THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with RICHARD THOMPSON & DAVID BYRNE!  The darkly funny British songwriter and guitarist extraordinaire joins the Talking Head for renditions of "Psycho Killer" a Sir Douglas Quintet/? and the Mysterians mash-up of "Who Were You Thinking Of'/'96 Tears" and Ewan MacColl's "Dirty Old Town" at St. Ann & The Holy Trinity Brooklyn Heights NY in 1992.  The pair also team up on "The Big Country" from More Songs about Buildings and Food in a clip from the BBC.

VAMPIRE WEEKEND stopped by the World Cafe for a chat and mini-set -- including the new song "Campus" -- which you can stream on demand via NPR.  Drummer Christopher Tomson, pre-hiatus Phish veteran, discusses the band's sudden ascent with JamBands.

EL PERRO DEL MAR, a/k/a Sarah Assbring. is streaming an advance track, "How Did We Forget" from her second full-length album, due on Feb 27, via her new label, Licking Fingers.

DENNIS WILSON:  The late Beach Boy's lone solo album, Pacific Ocean Blue, will finally be re-released and reissued as a two-disc set with bonus tracks, after more than a decade of copyright disputes.  The scarcity of the record has made it both a cult-favorite and a high-priced collector's item over the years.  At the moment, you can stream a couple of tracks from the album, plus the unreleased "Morning Christmas."

JON BRION:  The musician, producer, and occasional one-man band talks to The A.V. Club about making up with the Mellotron and finding the perfect Def Leppard song to convert into klezmer.

DRAMARAMA leaps out of the "Where Are They Now?" file to ambush Ellen DeGeneres with a rendition of "Anything, Anything" for her birthday.  It apparently is her favorite song, and she asks her DJ to play it during every commercial break.  As TV Squad so eloquently asks, "Who knew?" 

THE CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS, "on a mission to connect old style music and traditional instruments with young people and new sounds," visited The Current for a chat and twofer you can stream on demand via MPR.  The band has also appeared on A Prairie Home Companion.

NICOLE ATKINS and THE SEA stopped by the SPIN offices to churn out a blissful rendition of "War Torn," which the mag captured on video for your viewing and listening pleasure.

BONO confesses his sins to... former US Vice-President Al Gore, Jr.  Video at the link.

AMY WINEHOUSE has entered rehab, yes, yes, yes.

CUTOUT BIN:  From Archie Bell and the Drells to XTC, from Devo to Jimi Hendrix, this Friday's fortuitous finds can be jukeboxed or streamed individually on the Pate page at the ol' HM

HEATH LEDGER:  The NYPost has details of his masseuse's frantic calls to Mary-Kate Olsen, whom law enforcement sources said was dating the late 28-year-old actor.  Ledger had been shooting Terry Gilliam's indie "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," where production has temporarily shut down; Ledger's role may be re-cast -- or partially re-cast -- with Johnny Depp.  Some now suggest Ledger was killed by The Joker.  Ledger recently told reporters he "slept an average of two hours a night" while playing "a psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy ... I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going."

DANIEL DAY-LEWIS got quite emotional over Heath Ledger's death on the Oprah show, despite not knowing him.  Video at the link.

NOW SHOWING:  This weekend's wide releases include Sly Stallone's Rambo, which is currently scoring 30 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; the movie mash-up parody Meet the Spartans, which was not screened for critics; the Diane Lane cyber-thriller Untraceable, which is scoring 15 percent; and the urban music drama How She Move, scoring 69 percent.  Returning for wide Oscar promo runs are Michael Clayton (90 percent) and the Coen Bros' No Country For Old Men (95 percent).  There Will Be Blood expands near-wide with its 91 percent score.

LINDSAY LOHAN:  A man claiming to be Lindsay Lohan's former cocaine dealer let it be known to the New York Daily News, through an intermediary, that he was ready to sell his story. And he promised that he would spill on his other "big, big celebrity clients" if the price was right.  ALSO:  Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton was awarded nearly 85K to pay his legal costs in a defamation lawsuit brought by Lohan pal DJ Samantha Ronson.  The judge had removed Hilton from the lawsuit last November after the blogger's attorneys argued he was protected by free speech rights.

