THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with OTIS REDDING!  Otis and the Bar-Kays crank up the energy to 11 for Ready Steady Go! from September 16th, 1966. In Part 1, Otis performs "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and "My Girl."  In Part 2, Otis belts out "Respect" and is joined by Eric Burdon for "Hold On, I'm Coming."  In Part 3, Chris Farlowe performs "It's A Man's, Man's Man's World", followed by "Pain In My Heart" with Otis.  Part 4 includes "I Can't Turn You Loose", followed by "Shake" performed by Otis, Eric Burdon and Chris Farlowe.

DARK WAS THE NIGHT, the Radio City benefit concert featuring David Byrne, The Dirty Projectors, Bon Iver, The National, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, My Brightest Diamond and Feist, is now streaming in full via NPR.

KEVIN DEVINE stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set streaming via MPR.

UNCLE EARL played a mini-set at Mountain Stage now streaming on demand via NPR.

WOXY streams the final leg of the Modern Rock 500 today, starting at 9 a.m. EDT.

GRIZZLY BEAR, after many live performances, has an official video for "Two Weeks."

GRANT HART talks to the Hartford Advocate about a decade in the wilderness and to the Schenectady Daily Gazette about pop and politics.

JARVIS COCKER gives a track-by-track rundown on his new LP to NME.  he gives a more general overview to Billboard.

THE LA's second album -- coming some 19 years after the band's debut -- is discussed at the BBC by Babyshambles bassist Drew McConnell, who has joined the band.

CUTOUT BIN: From the Beastie Boys to the Bay City Rollers, from Maxine Nightengale to Baby Huey, from Government Cheese to Paul Anka, plus Wilco, Gomez, The Replacements, Mountain Goats and more  -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

UP is currently scoring 98 percent on the ol' Tomatometer, and there are plenty of reasons why.  Pixar's latest, directed by Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc.), is by turns sad, whimsical, funny (you may miss dialog over the laughter), touching, inventive, charming and exciting.  And meta: It is an adventure movie about adventure.  The Disney-3D was nice, but icing on the steak.  Another home run for the hopping Luxo lamp people.

NOW SHOWING: Aside from Up, this weekend's counter-programming is Sam Raimi's Drag Me To Hell, scoring an almost-as-impressive 95 percent.

BRITNEY SPEARS has cleaned up her act - but she's still kind of a mess. Shocka!

RHIANNA will be suboenaed to testify about the alleged assault on her earlier this year by Chris Brown.

ALIEN getting a remake/reboot? Please make them stop.

500 DAYS OF SUMMER: Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt talk about their passion for music and how important it is to the film.

ARCHIE is proposing to Veronica. He's a 68-year-old kid; what does he know about love?  So, does he end up with Betty on the rebound after discovering Veronica with Reggie, or does Betty kill them both at the wedding?

IRAN: Journalist Roxana Saberi talks to Diane Sawyer about her time in Iran's Evin Prison.

AFGHANISTAN: The Times of London is with Delta company and its sister units as part of the first ripple in the US troop surge. "Four months of bulls**t for five minutes of fun," Private Nick Benitez said.  Also, Afghanistan's defense ministry  praised Pakistan's military offensive against the Taliban and pledged to cooperate on its side of the border.

IRAQ: Now that the collapse in the world's economy has caused oil prices to plummet, what does the future hold?

BABY SEA OTTERS: Let's go to the video.

LUMINOUS DESIGNER MONKEYS spark debate over genetic engineering.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: The fastest tortoise on three legs. Go, Speed, GO!

SEVEN BULLS ‘exploded' and caught fire after powerlines fell on a Dairy Flat farm, north of Auckland, NZ.