THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

... with R.E.M.!  Live in Germany circa 1985, more complete than what has previously turned up on the Tube. Songs include "Feeling Gravity's Pull," "Harbourcoat," "Sitting Still," "Maps & Legends," "Fall On Me," "Green Grow The Rushes," "Driver 8," "Hyena," "So. Central Rain," CCR's "Have You Ever Seen The Rain," "Can't Get There From Here," Roger Miller's "King Of The Road," "Seven Chinese Bros.," "Auctioneer," "Old Man Kinsey," "Little America," "Pretty Persuasion, " "Theme From Two Steps Onward," Aerosmith's "Toys In The Attic," and Television's "See No Evil." Plus, previously unlinked here: "Second Guessing," "Ghost Riders In The Sky," "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville," "We Walk/ Behind Closed Doors" and "Paint It Black."  Also, SPIN has details on the band's upcoming 15th album, Collapse Into Now.

PAUL WELLER stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

JENNY & JOHNNY stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

AN INTRODUCTION TO SYD BARRETT is streaming via Rolling Stone.

NAME THAT DRUM FILL: The sequel. 

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Captain's Dead has The Ties That Bind LP that was scrapped in favor of The River.

BOB DYLAN: Roio posts the still-unreleased parts of the rare classic -- and epic -- Ten of Swords (Discs 1 and 2, 4 and 5, 6 and 7).

TEN BEST SONGS UNDER A MINUTE, with audio, according to Prefix.

WILLIAM SHATNER covers a song by Cee-Lo Green. You know the one. BONUS: My fave Shatner cover, of Pulp's "Common People," with Joe Jackson and Ben Folds.

KEVIN DREW (BSS) and Charles Spearin talk to PopMatters about the new KC Accidental reissues.

SMITH WESTERNS are profiled by the Chicago Tribune.

WEEZER: Rivers Cuomo talks to Rolling Stone about the Pinkerton remaster.

THE THERMALS frontman Hutch Harris talks to The Line of Best Fit about wrestling, the pointlessness of music videos, Thin Lizzy, ‘making it' and exotic Wyoming. 

OZZY OSBOURNE is a genetic mutant, according to scientists that sequenced the Ozzy genome.

PIRATE RADIO, mythologized by The Who's Sell Out and more recently by the Richard Curtis movie, is the subject of Death of a Pirate, a new book reviewed at The Wall Street Journal.

CUTOUT BIN: From the Bangles to Curtis Mayfield, from CSN & Y to the MC5, from Link Wray to Chumbawumba, from Elton John to the Soft Boys, plus Guided by Voices, Talking Heads, Modern Lovers, Temptations 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 Megamind, currently scoring 61 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; Due Date, which is scoring 39 percent; and For Colored Girls, scoring 33 percent.

DAVID CASSIDY was arrested in Florida Wed. night on suspicion of DUI. He adamantly denies the charge. Obligatory.

DEMI LOVATO entered treatment after a fight between the 18-year-old Disney Channel star and a dancer on the Jonas Brothers world tour.

NICK LACHEY & VANESSA MINNILLO are engaged.

LINDSAY LOHAN told a judge that her clothing line has suffered in her absence while she recovers in rehab, but the handbags are reportedly doing well.

CHRISTINA AGUILERA tells Redbook that men aren't as strong and capable as women.

LeANN RIMES yaks about the cheating scandal that has damaged her once sparkling reputation and career. UPDATE: She just got engaged to Eddie Cibrian.

HARRY POTTER and the DEATHLY HALLOWS gave an exclusive clip to the L.A. Times.

AL QAEDA: You Tube has begun to remove hundreds of sermons and other videos made by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula cleric Anwar al Awlaki.

ISLAMISM in TURKEY: Values taught to Turkish students should be based on "faith in God" and imparted using Islamic terminology, a commission with the National Education Council has said, prompting concerns among educators' unions in the country.

IRAQ: The Obama admin. could be overstating what US diplomats can do to contain Iraq's ethnic and sectarian tensions without US military forces, a State Department audit concludes, raising fresh concerns about the planned pullout of American troops next year.

FAINTING KITTEHS: Even cuter and sadder than the goats.

GOAT SACRIFICE fixes airplane. Well, of course.

BRITISH ANTS are apathetic and easily led while Spanish ants are ruthless and ambitious, research has revealed.

THE RACCOON THREAT: A 9-month-old girl is in critical condition after two raccoons crawled in the child's bed and bit her several times, according to law officers in Newton County, GA.

SWIPER the FOX is sprung on the unlawful possession charge.