THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...LEFT OF THE DIAL!  It's that back-to-school time of year, so here is the BBC's documentary on US indie rock of the 80s-90s, which Rolling Stone's David Fricke reminds us was known then as "college rock."  The Nirvana story is the pull for the casual viewer, but the Brits work their way back to Black Flag, with a fair amount of R.E.M. as well.  Sadly, The Replacements and Husker Du get mere cameos, (despite being the Godfathers of Grunge).  But The Pixies get their props as a major influence on Kurt Cobain.  Tubed into seven segments:  Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7.

MAN MAN stopped by World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA did five free songs for Daytrotter.

NICK LOWE guest DJs All Songs Considered.

BUILT TO SPILL: Live Melodies of the Future.

LOS CAMPENSINOS! drops "By Your Hand" in advance of Hello Sadness.

JOHNNY MAESTRO: "The Worst That Could Happen." A great, self-indulgent song written by Jimmy Webb, sung by the man who made it a hit with the Brooklyn Bridge.

SONIC YOUTH, REGINA SPEKTOR, DAVID BYRNE & MORE remember 9/11.

BEIRUT: Zach Condon is still coming to terms with success -- and those weird Brazilian tribute bands.

EEF BARZELAY (Clem Snide) talks to The A.V. Club about his new EP of Journey covers.

TEN OF THE BEST LPs of 1991 (excluding Nirvana's Nevermind), according to Earworm. (Thx, LHB.)

THE WORST SONGS OF THE 90s, according to Rolling Stone readers.

CUTOUT BIN: From Husker Du to Dionne Warwick, from Public Image Ltd to Nick Gilder, from Aztec Camera to Led Zeppelin, plus Blondie, Flaming Lips, The Who, B-52s, Tommy James and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are now streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases are Contagion, which is currently scoring 82 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and Warrior, currently scoring 88 percent. Creature and Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star were not screened for critics.

REESE WITHERSPOON was rushed to a Santa Monica hospital around Wednesday, after a car struck the actress while she was jogging.

MATT. DAMON. spoke to New York magazine about the Purell usage on the set of Contagion, all those Soderbergh-is-retiring stories he's the source of, and his political future.

ELISABETTA CANALIS opened up about the end of her two-year romance with George Clooney.

KATE WINSLET says she regrets once vowing to stop doing nude scenes.

MAD MEL UPDATE: Gibson and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas (Basic Instinct) are teaming to tell of the heroic story of Jewish warrior Judah Maccabee.

THE 20 BEST COMIC BOOK MOVIES, according to Paste.

THE 100 ESSENTIAL DIRECTORS, according to PopMatters.

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. There is still a lot of crazy stuff going on around the country and the world as a result, and a lot of 10th anniversary coverage this year, so consider taking a moment to watch and remember.

TERROR in the USA:  Federal authorities have come across what they believe may be a credible threat to the US homeland surrounding the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. New York City and Washington, DC are mentioned in the non-specific car bomb threats. A US citizen is one of three people officials are scrambling to find out about.

AL QAEDA's influence grows south of the Sahara.

PAKISTAN says it will speed up efforts to build a gas pipeline from Iran despite US opposition to the project.

RISE of the PLANET of the APES: Chimps see daylight for the first time.

GIANT RATS sniff out tuberculosis faster than lab techs.

TURTLE hitches a ride on an alligator.

...AND THERE WERE FISH HEADS... all over the highway. (Roly-poly fish heads.)