THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

THE BEATLES at BUDOKAN!  In June-July of 1966, the lovable moptops became the first musical group to perform at the Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo, which engendered complaints from the older generations who considered it near-sacred ground. Consequently, the security for the trip was extensive; police stood shoulder-to-shoulder along the road from the airport to the hotel.  They performed five times in three days to audiences of about 10000 per performance. Oft-bootlegged, this is their show from June 30th --  Part 1 includes "Rock & Roll Music," "She's A Woman" and "If I Needed Someone."  Part 2 includes "Day Tripper," "Baby's In Black" and "I Feel Fine."  Part 3 includes "Yesterday," "I Wanna Be Your Man" and "Nowhere Man." Part 4 concludes with "Paperback Writer" and "I'm Down."

OKKERVIL RIVER frontman is interviewed in print and video by Hallelujah The Hills frontman Ryan Walsh for the Phoenix.

THE APPLES IN STEREO brought their psychedelic rock and power-pop to the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC Wednesday, so you can stream the whole gig on demand via NPR.  The opening act was Aqueduct, which is a good match.  Their album is streaming at the link now, or you can stream and download my pick to click, "Living A Lie," and others at AqueSpace.

ART BRUT guitarist Ian Catskilkin sees the band as more "rock" than "indie."  Singer Eddie Argos may crack wise, but he's also dead serious about his love of rock 'n' roll, talking to Georgia's Straight after spinning upcoming tourmates The Hold Steady for a charity DJ gig.  Which is what you would expect from a band likely to open a show with an excerpt of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" or AC/DC's "Back In Black" or "Highway to Hell."

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS stopped by The Current for a chat and miniset you can stream via MPR.  And you can see the video for "Shadow Government" at Spinner.

VAN HALEN:  Blabbermouth can hook you up with pics and videos from the last rehearsals for the 3/4ths reunion tour.  I may have to see this.

THE WATERBOYS:  The Celtic-tinged folk-rock outfit did an interview and mini-set for the World Cafe you can stream from NPR.

AMY WINEHOUSE was back to her shambling worst as she won Best Female at the MOBO awards.  Pics at the link.  I'm sure it was coincidence that her rider included two bottles of red wine (Rioja), two cases of Heineken, one large bottle of vodka (Smirnoff or Zubrowka), two bottles of Veuve Clicquot champagne and two bottles of Jack Daniel's.

PETE DOHERTY & COURTNEY LOVE share a tender kiss?  Cue Vader.

THE CUTOUT BIN:  This Friday's fortuitous finds from the ol' HM are: Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Accidents Will Happen (Live); The Clash - I Fought The Law (S. Curtis); Georgie James - Only 'Cause You're Young; The Go! Team - Doing It Right; Yo La Tengo - Here Comes My Baby (C. Stevens); The Beach Boys - You're So Good To Me; Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run (Alternate Version); CSN and Sometimes Y - Woodstock; This Mortal Coil - I Am The Cosmos (C. Bell); Material Issue - I'd Wait a Million Years (Grass Roots); Lush - I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend (Rubinoos); The Rubinoos - Little Willy (Sweet); Mother Love Bone - Hold Your Head Up (Argent - Live - nsfw); The Flamin Groovies - Shakin' All Over (J. Kidd); Kevin Drew - Back Out On The ...; Local H - Toxic (yes, that one); Love Seed Mama Jump - My Best Friend's Girl (Cars; Live); Man Man - I'd Rather Go Blind (Etta James); The Beatles - I'm A Loser; Prefab Sprout - Faron Young; Patti Page - Conquest; Willie Nelson - Always On My Mind; Elton John - Philadelphia Freedom; Captain & Tennille - Love Will Keep Us Together; The Doobie Brothers - What A Fool Believes; Al Stewart - Year Of The Cat; Hall & Oates - Rich Girl; James Brown - Sunny; and Marvin Gaye - What's Going On.

EASTERN PROMISES may be David Cronenberg's most accessible movie since his remake of The Fly. That is not necessarily a good thing, as it pales a bit coming immediately after A History of Violence, which was successful while retaining more of the core creepiness of the Cronenberg canon.  Nevertheless, the film has much to recommend it.  Cronenberg does a mostly masterful job of immersing the audience in the seedy underworld of the Russian mob in London.  The cast is more than capable, with Viggo Mortensen perhaps earning an Oscar nomination; Armin Mueller-Stahl and Vincent Cassel were also excellent.  Naomi Watts was fine in her role, though she is not given as meaty a role as you might expect.  There is a plot twist that mucks up the ending a bit; the movie might have played better without it and likely would have played better had it been revealed only at the very end.  In sum, Eastern Promises is not Cronenberg's best work, but it still ranks above most of the movies released this year.

