton, your set list includes:"Well All Right", "Sea of Joy","Sleeping in the Ground", "Under My Thumb", "Can't Find My Way Home", "Do What You Like", "In the Presence of the Lord", "Means to an End", and "Had to Cry Today".

BOB DYLAN: Aquarium Drunkard has some Blood on the Tracks alternates from New York.

CLOUD NOTHINGS remixed Here and Nowhere Else (in Wingdings) for Record Store Day.

TWIN SHADOW stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

PETER BJORN & JOHN return with the rhythm-heavy “High Up (Take Me To The Top)”. 

THE GO! TEAM drops “Ye Ye Yamaha" for Record Store Day.

JON PRATT: Pate's frontman plays "Watts Up Doc?" and "Watt the Funk?", two instumrntals he wrote for an upcoming video promoting NIST's LEGO watt balance.  Jon also talks about his axe, in this case a 1938 Vega Archtop.

LOU REED's sister sets the record straight about his electroshock therapy.

BEST COAST talks to Stereogum about their friendship, haters, and California Nights.

GRIZZLY BEAR: Ed Droste talks to The Standard about moving to LA, getting divorced, and coming back together with his band. (Thx, LHB.)

STEVE ALBINI: Not a fan of Jay Z's new streaming service.

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS dropped a second teaser trailer online.

NOW SHOWING:This weekend's wide releases include Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, which is currently scoring 0 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; Unfriended, which is currently scoing 71 percent; and Monkey Kingdom, scorng 92 percent. True Story opens near-wide with 49 percent.

RYAN GOSLING  is in negotiations to star in the Blade Runner sequel opposite Harrison Ford.

NICKI MINAJ is engaged to Meek Hill.

JERRY SEINFELD says TV is over.

WONDER WOMAN finds a new director--Patty Jenkins, who at one point was to direct Thor 2 for rival Marvel Studios.

FLASH GORDON may be directed by Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman: The Secret Service, X-Men: First Class, Kick-Ass).

TURKEY held a ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of parts of its first nuclear reactor, sparking an angry protest by activists.

SAUDI ARABIA & SOUTH KOREA have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on the development of nuclear energy, Saudi state news agency SPA said, building on a deal signed in 2011.These nuke stories are surely coincidental to Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons.

IRAN has greatly increased the frequency and skill of its cyberattacks, even while negotiating with world powers over limits on its nuclear capabilities.

IRAQ: Islamic State militants launched a fierce attack Wednesday to capture the city of Ramadi, dealing a setback to a newly launched Iraqi military offensive in the Sunni-dominated region.

YEMEN: Military officials and residents said al-Qaeda has taken control of a major airport, a sea port and an oil terminal in southern Yemen after brief clashes with troops. The UN peace envoy to Yemen has resigned, a UN official said, after losing support from Gulf countries for his mission in the conflict-riven nation.

GOALKEEPING CAT: Almost hypnotic.

A RACCOON clung to the ladder of a crane in Toronto – more than 200 meters up.

A WOLVERINE was tranquilized at Newark International Airport in New Jersey.

MINI-GODZILLAS have been discovered in the Andes.

TAKING A PERSONAL DAY, mostly because yesterday was a slooow news day, so a good day to take off. I should be back for the usual Friday festivities.

PERCY SLEDGE, the R&B belter whose biggest hit, "When a Man Loves a Woman," became a cornerstone of soul music, died Tuesday. He was 73. The Guardian collects four more of his best.

LUNA: Watch six songs from their first American show in about a decade.

PASSION PIT is advance steaming Kindred via iTunes Radio.

NAI HARVEST advance streams Hairball.

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED features new tracks from the Milk Carton Kids, Buil To Spill, Protomaryr, and more.

GEORGE HARRISON & ERIC CLAPTON: "Taxman." Obligatory.

DAVID BOWIE's new songs for Lazarus may be "classics."

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS: Peter Hughes talks to the Cincinnati Inquirer about how much of the Mountain Goats’ operation remains in John Darnielle’s control. (Thx, LHB.)

CORNERSHOP: Tjinder Singh revisits the group’s breakthrough album, When I Was Born for the 7th Time, at SPIN. Interesting comments on Radiohead also.

STEALING SHEEP: The art-psych-pop trio is profiled by The Guardian.

RACHEL McADAMS & JAKE GYLLENHAAL may be an item.

RITA WILSON was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and has undergone a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery.

BILLY JOEL and his girlfriend, Alexis Roderick, said in a statement Tuesday they are expecting their first child this summer.

DENNIS QUAID melted down, Christian Bale-style, on set...or did he?

LOVE & MERCY has a longer, more revealing trailer online.

WONDER WOMAN director Michelle MacLaren has dropped out due to what the parties involved are calling creative differences.

RUSSIA: The Pentagon on Monday denounced a recent incident in which a Russian pilot intercepted a U.S. aircraft over the Baltic Sea as "sloppy airmanship."  Oh, yeah...sloppy...that's it.

YEMEN: Local militiamen in the Yemeni city of Aden said they captured two Iranian military officers advising Houthi rebels during fighting on Friday evening.

LIBYA: New Libyan peace talks kicked off in neighboring Algeria. Jordan's King Abdullah II met with Libyan General Khalifa Haftar and pledged his country's support in confrontation with "terrorist organizations."

IRAQI Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi made an in-person appeal to President Obama on Tuesday for more help defeating the Islamic State militants. The Reuters news agency announced that its Baghdad bureau chief has left Iraq after he was threatened on Facebook and denounced by a Shiite militia television station following a Reuters report alleged lynching and looting in Tikrit.

