THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

with ELVIS PRESLEY! The King died 35 years ago last night, but remains a global pop phenomenon, so it's worth a recap of highlights from his legendary career.  For the 30th anniversary, Canada's Star-Phoenix, discussing ten important parts of Elvis history worth reliving, noted: "His was a sequined coat of many colours: '50s Greaser Elvis. Military Elvis. Hollywood Elvis. Aloha from Hawaii Elvis. Vegas Elvis. And, ultimately, Dead Fat Elvis."  The BBC had friend and aide Sonny West recall life with The King. 

ACTION NEWS 5 still has its local coverage from Aug. 16-17, 1977 (here, here, here and here) on the Tube, where you can also see funeral footage from the BBC Archive.  Here's read the obit that ran the next day in the Washington Post. Elvis Presley News recaps the international headlines from the event and links to the eulogy at his funeral. On a happier note, check out what is likely the first footage taken of Elvis, with backstage shots of Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Buddy Holly in 1955; shades of Walk The Line!  You can also see him play "I Got A Woman" live o­n his first TV appearance in 1956. I also include his performance of "Hound Dog" o­n The Milton Berle Show six months later, not o­nly because it's historic, but also because Paul Miller and I often reached for it when we would stumble into our KUSR shift at the last minute -- on the broadcast, Uncle Miltie vamped for awhile, which gave us time to pull records for the show.  He was also iconic in "Jailhouse Rock" that year.  Elvis sang a mashup of "Love Me Tender" and "Witchcraft" with Frank Sinatra when he got back from the Army.  All of his movies -- such as "Viva Las Vegas" --made money, but his musical career stalled in the 1960s until he electrified and charmed the public with his televised '68 Comeback Special, which you can see on the Tube.  1970 finds him singing "In The Ghetto" and "Suspicious Minds" in the jumpsuit, though pre-bloated.  I'm going to throw in "Little Sister" just 'cause I like it.  Sadly, in a few short years, bloated jumpuit Elvis would be delivering a wacked-out take on "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" -- though to be fair, this audio-only version from 1969 is even more demented and he knows it.  I would rather remember Jumpsuit Elvis for the signature horns that open "See See Rider."  a tribute to his enduring legacy as the fact that he could hit the charts decades after his death with a remix of "A Little Less Conversation," a video subtly recalling "Jailhouse Rock," and Paul Oakenfold's remix of "Rubberneckin'". The King may be gone, but the brand lives on, making millions and recruiting new fans under the watchful eyes of Elvis Presley Enterprises and CKX, Inc.

GREETINGS FROM GRACELAND:  It must be said, however, that Elvis Presley Enterprises did not have a good handle on the King's affairs in the years immediately following his death.  Chicago radio personalities Steve Dahl and Garry Meier won a local emmy for their 1981 comedic look at what was then a very seedy exploitation of Elvis in Memphis. (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7.)

MOJO NIXON & SKID ROPER: "Elvis Is Everywhere."

THE SHINS played the Orpheum in Mpls; you can stream the gig on demand at this obscure link.

LYLE LOVETT and his acoustic project played Celebrate Brooklyn; you can stream the gig on demand.

YEASAYER performs a trio of psychedelic and groove-heavy tracks from their 2012 album Fragrant World live from the Cutting Room Studios in NYC for KEXP.

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED: New tracks from Jens Lekman, Niki And The Dove, Amanda Palmer, Swans and more feature in this edition of the NPR series.

WOODSTOCK: On Aug. 15-17, 1969, hundreds of thousands of people gathered in a lovely natural amphitheater in Bethel (not Woodstock), NY for "three days of peace and music," including sets from Crosby, Stills and Nash, The Who, Santana, Joe Cocker, Jefferson Airplane, Arlo Guthrie, Canned Heat, Jimi Hendrix, and the proverbial many more.

RHETT MILLER talks to PopMatters about producing his fan-funded album, The Dreamer.

WILCO's 10 BEST SONGS, according to Stereogum.

THE TOP 10 GIRL GROUPS, according to Drowned In Sound.

YOU ARE WHAT YOU HEAR: What Your Favorite Music Says About You.  It's about the Six Songs of Me project.

CUTOUT BIN: From the Replacements to Jackie Wilson, from the Minutemen to the Bee Gees, from the Who to Gary Wright, plus Nick Lowe, the Monkees, the Main Ingedient, T. Rex and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases include: ParaNorman, which is currently scoring 82 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; The Expendables 2, currently scoring 61 percent; The Odd Life of Timothy Green, which opened Wednesday at 39 percent; and Sparkle, scoring 56 percent.

KRISTEN STEWART has publicly shown remorse over her affair with her "Snow White and the Huntsman" director, but privately she is furious she's taking all the heat. Um, that's because director Rupert Sanders is behind the camera.

MILA KUNIS begged MACAULAY CULKIN to rehab, according to the ever-reliable Enquirer.

JENNY McCARTHY & BRIAN URLACHER are dunzo.

JENNIE GARTH has been leaning on her old 90210 co-star Luke Perry to get through her divorce from Twilight actor Peter Facinelli.

KIM KARDASHIAN is telling close friends she is not pushing for a divorce so she can marry Kanye West.

JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT answers 20 questions for Playboy.

THE LAST STAND: Arnold Schwarzenegger's post-Governatorial, solo comeback vehicle has a trailer online.

LEBANON: A Lebanese Shia group kidnapped more than 20 Sunnis in Beirut in retaliation for the kidnapping of one of its members by the Free Syrian Army in Syria. Kidnappings and violence between Shia and Sunnis spread across the country. Gulf states urged citizens to leave the country.

EGYPT: Several recent moves by government authorities against Egyptian journalists have drawn sharp criticism from the news media and led to accusations that the country's new Islamist president is willing to tolerate - if not employ - the same heavy-handed tactics used by fmr Pres Mubarak to stifle dissent. An Islamic militant group warned Egypt not to send its army into Sinai to hunt jihadists. Egypt's new second-in-command of the military has said US troops should leave the Middle East.

IRAQ: Insurgents killed 21 Iraqis, including six policemen, in a series of bombings and armed attacks in Baghdad, Baqubah, Fallujah, and Kirkuk. Security forces arrested seven al Qaeda leaders in Anbar province.

AFGHANISTAN: The US military is expanding counterintelligence capability at the battalion level and above, in part due to the spike in green-on-blue attacks.

RACCOON MECHANIC, reporting for duty.

A GIANT CATFISH ransacked a home in China's Xinjiang Province.

MISSED THE MOOSE... hit the bear.

HUNGRY RATS wreak havoc on football equipment in Washington state.

GORILLA BROTHERS are reunited. And it feels so good.