THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

with ELVIS PRESLEY! The King died 32 years ago Sunday, but remains a global pop phenomenon, so it's worth a recap of highlights from the bigh 30th anniverary last year.  Canada's Star-Phoenix, which discusses ten important parts of Elvis history worth reliving, notes: "His was a sequined coat of many colours: '50s Greaser Elvis. Military Elvis. Hollywood Elvis. Aloha from Hawaii Elvis. Vegas Elvis. And, ultimately, Dead Fat Elvis."  The BBC has friend and aide Sonny West recall life with The King. 

ACTION NEWS 5 has posted its local coverage from Aug. 16-17, 1977, on the Tube, where you can also see funeral footage from the BBC Archive.  Here's read the obit that ran the next day in the Washington Post. Elvis Presley News recaps the international headlines from the event and links to the eulogy at his funeral. On a happier note, check out what is likely the first footage taken of Elvis, with backstage shots of Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Buddy Holly in 1955; shades of Walk The Line!  You can also see him play "I Got A Woman" live o­n his first TV appearance in 1956. I also include his performance of "Hound Dog" o­n The Milton Berle Show six months later, not o­nly because it's historic, but also because Paul Miller and I often reached for it when we would stumble into our KUSR shift at the last minute -- Uncle Miltie vamps for awhile, which gave us time to pull records for the show.  He was also iconic in "Jailhouse Rock" that year.  Elvis sang a mashup of "Love Me Tender" and "Witchcraft" with Frank Sinatra when he got back from the Army.  All of his movies -- such as "Viva Las Vegas" --made money, but his musical career stalled in the 1960s until he electrified and charmed the public with his televised '68 Comeback Special, which you can see uncut and unedited on the Tube.  1970 finds him singing "In The Ghetto" and "Suspicious Minds" in the jumpsuit, though pre-bloated.  I'm going to throw in "Little Sister" just 'cause I like it.  Sadly, in a few short years, bloated jumpuit Elvis would be delivering a wacked-out take on "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" -- though to be fair, this audio-only version from 1969 is even more demented and he knows it.  I would rather remember Jumpsuit Elvis for the signature horns that open "See See Rider."  a tribute to his enduring legacy as the fact that he could hit the charts decades after his death with a remix of "A Little Less Conversation," a video subtly recalling "Jailhouse Rock,"  followed by Paul Oakenfold's remix of "Rubberneckin'" and even the bizzare CGI Elvis duet with Celine Dion on American Idol last year. The King may be gone, but the brand lives on, making millions and recruiting new fans under the watchful eyes of Elvis Presley Enterprises and CKX, Inc.

GREETINGS FROM GRACELAND:  It must be said, however, that Elvis Presley Enterprises did not have a good handle on the King's affairs in the years immediately following his death.  Chicago radio personalities Steve Dahl and Garry Meier won a local emmy for their 1981 comedic look at what was then a very seedy exploitation of Elvis in Memphis. (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7.)

LES PAUL, the virtuoso guitarist with the shattered arm, whose invention of the solid-body electric guitar and multi-track recording changed the course of 20th-century popular music, died Thursday from complications of pneumonia. He was 94.  The NYT's obit includes a previously unseen, 15-min video interview with Paul.  In 2003, Paul talked to the NYT about his first encounter with Jimi Hendrix. Paul is enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Inventors Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.  Without him, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, ZZ Top and Claude Pate would never have had quite the same bite.

CAN'T HARDLY WAIT: Aquarium Drunkard has a two-part tribute to various versions of the Replacements classic. I and various Friends of Pate had heard the early incarnations live. I also recall driving Music Works owner Paul Miller to the UPS depot the day Pleased to Meet Me came out, and how jazzed we were to see "Can't Hardly Wait" in the track listing.  In fact, when we got back to the store, we slapped a copy on the turntable and immediately went to the final track -- and we both shocked and delighted with it.  Paul played the album all day long, and as 'Mats fans came in, he would keep resetting the needle to that final track, just for the pleasure of watching the reactions.

JOLIE HOLLAND does five free songs for Daytrotter.

PETE YORN stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set streaming via MPR.

WOODSTOCK:  On Aug. 15-17, 1969, hundreds of thousands of people gathered in a lovely natural amphitheater in Bethel (not Woodstock), NY for "three days of peace and music," including sets from Crosby, Stills and Nash, The Who, Santana, Joe Cocker, Jefferson Airplane, Arlo Guthrie, Canned Heat, Jimi Hendrix, and the proverbial many more.  CNN remembers, as does The New York Times with multimedia.

ZEE AVI stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set streaming via MPR.

RADIOHEAD has another new track, "These Are My Twisted Words."

THE DECEMBERISTS were busted for busking in Royal Oak, MI.  Guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Chris Funk talks to the Pittsburgh Post-Tribune about touring The Hazards of Love, the band's influences, and more...

THE CUTOUT BIN: From the Association to the Heartbreakers, srom Sly and the Family Stone to the Jesus and Mary Chain, from Primal Scream to Rose Royce, plus the Lyres, the Kinks, My Morning Jacket, Lloyd Cole 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 District 9, the alien apartheid tale currently scoring 95 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; The Time Traveler's Wife, currently scoring 37 percent, Bandslam, which is scoring 80 percent, The Goods, scoring 12 percent, and the animated Ponyo at 95 percent.

ANNA FARIS got hitched in a small ceremony in Bali on July 9.

MICHAEL JACKSON's personal physician left the performer alone and under the influence of a powerful anesthetic to make telephone calls the morning the pop singer died, according to three people familiar with the investigation.

TOM-KAT UPDATE: Tom and Katie reportedly had a public spat on the Melbourne, Australia set of Holmes' thriller, Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark.

KATE HUDSON isn't getting a warm reception at the plate from Minka Kelly, longtime squeeze of Yankee captain Derek Jeter.

BRAD PITT is not running for Mayor of NOLA.

SOUTH PARK has posted the unaired pilot episode of the series, made entirely by hand on construction paper.  You can watch it with or without a commentary track.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA getting another reboot? Really?

JERRY O'CONNELL recently enrolled at Los Angeles' Southwestern Law School.

IRAN: The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps may just want to run the entire Islamic theocracy.

PAKISTAN: Although people worry about the security of the nation's nukes, a recent paper examines the possibility that the Pakistan Army could decide to transfer nuclear weapons to a terrorist group.

AFGHANISTAN: Michael Yon gives an interview under fire while traveling with British troops.

A PREGNANT COW bolts for freedom at the Kalamazoo County Fair. Video at the link.

A WOMAN and a DOE, living together...

A FISH smashed a car windshield near Marblehead, OH,  when an eagle dropped its catch from a height of about 40 feet.

RALPH the PENGUIN has gone bald, and now has a special wetsuit. Pics at the link.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: Now they're camera hogs.

THE SWARM: Three peoplein Stuart, FL,  were attacked by a swarm of bees that came from a hive about the size of a car engine.

A VENGEFUL WEASEL harasses a family in eastern China's Hubei province.