ASIAN FLYING CARP attacked Washington University's first-year men's rowing team.

A MOUNTAIN LION hung out under a Los Feliz home for a day.

DUCKS wandered around DC for no clear reason, like most.

A WHALE feared extinct washed up on an Aussie beach.

MIKAL CRONIN covers Big Star's “The Ballad Of El Goodo.”

MAVIS STAPLES advance streams her Your Good Fortune EP.

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

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

SETH AVETT & JESSICA LEA MAYFIELD cover Elliot Smith at World Cafe.

SUFJAN STEVENS drops "Exploding Whale" as a tour single.

TWIN PEAKS has "Got Your Money" on the flip side of an orange Record Store Day single.

DRAMARAMA give you "Anything, Anything" and a "Last Cigarette" for Twofer Tuesday.

LAURA MARLING talks to Drowned In Sound about ditching a political album for a personal one.

THE UNOFFICIAL BOWIE: Biographer Chris O’Leary rounds up some of the best and most interesting Bowie oddities yet to be officially released.

WOLF ALICE talks to Drowned In Sound about their UK tour and upcoming LP.

MUMFORD & SONS: Not fans of Jay Z's new streaming service.

ANT-MAN has a new trailer online.

DRAKE recoiled from Madonna's kiss; he says it was the lipstick.

JUSTIN BIEBER was booted from Coachella after being placed in a chokehold.

GISELLE BUNDCHEN explains why she's quitting the runway.

IRELAND BALDWIN,  the 19-year-old daughter of Kim Basinger and ex-husband Alec Baldwin, checked into a drug and alcohol treatment center in Malibu over the weekend.

TORI SPELLING was rushed to hospital with severe burns and undergoes skin grafts after tripping and falling on a sizzling hot hibachi grill in a Japanese restaurant.

THE 100 BEST FILMS of the Decade, according to The A.V. Club.

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree lifting the country's ban on deliveries of high precision S-300 missile systems to Iran, in a move that drew criticism from the United States and Israel.

ISLAMIC STATE terrorists have lost control of up to 6500 square miles in Iraq, they have gained a bit of ground in Syria since last August, the Pentagon said Monday.

RESCUED MONKEYS, just snacking in their hammock.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: Of course, Florida takes their side.

A BIRD COLLAPSED: A British paramedic responded, thinking the call was about a woman.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: A goat with a horn growing from its back.

THE REPLACEMENTS make an entrance on their reunion tour.

ALABAMA SHAKES advance stream Sound & Color.

BUILT TO SPILL advance streams Untethered Moon.

SAM FERMIN advance streams Jackrabbit.

SPEEDY ORTIZ advance streams Foil Deer.

BEN FOLDS FIVE: "Kate." Daisies in her footsteps. Just not in this country.

TEMPLE OF THE DOG's master tape is tied up in a legal dispute.

PAVEMENT teased possible future activity, stating that there's "good news coming soon".

DRENGE talked to NME about disaffection, dislocation, and local politics.

IDLEWILD: This band could be actor Jay Baruchel's life.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Furious 7 easily repeats atop the chart with 60.6MM, on a 59 percent drop not uncommon to a summer blockbuster (a bit better than the secnd frame for Toy Story 3, a bit behind The Dark Knight Rises).  Home places with 19MM on a 30 percent drop the studo probably likes.  The debut of The Longest Ride shows with 13.5M, right about where a Sparks tear-jerker opens.  Probably good exposure for Scott Eastwood.  Get Hard drops to the fourth slot with 8.6MM and an 84MM worldwidetotal; still some ways to profit against a 40MM budget and likely big ad costs.  Cinderella rounds out the Top Five with 7.2MM, and will likely finish over 500MM worldwide.

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE & JESSICA BIEL welcomed their first child, son Silas Randall Timberlake.

ISLA FISHER & SACHA BARON COHEN welcomed their third child together.

BRADLEY COOPER & SUKI WATERHOUSE attended Coachella together just weeks after splitting.

PATRICK SCHWARZENEGGER was spotted at Coachella sans Miley Cyrus.

JUSTIN BIEBER  will be arrested if he dares to travel to Argentina.

GWYNETH PALTROW is doing the Food Stamps Challenge, buys seven limes, and confuses the amount for a single person versus a family.

NELLY was busted on pot and meth charges in Tennessee.

LINDSAY LOHAN doesn't want her Mom coming near her in England.

GAME OF THRONES: Adult film actresses are coming.

EGYPT: A number of former military officers are reportedly joining Islamist insurgent groups. An Egyptian court sentenced Mohamed Badie, leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, and 13 other senior members of the group to death for inciting chaos and violence, and gave a life term to a US-Egyptian citizen for ties to the Brotherhood.

THE ISLAMIC STATE's oil money may be drying up.

SYRIA: Fourteen Palestinian factions support a joint military operation with the Assad regime to retake the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus from the Islamic State. (Anyone think Assad wasn't complicit?) Peace talks in Moscow ended, failing to reach an agreement.

IRAN: The Supreme Leader expressed skepticism that any progress was made at Lausanne and warned about barriers to resolving the nuclear impasse.

A MANATEE panics a swimmer.

NILE MONITOR LIZARDS eat cats, invade Florida.

A TODDLER fell into the Cheetah exhibit at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo on Saturday.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: I keep telling you.