THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

... with THE ANIMALS! I may have been quite remiss in not featuring them so let's dive in with their signature cover of "House of the Rising Sun" and "Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" from Top Gear, "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" from Shindig, a creepy clip for  "It's My Life" from Hullabaloo, and "Don't Bring Me Down" on the Ed Sullivan Show.

SHE & HIM stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a chat and mini-set.

LAURA VEIRS stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

THE MORNING BENDERS get a twofer at the World Cafe.

ROBERT POLLARD: Aquarium Drunkard spotlights "Silk Rotor" and "I Can See" from Mr. Songs-a-million's first LP of the year.

EL PERRO DEL MAR stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

JOHNNY MAESTRO, the voice powering classics from The Crests' "16 Candles" to Brooklyn Bridge's "The Worst That Could Happen," passed away from cancer at 70.

TEGAN & SARA: The latter answers five questions for the Detroit Free Press.

TIFT MERRITT talks to the Fayetteville Observer about her North Carolina roots.

THE COATHANGERS, earning "comparisons to everything from Death From Above 1979 to Teenage Jesus & the Jerks to a more jaded, pissed-off Toni Basil," are profiled by the San Antonio Current.

MUSIC REVIEW BINGO, courtesy of Flavorwire.

CUTOUT BIN: From the Young Fresh Fellows to KISS, from Patsy Cline to Jimi Hendrix, from the Black Keys to White Denim, from Zooey Deschanel to the Zombies, plus REM, BT Express, Wall of Voodoo, Dusty Springfield and more -- is streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING:  This weekend's wide releases are How to Train Your Dragon, currently scoring 94 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and Hot Tub Time Machine, which is scoring 70 percent.

SANDRA BULLOCK and JESSE JAMES: Meet Mistress No.2 and No. 3. Twisting the knife, James' ex-wife does not want his marital problems to get in the way of the relationship her daughter shares with Sandra Bullock.

REGGIE BUSH, Kardashian's on-again off-again boyfriend, is the latest star to become embroiled in a cheating scandal, after being linked to January Gessert.

LINDSAY LOHAN who recently announced she's clear of drugs and booze, stumbled out of a LA house party on her killer heels, slurring at photographers.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 4 might be directed by... Brad Bird?

BUCK ROGERS is headed to the big screen in 3-D.

OUR FRIENDS, THE SAUDIS announced arrests of 113 alleged al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists whom it claims were planning attacks against oil facilities.

IRAN: Russia's foreign minister said his country may support additional sanctions against Iran -- as a way of getting the US to soften sanctions. The Russian oil company Lukoil will stop work in Iran due to US sanctions.

OSAMA BIN LADEN threatened to murder Americans if Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is convicted in a US court and executed.

CAT IN A CLOSET: Let's go to the video.

AN AMOROUS GOOSE holds a woman hostage in Illinois.

THE MIRACLE OF LOVE for an injured stork.

BOOZY BABOONS raid South Africa vineyards to snack on chardonnay grapes.