THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with STEVIE WONDER! His session at the Beat Club includes "Intro Jam," "Contusion," "Higher Ground," "Dont You Worry ‘Bout A Thing," "I Can See The Sun In Late December," "He's Misstra Know-It-All," "Living For The City" and "Superstition."

THE FLAMING LIPS & HEADY FWENDS is advance streaming via The Guardian.

FITZ & THE TANTRUMS get the party started at Capitol Hill Block Party 2012 via KEXP.

CRYSTAL STILTS also brought their neo-psychadelic, garage pop band to Capitol Hill Block Party 2012 via KEXP.

NEWPORT FOLK FEST PREVIEW, courtesy of All Songs Considered.

CHELSEA LIGHT MORNING, Thurston Moore's latest band, drops a new track called "Frank O'Hara Hit."

CEREMONY played the Violent Femmes' "Kiss Off" for The A.V. Club Undercover. That will go on their permanent record.

JENS LEKMAN talks to Drowned In Sound about his personal journey, yard shows, the new album, and more.

JAPANDROIDS drummer David Prowse talks to The A.V. Club abouthis musical firsts.

PASSION PIT: Michael Angelakos tells Morning Edition the new LP documents his recent struggle with what he calls self-medicating.

BETH ORTON names current pop culture faves for The Independent.

60 SUN-KISSED SUMMER SONGS, compiled by NME.

CUTOUT BIN: From Little Richard to Talking Heads, from the Cramps to Kenny Rogers, from War to the Posies, plus Flaming Lips, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Spoon, the Rolling Stones 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 The Watch, which is currently scoring 14 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; and Step Up Revolution, scoring 26 percent.

KRISTEN STEWART is writing an apology letter asking for forgiveness from the wife of the director she cheated on Robert Pattinson with, according to RadarOnline. Pattinson is reportedly heartbroken and humiliated by the news of Stewart's cheating and has left the home they shared.

THE JACKSONS: Katherine Jackson has been temporarily stripped of her guardianship over Michael Jackson's 3 kids, and an L.A. judge just appointed Tito Jackson's son TJ to become the temporary guardian. Jackson's mother is "devastated" his children have been "taken away" from her while she was vacationing in Arizona and she planned to return to Los Angeles to be reunited with them.

LINDSAY LOHAN got in another fender-bender, lightly rear-ending a Mustang with her Porsche.

KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN's baby daddy Scott Disick is quite a catch, according to the ever-reliable Star magazine.

RUSSELL BRAND will be charged with a crime for throwing a paparazzi's iPhone through a glass window in New Orleans back in March.

CLOUD ATLAS: The latest from the Wachowskis has a six-minute trailer online.

THE TOP 25 MOVIE VILLAINS, according to Paste.

DREAMWORKS buys Classic Media, whose properties include Archie, Casper the Friendly Ghost, The Lone Ranger, Lassie, Speed Racer, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Gumby, Underdog, Fat Albert, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Godzilla, He-Man, Dick Tracy, Frosty the Snowman, and Mr. Peabody & Sherman. DreamWorks' animated Mr. Peabody & Sherman is already scheduled for Christmas Day 2013.

THE 100 MOST VALUABLE MOVIE STARS, ranked by Vulture, with help from my online acquaintance, Harry Enten.

AL QAEDA IN IRAQ threatens attacks in the United States.

AFGHANISTAN: The Afghan Ministry of Interior confirmed reports from US commanders that the Taliban is weaker in southern Afghanistan, pointing out that the Taliban rarely face Afghan security forces in the battlefield. The International Committee of the Red Cross warned in a new report that insecurity had greatly increased across more provinces of Afghanistan.

KITTEN vs KITTEN: Who you got?

LANCELOT ENCORE: A cloned dog fathers eight pups.

BEARS trash a family's home in Bearsville, NY. Porridge everywhere.

THE WELL OF SOULS: Thirty six venomous snakes seized from a west Omaha home last week at being held for the Nebraska Humane Society at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium.

OLYMPIC GUINEA PIGS go for the photoshopped gold.