ROCKTOBER STARTS HERE:

...with the HOODOO GURUS! As Trouser Press reminds us: "Australia has produced few bands as crazily entertaining as Sydney's Hoodoo Gurus." In their prime, few could match Dave Faulkner and Co. in the marriage of pop hooks and garage rock riffs. Their debut album contained "I Want You Back," "Leilani," "Tojo" and "My Girl" -- and that leaves out some of my favorite tracks from the LP.  The gems kept coming on later albums, too: "Bittersweet," "In the Wild," "What's My Scene" and "Good Times" (featuring backup vox from the Bangles), the incredible "Come Anytime," and "Axegrinder," the psychedelic "Miss Freelove '69" and the crunching rawk of "The Right Time" -- again, just to name a few.  The Gurus could (and can) also deliver the goods live as these vintage live clips of "Like Wow, Wipeout!" " Let's All Turn On,"and "Middle of the Land" prove.

UPDATE: MATADOR 21 is streaming sets from Sonic Youth, Pavement, Girls, Superchunk, Cat Power, Spoon, Belle & Sebastian, Ted Leo, New Pr0nographers, Liz Phair, Guided by Voices and more this weekend.

THE AVETT BROTHERS stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

CARL BARAT is streaming his self-titled solo LP.

EVAN DANDO & JULIANA HATFIELD, Live at the World Cafe, July 14, 1993. Includes some Lemonheads classics.

BARENAKED LADIES stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

THE XX: Jamie Smith dropped a solo track, "Far Nearer."

BRIAN ENO unleashes "2 Forms of Anger."

CHATHAM COUNTY LINE brought its bluesy -- and bluegrassy -- Americana style to the World Cafe.

WE ARE SCIENTISTS: "After Hours." Happy weekend.

THE WALKMEN are profiled by The Phoenix.

DOUG GILLARD talks to the Austin American-Statesman about the Guided by Voices reuinion, his new project with Bob Pollard (Lifeguards), and more...

DUFFY talks to The Telegraph about her childhood influences and her upcoming album.

MARNIE STERN talks to Eye Weekly about money, bandmates and indie boys.

WHY WE LIKE WHAT WE LIKE: The scenes fade but the sounds remain.

DIGITAL MUSIC poses a threat to the preservation of music.

TOP OF THE POPS is not returning to the regular BBC schedule, rumors to the contrary.

THE CUTOUT BIN: From Guided by Voices to the Godfathers, from the B-52s to Otis Redding, from Lemonheads to Talking Heads, from Simon & Garfunkel to Jason & the Scorchers, plus the dB's, Velvet Underground, Teenage Fanclub and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases include The Social Network, currently scoring 98 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; Let Me In, which is scoring 81 percent; and Case 39, scoring 21 percent.

TONY CURTIS, who earned an Oscar nomination as an escaped convict in Stanley Kramer's 1958 movie "The Defiant Ones," but also starred in classics including "Some Like It Hot," "The Sweet Smell of Success," "Spartacus," and... "The Vikings" died at 85 of cardiac arrest in his Las Vegas home.

LINDSAY LOHAN has checked into the Betty Ford clinic.

HEIDI KLUM is quitting Victoria's Secret after 13 years.

HEIDI MONTAG has officially called off her divorce from Spencer Pratt. Shocka.

THE MUNSTERS may be headed back to TV.

THE FLINSTONES turned 50 yesterday. They're a page right out of history.

WILLIAM SHATNER talks to Vanity Fair about his new show, the Internet Age, Shatner impressions, Star Trek, extracting confessions from the DC sniper and more...

ANNA NICOLE SMITH IS STILL DEAD, and the judge in her drug conspiracy trial tossed out two felony charges against her former beau Howard K. Stern.

TERROR in the USA: Failed Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad had planned to conduct a second attack in the US, two weeks after the May 1 attempt in New York City, federal prosecutors said in documents filed in court.

IRAN: Tehran delayed the start-up of the Bushehr nuclear power plant. Deep inside the computer worm that some specialists suspect is aimed at slowing Iran's race for a nuclear weapon lies what could be a fleeting reference to the Book of Esther, the Old Testament tale in which the Jews pre-empt a Persian plot to destroy them. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's closest aide has called for more rights for Iran's "oppressed" women - the latest comments from a man who has become a lightning rod for divisions in the country's ruling elite.

HOW TO FEED 100 DOGS AT ONCE: Let's go to the video.

DOLPHINS: When two species come together, they attempt to find a common language, preliminary research suggests.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: A two-legged pig.

THOUSANDS OF MINKS on the lam in Ireland.

RABID RACCOON shot at youth football practice in Pittsburgh.