THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

... with ELLIE GREENWICH!  In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time included six by Ellie Greenwich and her husband and writing partner, Jeff Barry - more than by any other songwriting team. (And those only scratch the surface.)  She died a heart attack at a New York hospital on Wednesday, at age 68.  Without Greenwich, e may never have had "Be My Baby," "Da Doo Ron Ron," "Hanky Panky," "Do Wah Diddy," "Leader of the Pack," "I Can Hear Music," and "River Deep, Mountain High," to name just a few.

TORTOISE stopped by the World Cafe for a twofer streaming via NPR.

SUMMER SONGS: NPR listeners share their selections.  The latest are from the The Four Preps and The Four Seasons, but if you scroll to the end of the story, you'll find links to a bunch of others, including "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)".

VIVA VOCE stopped by Oregon Public Broadcasting for a chat and mini-set.

THE DAREDEVIL CHRISTOPHER WRIGHT is streaming their debut album, In Deference To A Broken Back. (Thx, Chromewaves.)

MORE THAN A FEELING: Boston, or Paul Rudd and David Wain with Of Montreal? Pick em!

NOMO did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter.

RICHARD THOMPSON talks to MAGNET about his four-CD boxed set, Walking On A Wire: 1968-2009: "One would like to think that one is more than a mere box-unboxable. But a box is good enough for now, anyway."

CHICAGO ROCKED: At Gaper's Block, Ex-DJ James VanOsdol writes about the Chicago music scene in the 1990's, and hopes you will fund a book about it.

THE CUTOUT BIN: From Tom Jones to Iggy Pop, from Bob Dylan to the Trashmen, from the Faces to the Hindu Love Gods, plus Elvis Costello, King Khan and the Shrines, XTC, She and Him, Flock of Seagulss and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: Horrors! This weekend's wide releases are The Final Destination (often in 3-D), and Rob Zombie's Halloween 2 (2), neither of which was screened for critics. Caveat emptor.

MISCHA BARTON talks about her hospitalization in TimeOut NY. But does she say anything?

MICHAEL JACKSON: Dermatologist Arnold Klein knows there is a possibility that Jacko's two older kids could be biologically linked to him, his lawyer admits.

JASON BIGGS (American Pie) cut short his holiday in Europe after being attacked by one of Gibraltar's famous monkeys.

DEREK JETER and MINKA KELLY secretly engaged?

AVRIL LAVIGNE headed for divorce?

JOHN MAYER offered a 25K charitable donation for the publication of a mug shot that was taken following his arrest several years ago.  The Internet obliged.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE has a new trailer online. 

EVAN RACHEL WOOD may be a lesbian vampire. On television, anyway.

PARKER POSEY has been diagnosed with Lyme Disease.

MADONNA was booed in Bucharest after she told them to be nice to gypsies.

SIR JOHN GIELGUD had a thing for Iggy Pop.

AFGHANISTAN: In his bid for re-election, Pres. Karzai has surrounded himself with checkered figures who could bring him votes: warlords suspected of war crimes, corruption and trafficking in the country's lucrative poppy crop. But none is as influential as Marshal Fahim, his running mate, who may be involved in drug trafficking.

SO, your cat wants a massage?

A MARMOT INVASION has Alpine farmers in Germany's southern Allgäu region claiming the rodents have become a fuzzy plague.

AXOLOTL: The amphibian that never grew up is on the verge of going extinct in the wild. And it's oddly charming.

OPOSSUMS ARE TRICKY: Exhibit A. Exhibit B.

MONKEY has two mommies.