VIC CHESTNUTT died on Christmas Day at 45 from an apparent drug overdose. Chesnutt was partially paralyzed and has used a wheelchair since age 18, when he was involved in a car accident. Tributes have been posted at REM HQ and by Kristin Hersh. He played a Tiny Desk Concert for NPR in 2008, and a set with Elf Power for Daytrotter last June.

CLEM SNIDE did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter, one previously unreleased.

THE BEST OF NPR MUSIC LIVE: Downloads, downloads, downloads.

RAY DAVIES: NPR's Jeff Lunden sings with his choir.

SCOTT NEUSTADTER, co-writer of (500) Days of Summer, played Guest DJ at KCRW.

MIIKE SNOW dropped "Silvia" in advance of its release on January 25th.

CRACKER: David Lowery talks to the North County Times about visiting Iraq and the band's latest album.

MYSPACE: Carrie Brownstein reports on the site's continuing import as a music discovery service.

HA HA TONKA: Brian Roberts talks to JamBase about the literaray influences on the band's latest album.

IN MEMORIAM: NPR Music remembers the singers, instrumentalists, songwriters and producers who died in 2009.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Avatar dominated cineplexes again with another 75 million total, a mere 2.6 percent drop from its near-record opening, shattering the 200 million mark domestically.  Avatar has made almost twice as much elsewhere, for a total to date over 615 million dollars.  Sherlock Holmes debuted in the second slot with 65.4 million, which would be mighty impressive in just about any year without Avatar. Holmes took in a record 25.5 million on Christmas.  Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel took in 50.2 million over the three-day weekend for a 77 million total.  It's complicated opened in the fourth slot with 22.1 million.  Up in the Air expanded to the round out the Top Five with 11.8 million, and has almost recouped its 25 million budget domestically.  Below the fold, Nine expanded and jumped from 20th to eighth place with 5.5 million.  The Princess and the Frog dropped from second to seventh and A Christmas Carol managed only 12th place, in what must be a double disappointment at Disney.

SHERLOCK HOLMES falls into my "good, but not great bin."  Borrowing ideas from similarly-themed films (Young Sherlock Holmes, From Hell), this one will do much better on the performance of Robert Downey, Jr. as Holmes.  The supporting cast is pleasant enough, but Jude Law is not all that impressive, and Rachel McAdams is given action, but not much to do with her character.  The other reason this one will do better is timing.  In one sense, this movie is CSI: Old London, and the success of the CSI franchise on TV (and NCIS, for that matter) has brought deduction back into fashion.

CHARLIE SHEEN was busted in Aspen on a domestic violence beef... but his wife Brooke has fessed up that her allegation was phony? Or is the recantation phony, to be followed by a divorce? Sheen's manager denies the divorce claim.

SUSAN SARANDON and TIM ROBBINS split after 23 years of non-marital relations.

STEVEN TYLER has entered a rehab facility after months of bizarre, back-and-forth behavior that left his band mates wondering if the ride was over for good.

COURTNEY LOVE: New docs filed by the guardianship for Frances Bean Cobain ask to seal all court documents that relate "to a minor and allegations of domestic violence."

AMY WINEHOUSE was charged with assault after heckling at a pantomime and allegedly attacking a manager who asked her to leave.

ANGELINA JOLIE doubts that fidelity is absolutely essential for a relationship.

THE INCREASINGLY POOR DECISIONS OF TODD MARGARET: David Cross, Will Arnett and... Spike Jonze! Watch three minutes now. (language) (Thx, TV's Andy Levy.)

THE 50 HOTTEST DEAD PEOPLE of the DECADE, courtesy of Best Week Ever.

THE BEST USES OF CHICAGO IN FILM of the decade, according to TimeOut Chicago.

TERROR in the USA: A Nigerian man who said he was an agent for al Qaeda tried to blow up a Northwest Airlines plane Friday as it was preparing to land in Detroit, but travelers who smelled smoke and heard what sounded like firecrackers rushed to subdue him. The plot was organized and launched by al Qaeda leaders in Yemen who apparently sewed bomb materials into the suspect's underwear before sending him on his mission, according to federal authorities. Officials now say tragedy was only averted on Northwest flight 253 because a makeshift detonator failed to work properly.

IRAN: Police opened fire on protesters in Tehran on Sunday, killing at least four people, including a nephew of the opposition leader Mir Hussein Moussavi, as vast crowds of demonstrators flooded the streets of cities across Iran and fiercely fought security forces, according to witnesses and opposition Web sites. Slain protester Neda Soltan was named Person of the Year by the Times of London.

AFGHANISTAN: Secretive branches of the military's Special Operations forces have increased counterterrorism missions against some of the most lethal groups in Afghanistan and, because of their success, plan an even bigger expansion next year, according to American commanders.

THE 13 CUTEST ANIMALS of 2009, courtesy of Videogum.

OTTERS on a PLANE: An employee at Houston's Bush Airport was hurt Tuesday night after a bizarre incident that delayed a Continental Airlines flight bound for Columbus for about 90 minutes.

A MALE DEER was caught shopping at a grocery store in Palm Harbor, FL.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT: Militant rodents stole Christmas in Fredericton, Canada.

A STOLEN EXOTIC LIZARD was recovered after a father and son tried to exchange it for booze. Did I mention this was in Kentucky?