THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

....wtih THE PRETENDERS! Circa 1981, via one of Pate's two fab drummers, Jon Hahn.  Your setlist includes "The Wait," "The Adultress," "Message of Love/Louie Louie," "Talk of the Town," "English Roses," "Birds of Paradise," "Kid," "Stop Your Sobbing," "Private Life," "Day After Day," "Jealous Dogs, " Up the Neck," "Tattooed Love Boys," "Bad Boys Get Spanked," "Precious," and "Brass In Pocket/MysteryAchievement."

SHARON VAN ETTEN stopped by WNYC Soundcheck for a session.

YUCK plays a session at Laundro-Matinee.

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

ELBOW stopped by WFUV for a session.

PORCELIN RAFT is advance streaming Strange Weekend.

JESSIE BAYLIN: Whitney Matheson compares Baylin's Little Spark LP, which boasts arrangements by Jimmy Haskell and Richard Swift, to prime Dusty Springfield.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Two advance tracks from Wrecking Ball. Commentary at The Record, including a Flock of Seagulls reference.

FRANKIE ROSE drops "Night Swin" ahead of Interstellar.

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED: New tracks from Leonard Cohen, Magnetic Fields, Lambchop, White Rabbits and more highlight the latest edition of the long-running series.

WE FIVE: Because "You Were On My Mind," natch.

PAZZ & JOP 2011 is posted at the Village Voice.

WILCO: Jeff Tweedy talks to Arizona Central about  the 10-year anniversary of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, The Whole Love" and that line about setting the kids on fire in "I Might." John Stirratt talks to the Phoenix New Times about the band's Grammy nomination (Best Rock Album), the new album, the current Wilco lineup, and why people didn't seem to enjoy "happy" Wilco. (Thx, LHB.)

CRAIG FINN talks to the NYP about songwriting in his Brooklyn home, where he keeps a shrine to Paul Westerberg.

FLEET FOXES drummer J. Tillman has left the band.

SMASHING PUMPKINS: 20th anniversary assessments of Gish at Aquarium Drunkard.

MOUNTAIN GOATS: John Darnielle talks pop and politics with the Austin American-Statesman.

JOHNNY OTIS, R & B pioneer, bandleader, producer, radio and TV host and composer, died on Tuesday at his home near Los Angeles. He was 90 years old.

CUTOUT BIN: From REM to the Isley Bros, from Dropkick Murphys to Barry White, from Glen Campbell to Camper van Beethoven, plus Paul Westerberg, Rockpile, the Cardigans, the Lyres 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 Underworld Awakening, which has not been screened for critics; Red Tails, which is currently scoring 31 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and Haywire, which is scoring 87 percent.  Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close expands wide at 49 percent.

MARK WAHLBERG apologized for saying he could have overpowered the 9/11 terrorists.

JOHNNY DEPP & VANESSA PARADIS: Already living separate lives?

DEXTER stars Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter getting a second chance at love? They were... wait for it... caught canoodling earlier this week.

ADELE sets the record straight about her boyfriend.

CHRIS HEMSWORTH and wife Elsa Pataky are expecting their first child.

ZOE SALDANA rushed to the aid of an elderly woman who had reportedly gotten into a car accident in Culver City, CA.

HEATHER LOCKLEAR had a blowout altercation with ex-fiancé Jack Wagner, according to the ever-reliable Star magazine.

KELLY OSBOURNE has fallen off the wagon and is back to boozing, according to RadarOnline.

MICHAEL FASSBENDER talks to THR about shooting nude, being poor, and his Oscars date.

YEMEN: A tribal leader whose brother, Tariq al Dhahab, took control of the town, said senior Yemeni leaders conspired with al Qaeda to take control of Rada'a.

SYRIA: Britain called for harsher sanctions on Syria, while Russia said it would work with China to block efforts at the UN.

LIBYAN forces freed the governor of the Algerian province of Illizi, who was captured yesterday by three purported al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb fighters.

AFGHANISTAN: The former leader of Taliban's Jaish-ul-Muslimin Movement, Sayed Mohammad Akbar Agha, said on Wednesday that the continuation of secret talks between the US and the Taliban could yield positive results for both sides.

A DOG saved two girls from a venomous snake.

BURMESE PYTHONS may soon be banned from import to the US. So if you were in the market for one, time is running short.

ZOO ELEPHANTS kept together with help from Bob Barker.

ALASKAN DOG SLED RACE called due to weather.