NOW SHOWING: In addition to Eastern Promises, which is currently scoring 85 percent on the ol' Tomatometer, this weekend's wide releases are Resident Evil: Extinction, which was (shocka) not screened much for critics; the Dane Cook-Jessica Alba comedy Good Luck Chuck, currently scoring an abysmal 8 percent; and and the Amanda Bynes college comedy Sydney White, which is scoring 45 percent.

GOOD LUCK CHUCK may be a terrible movie, but director Mark Helfrich's notes on the soundtrack are pretty good, as is the soundtrack itself, including cuts from Art Brut, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, The Dandy Warhols and a new track from The Flaming Lips called "I Was Zapped By The Super Happy Rainbow," which Wayne Coyne also discusses at the first link.

THE WAR is a seven-part series directed and produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, tells the story of the Second World War through the personal accounts of a handful of men and women from four quintessentially American towns.  Starts Sunday on PBS.  Videos and more at the link.

OJ SIMPSON:  Fred Goldman's lawyer is salivating, after TMZ ran an audio clip in which one of Simpson's alleged victims revealed that he helped Simpson set up an offshore bank account: "If it's there, it's going to be ours."

BRADGELINA:  Jolie reportedly has been giving secret parenting advice to Nicole Richie.  When you think about it, it's not a stretch from her humanitarian work for the UN.

TOM-KAT UPDATE:  It might be time to make way for another Tom-Kitten, according to OK! magazine.

LINDSAY LOHAN wrecked a marriage in rehab?  Stephanie Allen, whose family is worth £720million, is devastated by allegations that her husband Tony had sex with Lohan in a toilet at the Circque Lodge clinic in Utah.

JESSICA SIMPSON looks like a drunken mess.  It's for her next movie, but it looks very natural, almost like she's not having to act much...

ROD STEWART seemingly has a whole family of underwear models.  Pics at the link.

VANESSA HUDGENS of High School Musical apparently has even more nude pics floating around out there, according to the ever-reliable National Enquirer.  And she's considering doing a photoshoot for a men's magazine, like Maxim or FHM, rather than Playboy.

THE FRENCH HOTEL has been banned from Munich's famed Oktoberfest for "cheapening" last year's event.  Ouch.

SCARLETT JOHANSSON is rumored to be turning into a total diva on the set of of He's Just Not That Into You.  Say it ain't so, Scar-Jo!

HEROES:  Hayden Panettiere and Milo Ventimiglia were spotted getting cozy, comfy and intimate during a Duran Duran concert at an official Emmys after-party. 

DAN RATHER:  The disgraced ex-anchor's lawsut against CBS over their handling of Memogate is simply baffling to his former colleagues.  "I think he's gone off the deep end," said Josh Howard, who was forced to resign as executive producer of 60 Minutes II after CBS retracted the story.

AFGHANISTAN:  US troops win hearts and minds with an assist from Van Morrison.

IRAN:  Pres. Ahmadinejad has backed off from his plan to visit "Ground Zero" while in NYC next week.  Meanwhile, a government spokesman says "Supporters of the Zionist regime will definitely receive the final response for their support" on October 12.

IRAQ:  Violence nationwide has fallen to its lowest level since before the bombing of a Shiite mosque in February 2006 that sparked savage sectarian bloodletting, and there has been a 50 percent drop in violence in Baghdad since January, according to the number two commander of US-led forces in Iraq (who acknowledges violence is still too high).  Bill Roggio visits troops in Baghdad's Adhamiyah neighborhood, where a controversial wall was built earier this year and seems to be working.  Interestingly, Roggio notes that the local "Concerned Citizens," along with the Iraqi Police in Adhamiyah fall under the command of the Iraqi Army.  However, the target date for putting Iraqi authorities in charge of security in all 18 provinces has slipped to at least July.  US troops arrested an Iranian in the northern city of Sulaimaniyah, alleging he is an officer in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp's elite Quds force and accusing him of helping to smuggle a deadly type of roadside bomb into Iraq.  The Kurdistan Regional Government called the arrest ''illegitimate,'' saying he was a member of a trade delegation invited by the local government and demanding his release.

IF YOU LIKE PINA COLADAS and getting caught in the rain, it still might end in tears.  One of the few times you might wish life was more like a Rupert Holmes song.

AN 8-INCH WIENER DOG was spared a death sentence after her owner was cleared of letting a dangerous dog run out of control.

A FLORIDA LIZARD underwent surgery for the removal of a toy lizard.  The lizard is presumably resting comfortably.

THE PIG COLOR SYMPHONY:  Courtesy of Chinese art students,  it involves painted pigs being left to roam at will in a field.

MAN NEARLY DIES after putting a rattlesnake down his throat.  Shockingly, alcohol was involved.  Graphic video at the link.

PORK YOUR PORK?  At a members-only restaurant in the Tokyo entertainment district Roppongi, having pork prepared "your way" also means having your way with the pork.  According to The Mainichi Daily News, wealthy customers can engage in the forbidden practice of sleeping with dinner.