THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

... with THE BYRDS! The turning of the seasons had me in the mood for this rare live threefer of "Turn! Turn! Turn!", "Bells of Rhymney" and "Mr. Tambourine Man", introduced by... David McCallum? There are more screaming girls, plus go-go dancers when they hit Shivaree for "All I Really Want to Do" and "Feel A Whole Lot Better."  There are even more dancers when they cover Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" for Shindig! on June 23, 1965, while I'm pretty sure that's Ed Wynn introducing "Chimes of Freedom." 

HOPE SANDOVAL and the WARM INVENTIONS are streaming their album at Amazon. Look for the "listening party" link

BRANDI CARLILE stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set streaming on demand via MPR.

THE TOP SONGS OF 1980, according to the AOL radio blog, with embedded audio.

NOUVELLE VAGUE, specializing in cover songs with a twist (or a Bossa Nova), played a session for Morning Becomes Eclectic.  The band "goes Hollywood" for this set, covering songs from 80s soundtracks.

GANG OF FOUR, a Pate fave, plays their classic "Damaged Goods" on Later! with Jools Holland.

RICHARD HAWLEY talks to MAGNET about his new album, and guest-edits their blog, with entries on the Velvet Underground, the 13th Floor Elevators, John Steinbeck, Smoke Fairies, and more...

OF MONTREAL, 2009-09-18 in NYC, courtesy of nyctaper.

RICHAR BUCKNER talks to Access Atlanta from a motel in rural Ohio.

CUTOUT BIN: From the Beach Boys to Led Zeppelin, from the Clash to Tommy James and the Shondells, from Lucinda Williams to the Stooges, plus Stevie Wonder, the Raveonettes, the Outfield and more   -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases are the Fame remake, currently scoring 22 percent on thin reviews at the ol' Tomatometer; the Bruce Willis sci-fi flick Surrogates, currently scoring 63 percent; and the Dennis Quaid sci-fi flick Pandorum, which was not screened for critics.

RANDY QUAID and his wife Evi will reportedly be charged three felonies: defrauding an innkeeper, conspiracy and burglary.  Law enforcement sources tell TMZ they believe Randy and Evi Quaid have a pattern of staying in pricey hotels and stiffing the joints when they leave.

MACKENZIE PHILLIPS will return to the Oprah show with her half-sister Chynna

SAVED BY THE BELL: Dustin Diamond's shocking tell-all, Behind the Bell, claims drug use and sex were rampant on the set of the hit NBC Saturday-morning sitcom..

KHLOE KARDASHIAN and LAMAR ODOM's quickie wedding is a publicity stunt, says singer Mya.  Plausible.

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE and JESSICA BIEL will climb mt. Kilamanjaro to raise awareness for the global need for clean water.

ERIC IDLE responds to fatuous YouTube commenters.

JULIA ROBERTS disrupts an Indian religious festival.

TIM BURTON'S SUPERMAN: Leaked photos show why this never got the green light.

TERROR in the USA: A grand jury indicted a 24-year-old Afghan immigrant on a charge of conspiring to carry out bombings in the US, alleging he and unnamed others planned to make explosives from hair products and household cleaners in what officials say may be the first al Qaeda cell disrupted on American soil since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

IRAN: The White House is hailing a brief public comment from Russian President Dmitri Medvedev that raises the specter of sanctions against Iran as a breakthrough for US efforts to win support for a tougher global line against Tehran's nuclear program. We'll see.

DWARF MONGOOSE PUPS: Let's go to the video.

DOZENS OF SEA TURTLES DIE in marriage proposal.

A LARGE WATER RAT sneaked into a motor home and attacked a woman as she lay in her bed, after she had mistaken the animal for her three-legged cat.

MAFIA CROCODILE seized in Naples.

IF ONLY it had a catchy name.