THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with KATRINA & THE WAVES! "Walking On Sunshine" turns 25 this week, earning the song and the band a feature on All Things Considered, and an indie tribute EP assembled by Brooklyn Vegan. But we can dig a little deeper for pop gems like "Brown Eyed Son," "Do You Want Crying?", "Que Te Quiero" and "Red Wine and Whiskey."  BONUS: Guitarist, songwriter and Soft Boy Kimberley Rew also wrote "Going Down to Liverpool," later covered by The Bangles.

FYFE DANGERFIELD of the Guillemots stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a chat and mini-set.

THE FEELIES stopped by the World Cafe for a mini-set.

CAITLIN ROSE did the four free songs thing for Daytrotter.

VAMPIRE WEEKEND drops "Jonathan Low" from the Twilight: Eclipse soundtrack. Vampire synergy.

THOSE DARLINS have a short documentary streaming at Paste.

HOT CHOCOLATE: "You Sexy Thing." Believe in miracles?

MOUNTAIN GOATS frontman John Darniells talks to Straight.com about the band's 17th LP.

CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG talks to Drowned in Sound about her dad (Serge), her film career and her own intriguing musical journey.

PHIL COLLINS: At The Quietus, Gary Mills hits the ground running with a one-man Dunkirk-style rescue mission for the sake of the reputation for the drumming Tory homunculus.

THE NINE GREATEST RUSH SONGS, according to Paste.

IS GOOGLE KILLING the music download?

THE CUTOUT BIN: From Brinsley Schwartz to Iggy Pop, from Bob Dylan to Murray Head, from the Undertones to REO Speedwagon, plus Katrina & the Waves, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Los Bravos, OK Go, Led Zeppelin 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 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, currently scoring 46 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and Sex and the City 2 (which technically opened yesterday), scoring 15 percent.

GARY COLEMAN is currently listed in critical condition in a Provo, Utah, hospital. UPDATE: Multiple media sources are reporting that Coleman is dead at age 42.

JESSE JAMES: Dad is explaining the black eye and broken arm he supposedly inflicted on Jesse during his childhood. Sister Julie James says Jesse's claim of child abuse is "completely true."

TIGER WOODS' legal team told him he can't date until his divorce is finalized. Meanwhile, Elin Nordegren is planning an extended trip to China within the next few months.

LINDSAY LOHAN: Planning to fool her alcohol-monitoring bracelet?

JOHN TRAVOLTA & KELLY PRESTON say they are having one baby, not two.

KENDRA WILKINSON says her sex tape broke her heart, despite evidence that she tried to sell it herself and is making a truckload of money from it.  Somehow, her husband has been understanding about the whole thing.

HEATHER LOCKLEAR will not be charged with hit-and-run.

50 CENT shed 54 pounds for his upcoming film ‘Things Fall Apart,' in which he plays a football player stricken with cancer.

40 LITTLE-SEEN, SHOULD BE MOVIE CLASSICS, according to The Obscure, the Forgotten, and the Unloved (via LHB). I think Modern Romance is the only one of them I've seen, and heartily recommend it.

NORTH KOREA vowed to attack any South Korean ships which violate their disputed border and Seoul's navy staged its own show of strength amid continuing high tension over the sinking of a warship.

AFGHANISTAN: Intellectuals and respected Afghan professionals are convinced the US is funding the Taliban to prolong the conflict and maintain influence in the region.  Meanwhile, an Afghan police commander claimed that his forces killed a top Pakistani Taliban leader during a clash in Nuristan province. The report has not been confirmed by US officials.

DOG RESCUED from a fence. Stay for the end.

BERTIE may well be the Ugliest Cat in Britain.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: Fish with hands.

SNAKE in a MOTEL in Mason City, IA.

AN ABDUCTED TARANTULA was returned safely to a Maryland library.

26 HEADLESS CHICKENS baffle Alaska State Troopers.

KITTEH survives 30 minutes in a washing machine on spin cycle.