THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with the YOUNG FRESH FELLOWS! Live at Cicero's in St. Louis, On November 23rd,1985, so this is Chuck Carroll-era YFFs.  Selections include: "Gus Theme," "White Bird," "If I Had A Hammer," "Power Mowers' Theme," "Where Is Groovy Town?", "Sharing Patrol," "Topsy Turvy," "Young Fresh Fellows Theme," "Hang On Sloopy," "All Messed Up," "Big House/ Love Boat Theme medley" "Mr. Salamander's Review," "Down By The Pharmacy," "Close to You/ Someone I Care About," "Aurora Bridge," "How Much About Last Night Do You Remember?" "This Little Mystery," "Searchin' USA," "Fair Exchange," and "My Friend Ringo."

TELEKINESIS stops by the KEXP studios for a quick unplugged set.

MUDHONEY stopped by KEXP for a raging live set.

GOSPEL GOSSIP stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set. 

THAO & THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN visit WNYC Soundcheck for an in-studio performance and conversation.

DALE EARNHARDT JR JR drops "Hiding" ahead of the Patterns EP.

THE NATIONAL drops "Don't Swallow The Cap" ahead of Trouble Will Find Me.

MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND, "Blinded by the Light," Live in '75.

CAMERA OBSCURA: Tracyanne Campbell talks to DIY about the tumultuous gestation of the upcoming Desire Lines. (Thx, Chromewaves.)

CRAIG FINN: The Washington Square News features fave lyrics from The Hold Steady's scribe. (Thx, LHB.)

THE NATIONAL'S 10 BEST SONGS, according to Stereogum.

R.E.M.'s albums, ranked by Spinner (which gets it wrong immediately).

CUTOUT BIN: From the 5th Dimension to Soft Cell, from Funkadelic to Tikashi Miyaki, from Wilson Picket to the Stray Cats, plus Springsteen, Ian McCullough, Elton John, Sonny & Cher 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 generally unscreened Scary Movie V; and 42, currently scoring 71 percent on the ol' Tomatometer.

LINDSAY LOHAN was back to her hard-partying, tantrum-throwing, glass-tossing ways at Chelsea club 1Oak hours after a tearful talk about rehab with Dave Letterman.

JAY-Z responded to critics of his Cuba trip in rap.  The White House denied involvement.

JOE JONAS got one of those fan videos inviting him to a college dance. His response was both creepy and amusing.

MIRANDA KERR was not fired as a Victoria's Secret Angel for “being difficult” but is stepping down because she could not devote enough time to the demanding brand, sources exclusively tell Page Six.

GWYNETH PALTROW talks about Iron man 3, Botox and more at Harper's Bazaar. Come for the infor, stay for the sycophancy.

RACHEL McADAMS, BRADLEY COOPER & EMMA STONE in the next Cameron Crowe pic? It's all happening.

TURKISH police disclosed that a February raid on two terrorist cells in Istanbul and Tekirdag revealed an al Qaeda plot to bomb the US Embassy in Ankara, an Istanbul synagogue, and other targets.

MALI: The US assistant secretary of defense for special operations said the current UN-backed ECOWAS force in Mali is "completely incapable" and that the al Qaeda-linked militants would try to regroup in Mali once the French forces left.

SYRIA: The Assad regime called on the UN to designate the Al Nusrah Front as a terrorist organization, following the group's announcement of its affiliation with al Qaeda. At least 57 people were killed in Deraa province after government forces assaulted two towns linked to defections from the Syrian army.

EGYPT: President Morsi withdrew a number of complaints against journalists that his office had filed.

CAT dances on DOG's head.

WHEN DUCKS AQUACK: Residents of a Florida city are complaining to officials about unprovoked and unexpected attacks from aggressive ducks.

BEAVERS REHAB after their dam helped stop an oil spill.

CLOUDED LEOPARD CUBS born at the Nashville Zoo.