THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

... with THE BEATLES AT BUDOKAN! With all of the hoopla surrounding the Fabs' new box of remasters (including The Guardian's chart list of singles and albums and word and phrase breakdown, as well as Popdose's album-by-album review), it seemed like an opportune moment to revisit the lads in a judo arena. 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."

KITTY DAISY and LEWIS stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set that is wrongly labeled rockabilly (heck, one number is ska).

ALELA DIANE talks to The Guardian about touring with her Dad as backup. Her next project is an EP with Alina Hardin; you can stream a track online.

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS: Patterson Hood talks to the Florence Times Daily about the upcoming Drive-By Truckers LP, and "The Fine Print," a rarities collection. (Thx LHB.) Captain's Dead is streaming Southern Rock Opera live from 2002.

THE BEST WORST VOICES in INDIE ROCK, according to Paste, with embedded audio.

THE 24 BEST VIDEOS THAT DIDN'T WIN A MOONMAN: This year the MTV Video Music Awards will include one for "Best Video (That Shouda Won a Moonman)" -- the nominees can be seen at the link.  My inner music geek says The Replacements' "Bast^rds of Young" should be on that list, while my innder dude says Aerosmith's "Crazy" should be there. But even within the myopic vision of MTV, how did Britney's "Baby... One More Time" end up empty-handed?

BIG STAR drummer Jody Stephens talks to Spinner about compiling the box set due next Tuesday.

THE TOP 100 ALBUMS of the 2000s, according to Complex. Lotsa clicking involved.

BILLY CORGAN has started EverythingFromHereToThere, "a collective of thoughts about spirituality and the greater good of life in general."

THE CUTOUT BIN: It's a raft of classics this week from Nick Lowe, the Undertones, Big Star, the Velvet Underground, the New York Dolls, Mission of Burma, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan, plus a big 80s hunk  -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases include Whiteout, currently scoring zero percent on the ol' Tomatometer; the remade Sorority Row, currently scoring 56 percent; and Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself, which was not screened for critics (as usual).  The animated 9 opened Wednesday, and is scoring 60 percent.

ELLEN DeGENERES is taking Paula Abdul's place as the fourth judge on American Idol.

HUGH HEFNER finally files for divorce. Shocka!

ASHLEE SIMPSON rubs Jessica's nose in it.

JOHN MAYER denies Kristin Cavallari rumors.

WHIP IT: Cinema Blend has four new clips from the roller derby pic starring Ellen Page and (director) Drew Barrymore.

DC ENTERTAINMENT: After years of lagging rival Marvel Entertainment in adapting comic-book properties for the big screen and other media, Warner Bros. unveiled a major restructuring of its DC Comics unit Wednesday that will bring its operations under tighter control.

BARRY MANILOW's catalog will support a new rom-com in development by Tom Hanks and Michael Stipe.

CHARLIE SHEEN wants to meet with Pres. Obama to discuss his 9/11 conspiracy theory. Unlikely.

9/11: The first five minutes of CNN coverage. I came out of the shower, saw the second plane hit on NBC, and knew had had to contact my boss, whose daughter lived in NYC. Only 9 of 17 nations surveyed last year had a majority who think Al Qaeda was responsible for the attacks.

AL QAEDA is under heavy pressure in its strongholds in Pakistan's remote tribal areas and is finding it difficult to attract recruits or carry out spectacular operations in western countries, according to government and independent experts monitoring the organization.

IRAN: Legendary NYC prosecutor Robert Morgenthau notes that Ahmadinejad and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez have created a cozy financial, political and military partnership rooted in a shared anti-American animus. Morgenthau claims that over the past three years a number of Iranian-owned and controlled factories have sprung up in remote and undeveloped parts of Venezuela-ideal locations for the illicit production of weapons. Meanwhile Israeli PM Netanyahu may have made a secret trip to Russia to discuss Iran's nuclear threat -- though Russian press reports should be taken with at least a grain of salt.

SURPRISE CAT DANCE: Let's go to the video.

FAT CAT: A Chinese man believes his two-and-a-half stone cat could be the heaviest in the world.

CARRIER PIGEONS are being used to transfer data between offices because bosses believe it is quicker than broadband.

UNDERWEAR-STEALING MONKEYS defeated by cactus.