EDDIE MURPHY & TRACEY EDMONDS reportedly split before making their Bora Bora wedding legal because Murphy became bossy and physically intimidating, and insisted his mother accompany them on their honeymoon.

BRITNEY SPEARS was discussed at the annual winter conference of the American Psychoanalytic Association.  Psychoanalysts are concerned about the effect that armchair diagnoses of the troubled starlet's mental health, popping up in celebrity magazines and tabloids may harm the pop wreck and even deter others from seeking help.  It may be unethical for the pros, but when Spears acts like she has multiple personalities, or shows up "scantily clad" at a Beverly Hills elementary school, saying she was there to pick up someone else's kids, it is hard for the amateurs to resist.  Britney's uncle is telling London's Sun about her drink and drug-addled childhood, claiming he did cocaine with her on her 18th birthday.

JAMIE LYNN SPEARS:  The knocked up 16-year-old member of the Spears clan reportedly will hand over the baby to her mama Lynne as soon as it is born so she can concentrate on her career.  That is a formula that has worked so well for the Spears family.

TOM-KAT UPDATE:  Adam Sandler defends Cruise to People magazine: "To see anyone's private life invaded and mocked like this is sickening. It's especially gross when it happens to a guy like Cruise, who's a great dad, a great husband, and a great friend."

BRADGELINA will be co-hosting a big pre-Oscars bash with Pitt's ex, Jennifer Aniston.  An "inside source" tells X17online  that Jolie is pregnant with twins -- a report confirmed by the ever-reliable Star magazine, so it must be true, right?

DAVID BECKHAM may be the world's biggest environmental threat.

JESSICA SIMPSON had her lawyers demand a retraction of a recent OK! magazine article claiming she was dumped by Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo.

HANNA MONTANA targeted by teen terrorist!  Yes, really.  Nashville television stations, citing unnamed sources, said the teen unsuccessfully tried to hijack a Southwest Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Lafayette, LA., and crash it into a building where a Hannah Montana concert was scheduled.

GLOBAL WARMING could reduce how many hurricanes hit the US, according to a new federal study that clashes with other research.

AN AL QAEDA SPOKESMAN called for unity among this week Islamic militants worldwide in a new recorded message apparently intended to counter some Islamic scholars who are criticizing AQ's violent activities.

A US TERROR CASE provides a glimpse of the growing threat posed by radical networks that have sprung up as a result of the Internet.

IRAN:  Pres. Ahmadinejad is set to become the first Iranian leader since the revolution to visit Baghdad after the Iraqi foreign ministry announced he had accepted an invitation, at a time of high tension in the Gulf.

IRAQ and the US are working on assembling negotiating teams to shape a new long-term bilateral strategic agreement redefining the fundamental role of US troops.  The Iraqis want the US mission to shift from combat operations to logistics and support, but the Bush administration will insist on broad authority to conduct combat operations and guarantee civilian contractors specific legal protections from Iraqi law.  In the meantime, Pres. Bush is unlikely to reduce US forces in Iraq to less than levels just before the surge this year for fear of putting at risk security gains.  The NYT has noticed that US -backed Sunni militias who have fought Sunni extremists to a standstill are being hit with a wave of assassinations and bomb attacks.  Mosul's chief of police was killed in a suicide bombing; the governor has declared a curfew. Iraqi security forces arrested 22 insurgents and disabled six IEDs in Baghdad.

KNUT UPDATE:  The once-cuddly polar bear is a "psychopath" who has become addicted to human company and will never mate, experts warn.

CHINESE DUCK BENGBENG has become a celebrity for its singing, dancing and counting abilities.

CATTLE RUSTLING goes awry in Malaysia after the getaway vehicle crashed into a tree.

BURMESE PYTHONS:  Don't taze them, bro!

TARA the GERMAN SHEPHERD had a miraculous escape when she was blown off a 135ft cliff by a gust of wind. Pics at the link.